No Rain, No Flowers

French visual artist Lélu (I Have No Idea What I’m Doing Out of Bed) serves up a sassy collection of observations and insights drawn from his daily journaling practice. Ranging across topics from work to romance, he critiques the performative nature of online spaces (“Be a good person in real life, not on social media”); extols the inherent value of pleasure (“If it makes you happy, it’s not a waste of time”); and meditates on inner peace (“It’s not necessary to react to everything you notice”). Other notes are confessional, ruminating on his quirks (“I’m the happiest depressed person you’ll ever meet”) and addressing—presumably—a nameless lover (“To be with you, that’s all I want”). Plenty of room is left for contradictions (“Do more things that make you forget to check your phone!” is followed by “Sometimes I like to go to the gym to look at my phone”), and the author’s wry humor keeps things from becoming overly sentimental (“Don’t rush into a relationship. Be friends first. Maybe they have hotter friends. Thank me later”). Despite some tired jokes (“Adult friendships be like, ‘I miss you’, let’s hang out in June’ ”), the buoyant yet self-aware tone makes for a guide to living that’s intimate and refreshingly optimistic without the preachy undertones. Readers seeking a quick pick-me-up will be charmed. (Oct.)