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iphia's review against another edition
2.0
I’m floored that this book is being described as “witty”. The protagonist was so bland as to have almost no personality, and her lack of agency drove me up a wall. My average time finishing a book is 24-48 hours and this book took me weeks. It wasn’t fresh or funny, had no new take. I found it laughable that there were discussion questions at the end! What on earth is there to discuss? This book sounds like it was meant be a commentary on something but it ends up falling completely flat.
evanskike's review against another edition
4.0
Smart, funny, pacey narrative that unfolds over a long weekend. I was caught up from the first page and enjoyed it throughout. The first-person narrator is canny, and the novel does a good job of skewering the contemporary pop culture and media landscape. The story is engaging from the get-go but takes you places you don't expect. Great book!
cinderellasbookshelf's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I thought this book was fine. The plot was interesting but I think the execution did not live up to it completely. I think the characters were possibly on to something, some kind of growth or hope for the future, but in the end we’re just left with a weekend that came and went.
bookcleavage's review against another edition
1.0
I bought this book before I realized it had such a low rating on Goodreads. As I type this review, the average rating is 2.90 stars.
Sounds about right.
This book is so pointless and meandering. And no one is likable. And while unlikable characters doesn’t bother me as long as it’s for a reason and the story is interesting, that wasn’t at all the case for this book.
Sounds about right.
This book is so pointless and meandering. And no one is likable. And while unlikable characters doesn’t bother me as long as it’s for a reason and the story is interesting, that wasn’t at all the case for this book.
book_beat's review against another edition
2.0
I struggled with this book. It lacked likable characters and humor (for being a book about comedians — even sarcastic or dark humor). It was dark & seedy & uncomfortable. The narrator was inconsistent to the point where I couldn’t tell if it was purposeful. And the story was hopeless and cynical. There was a sense of desperation throughout the novel that (to me) made the story’s point feel almost meaningless or too obvious.
I was able to finish because the writing is crisp & the story moves quickly (over one weekend). It has a few elements of The Great Gatsby. But without a “pure, desirable” element and missing a static, reliable narrator.
ARC provided by Scribner for my honest review.
I was able to finish because the writing is crisp & the story moves quickly (over one weekend). It has a few elements of The Great Gatsby. But without a “pure, desirable” element and missing a static, reliable narrator.
ARC provided by Scribner for my honest review.
emilycc's review against another edition
4.0
I haven’t read a ton of reviews of this book, but I imagine the term “millennial malaise” or maybe “millennial ennui” gets used in a lot of them. It felt very generational to me, in that looks at a certain kind of coming of age. What happens when your whole life, you’re told you can do anything, and then you get to the point of doing the thing you wanted to do and it turns out you’re only pretty fine at it, and pretty fine isn’t good enough? It feels like a new take on the midlife crisis of lots of “Great American novels” - the quarter life of crisis of having been told, over and over and over again, that you can do anything and then realizing as an adult that that’s really not the case.
Anyway, this has a lot of great specificity to it that made it fun to read. If you like character-driven stuff and don’t mind characters that are mostly not that likable and/or make bad choices, you might like this. You don’t have to be a comedy person to get it, and I don’t know how accurate the comedy stuff really is, although I thought it was interesting.
Anyway, this has a lot of great specificity to it that made it fun to read. If you like character-driven stuff and don’t mind characters that are mostly not that likable and/or make bad choices, you might like this. You don’t have to be a comedy person to get it, and I don’t know how accurate the comedy stuff really is, although I thought it was interesting.
dg_reads's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up STAY UP WITH HUGO BEST by Erin Somers after seeing it recommended by Lauren Graham on Twitter and noticing it was available as a new release at the library. The cute, bright cover also drew me in.
Going purely by the cover and not having read much about this book, I expected something light hearted. The premise is that the late night talk show Stay Up with Hugo Best has come to an end, leaving protagonist June Bloom unemployed after a stint as a writer’s assistant for the show. After completing a last minute stand up spot at an open mic, June runs into the former host Hugo Best and winds up going home with him for the long Memorial Day weekend. The book covers the four days June spends with Hugo.
June says about herself, “the worst I had suffered was nonsuccess” and this seems very accurate. She is now facing unemployment as a 29-year-old who doesn’t really have any prospects for what to do next. Hugo Best is a very familiar sounding comedian and talk show host (huge car collection, gets laughs from badly written headlines) who has been forced into retirement by his network. Neither is really in a position to spark a lot of comedy.
I thought that this book was well written, it just wasn’t what I expected going into it. June gets an interesting behind the scenes look into the world of a famous, wealthy man who was once, and possibly still somewhat is, her childhood crush and comedic idol. Having read the book description after I was well into the book, it indicates that it tells the story of June’s stumble into adulthood and for me it didn’t really deliver on that. I don’t see a lot of forward movement for June’s character by the end of the book.
I liked the author’s writing in general and it was a quick, easy read, but I didn’t find myself overly connected to any of the characters and it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.
Going purely by the cover and not having read much about this book, I expected something light hearted. The premise is that the late night talk show Stay Up with Hugo Best has come to an end, leaving protagonist June Bloom unemployed after a stint as a writer’s assistant for the show. After completing a last minute stand up spot at an open mic, June runs into the former host Hugo Best and winds up going home with him for the long Memorial Day weekend. The book covers the four days June spends with Hugo.
June says about herself, “the worst I had suffered was nonsuccess” and this seems very accurate. She is now facing unemployment as a 29-year-old who doesn’t really have any prospects for what to do next. Hugo Best is a very familiar sounding comedian and talk show host (huge car collection, gets laughs from badly written headlines) who has been forced into retirement by his network. Neither is really in a position to spark a lot of comedy.
I thought that this book was well written, it just wasn’t what I expected going into it. June gets an interesting behind the scenes look into the world of a famous, wealthy man who was once, and possibly still somewhat is, her childhood crush and comedic idol. Having read the book description after I was well into the book, it indicates that it tells the story of June’s stumble into adulthood and for me it didn’t really deliver on that. I don’t see a lot of forward movement for June’s character by the end of the book.
I liked the author’s writing in general and it was a quick, easy read, but I didn’t find myself overly connected to any of the characters and it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.
kelseylovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Stay Up with Hugo Best can't help but bring to mind comparisons to other, real-life late night hosts. The world of the rich and famous is shrouded for those of us who have no ties to it, and this book manages to feel like you are getting a bit of an inside peek into the world of a washed-up comedian. That brings about funny, sad, and poignant moments, all helping to remind readers that money cannot necessarily buy happiness, but it can buy a lot of other things.
I struggled to feel attached to the main protagonist, June. She's 29 and decides to spend the weekend with Hugo, and it seems she would understand what that implies. However, she often feels like an aloof character, both proclaiming her desire to be successful in the world of comedy, but also bumbling around with no real idea of how to go about that, other than maybe spending the weekend with an aging comedian. Her character felt a little one dimensional and lost at times, which would pull me away from the story. I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I struggled to feel attached to the main protagonist, June. She's 29 and decides to spend the weekend with Hugo, and it seems she would understand what that implies. However, she often feels like an aloof character, both proclaiming her desire to be successful in the world of comedy, but also bumbling around with no real idea of how to go about that, other than maybe spending the weekend with an aging comedian. Her character felt a little one dimensional and lost at times, which would pull me away from the story. I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.