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I Left The House Today!
Hilarious and relatable comics about one young woman's life, relationships, and day-to-day humorous musings on why it's good to leave the house sometimes—and when it's better to stay home.
Cassandra Calin’s ability to document the hilarity of relatable everyday events in a series of webcomics has generated a huge following on social media. This beautifully illustrated compendium of first-person comics about the trials of the single life, school, stress, junk food, shaving, and maintaining a healthy self-image. Cassandra Calin's comics frequently highlight the humorous gap between expectations and reality, especially when it comes to appearance and how much she can accomplish in one day.
Cassandra Calin’s ability to document the hilarity of relatable everyday events in a series of webcomics has generated a huge following on social media. This beautifully illustrated compendium of first-person comics about the trials of the single life, school, stress, junk food, shaving, and maintaining a healthy self-image. Cassandra Calin's comics frequently highlight the humorous gap between expectations and reality, especially when it comes to appearance and how much she can accomplish in one day.
144 pages, Paperback
First published June 2, 2020
178 people are currently reading
4346 people want to read
About the author
Cassandra Calin
7 books271 followersCassandra Calin is a Romanian-born Canadian artist. Based in Montreal, she's a comic artist, illustrator, and a graphic designer. “I draw comics inspired by my life and experiences,” Calin writes on her website. “I enjoy laughing at my awkward self and ranting about silly misfortunes such as being born with curly hair.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 835 reviews
June 2, 2020
This book kept growing and growing on me. It has a particular, dry sense of humour which I find hilarious. Relatable situations such as choosing an outfit, a bad hair groundhog day (again and again), realising that the reality is usually very far from our expectations and lots of others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
May 30, 2020
I probably should be embarrassed by how relatable I found a lot of these comics. Sure, there were also a fair few that I personally didn’t relate to, but overall I haven’t felt so seen since Debbie Tung’s Quiet Girl in a Noisy World and Book Love. You know the kind of seen I’m talking about: the kind where you’re not entirely sure that the artist hasn’t been covertly following you and drawing your life for all the world to see.
Taking on a range of everyday occurrences, including the quest forperfect adequate makeup,
having your expectations and reality diverge just a teensy bit
and the equally horrific experiences of losing sight of the spider someone else was going to take care of for you
and someone calling your home phone.
A lot of comics had me nodding in agreement and others had me chuckling. There were a couple that went over my head but not enough to dampen my enjoyment. I just wish there were at least another 50 pages because it felt like I’d only just begun when I reached the final page.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
Taking on a range of everyday occurrences, including the quest for
having your expectations and reality diverge just a teensy bit
and the equally horrific experiences of losing sight of the spider someone else was going to take care of for you
and someone calling your home phone.
A lot of comics had me nodding in agreement and others had me chuckling. There were a couple that went over my head but not enough to dampen my enjoyment. I just wish there were at least another 50 pages because it felt like I’d only just begun when I reached the final page.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
April 18, 2021
This was really cute! It was very short but still adorable and extremely relatable. The art style was simplistic but I really liked it. I've actually seen a bunch of the author's comics online so this was a treat. I thought this might've been like a story that stretches out but it wasn't anything like that, and the comics didn't correlate with one another, but it was still light and cute.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
instagram | goodreads
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
instagram | goodreads
May 23, 2020
This was cute! I always enjoy Cassandra's comics a lot, and I luckily hadn't seen at least half or so of these. Cassandra Calin's style is so cute, and the little stories in the comics are really relatable for a lot of people, especially readers who menstruate (there are a lot of little jokes about periods that are honestly hilarious and so miserably accurate). All in all, I just had a really good time reading this and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys this artist's work in general!
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!
January 20, 2021
I love this collection!
It's so damn relatable! And yes, I have been waiting for this collection for years!
The artist is familiar to me as I have been following her on Instagram for a long time now. So many instances in this collection are relatable and funny when it's illustrated like that. I just wish it was more elaborate and at least 200 pages long. When a comic book is good, this always happens: I want more!
I am so going to reread this collection over and over again because this kind of relatable comic collection helps me calm down when anxiety hits unexpectedly. I am so glad I got this copy of #ILeftTheHouseToday through #NetGalley
Thank you so much! I really needed this!
It's so damn relatable! And yes, I have been waiting for this collection for years!
The artist is familiar to me as I have been following her on Instagram for a long time now. So many instances in this collection are relatable and funny when it's illustrated like that. I just wish it was more elaborate and at least 200 pages long. When a comic book is good, this always happens: I want more!
I am so going to reread this collection over and over again because this kind of relatable comic collection helps me calm down when anxiety hits unexpectedly. I am so glad I got this copy of #ILeftTheHouseToday through #NetGalley
Thank you so much! I really needed this!
May 13, 2020
I related to this far too much.
There were a few panels I didn't connect with, but most of them felt like she was reading my mind!
I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a giggle and/or emotional validation of your inner feels.
Much thanks goes out to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing & Cassandra Calin for my DRC.
There were a few panels I didn't connect with, but most of them felt like she was reading my mind!
I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a giggle and/or emotional validation of your inner feels.
Much thanks goes out to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing & Cassandra Calin for my DRC.
June 30, 2021
At a glance I see that of fifteen friends who reviewed or rated this thirteen women gave it four stars, and two men gave it three stars. Will I be a rebel and rate with the women? Nope, three stars. A culling of Calin's popular online strips about her being single, in school, shaving, body image. I can see how they might be relatable. They'er cute, and Calin depicts herself in sort of manga-ish fashion as a little girl in it, though she is twenty-something.
I was attracted to this because of the title and the sweet colors in the cover, and then I appreciate how Calin's thin line work is delicate and sharp. She is going for the laughs here, and it works best when she is being self-deprecating. She focuses on the difference she experiences between high expectations (for, say, Dutch braids or straight brows or skimpy bathing suits) and reality, which always falls short of the glory of her dreams. We can all relate to and smile about that gap.
I was attracted to this because of the title and the sweet colors in the cover, and then I appreciate how Calin's thin line work is delicate and sharp. She is going for the laughs here, and it works best when she is being self-deprecating. She focuses on the difference she experiences between high expectations (for, say, Dutch braids or straight brows or skimpy bathing suits) and reality, which always falls short of the glory of her dreams. We can all relate to and smile about that gap.
April 22, 2020
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a cute and fun read! I follow the artist and author Cassandra Calin on her social media and I always enjoy reading her comics, so I jumped at the opportunity to read this comic book in advance. I feel like she describes very relatable moments of everyday life and also, she understand my hair problems to a tee. If you get the chance, I highly recommend this book!
This was such a cute and fun read! I follow the artist and author Cassandra Calin on her social media and I always enjoy reading her comics, so I jumped at the opportunity to read this comic book in advance. I feel like she describes very relatable moments of everyday life and also, she understand my hair problems to a tee. If you get the chance, I highly recommend this book!
June 1, 2020
4 stars!
This was such an adorable read! I was smiling and laughing too much at the illustrations as they were too cute and relatable. Cassandra Calin was able to make me feel that I am not alone in my daily struggles. Something I picked up from several pages of this book is that we always choose to believe in our high expectations, but in the end, reality (whether it is a positive or a negative thing) hits us very hard. Although there were a few panels I didn't connect to, nevertheless, it certainly feels like she was reading my mind because of how accurate and relatable it is. I surely had the greatest time reading and witnessing Calin's art.
Huge thanks to Andrew McMeel Publishing for providing me this digital ARC via Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was such an adorable read! I was smiling and laughing too much at the illustrations as they were too cute and relatable. Cassandra Calin was able to make me feel that I am not alone in my daily struggles. Something I picked up from several pages of this book is that we always choose to believe in our high expectations, but in the end, reality (whether it is a positive or a negative thing) hits us very hard. Although there were a few panels I didn't connect to, nevertheless, it certainly feels like she was reading my mind because of how accurate and relatable it is. I surely had the greatest time reading and witnessing Calin's art.
Huge thanks to Andrew McMeel Publishing for providing me this digital ARC via Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 18, 2020
Další knížka ve stylu Ze života knihomolky a Dospělost je mýtus. Některé stránky jsou total top strop a přesné a válíte se z nich smíchy na zemi, jiné jsou slabší, ale to je tak vždycky. Na zlepšení nálady a potvrzení, že vaše introvertnost a divnost je OK, ideální.
June 27, 2020
Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC.
All I need to say is it's Cassandra, I'll like her content immediately. I've been following her for years and I'm really proud of her for making this book. It has the same tone as her comics from her socials. It fully captures the 20 y.o. curly-haired introverts and the tiny pet peeves or silly things they do. This is a collection of various comic pages, but I wish it at least had a consistent story told throughout these random jokes instead of repetitive frizzy hair jokes. That would have been more intriguing and would have some sort of impact on the reader. But maybe this is just me wanting everything to make sense at the end. But for what this book is [a coffee-table book] it's pretty well done from the art style to the jokes to the editing of this book. I would recommend it if you have a small amount of time to kill.
All I need to say is it's Cassandra, I'll like her content immediately. I've been following her for years and I'm really proud of her for making this book. It has the same tone as her comics from her socials. It fully captures the 20 y.o. curly-haired introverts and the tiny pet peeves or silly things they do. This is a collection of various comic pages, but I wish it at least had a consistent story told throughout these random jokes instead of repetitive frizzy hair jokes. That would have been more intriguing and would have some sort of impact on the reader. But maybe this is just me wanting everything to make sense at the end. But for what this book is [a coffee-table book] it's pretty well done from the art style to the jokes to the editing of this book. I would recommend it if you have a small amount of time to kill.
April 6, 2025
El libro que LAS CHICAS EN SUS 20s tiene que leer!!!
I LEFT THE HOUSE TODAY, es sin duda un libro lleno de comedia en la realidad.
Es prácticamente la vida cotidiana de una chica normal, las relaciones, miedos, bromas y las cosas que hacemos casi a diario.
Lo disfruté y se me hizo muy rápido de leer.
Realmente, Cassandra es una escritora que me interesa mucho y que deseaba leer algo de ella.
THE NEW GIRL fue mi prima opción, pero agradezco que fuera este, porque fue algo muy divertido y que logra que cualquier chica se pueda sentir identificada con lo que nos muestran en cada parte de este libro.
Creo que mi parte favorita de la historia, eran las páginas de EXPECTATIVA Y REALIDAD que se ponía ella misma en cuestión a su apriencia.
Me gusó mucho y sería un 3, pero se me hizo tan adictivo que merece un 4.
I LEFT THE HOUSE TODAY, es sin duda un libro lleno de comedia en la realidad.
Es prácticamente la vida cotidiana de una chica normal, las relaciones, miedos, bromas y las cosas que hacemos casi a diario.
Lo disfruté y se me hizo muy rápido de leer.
Realmente, Cassandra es una escritora que me interesa mucho y que deseaba leer algo de ella.
THE NEW GIRL fue mi prima opción, pero agradezco que fuera este, porque fue algo muy divertido y que logra que cualquier chica se pueda sentir identificada con lo que nos muestran en cada parte de este libro.
Creo que mi parte favorita de la historia, eran las páginas de EXPECTATIVA Y REALIDAD que se ponía ella misma en cuestión a su apriencia.
Me gusó mucho y sería un 3, pero se me hizo tan adictivo que merece un 4.
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May 13, 2024I don't rate biographies and memoirs.
Cute little slice of life comic strips in a fun and relatable art style. I loved all the stories, I could see myself in pretty much all of the situations.
Cute little slice of life comic strips in a fun and relatable art style. I loved all the stories, I could see myself in pretty much all of the situations.
April 9, 2021
This is quite funny. No superheroes, just ordinary people and their embarrassments in real life. I can't say I relate to every comic in this book, (a lot of it centers on problems of being a young woman, and I'm neither) but some of them felt quite familiar, and the best of all was that a lot of it was laugh out loud funny. It reminds me a little of the work of the Icelandic comics artist Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir. Similar humor.
June 4, 2020
So proud of my little one! Super funny and so well drawn!
May 15, 2020
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I already knew Cassandra Calin's work online and although the title is kind of ironic in the current state of the world, it's a very realistic and funny portrayal of introverts and people who work from home. The book is all made of those common daily situations that make you think that you're the only person who goes through that – and that's so not true. It's dramatic and so funny, and exactly what I needed to read today. If you like Sarah Andersen or Debbie Tung's work, you'll laugh and love Cassandra's too.
I already knew Cassandra Calin's work online and although the title is kind of ironic in the current state of the world, it's a very realistic and funny portrayal of introverts and people who work from home. The book is all made of those common daily situations that make you think that you're the only person who goes through that – and that's so not true. It's dramatic and so funny, and exactly what I needed to read today. If you like Sarah Andersen or Debbie Tung's work, you'll laugh and love Cassandra's too.
September 29, 2020
Já se v tom viděla tolikrát, ale jakože fááákt tolikrááát :D
April 23, 2020
So funny and highly relatable. I must say I laughed out loud a lot while reading this. And I needed it.
Some of the comics are new and a few of them are on Cassandra Calin's instagram account and tapas.
Thanks to Cassandra Calin, Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
Some of the comics are new and a few of them are on Cassandra Calin's instagram account and tapas.
Thanks to Cassandra Calin, Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
May 5, 2020
Yep, I giggled. And whispered "girl, same!" multiple times. Definitely took my mind off of everything that's been going on in the world.
Seriously considering getting a physical copy when it comes out in June.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Seriously considering getting a physical copy when it comes out in June.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 25, 2021
This would be a cosy little comic to read on the days when you don't feel like going out. As you can guess from the title, it features an introvert and shows daily life with some exaggeration to make it fun. A relatable read.
February 6, 2021
Loved it😍
May 9, 2023
Cute.
June 25, 2020
i loved this book!! this woman it's me LOL
it was so funny to see everything we do and think in this simple way. I loved Cassandra work and i want to read more from her.
Thank you NetGalley for the Arc 😊
it was so funny to see everything we do and think in this simple way. I loved Cassandra work and i want to read more from her.
Thank you NetGalley for the Arc 😊
November 12, 2023
It was not meant to be read since it was a gift, but i had to try something short to get me out of my reading slump 🥲
June 4, 2020
3.5 stars
RTC
RTC
June 2, 2020
Really cute and endearing slice of life comics with a very clean art style, although I sort of feel bad about how bad the author/artist feels about her body. In a daily webcomic I can see it being cute and endearing, but it's a bit overwhelming in a collection. The comics about relationships, sleeping, spiders, introversion, and snow were funny, and I really respect her ability to dive into the messiness of expectations and bodies (swimsuit shopping sucks for everyone, hairs popping up in strange places are maddening, and her comics about her period are frank and honest and might be uncomfortable if she didn't look so unflinchingly at the rest of her life). Fun and it'll be interesting to see how her comic sensibility evolves.
August 26, 2020
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
i left the house today! is a collection of comics about every day life experiences that we all go through. cassandra calin's humor is so simple but at the same time comical, it will make you want to send many of the vignettes to your friends. it's a perfect gift for all the sarah andersen fans.
i left the house today! is a collection of comics about every day life experiences that we all go through. cassandra calin's humor is so simple but at the same time comical, it will make you want to send many of the vignettes to your friends. it's a perfect gift for all the sarah andersen fans.
July 20, 2020
Self-deprecating humor from a twentysomething Romanian immigrant living in Montreal, Canada. Closer in tone and execution to the classic comic strip Cathy by Cathy Guisewite than I would have expected for a modern cartoon series, with lots of strips about hair, clothes, boyfriends, and a swimsuit gag that lacked only a little "Ack!"
Nothing groundbreaking, but certainly pleasing enough, especially the art style. And I really enjoyed the Bob Ross shout-outs.
Nothing groundbreaking, but certainly pleasing enough, especially the art style. And I really enjoyed the Bob Ross shout-outs.
May 8, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
I really love these slice of life relatable comic novel collections. Cassandra Calin's I Left the House Today! is one such book that is just so easy to relate to that you can't help but love it. And, wonderfully enough, the piece I identify with the most is the title itself. As an introvert, that phrase truly does an exceptional job of capturing the feeling of accomplishing something that, at times, can be rather difficult for you despite being fairly easy for others.
As far as Calin's work goes, I did enjoy a lot of this book. I found many of her comics quite relatable, though perhaps not as relatable as I have found others. It is in this that I had a little bit of a struggle getting into the book at times. That said, I expect a great many people will not have that problem at all. Not everyone will have the same experience I did with all of these comic strips.
The artwork was good, though not my all-time favorite. I think it really differed from comic to comic. Some looked downright creepy to me at times while others I found absolutely beautiful. It was an odd inconsistency for me to find among art that was genuinely actually quite consistent. I think it was just some of the expressions Calin drew that threw me off.
I Left the House Today is definitely a book that I would recommend, though probably not one that I would purchase.
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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I really love these slice of life relatable comic novel collections. Cassandra Calin's I Left the House Today! is one such book that is just so easy to relate to that you can't help but love it. And, wonderfully enough, the piece I identify with the most is the title itself. As an introvert, that phrase truly does an exceptional job of capturing the feeling of accomplishing something that, at times, can be rather difficult for you despite being fairly easy for others.
As far as Calin's work goes, I did enjoy a lot of this book. I found many of her comics quite relatable, though perhaps not as relatable as I have found others. It is in this that I had a little bit of a struggle getting into the book at times. That said, I expect a great many people will not have that problem at all. Not everyone will have the same experience I did with all of these comic strips.
The artwork was good, though not my all-time favorite. I think it really differed from comic to comic. Some looked downright creepy to me at times while others I found absolutely beautiful. It was an odd inconsistency for me to find among art that was genuinely actually quite consistent. I think it was just some of the expressions Calin drew that threw me off.
I Left the House Today is definitely a book that I would recommend, though probably not one that I would purchase.
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 835 reviews