It’s … Fine

Hmmm. So, there are definitely parts of this book that I really, really enjoyed. Parts that either made me laugh out loud or that were funny without being chuck funny. But other parts … I’m unclear if my humor is just not the same, or if I wasn’t getting it, or if I’m not the target.

I picked the audio version, which was read not just by Mr. Novak (of The Office fame), but Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, Katy Perry, Lena Dunham and others. That definitely made the experience more enjoyable. The first story had me laughing pretty hard right off the bat, but I can say that I think that first story is actually one of the stronger ones, so perhaps if you get a chance, check the book out at a book store and read that first story. If you don’t see the humor in it, the book probably isn’t for you, as it doesn’t really get better from there, in my opinion.

There is definitely some brilliance in this book – including chapters that are just a few words long (the one on carrot cake may be my favorite two sentences in literature, if only because they so perfectly describe my feelings on the subject). At times I got the sense that he was going for a David Sedaris feel, but ended up sounding more like David Sedaris now (which I don’t enjoy), as opposed to early David Sedaris (which I enjoyed and felt was both funny and insightful). I don’t want to bash the book as, again, I may not have been the target who would really enjoy it, but I want to set expectations for people who are thinking that it’s someone who wrote for The Office, so clearly it will be well done. It’s fine.