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usfsigepjoe's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to the audiobook version of this while at work. An enjoyable collection of essays from one of my favorite comedians.
audiophile71's review against another edition
1.0
I love comedy, so was excited at the prospect of reading this. Even the title seemed like it had to be funny. I was so wrong. Maybe I just don't "get" his humor. Maybe it would be better in audio book format. The movie theater chapter was okay and then it just went downhill from there. I honestly couldn't wait to finish it, while the whole time, hoping it would get better. To use the author's words from the Zombie Spaceship Wasteland chapter, this book was "a near-plotless library of everything I was obsessed with at the time."
danieljudge's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed the sections about his stand-up comedy in his early days. The chapters related to zombies, spaceship, and wasteland were somewhat interesting. The rest was mediocre.
Favorite quotes:
1. "I want to experience as many different tastes, sights, emotions, conflicts, and cultures as possible, so that I can expand the canvas of my memory and enrich my comedy."
2. "People will find transformation and transcendence in a McDonald's has brown if it's all they've got."
Favorite quotes:
1. "I want to experience as many different tastes, sights, emotions, conflicts, and cultures as possible, so that I can expand the canvas of my memory and enrich my comedy."
2. "People will find transformation and transcendence in a McDonald's has brown if it's all they've got."
misterjay's review against another edition
3.0
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland is less a book than a collection of disparate and unrelated thoughts set to paper. Each of the essays or skits within the book could stand by itself independent of any other chapter. Meaning that, if this were a record, it would be far more like a B-sides compilation rather than a fully formed album. And it suffers for that.
There are bits of good writing sprinkled throughout the book and a few of the stories are true gems and show that Oswalt does have a talent for narrative non-fiction. However, there are also several half-formed skits and sketches that seem like they would have been better off being left in the drawer. In fact, generally speaking, this whole book would have been better if an editor had told Oswalt to leave out everything that is not an essay and to keep writing until he had enough essays to fill the book.
There are bits of good writing sprinkled throughout the book and a few of the stories are true gems and show that Oswalt does have a talent for narrative non-fiction. However, there are also several half-formed skits and sketches that seem like they would have been better off being left in the drawer. In fact, generally speaking, this whole book would have been better if an editor had told Oswalt to leave out everything that is not an essay and to keep writing until he had enough essays to fill the book.
wrenarf's review against another edition
3.0
Patton Oswalt is a nerd and I love him. With essay-type books there's always ones you like and ones you don't. I found "punch-up notes" too yucky for my tastes and pretty off-putting but I enjoyed all the others. "Mary C Runfola Explains Her Gifts" was my very favorite. Looking forward to reading his more recent book as I bet his writing has improved along with his stand-up. Read it!
adbond's review against another edition
3.0
Fun read. Oswalt is as talented a writer as he is a comedian.
medium_dave's review against another edition
3.0
It's too slight, but it's very good. I prefer the stories of his youth and early years as a comedian to his wacky ramblings, but it's all good. I'd love a longer version.
jervonyc's review against another edition
3.0
First, the bad: it's *incredibly* short; some of the bits, while perhaps conceptually interesting - for example, an epic poem about his favorite D&D character - don't really work; it's not all that funny.
Now, the good: It's not all that funny, but it's not necessarily *supposed* to be all that funny. Look, if you're a huge fan of Patton Oswalt's stand-up comedy and you see that he's writing a book called "Zombie Spaceship Wasteland", you would expect that it's going to be hilarious. If you were find out that it's actually sort of a memoir, you would temper your expectations a little further. Let me tell you, then, that this book is maybe 50% memoir, 50% random bits (the epic poem, a short graphic-novel thing, a series of greeting cards with descriptions, the obligatory chapter on hobos, and - my favorite - a wine list).
The memoir bits work the best. Unlike some other comedians who've ventured into book-writing, Patton is a gifted prose stylist and it's clear that he knows what he's doing. He knows how to tell a story, and as such he knows how to get the audience to feel what he wants them to feel. His memories of his crazy uncle hit me pretty close to home, actually.
I just wish there was a little more to chew on. I finished this book in about 4 hours; I would've loved some more stories.
Now, the good: It's not all that funny, but it's not necessarily *supposed* to be all that funny. Look, if you're a huge fan of Patton Oswalt's stand-up comedy and you see that he's writing a book called "Zombie Spaceship Wasteland", you would expect that it's going to be hilarious. If you were find out that it's actually sort of a memoir, you would temper your expectations a little further. Let me tell you, then, that this book is maybe 50% memoir, 50% random bits (the epic poem, a short graphic-novel thing, a series of greeting cards with descriptions, the obligatory chapter on hobos, and - my favorite - a wine list).
The memoir bits work the best. Unlike some other comedians who've ventured into book-writing, Patton is a gifted prose stylist and it's clear that he knows what he's doing. He knows how to tell a story, and as such he knows how to get the audience to feel what he wants them to feel. His memories of his crazy uncle hit me pretty close to home, actually.
I just wish there was a little more to chew on. I finished this book in about 4 hours; I would've loved some more stories.
sitnstew's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure I know how to even classify Patton Oswalt's book Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. It is part memoir, part mindless ramblings... and I loved every second of it. Oswalt is so incredibly relatable that not a single word he wrote was overlooked or wasted.
My only real complaint in this book is that it didn't go on longer. I could have read another 500 pages of this stuff without even blinking! I certainly hope we get plenty more from him in the future!
My only real complaint in this book is that it didn't go on longer. I could have read another 500 pages of this stuff without even blinking! I certainly hope we get plenty more from him in the future!
bahoulie's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely had some funny parts, and I do just like Patton Oswalt's sense of the world, but I'd hoped for more gust-busting laughs.