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jillbcdb's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
olawunmi's review
4.0
Nick Offerman seems like a cool guy to have an enjoyable sit-and-chat with for hours about whatever random topic tickles our fancy. Maybe about trails; we both share an intense love for trails.
ma75's review against another edition
4.0
Nick once again wraps philosophical observations about human behavior and a critique on life in America neatly in a package of humor, wistful musings and a touch of self deprecation. I loved it!
benyoda95's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. There were some genuinely funny parts and I agree with most of what he said.
That being said, I found a lot of it frustrating. He laments consumerism while giving very little in the way of solutions. The only option I really hear is get into nature, which he again does in a lot of consumerist ways. There are some very poignant uses of nuance and some completely devoid of it in pretty intense ways. And despite multiple times recognizing that some traditional American values seem diametrically opposed to modern consumerism and the Republican party, again something I agrt with, I think this book does more to drive a deeper wedge than to bring them together.
All of this to say, I don't understand the point. Not quite a full dive into the value of nature, and not quite a discussion about how to navigate consumerism, it ends up feeling like a bit of a rant that stays just shy of a "back in my day" speech that is propped up by Nick Offerman's fun pros and quippy humor.
That being said, I found a lot of it frustrating. He laments consumerism while giving very little in the way of solutions. The only option I really hear is get into nature, which he again does in a lot of consumerist ways. There are some very poignant uses of nuance and some completely devoid of it in pretty intense ways. And despite multiple times recognizing that some traditional American values seem diametrically opposed to modern consumerism and the Republican party, again something I agrt with, I think this book does more to drive a deeper wedge than to bring them together.
All of this to say, I don't understand the point. Not quite a full dive into the value of nature, and not quite a discussion about how to navigate consumerism, it ends up feeling like a bit of a rant that stays just shy of a "back in my day" speech that is propped up by Nick Offerman's fun pros and quippy humor.
fishtacos's review against another edition
4.0
This is definitely something I'll read once a year. Nick's stories are fun, and while they're not surface level relatable, they are at their core. A lot of the "bad" reviews I see for this book are a mix of things and I get some. There's some contradictory messages from Nick and he's very political but everyone seems so quick to jump down his throat for both of these things. Yes, he does tell us we should live in the moment, enjoy life with less material objects, and then does go on a cross country trek with a fancy ass airstream and fancy new truck. I think that's part of the humor but also he doesn't say "throw all your possessions away and live in a cave". He's aware of his privilege, he says it throughout the book. Of course that isn't relatable to a good chunk of his audience but I never saw where it should be. Of course I'd love for Nick to tell us these trips and ideas have made him want to buy a farm himself. That he'll spend his excess time and money seeking out minority owned operations to support in all the ways he can. But I think the issue is we forget progress is progress, no matter how small. If one person picked up this book and decided to make a more conscious effort to be present, and to frequent their local Farmer's Market more, I'd say it's done its job. Nick's stories made me smile, and if you're looking for an aggressively left leaning book from a person you admire this is certainly worth your time.