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willoreads's review
4.0
Nat shares his life story, the good, the bad and the ugly but always with good humour and PLENTY of swearing!
Read it if you hate red sausages (aka mystery pig sticks
Read it if you hate red sausages (aka mystery pig sticks
what_will_jess_read_next's review against another edition
4.0
Takes the concept of a book and just kind of shakes it around.
This will not be for everyone. The format is different, with illustrations, recipes and just a fair bit of waffling. And the swearing. There’s not just a little bit of swearing. There’s a lot of swearing. So avoid if that’s not your thing.
The underlying messages of being kind to yourself and others, looking after your mental health and embracing your individuality make this a worthwhile read.
This will not be for everyone. The format is different, with illustrations, recipes and just a fair bit of waffling. And the swearing. There’s not just a little bit of swearing. There’s a lot of swearing. So avoid if that’s not your thing.
The underlying messages of being kind to yourself and others, looking after your mental health and embracing your individuality make this a worthwhile read.
books17's review
3.0
I'd rather be myself than pretend to be someone else just to get rich. I don't think being employed is a sign that you're successful. I think being yourself is a success. I know that sounds kind of trite, but it's fucken true.
Like most everybody, I first found Nat's What I Reckon during the first year of the pandemic (isn't it kinda scary that we can measure it in multiple years now?), and his combination of constant swearing, metalhead appearance, and surprisingly useful cooking advice won me over.
I think a lot of people probably bought this book expecting it to be a cookbook - I certainly thought it was when I saw it being advertised, though he's now released an actual cookbook ([b:Death to Jar Sauce: Rad Recipes for Champions|59478307|Death to Jar Sauce Rad Recipes for Champions|Nat's What I Reckon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1635513710l/59478307._SY75_.jpg|93689744]) - and so were probably surprised when they picked it up and found it really to be more of an autobiography with a half dozen or so recipes sprinkled throughout.
I like Nat. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, and reading UN-COOK YOURSELF gave me further respect for him between his health (both physical and mental) struggles and the long, meandering road he has walked to get to his current level of success.
I enjoyed reading UN-COOK YOURSELF, plenty of fun anecdotes and a lot of decent philosophising about society that I tended to mostly agree with. As much as he was adamant he didn't want to sell out, the book as a whole did feel a mite forced - the random cutouts of him holding kitchen implements every few pages seemed very much like something that a desperate editor who hasn't actually watched his videos would be putting in, and I probably could have done without the 'IS IT SHIT?' inserts where he debates whether depression, school, and everything inbetween is shit or not.
It's also written in his signature style - 'fucken' rather than 'fucking', 'ya' rather than 'your' - which got a little old by the end. I know what Nat sounds like - it must have been more effort to write it that way than just writing it normally, and I don't think it would have lost anything in the process.
Nevertheless, I can respect that given the opportunity to write a fucking book, he didn't just write a 120 page pamphlet of recipes filled with swearing and call it a day but actually tried to give us a look into what makes him who he is. He did his own thing, which I appreciate.
Lastly, the recipes themselves are illustrated by several local Sydney artists, and are excellent - I think comic format works really well to portray his video style, and they're still informative and easy to follow. I look forward to making myself some Quarantine Sauce in the near future.
hcdelamusique's review
4.0
Such a laugh - I laughed out loud many times. He's been through some shit and he has so many endearing qualities that make you think so highly of this guy. I'd love to meet him and obviously I love his videos and want to watch more. Sick recipes too, can't wait to give them all a bloody good cook!
charliechorlie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.75