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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
I had no idea what to expect when I started this book. I love John Hodgman!!!
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
I’m a fan of Hodgman’s and I found this to be an enjoyable read, though I didn’t find it as intellectually stimulating as I expected based on listening to his podcast—or as full of nuance. I found some of the Beloved Airlines stuff and Trump stuff a little excessive, and a bit cringey. Not harmful per se, but maybe a little tone deaf due to our climate crisis and failing democracy—I would have expected Hodgman to be a bit more self aware in these parts even in 2019.
It was a great casual quick read and one full of small funny and poignant moments. I think he could have tied the stories together a little more tightly, but they all had a signature combination of reflectiveness, love, and wit. I especially love his last chapter about the culture of Maine small towns!
It was a great casual quick read and one full of small funny and poignant moments. I think he could have tied the stories together a little more tightly, but they all had a signature combination of reflectiveness, love, and wit. I especially love his last chapter about the culture of Maine small towns!
"He asked if I could search up 'This Land is Your Land' on my phone. I said, sure. He asked me if we could roll the windows down and play it loud as we drove home. We did. I turned up the bass. I didn't tell him that we probably didn't have many minds to change outside the ramen shops and used bookstores on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, but, honestly, who knows? I didn't tell him that a liberal dad and his son blasting Woody Guthrie out of their eight year old VW Passat wagon was a little on the nose. But, we live in unsubtle times. And in a couple of years, presuming there's still an America, we will all go back to the YMCA to vote again. My daughter will be with my again when I cast my vote, and this time, she will also cast her own."
I am so thankful for John Hodgman. His humor is my kind of humor and he just makes me laugh so much. He brings me joy. Marie Kondo will never de-clutter him from my heart. In Medallion Status he speaks so eloquently and honestly and profoundly on the 2016 election of 45 (because I refuse to name him). All the feelings John and his family felt and all the stages of grief they went through is the same as what my family and I went through. It was so wonderful to have someone put the horror, disappointment, sadness, and anger of it into words. His humor and grace in recounting that time made it surprisingly less depressing to revisit.
There are other very fun stories and interludes from John's life in this book. I especially loved the ones about the Chateau Marmont and extinct hockey (go Hartford Whalers!).
If you love John Hodgman as I do, I highly recommend listening to this on audiobook as his delivery is priceless and completely enhances the humor. I laughed out loud often.
I am so thankful for John Hodgman. His humor is my kind of humor and he just makes me laugh so much. He brings me joy. Marie Kondo will never de-clutter him from my heart. In Medallion Status he speaks so eloquently and honestly and profoundly on the 2016 election of 45 (because I refuse to name him). All the feelings John and his family felt and all the stages of grief they went through is the same as what my family and I went through. It was so wonderful to have someone put the horror, disappointment, sadness, and anger of it into words. His humor and grace in recounting that time made it surprisingly less depressing to revisit.
There are other very fun stories and interludes from John's life in this book. I especially loved the ones about the Chateau Marmont and extinct hockey (go Hartford Whalers!).
If you love John Hodgman as I do, I highly recommend listening to this on audiobook as his delivery is priceless and completely enhances the humor. I laughed out loud often.
I'm a huge fan of Hodman's podcast. This book is funny and poignant - some parts hit me hard in the feels, and some parts had me disturbing the family as I laughed (hard) out loud, and I flew through it in a flash. Obviously, if you do audiobooks, that's the right format for this one!
I listened to a lot of this book and really liked it. For those who are fans, I would recommend.
If you like John Hodgman, you will like this book. I personally thought it showed that he worked on Vacation Land longer, but still throughly enjoyed Medallion Status
Hodgman's desert-dry humor and willingness to bare emotional vulnerabilities make for an entertaining read with depth. He admits that his shtick is white privilege comedy, but sometimes I felt it drifted so far into white-male privilege comedy that it didn't work for me. This is smart, funny (laugh out loud so, at times) but also quite sad. I thought the cat dying chapter was sad until I got to the one on election day 2016, which made me relive that trauma all over again. The final chapter, in which he returns to Maine and meditates on The Stranger was a strong, thoughtful, emotionally intelligent finish.
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Wow. I came for the laughs but stayed for the clever storytelling and thoughtful commentary on human existence. I laughed a lot and cried a little and would definitely recommend this one.