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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
3.5/5 stars. I loved the inside scoop he gives on hollywood, and all of his stories are rife with incredible humor. It reminds me a lot of my Grandpa and the way he used to tell stories. He is obviously an artist and talks about acting in a way I think a lot of people will be surprised. About the work involved, and especially his advice for being happy outside of acting. He talks a lot about differentiating himself from the character of Ron Swanson, which is funny to me (and I'm sure a lot of readers) because we see him as Ron Swanson so much. Made me want to get into woodworking.
Read if you like: memoirs/biographies with humor, books that give you profound life lessons inside the humor.
Read if you like: memoirs/biographies with humor, books that give you profound life lessons inside the humor.
Two things I learned from this book:
1) Nick Offerman is super crass!
2) He hates Christians SO much
I imagine the experience might have been improved as an audiobook, but even so, the content got repetitive and felt like a self-congratulatory ode to his own hard work and good fortune.
1) Nick Offerman is super crass!
2) He hates Christians SO much
I imagine the experience might have been improved as an audiobook, but even so, the content got repetitive and felt like a self-congratulatory ode to his own hard work and good fortune.
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
There are a few reasons I decided to read this book. In the last couple of years I've listened to Amy Poehler's Yes Please, Tina Fey's Bossypants, Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, William Shatner's Shatner Rules, and Jim Gaffigan's Dad is Fat. Most were absolutely worth listening to. (Man, now that I'm listing them all out, I want to re-listen to most of them). So, I like audiobooks by the authors themselves. I wouldn't enjoy the book as much without the voice.
And the voice is somewhat important here too. Offerman's got a pretty great voice, and I love when he randomly chuckles at his memories. Here's the thing, though: the book's not super funny. I thought it would be, and the sample I listened to was awesome. But it's not funny al the time.
That said, I love that he got into comedy through being a theatre performer, and someone who was interested in theatre performance first and television/films second. I thought that was pretty cool. And there are some humorous elements.
Some things I was tired with (that others have mentioned): religion (just a bit ad nauseum), a bit of the language (look, I'm fine with swearing, and while some things feel overdone, whateva, I hang out with a lot of guys and that's just what they do), and a lot of "this generation needs to get away from the screen, yo". Overkill, and he's not that old, for goodness sake. But I buy the "well it's my book so there we are." I mean, sure. It's his book, and it was worth listening to. Not sure I'd recommend it, but a note to people if you're just like OOH PARKS AND RECREATION: that's maybe half of a chapter. The biography aspects were fun. A lot of emphasis on theatre. But hey, he builds canoes. And he has a woodworking business. I want him to make me a table.
And the voice is somewhat important here too. Offerman's got a pretty great voice, and I love when he randomly chuckles at his memories. Here's the thing, though: the book's not super funny. I thought it would be, and the sample I listened to was awesome. But it's not funny al the time.
That said, I love that he got into comedy through being a theatre performer, and someone who was interested in theatre performance first and television/films second. I thought that was pretty cool. And there are some humorous elements.
Some things I was tired with (that others have mentioned): religion (just a bit ad nauseum), a bit of the language (look, I'm fine with swearing, and while some things feel overdone, whateva, I hang out with a lot of guys and that's just what they do), and a lot of "this generation needs to get away from the screen, yo". Overkill, and he's not that old, for goodness sake. But I buy the "well it's my book so there we are." I mean, sure. It's his book, and it was worth listening to. Not sure I'd recommend it, but a note to people if you're just like OOH PARKS AND RECREATION: that's maybe half of a chapter. The biography aspects were fun. A lot of emphasis on theatre. But hey, he builds canoes. And he has a woodworking business. I want him to make me a table.
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Really enjoyed listening to him read it and learning more about his life.
This was a supremely entertaining read. Offerman writes like he (and his iconic character Ron Swanson) speaks. He has his own unique rhythm and a bit of a pompous style that some might find off-putting, but I rather enjoyed. He's not averse to swearing or getting a bit dirty either. All fine by me. Part memoir, part advice for living, this book charmed me.
Offerman has the perfect deadpan voice to narrate his dryly funny memoir-slash-advice-manual. He talks about his childhood, his predilection for building things with his hands, his ongoing romance with his wife, his college years, and all the normal things a memoir contains. He shakes up this formula by adding in copious amounts of advice, most of it along the lines of Go outside, make something with your hands, stop whining, appreciate your life. His stories were hard for me to relate to and I found the transitions between story and advice to be a bit forced. Overall it was entertaining but I don't think I'd read anything else by him.
Worldly advice from the man behind Parks and Rec's Ron Swanson.
Listen/Read and stay away from them screens...um, er, except to leave a review.
I'm going back to making homemade soup after this, really.
Listen/Read and stay away from them screens...um, er, except to leave a review.
I'm going back to making homemade soup after this, really.