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ampersandie's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty and Mental illness
erincataldi's review against another edition
4.0
I will admit, I had no idea who Guy was before I read this book, not even an iota. After reading this though, I am in awe that I somehow completely overlooked his whole career. He's so funny! How did our paths never cross? Part memoir, part humor, part history and pop culture lesson; this memoir is unique and entirely fun to read. I'm a huge fan of footnotes and there are A TON of footnotes; humorous asides, sarcastic comments, clarification, etc. It's genius! The stories I enjoyed the most were the ones where Guy is rehashing his youth growing up in a quasi-Jewish home in the redneck hills of California as a giant gay child. It's humorous, real, raw at parts, but he never loses levity. Another great celebrity memoir by someone you may or may not have heard of, but are certainly glad you did by the end of the book.
danielnski's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
There was so much in this book I relate to, especially Guy's need to use pop culture to create a shared language to make himself relatable to the reader. It really spoke to me.
lporto's review against another edition
Oh my gawd! This was an incredible listen. Guy shares his back story from childhood to law school to podcaster and comedy writer. At times both touching and hysterical it's an entertaining and heartbreaking view of life as someone who is outside the lines.
1phelpsswoop's review against another edition
This was a lovely read. I'm mostly familiar with Guy from his podcast, Pop Rocket, and I loved his thorough analysis of multiple topics in this book.
Guy is incredibly funny, but he also manages to convey incredible pain and general cultural analysis. Many parts of this book aren't a laugh riot, but that's fine by me. In my opinion, the purchase was worth it simply for the amazing chapter "The Man Who Watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
Guy is incredibly funny, but he also manages to convey incredible pain and general cultural analysis. Many parts of this book aren't a laugh riot, but that's fine by me. In my opinion, the purchase was worth it simply for the amazing chapter "The Man Who Watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
nsusdorf's review against another edition
5.0
This book is beautiful in a million different ways.
That’s it. That’s the review. Everyone should read it!
That’s it. That’s the review. Everyone should read it!
sbelasco40's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to this on audiobook over the last few weeks and really enjoyed it - I love a good memoir and have read a number of memoirs by comedians, but I found Branum to be a bit...hmm. I felt like he went deeper than many of those memoirs do? Like he was interested in being funny, yes, and there were some parts that were very funny, but there were also a lot of parts that were raw and painful and sharp and true, too. Plus a lot about living in rural California, which is a thing I feel like doesn’t get talked about much in books unless you’re Steinbeck, and some really great linkages between pop culture products and politics. Oh, and some extremely astute observations about the Bay Area and LA. Branum is clearly a smart and unique mind, and it makes for a very effective and often touching book.
mollylcarlisle's review against another edition
4.0
This was a super fun listen, read by the very funny author, with moments of deep insight and analysis.