Sorry in Advance for Making Things Weird.: A Disappointing Affirmations Collection

Tarnowski (Disappointing Affirmations), founder of the Disappointing Affirmations Instagram account, provides anti-motivation in the form of pithy self-help aphorisms in this droll if sometimes plodding collection. Separated into thematic sections like love and relationships, work, and other people, most of the aphorisms are twists on vacuous positivity: “You can’t kill my vibe. It’s already dead”; “Don’t be afraid to try new things. Like lowering your expectations”; “You are enough. We don’t need more of you.” Because of this similar setup and punch line format, these can get old quickly, though they do get some laughs. Others, however, read more like cries for help (“My life is a constant state of wishing to feel nothing and anything at the same time”; “You still haven’t met all the people who are going to leave you”). The funniest bits get inventive with the form and go very dark: “You deserve someone who gives you butterflies. Not someone who leaves moth larvae in your throat for police to find.” At its best, this is a biting satire of the proliferation of empty self-help cheeriness. (Oct.)