I enjoyed looking at all of the artwork in this book. The faces the women are making in the paintings are actually really hilarious. I find it strange that the artists wanted them to look the way they did for the sitting. Most of them looked absolutely bored out if their minds.

This is one of those books you pick up that you can finish rather quickly and enjoy a chuckle here and there. I really liked the reference pages at the end that tell you where all of the art pieces are throughout the world. I would live to go see some of them in person while traveling.

OMG this book is hilarious! You have to buy it for all the feminist friends in your life. It is the perfect gift and I will definitely be getting a copy for my sister. She's going to love it. If you've ever looked at those awkward expressions in old paintings and wondered what the subjects could possibly be thinking, this book will make you howl with laughter. And yes, you might actually learn a little something about art as all the art and artists get their full credit (naturally).

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll flash an areola.

It all started with a strategically exposed tit.

Based on a twitter thread started by writer Nicole Tersigni, MEN TO AVOID IN ART AND LIFE pairs classic paintings (some of them creepy AF all by their lonesomes) with the gross things men say to women in the wild. From the always popular “you’d be so much prettier if you smiled” to the very meddlesome breastfeeding instructional, MEN TO AVOID IN ART AND LIFE is a veritable smorgasbord of white male privilege and awfulness.

There are your MANSPLAINERS:
http://www.easyvegan.info/img/men-to-avoid-03.jpg

Your CONCERN TROLLS:
http://www.easyvegan.info/img/men-to-avoid-06.jpg

Wannabe COMEDIANS:
http://www.easyvegan.info/img/men-to-avoid-07.jpg

So-called SEXPERTS:
http://www.easyvegan.info/img/men-to-avoid-08.jpg

And, not to be outdone, PATRONIZERS:
http://www.easyvegan.info/img/men-to-avoid-09.jpg

Books based on memes and Twitter feeds can sometimes be a little repetitive – too much of a good thing, etc. – but not so here. With just 76 pairings, this is a quick read that left me craving more. Sadly, there’s no dedicated Twitter feed where you can whet your appetite, just the original thread. Still, it’s something.
fwiw, I have no idea why they omitted “thanks I’m gay now” by norman rockwell from the book; this is something that will keep me up at night.

Ditto: https://twitter.com/nicsigni/status/1125453281344540674

Really the only thing that could have made this book better is if Tersigni paired this with screenshots of actual tweets. Still, it works. What woman among us hasn’t had a painfully unfunny joke explained back to us ad nauseam, as if the teller’s sexism will suddenly metamorphose into a sidesplitter upon the umpteenth retelling?

Love the premise and as a woman who has endured "mansplaining" on more than one occasion, it is overdue! Front cover is great!

This was quick and fun, and simply a book of memes basically. I do love browsing art and therefore enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading the clever, funny captions that mainly make fun of mansplaining and misogyny. Tough to critique a book of just pictures and funny captions, felt a bit like scrolling through a funny "feminist memes" reddit page and I enjoyed it.

Men to Avoid in Art and Life is a very funny and beautiful book that I would definitely gift to some of the women in my life.

Taking a break from the depressing and morbid reads, I requested this short non-fiction humorous read that combined classical fine art with memes and mansplaining - it was a glorious and light hearted interlude in-between all of the current chaos and disappointing reads I was picking up. Who doesn't love memes? My favourite kind of memes have to be the historical or classical art memes so this book was perfect for me. I definitely recommend this book, especially as a funny book to gift to friends or family. It was a very short read and I'm glad I requested it from Netgalley! If you have a blog and review books, definitely check out Netgalley as you might be able to read books before they are published for free.

This book is so funny and sadly accurate. There's some sad comfort in knowing that I'm not the only one who has has some of these phrases directed to me. I'd buy this book in bulk and give it out as a gift to bosses, exes, annoying friends of friends, and those guys you meet in airports.

This collection of famous art mixed with observations and snarky comments about men gave me quite a few laughs. Given the pandemic, that makes it worth a recommendation. Very funny!

Fine art plus captions suggesting what the man has just said to the woman, which may be come-on or condescension but is never anything good. It is essentially one joke, and doesn't even include my favourite of the genre ("Are you a software update because not right now"), which may have been someone else working from the same idea. But dear heavens, there's a definite skill at work here, matching each painting's expression (weary sigh, resigned, desperately attempting to retain composure) to just the right inciting idiocy.

(Netgalley ARC)

I would say only a quarter of these are funny (and no, I am not a white man to avoid!). The mansplainer ones were just like "here's a definition of mansplaining." Meh.

This book is full of classic art combined with modern/timeless captions. I didn't know whether to laugh or cringe! It would be a fun gift for an art fan or any woman who's heard "well, actually" one too many times.

We've all seen the memes floating around of classical paintings with a woman rolling her eyes, a man seemingly unaware of her displeasure, and a witty (modern) comment attached to it. I wasn't aware of Tersigni as the trend-starter, but I'm always amused by the memes when I come across them, so I was looking forward to a full coffee table book of them.

Some of the paintings-paired-with-comments were indeed bitingly funny, but others were quite hit-or-miss for me, not really outrageous enough to be hilarious. The book tries to "unify" the memes by putting them in categories of "men to avoid" (The Mansplainer, The Concern Troll, The Patronizer etc.), but a good amount of both comments and paintings seemed somewhat interchangeable. The "new" pairing of paintings and comments did make me look more closely at the paintings than I might have otherwise, and they're honestly fascinating in their own right - both for the low-key exasperated women and, more generally, for the types of scenes they depict ("the drawing lesson"? okthen).

In other news, I spent half the book totally distracted by the various animals in the paintings (the doves in that one post-coital scene? sure!), but I'm always distracted by puppies, so I guess that was to be expected. ;)

Just in terms of the book's layout, I found it well-designed but would have preferred the source paintings to have been named on their respective pages, rather than in a list at the end of the book. Flipping back and forth would have been quite time-consuming (especially in a digital format), and I did often find myself wondering where the paintings had come from.

I cannot even express how much I loved this book. Not only were the paintings nice to look at but the captions were spot on!
I laughed at most captions while some had me cringing at how accurate they are.
I've been recommending this book to all my friends. I will definitely purchase this book! I can't wait to see more from this author.

This was a quick, fun read. The pairings of the classic art with the typical misogynistic quotations were relatable and definitely reminded me of the eye-rolling experiences I’ve had with men like this- especially some of those in the Comedian section.

This book will be available August 11. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader digital copy.

I'm typically a pretty big fan of everything Chronicle puts out, and this is no exception! A delightfully bitter little book that will get a laugh out of anyone.

It's unfortunate to have to attribute this book such a low rating, but the whole thing feels like a case of half-hearted attempts at humour and political correctness.

First of all, the Foreword by Jen Kirkman really does a disservice to this book. Rather than get me excited to read, the tone and forced jokes actually made me want to put the book down. With vague blanket statements like "Twitter is a daily reminder that I'm a woman" and an unnecessary, unfunny tampon joke, I just don't know what the point of her commentary was. (I also don't really know who she is... I googled her, I guess she's on the cover to help sales?) I would have much preferred something written by Nicole Tersigni herself, perhaps something reflective about the process of revisiting her content and putting the book together.

The content of the book is hit-or-miss, though there are some clever pairings made between the gorgeous artwork and comments that I've sure most women have heard from some men before.

This could be a good gift book, but unfortunately, I think it lacks substance.

This is a wonderful hilarious book for all women suffering from the men of the internet. It got that classical art memes feel to it, as the author chose a number of beautiful classic paintings to add some common sentences used by different types of men, online or IRL.

They're split into: The mainsplainer, The concern troll, The "comedian", The sexpert, and The patronizer. It was fun and I thank netgalley for the digital arc.

Saw this on @netgalley and had to peruse it and see what #art was used. This would be the perfect book to buy for your best office girlfriends. I have several former coworkers that I know would display this proudly on their desks! 📚📚📚 #reading #picturebook #booklover #bookreview #bookrecommendations #MentoAvoidinArtandLife #netgalley

An okay book to browse when you have nothing to do. Some funny comments next to the paintings. I do think you should be American to get them all. Don't expect a lot out of this book.