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Small Doses: Potent Truths for Everyday Use
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Humor (2019)This "one-of-a-kind read" offers insightful essays, poignant life advice, and pithy pearls of wisdom from the comedian and star of HBO's Insecure (Entertainment Weekly).
Anyone who has seen Amanda Seales's acclaimed stand-up special I Be Knowin, her long-running TV series Insecure, or her groundbreaking gameshow Smart Funny & Black, knows that this woman is a force of nature. In both life and career, she has fearlessly and passionately charted her own course. Now she's bringing her life's lessons and laughs to the page with her signature blend of academic intellectualism, Black American colloquialisms, and pop culture fanaticism.
This volume of essays, axioms, original illustrations, and photos provides Seales's trademark "self-help from the hip" style of commentary, fueled by ideology formed from her own victories, struggles, research, mistakes, risks, and pay-offs. Unapologetic, fiercely funny, and searingly honest, Small Doses engages, empowers, and enlightens readers on how to find their truths while still finding the funny!
Anyone who has seen Amanda Seales's acclaimed stand-up special I Be Knowin, her long-running TV series Insecure, or her groundbreaking gameshow Smart Funny & Black, knows that this woman is a force of nature. In both life and career, she has fearlessly and passionately charted her own course. Now she's bringing her life's lessons and laughs to the page with her signature blend of academic intellectualism, Black American colloquialisms, and pop culture fanaticism.
This volume of essays, axioms, original illustrations, and photos provides Seales's trademark "self-help from the hip" style of commentary, fueled by ideology formed from her own victories, struggles, research, mistakes, risks, and pay-offs. Unapologetic, fiercely funny, and searingly honest, Small Doses engages, empowers, and enlightens readers on how to find their truths while still finding the funny!
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 22, 2019
About the author
Amanda Seales
3 books139 followersAmanda Ingrid Seales, formerly known by the stage name Amanda Diva, is an American comedian, actress, disc jockey (DJ), recording artist, television personality, VJ, author and poet.
Along with performing stand up comedy across the globe, and touring colleges doing comedic lectures, this former MTV VJ with a master’s in African American studies from Columbia University plays Tiffany on, HBO’s “Insecure”, is co-host of syndicated daytime talk show, The Real, the host of NBC’s, Bring the Funny, and shines in her debut stand up special, I Be Knowin on HBO. She speaks truth to change via her wildly popular Instagram, weekly podcast, “Small Doses”, and its accompanying book/audiobook Small Doses: Potent Truths for Everyday Use is a best seller.
Along with performing stand up comedy across the globe, and touring colleges doing comedic lectures, this former MTV VJ with a master’s in African American studies from Columbia University plays Tiffany on, HBO’s “Insecure”, is co-host of syndicated daytime talk show, The Real, the host of NBC’s, Bring the Funny, and shines in her debut stand up special, I Be Knowin on HBO. She speaks truth to change via her wildly popular Instagram, weekly podcast, “Small Doses”, and its accompanying book/audiobook Small Doses: Potent Truths for Everyday Use is a best seller.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
October 8, 2019
This is a Goodreads win review. I have never heard of Amanda Seales before. She is an actress, standup comedian, and writer and she has a Master's degree in African American Studies. I love when she told an interviewer on the Red Carpet her brain was her best quality. She shares everything she has learned from her life so far. I love she tells us to follow our life passions, and live in our real truth. She also reminds us to be kind and gentle in life. No matter our age we are always a work in progress.
November 18, 2019
To preface this review, I read 'Small Doses' due to its nomination in the Humour category for the Goodreads Choice Awards 2019.
'Small Doses' was a mixed experience for me. Amanda Seales is a talented 'multihyphenate' whose book promises life advice and wisdom from a humorous and anecdotal perspective. Throughout its pages, Amanda makes cogent points regarding race, womanhood and business through her own life experiences. I found her advice on business and relationships to be the most interesting personally, as I had heard many of her points on other topics expressed by others previously.
Although the vast majority of her arguments are very agreeable, the infrequent occasions when Amanda diverges from intersectionality provide controversial points of view. For example, Amanda states that diversity in the workplace should only be about 'race and ethnicity' and should not include factors such as sexuality, as such a thing 'can' (and hence should) be hidden in a career-dependent scenario. It should also be mentioned that Amanda conveniently disregards factors such as disability, age, gender identity and even wealth which can be clearly visible and affect all persons regardless of race or ethnicity in this situation. Amanda makes a fair point in that intersectionality is not the perfect solution, however her views expressed here were particularly disappointing.
The structure of the book was of some issue to me personally. As discussed the points Amanda makes are mostly good, however they are collected into a disjointed and ranting format jumping between weak metaphors, and anecdotes and references that will give you a headache to try to decipher. Often topics will go on too long and you'll find yourself counting pages.
For a book nominated in the 'Humour' category, I personally did not find it particularly funny, however comedy is subjective and I am notably not the target audience ('smart, funny and black').
Overall, Amanda is clearly talented and passionate about her pursuits but 'Small Doses' misses the mark for me.
4/10
'Small Doses' was a mixed experience for me. Amanda Seales is a talented 'multihyphenate' whose book promises life advice and wisdom from a humorous and anecdotal perspective. Throughout its pages, Amanda makes cogent points regarding race, womanhood and business through her own life experiences. I found her advice on business and relationships to be the most interesting personally, as I had heard many of her points on other topics expressed by others previously.
Although the vast majority of her arguments are very agreeable, the infrequent occasions when Amanda diverges from intersectionality provide controversial points of view. For example, Amanda states that diversity in the workplace should only be about 'race and ethnicity' and should not include factors such as sexuality, as such a thing 'can' (and hence should) be hidden in a career-dependent scenario. It should also be mentioned that Amanda conveniently disregards factors such as disability, age, gender identity and even wealth which can be clearly visible and affect all persons regardless of race or ethnicity in this situation. Amanda makes a fair point in that intersectionality is not the perfect solution, however her views expressed here were particularly disappointing.
The structure of the book was of some issue to me personally. As discussed the points Amanda makes are mostly good, however they are collected into a disjointed and ranting format jumping between weak metaphors, and anecdotes and references that will give you a headache to try to decipher. Often topics will go on too long and you'll find yourself counting pages.
For a book nominated in the 'Humour' category, I personally did not find it particularly funny, however comedy is subjective and I am notably not the target audience ('smart, funny and black').
Overall, Amanda is clearly talented and passionate about her pursuits but 'Small Doses' misses the mark for me.
4/10
January 12, 2020
Excellent. Truly a lot of “gem dropping” that I can use daily. This thing called “life”is hard and every little inspiration and motivation helps us navigate through it better!!! A much needed “breath”, for me to take a step back and re-evaluate when needed. This will be my go to reference book. Loved it‼️‼️
November 17, 2019
Tons of gems dropped!
Read
April 20, 2020I got ten pages in and couldn't force myself to press on. After two, "And that's all I have to say about that"s, one LOL, and one SMH, I was out.
Here's the imagined conversation between the publisher and the author that I have completely made up:
Publisher: "Hey! You're funny. Want to write a book?"
Author: "Here's my Tweets."
"Hm. Ok. These are good, but they're kinda short, aren't they?"
"Well, some of them are multi-parters, and I guess I can write some chapter intros."
"Are the intros any good?"
"They're ok, but maybe you can just put them in colors that are really hard to read, and people won't really notice much about the content. I mean, people are probably going to skip those anyway because they're long, right?"
"Mmmm, yeah. You're right."
"LOL! k. I'll get my chapters to you by next week. TTYL!"
Here's the imagined conversation between the publisher and the author that I have completely made up:
Publisher: "Hey! You're funny. Want to write a book?"
Author: "Here's my Tweets."
"Hm. Ok. These are good, but they're kinda short, aren't they?"
"Well, some of them are multi-parters, and I guess I can write some chapter intros."
"Are the intros any good?"
"They're ok, but maybe you can just put them in colors that are really hard to read, and people won't really notice much about the content. I mean, people are probably going to skip those anyway because they're long, right?"
"Mmmm, yeah. You're right."
"LOL! k. I'll get my chapters to you by next week. TTYL!"
November 6, 2019
This book is a valuable resource for surviving in the confusing 21st century living. This book sets the record straight.
November 6, 2019
Excellent book! It’s a life manual for women, especially black women, told with beautifully colored pages with Amanda’s own artwork. And of course lots of humor!! She’s the best and deserves all the accolades!! <3
February 1, 2020
I struggled to read this book. I went into this not knowing who the actress/comedian is based on a recommendation. This isn’t a book I would recommend, I felt it was very choppy and disconnect and the structure lacked focus. She basically writes a little bit about everything. There’s a very large section on blackness, black and white interactions, biases, stereotypes etc. which sounds good but reads like a very long rant. That being said I didn’t connect to it even as an African American female, I didn’t find it empowering or motivating (it its suppose to be that). I’m still not sure what this book was suppose to portrait, self-help, memoir, how to be black? I still don’t know. Yes there are some good points and talking pieces worth noting but overall it just wasn’t for me.
January 10, 2020
I love Amanda Seales because she is 100% real! Love her podcast too.
November 6, 2019
For the sake of ratings I am rounding up to 4 stars.
I love amanda seales, I found her podcast small doses about a year ago and find myself looking forward to each episode being released. She is so incredibly intelligent, and articulate but real in humble, but will check you with the quickness in a way I have never seen from anyone else. She makes me laugh, think, act differently (better), and also be more compassionate. All of that comes through x1000 in her book.
This book is not a typical book, its best read in hardcover or ipad in color. Its filled with art, and emojis and formating. Its bites of stories most not lasting more than a page. So be prepared, but its well worth reading.
I love amanda seales, I found her podcast small doses about a year ago and find myself looking forward to each episode being released. She is so incredibly intelligent, and articulate but real in humble, but will check you with the quickness in a way I have never seen from anyone else. She makes me laugh, think, act differently (better), and also be more compassionate. All of that comes through x1000 in her book.
This book is not a typical book, its best read in hardcover or ipad in color. Its filled with art, and emojis and formating. Its bites of stories most not lasting more than a page. So be prepared, but its well worth reading.
June 4, 2020
Glad I took the Audible route for this one! I felt like I was listening to her weekly podcast 'Small Doses', but with many extra doses. In her debut book, Amanda dishes the real on being black, living in your magic, dodging toxicity (insert f*ck boys, etc.) and everything in-between. I spent a majority of this 9 hour listen audibly laughing aloud, while catching tossed gems that resonated with me. I don't think that Amanda is meant for everyone (*admittedly I can only tolerate her in small doses - how ironic), but this was a pleasant listen and was timely!
December 29, 2019
i can't recommend this book highly enough, especially heading into a new year. amanda provides sage advice and life lessons wrapped in a cozy blanket of intelligence and humor. just a few affirmations i loved:
* find the joy
* circle of dopeness
* refine the rage
the hustle vs. the grind
attention vs. affection
WWMBFFD? (what would my best friend forever do?)
nice vs. kind
* find the joy
* circle of dopeness
* refine the rage
the hustle vs. the grind
attention vs. affection
WWMBFFD? (what would my best friend forever do?)
nice vs. kind
November 5, 2019
This book has changed Amanda Diva to Queen Amanda!! Small Doses is filled with Amanda’s Crown Jewels! Amanda’s brilliant observations illuminate the universe. Y’all need to put some respect on her name. Queen Amanda Seales‼️
June 9, 2024
After watching her Club Shay Shay interview, I was REALLY excited to read this book. Yes, there were enjoyable nuggets of wisdom shared along with beautiful art and photography. But this book was WAY too long.
October 23, 2019
Thanks to Hachette Book Group for sending me this goodreads give away. Wow! Amanda Seales gives a great insight on not only being a female but also being a black female. This is not a book to skim through but one to read and then think about which you've read. Also go back and read again.
November 6, 2019
Don’t know what all the hype is she a narcissist, who does nothing for her community but run her mouth. We all can do that, that’s nothing special. This is just a popularity thing that’s the only reason ppl like her, ppl don’t know how to think for themselves and see the real. She’s not it!
November 5, 2019
AMAZINGGGGG!
June 25, 2021
I loved everything about this audiobook, especially the fact that Amanda read it which included her own twist. It was fresh, thought provoking, transparent, and funny!! It was like being in a room having a one on one laughing and talking!! Definitely recommend!
September 9, 2020
I picked this up after watching Insecure. I had already read Issa Rae's book, so I was looking forward to reading one by one of her co-stars. It was a finalist in the GR Choice Awards humor category, but a big warning to anyone looking for something funny - this is not it. It was straight up a self-help book, a genre that always leaves me un-enthused. It also felt like the author was talking to much younger people, I would imagine that a target audience would be high school or college girls that she is handing down wisdom to. The places where it shined the most was where the author was talking specifically about her life and situations she has navigated, but they are few and far between in a sea of generalities about far too many topics smushed into one self-help tome.
December 31, 2019
Equal parts laugh out loud funny, inspiring self-help and raw memoir realness. Amanda Seales provides tips, self-reflection and motivational insight on an array of topics in a way that makes you both chuckle and think. I enjoy her candidness in expressing her own struggles and flaws as she encourages her readers to work through our own issues constructively and accept our flaws.
A favorite part of this book is the beautiful artwork throughout as well as the poetry. This is not your average memoir or personal development or celeb humorous essay collection as she stays true to the themes in the book: this book is in a lane of its own and is an expression of Seales’s truth in living color.
A favorite part of this book is the beautiful artwork throughout as well as the poetry. This is not your average memoir or personal development or celeb humorous essay collection as she stays true to the themes in the book: this book is in a lane of its own and is an expression of Seales’s truth in living color.
November 26, 2019
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I will be honest it exceeded my expectations. I happened upon Amanda Seales: Small Doses podcast very early in the year and I've been following her ever since. I truly believe this is a book for everyone, if you are looking to be more self aware, if you need inspiration and/or motivation to pursue your passion or if you just need some insight into how to navigate people (biggest gem being: YOU are not for everybody) than this is a book you should check out.
December 31, 2019
3 stars doesn't seem fair because the book was smart and good, it's just me not the book. I just realized while reading it I really need to stop picking up these self helpy life lessons books because I just don't like them. This one didn't have me rolling my eyes though and I can appreciate what she said even though very, very, very little of it was relevant to me. I hadn't heard of this woman before I picked up the book, but if I see her name somewhere I'll likely tune in. I really enjoyed her poems at the beginning of chapters, and all her nerdy references!
March 5, 2020
I really enjoyed the book and the plethora of advice she dispenses. I definitely appreciate her corroborating each section with a story of her own personal experience. And I really enjoyed the humor she wove into the book as well. A couple of sections I had to reread for comprehension purposes, but overall would recommend and reread again in the future.
February 26, 2020
This book is very difficult to read—literally. The font and color makes it impossible for me to read. The art is beautiful, and the pages that are in normal black and white were easier to read, but this just isn’t accessible for anyone without perfect vision. I gave up about 1/4 in.
October 29, 2019
Solid
Great read. Funny and real.I like the writing style nice flow to it. Reading this alone made me like her even more.
Great read. Funny and real.I like the writing style nice flow to it. Reading this alone made me like her even more.
November 1, 2019
This book should be Required Reading!
So powerful! We need more TRUTH in this beautiful, crazy world we live in, and Amanda Seales delivers it FEARLESSLY!💗💖👑💖💗
So powerful! We need more TRUTH in this beautiful, crazy world we live in, and Amanda Seales delivers it FEARLESSLY!💗💖👑💖💗
November 7, 2019
Amanda is such an inspiration and a truth teller. I literally haven’t put this book down since I purchased it and I guarantee I will be reading it more than once.
December 29, 2019
Fantastic Read!!! Oh my goodness!!
December 28, 2020
She has many very insightful comments and thoughts delivered in an humorous manner. Her delivery isn’t for everyone, but her thoughts and comments are much needed in today’s world.
May 23, 2022
This was such a fun read. I am a huge fan of Amanda Seales (which is crazy that I’m just getting around to reading this) and she did not disappoint. For some, this may be a self help book, but for me some parts were more so a self-reflection. Honestly, this just confirmed why she’s one of my favorite truth tellers. Amanda left no stone unturned as she touched on topics such as beauty standards, racism, dating, success, etc. She has a way of delivering messages that are a perfect combination of smart and funny. She didn’t hold back! If you’ve ever had a heart to heart with one of your good friends or parental figure sthis is what reading this book felt like. It was a much needed read. If you’re looking for similar content, check out her podcast under the same name. I promise you will love it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews