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booksam's review against another edition
3.0
**Kabul Book**
I have always like listening to Mike Birbiglia on TAL, but reading this book didn't really do much for me. Probably should have bought the audiobook instead.
I have always like listening to Mike Birbiglia on TAL, but reading this book didn't really do much for me. Probably should have bought the audiobook instead.
paperbooklover's review against another edition
4.0
It's great. it's Birbigs. The book is a bit older so I have heard a lot of the jokes but still great!
radmusikitty's review against another edition
5.0
I often find it difficult to read memoirs written by comedians because their comedic voices don't translate well to the written word. Birbiglia is definitely the exception. Perhaps it helped that I had heard some of the jokes before when seeing his live performance, but I could practically hear him speaking the words as I read them. I devoured the book in about a day, and it was nothing short of hilarious. I especially enjoyed the thoughtful chapter about Mitch Hedberg.
bibli0rach's review against another edition
4.0
This was a true LOL read. I found myself reading passages aloud to my husband as we drove across the midwest. So funny!
puzzlebound's review against another edition
3.0
Funny read. I'd heard some of his stories before and I think the book was definitely funnier when I imagined Mike reading the lines.
brianajae's review against another edition
5.0
Exactly what I look for in a comedy memoir, of which I read many.
Light and fun, like a more extensive telling of his stand-up material, with some touching moments, too.
I laughed and read it all in a day.
Highly recommended.
Light and fun, like a more extensive telling of his stand-up material, with some touching moments, too.
I laughed and read it all in a day.
Highly recommended.
eandrews80's review against another edition
3.0
I'm guessing that this book is a lot like Birbiglia himself: alternately hilarious, awkward, stilted, insightful, and moving.
kylegarvey's review against another edition
4.0
At a slim 188 pages, Sleepwalk With Me seems at first pretty usual and shallow. The ol' standup's memoir, short and jokey and no-nonsense. But Birbiglia's always been enormously thoughtful and interesting and self-aware -- in comedy routines, ThisAmericanLife monologues, and in the latest promotion for his movie -- so I thought I'd better give his book a shot. As a whole, it's wise, deft, and profoundly worthwhile.
Honestly, for most of its length, Sleepwalk With Me seems to be just yoked-together comedy bits (short staccato sentences, punchy paragraphs, hit-or-miss) about growing up in a Boston suburb in the '70s, funny anecdotes with family and friends, and rocky self-discovery. But there's so much control and pacing and awareness along with those that they're much more special. And the last chapter (the titular essay, and all by itself the premise for the movie) definitely delivers on the potential of what came before.
There are several expertly-reprised notes of grace in Birbiglia's book that stuck out to me:
*He recalls his mother's Catholic minced oath: instead of "Like hell!", she'd warn him with "Like fun!"
*From an embarrassing childhood misdeed (you may be able to guess what), Birbiglia earned the nickname "Tinkles."
*He imagines, while visiting an Alaskan wildlife retreat with his sister, that the bears lumber up to them with just a few peaceful words: "I'm a bear, etc."
Each of these punchlines out once and then comes back again, sometimes again a third or fourth time, but always in an interesting and thoughtful way.
And the book's closer, like its opener, notes an opposite-day-satirical but still sweet reprise from his dad, a persistent "Don't tell anyone." It's hard to end an überconfessional memoir with an idea better than that one.
Honestly, for most of its length, Sleepwalk With Me seems to be just yoked-together comedy bits (short staccato sentences, punchy paragraphs, hit-or-miss) about growing up in a Boston suburb in the '70s, funny anecdotes with family and friends, and rocky self-discovery. But there's so much control and pacing and awareness along with those that they're much more special. And the last chapter (the titular essay, and all by itself the premise for the movie) definitely delivers on the potential of what came before.
There are several expertly-reprised notes of grace in Birbiglia's book that stuck out to me:
*He recalls his mother's Catholic minced oath: instead of "Like hell!", she'd warn him with "Like fun!"
*From an embarrassing childhood misdeed (you may be able to guess what), Birbiglia earned the nickname "Tinkles."
*He imagines, while visiting an Alaskan wildlife retreat with his sister, that the bears lumber up to them with just a few peaceful words: "I'm a bear, etc."
Each of these punchlines out once and then comes back again, sometimes again a third or fourth time, but always in an interesting and thoughtful way.
And the book's closer, like its opener, notes an opposite-day-satirical but still sweet reprise from his dad, a persistent "Don't tell anyone." It's hard to end an überconfessional memoir with an idea better than that one.
helena_basket's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book even though I was not familiar with Mike when I started reading the book. Which is strange because I am a This American Life junkie.
Anyway - not sure if it's because I bonded with the experiences because of the time period or the location - it all felt familiar and like I was reading something a very funny friend wrote. It was nostalgic for me. That's a good thing.
I looked up Mike on Youtube and he is very very funny - I really don't know how I missed him.
Anyway - not sure if it's because I bonded with the experiences because of the time period or the location - it all felt familiar and like I was reading something a very funny friend wrote. It was nostalgic for me. That's a good thing.
I looked up Mike on Youtube and he is very very funny - I really don't know how I missed him.