The Worrier's Guide to Life

August 1, 2015
Cartoonist Correll collects selections from her popular webcomic in this amusing volume of illustrated not-quite advice for the anxiety ridden. From worries about problematic areas of the body ( Cornbread Shoulder, Grumpy Forearms, and Bellybutton Dropsy ) to Valentine's Day cards for mediocre romances ( You Are Tolerable! and I Don't Hate You ) to curses for the modern age ( May the first google result for your name forever be that bad poetry blog you wrote when you were 16 ), Correll skewers contemporary culture with dry wit and absurd humor. For all the grouchiness of the content, her colorful comics are adorably bubbly, and the sharp contrast keeps the tonewhich in another's hands might drift into maudlin territorylighthearted and goofy. The existential dread of adulthood looms large in these pages, but Correll's playful approachinterspersed with whimsical non sequiturs, such as Cakes That Are Really, Really Bad for You (Death by Chocolate' and Infectious Disease by Cherry') manages to keep the mood uplifting. These comics are the perfect antidote for twentysomethings who take themselves too seriously.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)