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eleyden's review
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
One of the best most well written memoirs I have ever read! Kal overcame so many hardships chasing after his dream in Hollywood, it was incredibly inspirational. Disappointing to hear about his last show still not getting proper promotion in 2019!
A little too heavy on all the political work for me, more just because it felt a little preachy.
Some parts were laugh out loud funny and some were very emotional. He really dove deep into the racism he faced and still faces to this day.
A little too heavy on all the political work for me, more just because it felt a little preachy.
Some parts were laugh out loud funny and some were very emotional. He really dove deep into the racism he faced and still faces to this day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
alisacress's review
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
sonalipawar26's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I watched Harold & Kumar Go to the White Castle as a teenager who, for the first time, saw someone who looked like me in an American movie! I was fascinated as the idea of a brown person in Hollywood seemed wild to me at the time. I was probably too young to watch the movie (this is what happens when you've working parents and are home alone), but I developed a massive crush on Kal Penn.
Heartfelt, hilarious, and honest, You Can't Be Serious was a fun read (highly recommend getting the audiobook). From navigating his way to Hollywood in the sea of white actors to leaving his acting career for a while and working for the Obama administration (still bitter about his exit from House M.D.), Kal Penn bares it all. Well, almost.
He does not owe us his entire life story, but I was surprised that he didn't go into detail about his sexuality, especially how his parents reacted as there were plenty instances mentioned in the book where his parents wanted him to 'at least' go to law school and had strong opinions about his career choice. But we do get a cute little chapter on how he met his fiancé, Josh.
Reading about the racist remarks and microaggression he came across in the movie industry made me livid. It's no secret that systemic racism is prevalent in the West, and reading such stories just makes your stomach sink. This memoir is a great portrayal of how racist Hollywood truly is.
In fine, it was an interesting read, that was well-narrated. And I'm glad I got to read about one of my first crushes.
Heartfelt, hilarious, and honest, You Can't Be Serious was a fun read (highly recommend getting the audiobook). From navigating his way to Hollywood in the sea of white actors to leaving his acting career for a while and working for the Obama administration (still bitter about his exit from House M.D.), Kal Penn bares it all. Well, almost.
He does not owe us his entire life story, but I was surprised that he didn't go into detail about his sexuality, especially how his parents reacted as there were plenty instances mentioned in the book where his parents wanted him to 'at least' go to law school and had strong opinions about his career choice. But we do get a cute little chapter on how he met his fiancé, Josh.
Reading about the racist remarks and microaggression he came across in the movie industry made me livid. It's no secret that systemic racism is prevalent in the West, and reading such stories just makes your stomach sink. This memoir is a great portrayal of how racist Hollywood truly is.
In fine, it was an interesting read, that was well-narrated. And I'm glad I got to read about one of my first crushes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
rachreads925's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
loved this book! Listening to it as an audiobook made it an especially great experience, with Kal Penn himself narrating it. He honestly discusses his experiences as an Indian-American growing up in NJ (yay NJ!), but what struck me more was the racism and stereotyping he faced in Hollywood. The way he built his career, hearing about what he had to sacrifice to get there, and the risks he had to take to do so. There are parts of his career that he talks more about than others (for instance, Designated Survivor gets a brief mention but House MD gets more), so it all depends on how you became a fan of him. For me, I wasn't a huge fan of Kal Penn before listening to this book but I thought it would be funny. It certainly was, but also so much more. Kal comes across as charming and honest, without too much of an ego (though certainly some). I loved the chapters on his political work - volunteering as a surrogate for the Obama campaign and working in the White House. I will also mention that though Kal is gay, he only discusses his dating life a tiny bit and how he met his partner more but his sexuality isn't otherwise a part of the book. So not really a Pride Month read if that's what you're looking for. I highly recommend this one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism
tmchopra's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual content
shakakan's review
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
amandalorianxo's review
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
I’m loving the amount of memoirs I’m finding on Libby and other fiction/nonfiction novels that are easy to fly through while listening via audiobook. Kal took us on a hilarious journey throughout parts of his life and I’m glad he went in depth with why he went to work for President Obama because I feel like I never was able to fully process the switch. I also assumed his tenure at the White House was actually way longer but it really wasn’t. I was a tad surprised that he didn’t mention his experience discovering his sexuality later in life and how he managed to deal with his parents understanding of it but I realized this is his story and the fact that he didn’t treat his sexuality as something that needed to be scrutinized was perfectly ok. It felt like he was normalizing it since you don’t hear a lot of straight people discussing when they were first involved with the opposite sex. Overall a funny piece that is worth listening via audiobook.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
djreads's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism