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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
This book makes me remember that books that are slow to start are sometimes some of my favorites. This book painted a such a picture for me...while I did not "love" the characters I understood them and they felt familiar to me, like a (dysfunctional) family.
Shocked this author didn't turn out to be a raging alcoholic. He had shitty role models surrounding him (except for his mom but she even moves away from him at an age when boys need their moms). His dad gets the dead beat dad of the century award. Book wasn't great, but wasn't bad either.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
There is a lot to love about this memoir. First and foremost is the cast of characters that JR so lovingly and honestly describes in all their quirks and flaws. Standouts for me were his grandpa, Uncle Charlie and Joey D. I love JR’s introspection in the telling of this story; he realizes as an adult how desperate he was for male figures in his life after being abandoned by his father. He wants to be named by them, embraced by them, seen by them. I think this is probably our greatest human desire. This story is at times unbelievable, but also heartwarming. Loved it!
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
The best memoir I’ve ever read. I gave my whole weekend to this book and I have absolutely no regrets.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Not a whole lot of plot and a little heavy handed with allusions and certain topics at times but otherwise a nice story. I really liked how he talked about his development as a writer and how he navigated his career. The whole thing felt very honest.
Well written but over long, feeling repetitive at times. Also troubling was the portrayal/view of women, other than his mother. Granted, a bar is a haven for "locker room talk." I may just not be the audience for this book. You do feel for the guy, with his terrible father and other dysfunctional relatives.