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A review by hybum
How to Ruin Everything by George Watsky
4.0
I got into Watsky back in 2012, right before he came out with his blue-grass EP with Kush Mody. I didn't really realize he was popular now until I mentioned him to a buddy of mine. Good for him! I wasn't initially super interested in the book, but then he came out with the video for the "Ask Me What I'm Doing Tonight!" chapter. I was impressed, so I put it on the ol' Goodreads to-read list. And, for the most part, I wasn't let down!
It was really cool discovering more about the stuff we already know about Watsky: he loves baseball, he has seizures, he's into MILFs, etc. Each of the essays took on one of these aspects of his character and dove into them, giving us background and stories. He has quite the knack for finding beauty in small details and telling stories out of seemingly insignificant events. Through the voice of experience, he helps the reader understand why these events are important, and what they mean to him.
One of the neat things about the essays is that he rarely actually talked about his music or fame. Instead, we get to see more of Watsky's personality and character. Even the one chapter dedicated to his tour life was still true to the thesis about how he ruins everything.
As Lin-Manuel Miranda said, there are many brutally honest sentences that make you nod your head in wonder and recognition. But there are also many tangential and confusing sentences that make you scratch your head in wonder and confusion. Some of the technical decisions were slightly annoying, like how there is an em-dash on just about every single page, but the stories were entertaining and, overall, I quite enjoyed the book.
It was really cool discovering more about the stuff we already know about Watsky: he loves baseball, he has seizures, he's into MILFs, etc. Each of the essays took on one of these aspects of his character and dove into them, giving us background and stories. He has quite the knack for finding beauty in small details and telling stories out of seemingly insignificant events. Through the voice of experience, he helps the reader understand why these events are important, and what they mean to him.
One of the neat things about the essays is that he rarely actually talked about his music or fame. Instead, we get to see more of Watsky's personality and character. Even the one chapter dedicated to his tour life was still true to the thesis about how he ruins everything.
As Lin-Manuel Miranda said, there are many brutally honest sentences that make you nod your head in wonder and recognition. But there are also many tangential and confusing sentences that make you scratch your head in wonder and confusion. Some of the technical decisions were slightly annoying, like how there is an em-dash on just about every single page, but the stories were entertaining and, overall, I quite enjoyed the book.