Lady Stuff: Secrets to Being a Woman

by Loryn Brantz

(Librarian's note: There is an ebook edition with the same ISBN - ISBN: 978-1-4494-8677-8)

A collection of Loryn Brantz’s vibrant and relatable Jellybean Comics about her everyday experiences as a lady 

Home manicure tips, awkward seduction techniques, scoping out the snack table, and—most important—prioritizing naps: Lady Stuff reveals these womanly secrets and more. In sections like "Grooming and Habitat Maintenance," "Mating Habits," and others, these brightly colored, adorable comics find the humor in the awkwardness of simply existing.
 
Like the work of Sarah Andersen, Gemma Correll, and Allie Brosh, Loryn Brantz’s Jellybean Comics are accessible and funny; lighthearted takes on the author's everyday experiences and struggles being a woman.
 

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Humor, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Ebooks, Adult

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2017

About the author

Loryn Brantz is an Emmy Award–winning author, artist, poet, and director. She is the creator of numerous beloved children’s books, including the best-selling series Feminist Baby and It Had to Be You (Love Poems Your Baby Can See). Her work can be seen on Sesame Street, Elmo's World, Ms. Rachel, and more. Her latest book, Poems of Parenting, is a New York Times bestseller.

Her greatest desire is to make the world a better place through art, even if just a little — but hopefully, a lot. Loryn lives in New York City with her husband, architect Jake J. Brotter, and children, Dalia and Ronen.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had my eye on Loryn Brantz's work before when Feminist Baby was released earlier this year, so I was ecstatic to give her new book a go. These brightly colored, adorable comics find the humor in the awkwardness of simply existing, separated into five different sections: grooming and habit maintenance, life ambitions, mating habits, self-care, and social conduct.

I was anticipating for Lady Stuff to be the perfect fun and quick thing to read in one sitting, but unfortunately nothing quite original was said in here. A lot of stuff has been written and done before, especially if you're familiar with Sarah Andersen online, like the eyeliner bit where you touch upon one eye then the other until you end up looking like a panda, or the same thing but with shaping your eyebrows. There were less than a handful of standouts in here, which I found to be incredibly unfortunate.

Nevertheless, I would still like to highlight the comics that I enjoyed a bit more than others:











The above was legit the only comic to make me laugh out loud.







Though things didn’t really pan out the way I had planned or expected, I'm still grateful to have read this swift collection of comics.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication: September 26th, 2017

Note: I’m an Amazon Affiliate. If you’re interested in buying Lady Stuff, just click on the image below to go through my link. I’ll make a small commission!


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[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was supposed to be funny . . . It wasn't. It wasn't funny or clever or ironic or even remotely entertaining.

It was brainless:



In was inscrutable:



It was offensive:



And I repeat, it was brainless:







Comparing this so-called collection of "womanly secrets and more" to Sarah Anderson, Allie Brosch, and Gemma Correll, all of whom actually have something to say, is patently false. Not recommended.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really more of a 3.5 than a 4, but what the heck, we'll round up! Loryn's comics are always adorable; I follow her posts on facebook, though, so I've already seen most of these. If you don't follow her regularly, this would be more worthwhile for you.



A lot of her comics are definitely cute and relatable, and I do enjoy her little moments here and there of feminism and inclusion. This would probably be a good coffee table or bathroom book, you know? I don't think I'd recommend rushing out to pre-order it, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC! My opinions in this review are entirely my own.

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. Truly painful read. Feels like a blatant rip-off/ poor man's version of Sarah Scribbles and Allie Brosh's uber popular comics.

Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Burn

[Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some comics were weird, but most of them were funny and cute!

[Arghavan-紫荆 · Rating 3 out of 5]

احساس میکنم این ژانر کمیک داره برام تکراری میشه، همش درمورد اینه که آره، همه به جز من اکستروورت و اجتماعی و موفقن، ولی من دوست دارم پیژامه بپوشم و توی خونه بخوابم و شکلات بخورم، با اینکه بسیار relatable عه ولی دیگه تکراریه.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Stuff: Secrets to Being a Woman
by Loryn Brantz
I requested this book from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.
This book is so cute and funny and spot on! I can relate to soooo many things in this book, she is so talented! The art itself is hilarious! Make up, clothes, socializing, watching movies when an animal dies, and so much more! Too funny! Most things only us ladies would understand! Great job!

[Shai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could relate so much to almost all the stuff written in this graphic novel. I laughed so hard whenever I saw something here that I experienced or happens to me in real life. Just like that illustration about when your make up melts during the summer and you look like the Joker, that one really looks like me! I would definitely give this as a present to my friends and I'm 100% sure that they will die out laughing while reading this.

[Scarlet Cameo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm kind dissapointed with this book...a couple of years ago I started to see Loryn Brantz's web comics at Buzzfeed and I really enjoyed it, but the compilation of them....wasn't for me. I mean, sometimes was fun, but a lot of time i didn't connect, like there were so many comics about ultra feminine women or that were way too over dramatic.

Maybe, the fact that, before today, always see this draws in a especific context and here I feel like the subject was too open for me enjoy it, as a whole. I'm not saying this is bad, just that, for me, Loryn Brantz's art is better in little dosis.

My favourite ones:




A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley

[Ladan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A serious read could be followed by a comic to wash the probable bitterness away, at least that's how it works for me. This was not much fun, and there was almost no creativity in content or illustrations, nothing comparable with Sarah scribble's collections, which are more fun and relatable.

[Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these books!
They make me smile and feel a bit less lonely in the world.

Loryn Brantz nails each and every situation so spot on it feels like she’s inside your head.

[palomapvesio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me happy :)

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so RELATABLE!!!

Seriously! With all that crappy art and the expectation-and-reality comparisons!

Make-up, clothes, fashion, or life in general for a woman.
Heck, I need to reread this.

[Ish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of comic strips about being a woman that is just precious, I loved every illustration. I related to most of these to the point I sent screenshots to my mum and friends like look it's me lmao. I requested this from Netgalley as I follow the author Loryn Brantz on Instagram and love her work. Would highly recommend if you're looking for a quick fun read.

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was full of stuff I can relate to.. but it isn't one of the best ones I've read so far. Some of the illustrations didn't make me burst out laughing, I think I missed the meaning.. Anyway, it is fun and you should give it a try!

Thanks Netgalley for the copy!

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expect for Guac amole! I am not gonna remember half of this brainless thing.

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Debbie Tung and Catana Chetwynd. Their graphic novels speak straight to my heart. I also enjoy the works of Huda Fahmy and Sarah Andersen. While looking for authors similar to these four ladies, I chanced upon the work of Loryn Brantz and decided to give this book a try. Unfortunately, it is not quite in the same class as my favourite graphic artists. Some of the comic strips are genuinely LOL-funny. But there’s a lot of repetition in themes and ideas. After a point, it looks like the same joke is being rehashed in different ways.

Overall, this was just average. I barely cracked a smile for a couple of panels. Not worth it.


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[Amanda NEVER MANDY · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.**

Though I did enjoy most of the comics, there just wasn’t enough to this little book to make it a five star read. It probably took me less than five minutes to flip through all of it and I would not have been a happy camper if I had bought it sight unseen. I passed it over to my oldest daughter when I was finished and she had the same reaction, cute but not duh-mazing.

I guess I would recommend this to a collector of her work that just wanted the honor of saying they owned something of hers.

[Anusha Narasimhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

True rating: 3.5 stars.

Highly relatable and funny. Had a blast reading it. Recommended to all the ladies out there. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC!

[♛ Garima ♛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it would be very funny if I didn't heard lot of them before. I don't know who has taken whose jokes but still it was funny and refreshing. Some of them are downright embarrassing but that makes them more funny I guess :D...

There are lot of challenges we ladies face - and can be represented as hilarious comics as this but we overcome them and emerge as strong, confident and sexy creatures as we are, so kudos to us!

[Mefab ⋆˚✿˖° · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatable.

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG ladies! Whatever you are doing stop. Take this graphic novel and read it.

This was hilariously awesome and soooooo relatable. I literally finished it within 30 minutes and laughed aloud through the whole read (I might have scared a bit my cats because they stared at me with the '' she's finally lost it'' expression...)

Loryn you are my spirit animal and I love you! Absolutely 1000% recommended to all girls, women out there.

Plus I loved the art work <3

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really love comics like this that are directed towards women; however, I was a little disappointed with this selection. Yes, I could identify with a lot of the cartoons, but I also didn't read or see anything that I haven't seen joked about a million times before, often in more creative ways. I'm absolutely all for supporting women comics, but I don't think I would recommend this particular book or buy it for someone when you can find funnier stuff in the same vein all over the Internet. What is the book adding to the conversation? I'm not quite sure.

[Bookish_predator · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen a few of these floating around on Facebook but wasn't sure where to actually find a collection of them, I'm so glad I found this on NetGalley and delighted when I was approved.

It's a very quick read but it's fun and made me laugh a few times as it's relatable and my boyfriend said some of it's me too!

Will be keeping my eye out for more books by this author as they're fun and quick.

*Huge thanks to Loryn Brantz, Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

[Shifty Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one. So relatable.

[سهى · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I'm posting alot about reading comic books since the past couple of days

[Prashasti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guac...amole ;) ifykyk!

[Shruti Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think of all the praiseworthy words for a humorous book-- witty, laughing-riot and oh! so on point. Except the weird seduction techniques, I laughed on every comic. A light read that you can finish while during your evening walk.

[Daria Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing. All opinions are my own

This was a fun little book full of super relatable comics about being a lady. I had seen some of them before on the Internet, but there were quite a few that were new to me. I definitely agreed with a lot of the comics and found myself saying "yaaaas" in my head more than once.

There were a few instances of inclusivity, such as "Not all ladies have periods" but I wish there was a little more.

If you're looking for a quick, entertaining book, I'd recommend picking this up.

[Nada Majdy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly only picked it up because I wanted a quick read since I have a huge reading goal this year, so I try to read something light and quick from time to time to help myself out, and it was a quick read but it I'm sorry I didn't like it nor did I connect with it at all.