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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Eugh.
Let me just say, Vicious is one of my favourite tv shows. I absolutely love it and his Prince George memes were funny at the start. So I wanted to love this. I really did.
But this just wasn't it. He comes across catty, deluded, attention seeking, dramatic, juvenile, self involved, arrogant, shallow and has the opinion that he knows best out of everyone in the world. He also seems to often over step too. (Like that woman who got him on the set of his fav tv show. The present was a nice gesture. But telling them what to write, giving them plots and ideas. Begging for a part. Leaving his number like he actually thinks that doing this will work out for him is just too much. He's completely overstepped the boundaries. That woman probably thought he was a bit odd.)
This just wasn't for me and was often a frustrating read. I don't know why they structured the essays the way they did. The constant jumping was annoying with no rhyme or reason for doing so.
You know when you're a young teenager going to see your favourite band in concert. Your mind wonders and you think about your eyes meeting that one member who is love of you life...well love of your life for now. You imagine them spotting you in the crowd and they falls in love with you. Blah blah blah. I did this and I'm sure a lot of young people do too. We imagine it happening but we don't actually think it's going to happen. We're not that stupid, for one the lights are too bright on the stage to make out most faces. And we tend to grow out of those fantasies in our later teens. Gary was doing this in his 20s and he actually seemed like he was pissed that it didn't happen like he wanted it do. It read like he thought it was going to actually happen. And when it didn't, he was puzzled and offended. Like the story of the old bloke who was gay. Just because Gary was young and a bloke, he expected to have the old guy salivating over him, as he worshipped the specialness of Gary. Because Gary is special. He's sooooo not like everyone else. Also, did you know he was a looker? He only mentions the fact about a billion times. It seems he generally expected people to worship him and fawn all over him. He acted like he was so shocked that the old guy actually wanted him to clean because he's gay and I'm a bloke. And I'm young. So how can he not want me? I dunno Gary, maybe he wasn't interested on someone who was a legit child 5 years ago. I mean, we're trying to move on from the sterotype that just because you like the same sex doesn't mean you're going to like every single person of your gender. You don't fancy everyone. It just didn't sit well with me. I just didn't like the way he seemed to shove all gay men into a single box. It's 2020 dude, can we not? It's all 'all gay men do this', 'all gay men like this'. Just because you share a sexuality doesn't mean you're carbon copies of each other. Did you know that gay men can't handle power? Did you know that every man behind a hotel front desk is gay? All male flight attendants are gay too! It's just tiring to read this crap over and over again. I get it might be a joke but it's just exhausting to read again and again.
I do think that Gary was probably emotionally stunted from not having any friendships in his crucial younger years. I think that's why Gary in his 20's reads as a child at 12. Gary loves attention and doesn't like to share it, even to this day. If someone on his insta writes a better caption to the picture he has posted, they receive a snarky reply that tells them that making up their own caption isn't welcome or wanted. You can't be funnier than Gary! That isn't allowed!
Tbh, I would rather have heard less about his childhood and the fact his fantasies never came true to when he actually started writing for shows. I wanted to learn more about what inspired Vicious. How did he manage to get Ian to act in it? I wanted writer stories from the writer. I wanted stories from the writers room on a tv show. Not what soap opera you watched and how much you loved it. I couldn't relate to these long paragraphs about soaps because I'm not American and therefore, will never watch a tiny bit of a single one so that particular essay was almost mind numbing. I did know who Susan Lucci is though! Thanks to watching each episode of friends about 20 times. I know she's the first lady of daytime television according to Joey.
Like the whole reason I read this was because I wanted to read what it is like to write for a tv show. I learned nothing because as soon as we got there, the book stopped. I was robbed.
Also, it wasn't funny, at least to me. But I do think one of the funniest things in the world is people falling over. So maybe I'm not the greatest judge of what makes a great humour book. I usually go by if i laugh...good. if i don't...bad (or not to my taste).
Also, as a chronically ill, chronic pain, disabled woman, the whole faking sick chapter was uncomfortable to read. You truly don't want to be sick every day. Eventually people get bored when you respond to 'How are you?' With 'I feel like crap' every time. People start to think 'Oh, you feel like crap? What else is new?!?'. Believe me, people eventually stop giving a crap when you're chronically ill. My 1st surgery was a big fanfare , my 30th was a text saying good luck from about 2 people, ignored by the rest. Health is the ultimate riches and you don't know how good you've got it until you don't anymore. People who love being sick do not sit well with me. But if people wanna swap bodies, I'll gladly give you mine, enjoy the constant pain, ps (prescribed) fentanyl helps xo Also, I hate asking for help, I will struggle with something for hours before it crosses my mind to ask for help. Crutches, frames, casts, it made no difference. Him desperate for a fake diagnosis? Just f*cking disgusting tbh. I have had to fight to get the correct meds for my chronic pain. It wasn't easy getting the right pain management for me and it still needs work. I know he was a child but that chapter should've been left in a bin, it paints him in such an unfavourable light. Like American health care is so expensive. How many thousands did his parents waste on all those tests and doctor visits?
And because he legit wouldn't stop going on about how much he was so attractive in his youth, I now want to see a picture of him in his twenties. You only stated you was attractive about 50 times, it is time to give us a picture and put your money where your mouth is. He was so attractive that he was suprised mcdonalds didn't hire him on the spot. He thinks it was insane that they didn't hire him because he was so attractive that people would've came into mcdonalds just to gaze at his face. He was also out of Tim's league aswell. He even gave out free stuff that wasn't his to give away if you complimented him.
It is weird when you read an autobiography of an actual person you like, then the book shows them in the worst light possible and you come out of it wondering why you ever liked them in the first place. Plus he wrote it himself so he can't even blame a dodgy writer spinning the narrative.
Let me just say, Vicious is one of my favourite tv shows. I absolutely love it and his Prince George memes were funny at the start. So I wanted to love this. I really did.
But this just wasn't it. He comes across catty, deluded, attention seeking, dramatic, juvenile, self involved, arrogant, shallow and has the opinion that he knows best out of everyone in the world. He also seems to often over step too. (Like that woman who got him on the set of his fav tv show. The present was a nice gesture. But telling them what to write, giving them plots and ideas. Begging for a part. Leaving his number like he actually thinks that doing this will work out for him is just too much. He's completely overstepped the boundaries. That woman probably thought he was a bit odd.)
This just wasn't for me and was often a frustrating read. I don't know why they structured the essays the way they did. The constant jumping was annoying with no rhyme or reason for doing so.
You know when you're a young teenager going to see your favourite band in concert. Your mind wonders and you think about your eyes meeting that one member who is love of you life...well love of your life for now. You imagine them spotting you in the crowd and they falls in love with you. Blah blah blah. I did this and I'm sure a lot of young people do too. We imagine it happening but we don't actually think it's going to happen. We're not that stupid, for one the lights are too bright on the stage to make out most faces. And we tend to grow out of those fantasies in our later teens. Gary was doing this in his 20s and he actually seemed like he was pissed that it didn't happen like he wanted it do. It read like he thought it was going to actually happen. And when it didn't, he was puzzled and offended. Like the story of the old bloke who was gay. Just because Gary was young and a bloke, he expected to have the old guy salivating over him, as he worshipped the specialness of Gary. Because Gary is special. He's sooooo not like everyone else. Also, did you know he was a looker? He only mentions the fact about a billion times. It seems he generally expected people to worship him and fawn all over him. He acted like he was so shocked that the old guy actually wanted him to clean because he's gay and I'm a bloke. And I'm young. So how can he not want me? I dunno Gary, maybe he wasn't interested on someone who was a legit child 5 years ago. I mean, we're trying to move on from the sterotype that just because you like the same sex doesn't mean you're going to like every single person of your gender. You don't fancy everyone. It just didn't sit well with me. I just didn't like the way he seemed to shove all gay men into a single box. It's 2020 dude, can we not? It's all 'all gay men do this', 'all gay men like this'. Just because you share a sexuality doesn't mean you're carbon copies of each other. Did you know that gay men can't handle power? Did you know that every man behind a hotel front desk is gay? All male flight attendants are gay too! It's just tiring to read this crap over and over again. I get it might be a joke but it's just exhausting to read again and again.
I do think that Gary was probably emotionally stunted from not having any friendships in his crucial younger years. I think that's why Gary in his 20's reads as a child at 12. Gary loves attention and doesn't like to share it, even to this day. If someone on his insta writes a better caption to the picture he has posted, they receive a snarky reply that tells them that making up their own caption isn't welcome or wanted. You can't be funnier than Gary! That isn't allowed!
Tbh, I would rather have heard less about his childhood and the fact his fantasies never came true to when he actually started writing for shows. I wanted to learn more about what inspired Vicious. How did he manage to get Ian to act in it? I wanted writer stories from the writer. I wanted stories from the writers room on a tv show. Not what soap opera you watched and how much you loved it. I couldn't relate to these long paragraphs about soaps because I'm not American and therefore, will never watch a tiny bit of a single one so that particular essay was almost mind numbing. I did know who Susan Lucci is though! Thanks to watching each episode of friends about 20 times. I know she's the first lady of daytime television according to Joey.
Like the whole reason I read this was because I wanted to read what it is like to write for a tv show. I learned nothing because as soon as we got there, the book stopped. I was robbed.
Also, it wasn't funny, at least to me. But I do think one of the funniest things in the world is people falling over. So maybe I'm not the greatest judge of what makes a great humour book. I usually go by if i laugh...good. if i don't...bad (or not to my taste).
Also, as a chronically ill, chronic pain, disabled woman, the whole faking sick chapter was uncomfortable to read. You truly don't want to be sick every day. Eventually people get bored when you respond to 'How are you?' With 'I feel like crap' every time. People start to think 'Oh, you feel like crap? What else is new?!?'. Believe me, people eventually stop giving a crap when you're chronically ill. My 1st surgery was a big fanfare , my 30th was a text saying good luck from about 2 people, ignored by the rest. Health is the ultimate riches and you don't know how good you've got it until you don't anymore. People who love being sick do not sit well with me. But if people wanna swap bodies, I'll gladly give you mine, enjoy the constant pain, ps (prescribed) fentanyl helps xo Also, I hate asking for help, I will struggle with something for hours before it crosses my mind to ask for help. Crutches, frames, casts, it made no difference. Him desperate for a fake diagnosis? Just f*cking disgusting tbh. I have had to fight to get the correct meds for my chronic pain. It wasn't easy getting the right pain management for me and it still needs work. I know he was a child but that chapter should've been left in a bin, it paints him in such an unfavourable light. Like American health care is so expensive. How many thousands did his parents waste on all those tests and doctor visits?
And because he legit wouldn't stop going on about how much he was so attractive in his youth, I now want to see a picture of him in his twenties. You only stated you was attractive about 50 times, it is time to give us a picture and put your money where your mouth is. He was so attractive that he was suprised mcdonalds didn't hire him on the spot. He thinks it was insane that they didn't hire him because he was so attractive that people would've came into mcdonalds just to gaze at his face. He was also out of Tim's league aswell. He even gave out free stuff that wasn't his to give away if you complimented him.
It is weird when you read an autobiography of an actual person you like, then the book shows them in the worst light possible and you come out of it wondering why you ever liked them in the first place. Plus he wrote it himself so he can't even blame a dodgy writer spinning the narrative.
emotional
funny
reflective
I found the author super dislikable and hard to relate to, other than coming out. Meh. At least it wasn’t long.
fast-paced
Yeah no. Absolutely not. This may just be a conflict of personalities but I cannot stomach the absolute pretentious, self-absorbed, petty….everything that is these essays. Not one of them was salvageable.
Would be a better story if all the pages had been blank.
Meh. This was really not much of a book. Didn’t really share any huge insights or revelations. It’s a guy talking about some random experiences. And I did the audiobook and it was read by the author. His reading style were difficult to manage - I’m glad it was such a short book!
Gary, I am sorry that I only learned of you as the "Gary" at the counter of Bradbucks during Quarantine 2020. You are clearly so much more and now I know this! Quick, funny diversion. Listened to in a morning - like gossiping with your best friend about some dishy stories from your youth.