Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel I

by R.H. Sin

Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel is author R.H. Sin's first book of poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Romance, Adult, Ebooks, Contemporary, Self Help

297 pages, Hardcover

First published December 25, 2015

Reviews

[Leona · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me preface this by saying I am so done with trash male poets who write solely to police female body politics, sexuality, and emotions under the guise of "teaching" or "empowering" them because frankly, who asked you.

I won't invalidate the apparent therapeutic qualities of the book for others, because if it's accessible and helps you through a heartbreak, fine. If it speaks to you somehow and makes you feel wanted, cherished, understood, fine. Good, even.

But my goodnessss, if this isn't the most vapid, patronizing, hypermasculine garbage. Almost every poem spews the same regurgitated theme, its prose indistinguishable from cheesy souvenir mug cliches. Sin's relationship with and view of women is pathetic and manipulative at best, straight-up misogynistic at worst. This is a man who thinks he knows what's best for women, and I don't buy it.

[shanghao · Rating 1 out of 5]

This
Is not
Poetry.

And at $56, it's a ripoff.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I...liked a couple of the poems?

But mostly, I felt like I was having the experience of womanhood mansplained to me for over 250 pages. By a "nice guy" who bemoans the women who go for the bad boy when he's just there ~waiting~ to be such a great guy for them.

Of particular amusement was the poem that was about how shitty technology is--ironic given that Sin rose to fame as a poet on Instagram.

[evelina · Rating 1 out of 5]

disappointing read, was cringy and repetitive.

[Ryn Bartel · Rating 1 out of 5]

So disappointing. The way this author writes about women it's not at all surprising that they have had a turbulent love life. I'm really sad that so many people loved this book and didn't even seem to notice the creepy "nice guy" overtones.

[al · Rating 1 out of 5]

cliche and terrible

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure I cared for the subject matter of Mr. Sin's collection, in fact I know I didn't care for it. It was basically one bad breakup song after another. Lets put it this way, an alternate title to this book could've been "An Emo's Guide to the Bad Breakup". The melodrama and imagery were way over the top and I know the world feels like it's going to end when you're going through a breakup, but I don't need 100+ poems about it in the same collection...a little variety would've been nice, is all I'm sayin'. The words "broken" and "pieces", and talk of internal"scars" and "deserving" real love were, I swear to you, used in almost every other poem (this much repetition hasn't been seen since 50 Shades of Grey) and it left me feeling like I was reading just permutations of the same poem over and over again. See Exhibit A below for examples...
I did like a few of the poems in here, I think I flagged about 5, but for the most part I think I'll just listen to some (insert your favorite Emo band here) next time.

Exhibit A:
"She was the most beautiful type
of broken I'd ever seen in my
entire life and even though her
heart was in pieces, she
deserved to be loved."

"She was broken. Yes, but
somehow she found peace in
the pieces left behind. She's
an artist in the way she pieces
herself back together..."

This one's titled (pieces of peace)...WE GET IT ALREADY!!
"Amazing isn't it
the way your broken pieces
give me peace
you've been broken
and yet
you're still able
to make me feel whole."

[Jodell · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading these truthful words,
I thought yes............whisky..........words......a shovel...........
The whisky would help
The words would ease the pain
The shovel was the answer
to bury the past...

Only thing is
I don't drink
I wallow in others pain
and I couldn't find a shovel............

[Jacob Betts · Rating 1 out of 5]

This has got to be one of the most pretentious pieces of literature that I've ever come across.

Want some poetry? Read some Robert Frost.
Want to feel like you're reading the tumblr of a 14 year old emo? Read R.H. Sin.

[Katie Brenner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book of poetry can speak on some level to anyone who has been hurt by love. However, there is this overlying tone that the author fancies themselves some sort of lady whisperer that I found cringy and distracting. The poems try to speak to or of a certain kind of "broken" woman that the author seeks to understand, fix, and put on a pedestal. I did not enjoy the poems, but perhaps others will.

[Hirdesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come.
Still feeling some great lines.

[S.W. Stromberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this less than a single star, I would.

This is not poetry. The fact that this was published, and went on to be given rave reviews by readers near and far, is awful.

The fact that this is a publishing success makes the publishing world so much more inaccessible for women and not straight people who actually write anything that means something.

This is just a man spouting off ~~~~~deep~~~~~ phrases. But there's little to no structure, wordplay, imagery, metaphor. How, then, is this poetry?

If you liked it, okay. But it shouldn't have been marked or marketed as poetry. It's shallow food for thought at best, and made me, a writer of poetry, rage and scoff at worst.

In short, I hated this.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is filled with an abundance of beautiful lines that I scribbled down to take away and ponder. However, a lot of the poetry was too repetitively stark and blunt for me to continue to differentiate between, as the anthology continued. I would have preferred a greater variation in style as few poems in this collection were above four lines in length.

[Paige · Rating 1 out of 5]

wasn't worth it. I liked one poem and that's it. It didn't seem like poetry to me anyway.

[Hessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is this poetry ?

[emerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

“nothing is louder
than overthinking
after midnight”

[Eliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has activated Raging Feminist Mode I'M SO MAD ABOUT IT. I will say that some of the poems are really nice, those being the very few that aren't about women. And there are VERY few that aren't. But for the vast majority of poems in this book that are about women, it's painfully obvious that this was written by a 21st century man. Men who claim to respect women, who say they are so in touch with their feminine side, who really understand the struggles of women. Men who think they know how women feel, how they want to feel, want to be treated, etc., and think that they have the authority to shed light on these things to others. To me, Whiskey, Words & a Shovel read like a Fedora Wearing Dudebro, Knight in Shining Armour type of guy (we all know the type) giving tips to other men on how to pick up women. Like it was a guideline that, if followed correctly, would surely get you laid. All this self-righteous bullshit about still loving a broken woman, as if doing so makes him a saint. Congratulations for being capable of loving someone who has been broken down by so many men in the past, I'm sure you're really proud of yourself. Would you like a fucking medal? A pat on the back for being a decent human being?

Women do not need men to heal their wounds.
Women do not need men to make them strong.
Women do not need men to have a voice.
Women do not need men to get back on their feet.
WOMEN DO NOT NEED MEN PERIOD.

[Niyousha · Rating 2 out of 5]

جز کتابهایی که توی جنگ ایران و اسراییل تموم شد.

چقدر دغدغه های عشقی اینجوری بی معنیه وقتی تو جنگی

پی نوشت: حالم خیلی خراب بود رفتم بارنز اند نوبل مثل همیشه تا حالم بهتر شه ولی خب اینقدر بی حال و داغون بودم نتونستم بچرخم و نشستم یه گوشه این کتابو خوندم. همه چیزش بنظرم بی معنی بود.

[Elvina Zafril · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt the pain. Some of the poems are relatable to me. Thanks for this.

[guille (littlebitmoody) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looooved this!
As we shared some experiences I could definitely feel the connection.
I cried. I was hopeful. I was empowered.
I have some liiittle critiques, but I’ll leave them for a video.

[Jessie (Zombie_likes_cake) · Rating 1 out of 5]

November does not shape up to be a good poetry month for me, two collections and two dislikes albeit for different reasons.
The best thing and what made me pick it up was the title, I love the title and thought it would hold an interesting mix of poems on the inside. But what I found once opened were hardly poems, and I know that what people like in poems can differ a lot but these pieces are on the same level as cheesy little lines of wisdom you can find on calendars. They are for the most part about relationships, love and heartbreak and those dull themes don't help to lift this collection out of its plainness. To be honest, I am quite puzzled this collection got published and that my library thinks it is worth carrying, that's how simple and underperforming I believe it to be. There is just nothing here: the language has no ring to it, the meanings are plain there and not very deep.
Again, tastes differ, for someone else this might be just the right thing. For me, this is not what I want from poetry, it was not challenging or engrossing in the slightest, there is no creativity; they read as if written in a 5 minute break from watching 90's teen romance movies. Shovels and whiskey sound edgy but this is as far from edgy as you can get (unless you consider the occasional use of the word fuck as edgy...).

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"this is the part of the book
where shit gets a bit weird
you're reading this to yourself
without the realization
that I am now talking to you
directly, until now

repeat after me and this more
than once if you need to

I am grand
I am powerful
I am electric
I am incredible
I will survive this
I will be fine"

I have never been a lover of poetry. Call it being scarred in high school from too many Robert Frost analysis essays or Emily Dickens memorization quizzes, I just don't like it. Never have. But R.H. Sin began popping up all over my Pinterest feed a while ago, and I really loved his writing. It's almost entirely free verse, and it packs an emotional punch. I imagine that if I were going through a hard breakup or perhaps even a tragedy, his words would speak to me even more. As it is, his poems are short but full of life. It took me an hour and a half to get through the entire book. I've never had an author write to me before, and I really enjoyed it. This book was very empowering and inspiring. I recommend it if only for something to read on the bus.

my past is yours, the present is ours, and the future awaits us all.

[Jovana Autumn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really like torturing myself.
I can see how this is popular though.If you want to see a sneak peak just go to Noah Centineo's tweets and there you go.
Literally the only thought I had reading this was the same one I had while watching a reaction video on Soft boy/Romantic boy/nice guy compilations on YouTube - Pure cringe. I mean here are just a few examples:

Every night

girls
like you
deserve a love
that makes
it easier to sleep
during the coldness
of night


you are.

I know you
you’re the girl with the broken smile
you’re the woman who searches the night
for peace
you’re the woman
most men don’t deserve
you’re the woman
someone needs


I am not sure whether I am being a bitch or I just have a strong dislike for these kind of poems.But this is the last book of R.H.Sin that I will read.

[yt_rhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I deeply enjoy poetry and am quite new to reading poetry as well. I like the concept of writing all of your feelings on paper. Coping by turning an art out of words. This book graciously explains art in word form, and also is very touching. If you are going through tough times and want to cope by reading a book, I would recommend. to understand this book in a really connecting way I feel you have to have gone through some milestones in your life. I like it, r.h is one of the best poets out there. And it broke and mended my heart reading this 🌙

[Steph ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

i don't rate poetry usually, but im giving this one star because i want it to contribute to lowering the goodreads average. and i need the people who see this on twitter to know i didn't like it.

we love misogyny disguised as the worship of women. when the reality is that pain is not romantic and women’s pain is not here for you to exploit and be your muse and women aren’t receptacles for what men have to offer them, good or bad. but you wouldn’t know that from reading this.

[❀jadou❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5⭐️ might be one my favourite by r.h. Sin !!!

[nisari · Rating 1 out of 5]

In a nutshell:
- your heart cracks open.
- you deserve better.

[Pouria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, modern poems about relationships. The majority of them were superficial, repetitive, psychologically fallacious and stating the obvious. However, I gave it 3 out of 5 because some of its poems were helpful and relieving like the ones talking about loving ourselves first in order to find our true love and coping with our loneliness since the loneliness of being with the wrong person is worse than being alone. Also, some of them gave hope to the readers that they will find who they deserve to be and sometimes people really need to hear this kind of things.

[Haley Isabella BellaTheBibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although many people dislike "tumblr quotes" I like them, I love finding random relatable quotes online so when I stumbled upon R.H Sin's Instagram I was happy to see he had published a few books. I gave this book 3 stars because although I liked it, a lot of things seemed repeated. I also only had a handful of poems that I really liked. I did like the book and I will be purchasing the second book but I feel like this book could have been longer or at least the poems could have been longer, because they are so short they feel more like quotes then actual poems.

[Alanoud (Anna) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took me almost an hour maybe a little over an hour and I have to admit it was the best hour I've spent in a while. It was a very fast enjoyable read. At first I would stop and snapchat or take a picture of the ones I liked but then realized I'm probably going to take a picture of 3/4 of the book. If you're looking for something simple, light yet beautiful; THEN PICK UP THIS BOOK! You're not going to be disappointed. I'll be sure to check out other poetry collections by the same writer.