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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
Some of these essays were really great. Others were not. I find myself vacillating between really understanding where Davy Rothbart is coming from and just finding him a total idiot. But I guess maybe that's the point--the heart makes one an idiot. Which I do believe. I think I need to read this again to really get the picture, but upon my first read, I find myself enjoying but at times being angry/annoyed with the author's actions in many situations. But we're human, no one is perfect, and this I guess makes for interesting reading.
I have enjoyed listening to Davy Rothbart's performances in bars singing Bus or Beer with his brother, in old theatres doing Found vs. Found Footage Festival battles with Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett, and over the radio on This American Life. So, it follows that I'd be interested in this book. I downloaded this audio book for a family vacation but never got around to listening to it, now finally, in a marathon of listening got through it in one listless day with my retired parents. I know, I'm pretty cool, right?
Though I was occasionally frustrated by Davy's constant state of search for the perfect girl, I can somewhat understand it. Everything is always better in one's imagination, so though as a girl I hate it when I'm held as some mysterious creature (when all I'm really thinking about is my next meal) Especially as a woman working as a public servant it's frustrating that men who approach me often misconstrue my being helpful and nice in performing my job, as being interested and welcoming their intrusive, creepy and often completely off-base comments and observations on my character/hair/clothing etc. Going as far to note how 'spiritual' I am (atheist) or that I must spend a lot of time on my hair and stating that they wanted to touch it (you know I'm a black belt, right) , I can also relate to Rothbart's search for the exact person/thing/etc. that's going to make everything right. As he points out in one story where he meets a young man intent on moving to Canada...
"But what would happen once he reached Canada? Missy and I had talked about it for a bit after he'd first fallen asleep. It's appealing to imagine that if we can just get that one thing in our life to work out--if we can get the job we want, finish writing that book or making that movie, get the right girl or get to Canada--that everything will be solved, absolved, good to go for good. I slipped into that way of thinking way too often, I admitted to Missy, even though I knew that sometimes in life all of a sudden there you were--standing with your Technics turntables just across the Canadian border, and you're not a new you, you're just you, but in Canada."
Probably my favorite paragraph through the whole book. Rothbart's truthful enough to recognize in himself the tendency to desire some unrealistic ideal, which is much better suited to unrequited crushes on girls he barely knows or who shut him out than the affections of girls who open their arms and invite him in. I think, though many people would deny it, we all have these tendencies to drop what's known, what is already ours, for what's behind mysterious door #2. Who knows, maybe whatever lies behind that door is the thing that realizes everything we've ever wanted and we'll be "good to go for good."
There were times when we'd laugh out loud, but also many long stretches where no one uttered a sound, we were just focused on hearing the story and caught up in our own thoughts, whatever those might be. I think we were all amazed by Rothbart's life, the many characters he meets and often bizarre situations he finds himself trying to work his way out of with some even more complicated scheme bound to land him in even weirder locales. I'm just glad that he took us along for the ride.
Though I was occasionally frustrated by Davy's constant state of search for the perfect girl, I can somewhat understand it. Everything is always better in one's imagination, so though as a girl I hate it when I'm held as some mysterious creature (when all I'm really thinking about is my next meal)
"But what would happen once he reached Canada? Missy and I had talked about it for a bit after he'd first fallen asleep. It's appealing to imagine that if we can just get that one thing in our life to work out--if we can get the job we want, finish writing that book or making that movie, get the right girl or get to Canada--that everything will be solved, absolved, good to go for good. I slipped into that way of thinking way too often, I admitted to Missy, even though I knew that sometimes in life all of a sudden there you were--standing with your Technics turntables just across the Canadian border, and you're not a new you, you're just you, but in Canada."
Probably my favorite paragraph through the whole book. Rothbart's truthful enough to recognize in himself the tendency to desire some unrealistic ideal, which is much better suited to unrequited crushes on girls he barely knows or who shut him out than the affections of girls who open their arms and invite him in. I think, though many people would deny it, we all have these tendencies to drop what's known, what is already ours, for what's behind mysterious door #2. Who knows, maybe whatever lies behind that door is the thing that realizes everything we've ever wanted and we'll be "good to go for good."
There were times when we'd laugh out loud, but also many long stretches where no one uttered a sound, we were just focused on hearing the story and caught up in our own thoughts, whatever those might be. I think we were all amazed by Rothbart's life, the many characters he meets and often bizarre situations he finds himself trying to work his way out of with some even more complicated scheme bound to land him in even weirder locales. I'm just glad that he took us along for the ride.
[4.5]
I have been a fan of Davy Rothbart's Found Magazine and This American Life for a long time, and Rothbart himself has always come across as a really introspective, funny, and compassionate guy. This impression was continued in his collection of fiction, "The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas," but it is in this collection of personal essays and memoir by Rothbart that shows him to be a keen observer of the human condition. I picked up "My Heart Is an Idiot," when Rothbart was in Minneapolis (along with a few more issues of Found) and, after listening to him narrate one of his intimate, tender-hearted stories, I was looking forward to reading the collection. The autobiographical essays follow the restless Michigander around the United States as he struggles with the complexities of relationships, meets a diverse cast of characters from all over the American spectrum, makes friends, and gets into scrapes. Whether tracking down literary scam artists on the Internet, going on roadtrips with people he has just met, or interviewing people trapped on a bus to NYC after 9/11, he writes of his own personal joys and foibles and the strange, tragic, exciting tapestry of American life. In particular, his stories "Human Snowball" and "Shade," offers an insightful self-examination coupled with explorations of what it means to be alive. I could really identify with a lot of Rothbart's experiences and found myself feeling right along with him. Rothbart has a great storytelling voice and, after this, I will certainly stay tuned to his next project.
I have been a fan of Davy Rothbart's Found Magazine and This American Life for a long time, and Rothbart himself has always come across as a really introspective, funny, and compassionate guy. This impression was continued in his collection of fiction, "The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas," but it is in this collection of personal essays and memoir by Rothbart that shows him to be a keen observer of the human condition. I picked up "My Heart Is an Idiot," when Rothbart was in Minneapolis (along with a few more issues of Found) and, after listening to him narrate one of his intimate, tender-hearted stories, I was looking forward to reading the collection. The autobiographical essays follow the restless Michigander around the United States as he struggles with the complexities of relationships, meets a diverse cast of characters from all over the American spectrum, makes friends, and gets into scrapes. Whether tracking down literary scam artists on the Internet, going on roadtrips with people he has just met, or interviewing people trapped on a bus to NYC after 9/11, he writes of his own personal joys and foibles and the strange, tragic, exciting tapestry of American life. In particular, his stories "Human Snowball" and "Shade," offers an insightful self-examination coupled with explorations of what it means to be alive. I could really identify with a lot of Rothbart's experiences and found myself feeling right along with him. Rothbart has a great storytelling voice and, after this, I will certainly stay tuned to his next project.
(audiobook) This was different than what I usually listen to. His stories were quite dark, but showed a life I am not familiar with. There was goodness in the dark, however, and some of his stories made me think down corners I would not have normally gone.
NOTE: This audio version was a mix of studio and live sessions. The quality between the two was jarring. The flow would have been much better if it were all of one or the other.
NOTE: This audio version was a mix of studio and live sessions. The quality between the two was jarring. The flow would have been much better if it were all of one or the other.