Birth control. Body hair removal cream. Boobs. It’s all weird, but also pretty normal.
Navigating racial identity, gender roles, workplace dynamics, and beauty standards, Mia Mercado's hilarious essay collection explores the contradictions of being a millennial woman, which usually means being kind of a weirdo. Whether it’s spending $30 on a candle that smells like an ocean that doesn’t exist, offering advice on how to ask about someone’s race (spoiler: just don’t, please?), quitting a job that makes you need shots of whiskey on your lunch break, or finding a more religious experience in the skincare aisle at Target than your hometown Catholic church, Mia brilliantly unpacks what it means to be a professional, absurdly beautiful, horny, cute, gross human. Essays include:
• Depression Isn’t a Competition but Why Aren’t I Winning?
• My Dog Explains My Weekly Schedule
• Mustache Lady
• White Friend Confessional
• Treating Objects Like Women
With sharp humor and wit, Mia shares the awkward, uncomfortable, surprisingly ordinary parts of life, and shows us why it’s strange to feel fine and fine to feel strange.
“Weird But Normal” is the collection of personal essays of Mia Mercado. I am sure I am Mia’s mother’s age, yet I still found her essays relevant, hysterical, and fun to read. There were a couple that I was too old for, but that’s to be expected: I’m not her target audience, Nonetheless, I am happy that I read this fun gem. She was raised in Wisconsin, and I was raised in South Dakota, so perhaps that was part of the affinity.
One of my favorites was entitled: Work Orientation For Women. One example of her writing, which really is the tone of the whole book”
“All our current employees have undergone serious sexual-harassment training to teach them what is a prosecutable offense in our state, what will get them in trouble, and what HR will ultimately ignore. So, if you believe a co-worker is acting inappropriately or you are receiving unfair treatment based on your gender, we promise you you’re not! Everyone here has sat through one thirty-minute PowerPoint, thus absolving the harassment thingy all together.”
“Women thirty-five and over, don’t worry! No one will even pretend to be interested in you! And if they do, wow! What a compliment!”
So, if you don’t find the above excerpts entertaining, perhaps her humor is not for you. For me, I was giggling out loud.
Really terrible. I think the author thinks she's the only one with internet access, because this was just a batch of stale leftovers of think pieces and memes from the last 5-10 years. No originality or insights. Her humor was also the stuff of terrible stand-up comedy openers... naming her boobs, calling herself a slut, the usual 2013 jokes. If I had checked out her instagram before I read the book, I would have realized this and not done so, so check it out if you're considering reading.
One extra star for some brief glimmers of interesting material when she discussed being mixed race, dealing with other peoples comments/assumptions about her identity, and growing up under stereotypes. I enjoyed those parts but that's it. She was insufferable when discussing anything else.
Not bad , some were more interesting than others. A couple I skimmed than skipped and one section I skipped completely because I wasn't interested in it at all (AroAce).
Some I was puzzled why it was included in there.. they felt put together quickly and thrown against the wall, hoping they'd stick.
Not laughing so hard I forget to breathe funny, more quietly amusing with me.
Meh, felt like I was reading a memoir by a 20 year-old girl who hasn't experienced enough life to write a memoir.
Some things did make me chuckle (specifically the coffee barista who called for Martha), but overall, I felt like I was being force fed humor that actually wasn't that funny.
Wow!!! I can’t believe how much I did not enjoy this... I wanted to like it so badly! Also I can’t believe how much I’m going to write about a 2-star book.
I cannot get over the whole tone of this book. It was somehow so completely unoriginal and unhappy (in the way that it almost seemed like even writing these essays were a pain to Mia?) and yet also like she thought that her experiences were so completely singular but there was nothing there! It was so “Look at me! I’m random, ugly and unsuccessful” even though all of those things are completely untrue—a compliment to Mia; an insult to her writing style. She just seemed like she was talking about a life that most millennials experienced in a way that she thinks no one actually went through? There was zero depth or insight; after every reading session, I just kept wondering when I was going to get to anything meaningful. The answer? Never. I skimmed the last 30 pages because it was truly starting to become painful.
Overall, these essays just screamed insecurity. This book was 80 pages too long and it was covered in a filter of “I’m not like the other girls, but I also wouldn’t say a phrase like because I know it’s offensive even though I live my life by it.”
I’m actually disappointed in myself for finishing this book and for taking the time to write such a negative review. I should have DNF’d it 20 pages in. 2 stars because there were a few memorable and quotable moments that I will share with the friend who recommended this book to me.
Did I cry from laughter? Hell yes. (Shout-out to "My Dog Explains My Weekly Schedule" & & "Items of Clothing, Defined"). I couldn't stop laughing. If I could I would go through each chapter and talk about what I recognised/what I thought was hilariously written, but that would make this review pretty endless. A really enjoyable and easy read. If you like humour and laughing, just read it.
When I realized that this book was the personal essays of a 20-something-year-old freelance writer, I was afraid this was going to a book that confirms all the worst, self-absorbed excesses of us Millennials. And it was. The topics were mundane, the navel-gazing was neurotic, and yet... it wasn't so bad.
The book is saved by Mercado's ability to generalize her experiences and present herself as an All-American Everygirl (except that she's half-Asian. Don't you dare forget that she's half-Asian. It's her ticket onto the pyramid of persecution because, my god, people try to connect to her by talking about other Asians and why on earth does she need to put up with this hardship). Her stories will ring a bell and maybe generate a chuckle from those of us who lived through the same era. (I too received an invitation to a pageant. I didn't fall for that one, but I did fall for the poetry.com scam.)
Although I'm also Millennial, my experiences have been tangential rather than in common with hers, so this book was predominantly anthropological for me. But while my eyes rolled frequently, the reading was fast and easy enough that I never felt a need to abort. In fact, I enjoyed her personal stories most, above the social analysis and attempts at humor. I think Mercado has some good books in her, once she finds her lane.
I did appreciate hearing her experiences growing up “racially ambiguous looking” (her chosen terms) but otherwise found this boring. Before quitting, I skipped ahead to a few chapters that had titles that interested me but I felt stuck listening to someone at a party that labors on and on about how they like coffee or their former screen names. (These are actual essays in the book)
This was my first time listening to an audiobook (borrowed from my local library online catalogue) and boy was I disappointed!
I think the whiny, nasal, American girl with the voice that goes up at the end of the sentence like a question (?!!!) and the use of like and LOL left me completely cold! Pfffffffft, what a chore. I found myself pressing the forward by 30 seconds button far too often.
I was excited for this book as I expected it to provide some real revelations as to the difficulties of being a human being. Instead, Mercado just whines and bitches and moans about her own experience, which in all fairness, sounds exactly the same as any other "girl growing up" experience. You're judged and teased if you have tits/don't have tits, have acne, are too tall/too small, are clever/stupid, smell or have body odour, have hairy pits, legs, or upper lips, or a widow's peak/cow's lick/straight/greasy/curly hair. Welcome to childhood and teenage life. It's shit. For everyone. No real surprise there.
I think the only chapter I really enjoyed was the one where Mercado pretended to be her dog!!
While I did not relate to everything Mia Mercado discusses in her essay collection Weird but Normal, the things that I could relate to were spot on. Funny, unapologetic and approachable, Mercado’s essays range in topic from dating and embarrassing moments to racism and family dynamics. I’ll never forget the moment I started laughing so hard while reading “Learning How to Not Sh** Myself,” that I started crying and had to take multiple breaks to compose myself before continuing onward. If you’re in the mood for something both light and meaningful, give Weird but Normal a try. A perfect title for a book that highlights our individual awkwardness in all its glory in order to try and bring us together.
As a half Asian, half Puerto Rican female, I found this book frustratingly relatable but boring as fuck. Did not finish. Read about 5 essays before I realized the book was actually pissing me off.
I hardly ever read non fiction and especially self help books. Not because I don't want to... I've just never had the interest. That or none ever struck my fancy... and when I say fancy I mean the cover art didn't call me to pick it up.
But when I do. They have to motivating, funny, relatable, poignant and with a dash of scarasm. Weird But Normal captured that perfect storm for me.
It's very much geared to the 90s kid millennial who is trying to figure out life in their 20s and early 30s. The pop culture touchstones just might not translate as well.
But the themes are very universal and relatable to any age, as it addresses, coming of age, race, beauty, and relationships (to name a few) with hilarious anecdotes that will make you giggle non stop.
Although I read it (in the traditional senses), I definitely think the words were written for an audiobook. I found I was reading some of the passages aloud because they were way to funny not be verbally shared.
This book is a good reminder that we [humans] are all Weird But Normal.
I found myself laughing out loud more than once and calling my boyfriend into the room to give him a laugh too. In the other times I read alone, I was nodding saying “yep, that’s right” or “okay phew same here” pretty much in the entirety of the book.
These short stories were incredibly relatable as a fellow millennial navigating through the female life feeling all the same insecurities, judgments, and horrors of reminiscing on the weird things you did as a child. Chances are, you’ll see yourself in Mia’s shoes at least during this read.
I read this with my book club and agreed in consensus that being weird is actually normal. And that being normal, is just a lie (thanks for the filtered highlights, social media). It was a nice change of pace from what I had been reading, just to bring me back to life during this quarantine.
If you’re in need of a laugh or if you question the status of your mental health, read this. It’s a guaranteed mood booster and a reminder that you’re not alone in this weird, weird world.
Part memoir, part ode to anyone who didn’t and doesn’t feel quite “normal” (whatever that even means anymore), these essays are wholly hilarious and relatable and wonderful. There is a chapter from Mia’s dog’s perspective narrating a day, there’s a Choose Your Own Adventure type quiz to help you figure out if you should reeeeally be asking where that person is “really from”, an embarrassing poop story, and so much more. I got to the end of this audiobook feeling like I just met Mia through a mutual friend and Mia proceeded to dish her life story over brunch and we all got more crass as the anecdotes rolled on and we imbibed more bottomless mimosas and we inevitably parted ways with a wobbly, tight hug and “I love you”s even though we’d just met. It is all sort of TMI in a heartfelt way. Highly recommend.
The memoir-y parts where she's talking about her actual life are really quite boring. To me. Sorry. Please figure out how to talk about real things in a way that's compelling.
The parts that were just satirical little snapshots - about how her dog views their life together or how she takes her coffee or how sexism works in corporate America - were actually pretty cute and I laughed on the inside multiple times and maybe even once or twice on the outside. But then in the very next chapter she'd be back to talking about her boring life.
She has some interesting things to say about being racially ambiguous but she gets all of that out in the first chapter or so and seriously the rest of her life is just so so forgettable.
3 stars for the snapshots. I'd read a whole book of those.
I had high hopes for this book when I first picked it up. However, I couldn’t get past the first third of the book. Not only was it boring, but it also showed hints of hypocrisy. For example, when the author talks about how Princess Jasmine wears a crop top (it’s not a crop top) and appeals to Coachella girls. Doesn’t she realize that’s a form of racism too? She talks about racism and how she was constantly seen as Hispanic or too ambiguous, but she herself is participating in racism by downplaying what middle eastern and south Asian people have felt. I’m usually the type of person that reads a book in one sitting, but this book put me to sleep every time I picked it up. I couldn’t finish it. The author didn’t even try to make it interesting.
Hilarious and yet heart-felt, Weird but Normal is a rollicking good time about what it means to be human - all the good, bad, weird, and the in-between. Mia Mercado has an amazing confessional writing voice that makes reading this book feel like sitting on the back porch with wine and your best friend. Covering a wide range of topics such a racism, modern dating mishaps, misogyny, and the last time you pooped your pants. Mercado is definitely an author to watch!
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
This book was laugh out loud funny! Contemporary, hilarious, honest and full of zest. Millennial women you're going to love this. It feels like you've just made a new best friend; girl talking with a book in your hands. Books in essay form are great for when your attention feels short and it's hard to dedicate time for reading since it's much easier to pick them up and put them down. Bravo Mia Mercado, I loved this!
Thank you Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
I really enjoyed quite a few of these essays, and even though there wasn't a whole lot that was new or insightful, it was funny and made me feel seen as a millennial woman (although one a couple years older than Mia). Some things about being a 90s kid (and growing up in the early 00s) are universal, and others are pretty standard when you're an awkward, introverted weird girl-child.
I FLEW through this book. The essays are a truly delightful mix of self-deprecation, social commentary, incisive calls to action, and funny as hell recounting of universally mortifying experiences.
This book is wonderful, hilarious, and honest. I was laughing out loud throughout and it made me think of so many stories from my own life that I repressed.
"Sometimes I check 'Other' on forms that ask my race. ...sometimes I only mark 'Asian.' I still don't know if, in the hypothetical yet somehow seemingly imminent Race Wars, I will get to be Team Asian or Team Racially Ambiguous."
"...we obliged when our friend said I looked like Brenda Song and agreed to have my face on the Celebrity Look-Alike page. I guess, if you think about it, my superlative was Most Asian... Rachel and I believed ourselves to be white-passing enough for people to say nothing or we ignored race altogether. I realize this is a strange sort of privilege... To have your ethnicity seen as 'exotic' instead of overtly threatening."
"Do you remember being twelve? ...Having homework, your main if not only responsibility, cause you to have full-on, nightly emotional breakdowns because there's just, like, A LOT going on...!"
"We also asked married friends and family their advice in the process of planning a wedding. ...Here is the one piece of advice I wish I'd been given: make a list of the things that are important to the two of you. Make another list of the things that are actually important to the people you love who are attending the wedding. Aside from that, do whatever the fuck you want."
A collection of essays of topics ranging from mental health, dating, religion, race and everything else far and in between most 20 something’s have dealt with. Her writing style was more quirky lol but I enjoyed it, I found myself laughing throughout the book.
All in all a fun, quick, and easy read. She also dropped a few gems in the book one of my favorites being, “You don’t need dating apps, you are worthy and deserving of a rom com meet cute” and on that note so long Hinge!
The title of this book made it sound like my cup of tea but it kind of just felt dramatic for no reason and humor felt very a forced. I couldn’t finish it, sooo maybe this isn’t a fair review but I really gave it a good try
From awkward teen tales to working woman anecdotes to encounters with racism to mental health struggles to dating in today’s world to coffee orders to productive/procrastination habits ... this book covers a wide range of topics that I think most people can relate to or learn from.