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697 reviews for:
Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum
Michael McCreary
3.74 AVERAGE
697 reviews for:
Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum
Michael McCreary
3.74 AVERAGE
This book I feel just wasn't for me.
I went into it thinking I could gain some insight into a young adult with autism that I could translate into my life. While I got some things that I can use / understand, I just didn't love it.
Maybe because I listened to the audiobook.
I went into it thinking I could gain some insight into a young adult with autism that I could translate into my life. While I got some things that I can use / understand, I just didn't love it.
Maybe because I listened to the audiobook.
I would give this a 2.5. I appreciated the look through the eyes of someone on the Spectrum. There were parts that made me realize I need to look more closely at some of my practices as a Special Education teacher.
I would be interested in hearing more from Michael later in his career to see how things have turned out for him.
Thank you to the people who made this book possible! Not many people get the chance to be published, especially those with disabilities. I love that this book exists!
I would be interested in hearing more from Michael later in his career to see how things have turned out for him.
Thank you to the people who made this book possible! Not many people get the chance to be published, especially those with disabilities. I love that this book exists!
funny
informative
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Audiobook. Enjoyed this.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
funny
informative
fast-paced
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
funny
I had a fun time with this audiobook. A lot of McCreary's stories resonated with me, because we seem to have grown up in a similar cultural milieu, being defined by media such as "Shrek" and "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" (2004).
Still, I have a couple of bones to pick with this audiobook, which are more about its presentation than its content. First, it doesn't provide audio descriptions of charts and other images. This is disappointingly common in audiobooks, but I dislike how it's presented in this audiobook in particular as a joke/promise that the narrator won't waste its listeners' time with audio descriptions.
I've listened to plenty of audiobooks that seamlessly incorporate image descriptions into the text, so much so that I am startled to see the book in person and discover how busy its pages are with charts and fancy flourishes. It doesn't help that the last audiobook I listened to, "How to Hold a Grudge" by Sophie Hannah, was lovingly narrated, with introductory quotes before each chapter prefaced with a gentle, "OK, now here's a quote from..." In terms of accessibility, "Funny, You Don't Look Autistic" doesn't even compare.
Second, I'm not a fan of the title. I'll admit that it caught my attention and put this book on my radar, but it also gave me the false impression that McCreary would delve deeper into debunking surface-level stereotypes about autism. Not just, "Autistic people actually feel X and might enjoy Y," but, "Anyone who is not a cishet white man will likely have trouble receiving a diagnosis simply based on the way they look."
McCreary is upfront with his book's objective to discuss comedy rather than focus on educating readers about every autism debate known to humanity. But still, I think the title is misleading, and that's another point against this book.
Despite my two main critiques, McCreary is an excellent narrator, and while I can be picky about comedy, in general I enjoyed the jokes he made and the stories he told. I'll likely keep an eye out for his work in this future, because it's something I would be interested in hearing more of.
Still, I have a couple of bones to pick with this audiobook, which are more about its presentation than its content. First, it doesn't provide audio descriptions of charts and other images. This is disappointingly common in audiobooks, but I dislike how it's presented in this audiobook in particular as a joke/promise that the narrator won't waste its listeners' time with audio descriptions.
I've listened to plenty of audiobooks that seamlessly incorporate image descriptions into the text, so much so that I am startled to see the book in person and discover how busy its pages are with charts and fancy flourishes. It doesn't help that the last audiobook I listened to, "How to Hold a Grudge" by Sophie Hannah, was lovingly narrated, with introductory quotes before each chapter prefaced with a gentle, "OK, now here's a quote from..." In terms of accessibility, "Funny, You Don't Look Autistic" doesn't even compare.
Second, I'm not a fan of the title. I'll admit that it caught my attention and put this book on my radar, but it also gave me the false impression that McCreary would delve deeper into debunking surface-level stereotypes about autism. Not just, "Autistic people actually feel X and might enjoy Y," but, "Anyone who is not a cishet white man will likely have trouble receiving a diagnosis simply based on the way they look."
McCreary is upfront with his book's objective to discuss comedy rather than focus on educating readers about every autism debate known to humanity. But still, I think the title is misleading, and that's another point against this book.
Despite my two main critiques, McCreary is an excellent narrator, and while I can be picky about comedy, in general I enjoyed the jokes he made and the stories he told. I'll likely keep an eye out for his work in this future, because it's something I would be interested in hearing more of.
While Michael McCreary is a comedian, I wouldn't call this book funny. It was definitely light-hearted and fun, but not overun with joke after joke. While entertaining and interesting, I would like to see another memoir after another twenty years or so. McCreary's memoir suffers from his youth. As a twenty-something year old, he's only experienced a fraction of what life is going to throw his way. After some growing and aging on his part, I'd like to hear from him again.