iker's review
5.0
Pretty hilarious when you don’t take it seriously. Also I would definitely recommend the audio book.
offbalance80's review
3.0
I'm genuinely of two minds when it comes to this book. On the one hand? Some of the essays were genuinely funny. The kind of funny where you're cackling loudly in a quiet room (like the one where you're waiting to see if you're called for jury duty or not) and people are staring at you, and possibly moving away from where you are sitting. Some, however, were deeply infuriating. When I was reading about Benjamin's childhood or teen/college years or any time a failure was simply a result of bad luck, Benjamin's writing style and dark humor made for an engaging read.
However.
I am not about to be charmed by essays in which an obviously privileged white man squandered and exploited his privilege and STILL managed to come out successful. There were a collection of essays in here where Benjamin had tons of opportunities performers I know would KILL for (chances to pitch pilots, host shows, perform) but squandered them out of laziness or because he thought that such bratty behavior was "funny" somehow. Those were the moments where I wanted to reach into the book and deliver some deep, hard slaps. Because fuck you, dude. If there was a point to be made that you really should have tried to achieve something instead of fucking around, make it. Don't just sit back and assume you deserved both the chances to squander and the next chance that came! There could have been some more contrition on his part for this behavior, which would have helped to save this, making it a five star rave instead of a three-star meh.
I did appreciate his epilogue in which he encourages others to view failure as an opportunity to try and try again, but the sheer myopia he has that everyone has the same opportunities to try and to fail left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
However.
I am not about to be charmed by essays in which an obviously privileged white man squandered and exploited his privilege and STILL managed to come out successful. There were a collection of essays in here where Benjamin had tons of opportunities performers I know would KILL for (chances to pitch pilots, host shows, perform) but squandered them out of laziness or because he thought that such bratty behavior was "funny" somehow. Those were the moments where I wanted to reach into the book and deliver some deep, hard slaps. Because fuck you, dude. If there was a point to be made that you really should have tried to achieve something instead of fucking around, make it. Don't just sit back and assume you deserved both the chances to squander and the next chance that came! There could have been some more contrition on his part for this behavior, which would have helped to save this, making it a five star rave instead of a three-star meh.
I did appreciate his epilogue in which he encourages others to view failure as an opportunity to try and try again, but the sheer myopia he has that everyone has the same opportunities to try and to fail left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
chelseaparlett's review
2.0
Clever and entertaining but not my style. It was hard to get through the last few chapters.
millennialbookreview's review against another edition
4.0
This read is funny, but also thought-provoking. A great collection of stories about failures and why they aren't always the worst thing. It felt oddly relatable to read, while also being ridiculously funny.
jackaroni_with_cheese's review against another edition
4.0
H. Jon Benjamin is a weird dude. But that’s okay, we like weird. Being a huge fan of Coach McGuirk and Bob Belcher, how could I not read his “attempted” memoir? He’s a funny dude, and I appreciate his writing style. Some of the chapters and interludes were a bit slow, but overall it was a fun read.