A review by lckeser7
Every Day is an Atheist Holiday by Penn Jillette
3.0
I agree with Penn Gillette on a great many things, not all the time, but I am usually on board with his religious, philosophical, and political ideas. I think that's a problem sometimes; there's too much "preaching to the converted" and I'm just rehashing ideas that I've gone over before (with guys that Penn will admit are smarter than he is: Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris). What keeps this book from being a waste of time is Penn's storytelling. The guy's lived an interesting life and he's funny.
As good as he is at spinning a yarn, the writing here is repetitive. Everyone has go-to phrases and common adjectives in their personal vernacular, but I got tired of seeing bugnutty and joy on every page.
The premise of the book is the title. That premise is followed through chapters and tangents and anecdotes. The connections between the parts seem tenuous, but make sense in a Penn Gillette sort of way. The message of the whole is simple: be happy, without god, and don't wait for holidays to celebrate, because you're alive today. That's a message I'm okay with, I just wish it didn't have to be repeated for 250 pages.
As good as he is at spinning a yarn, the writing here is repetitive. Everyone has go-to phrases and common adjectives in their personal vernacular, but I got tired of seeing bugnutty and joy on every page.
The premise of the book is the title. That premise is followed through chapters and tangents and anecdotes. The connections between the parts seem tenuous, but make sense in a Penn Gillette sort of way. The message of the whole is simple: be happy, without god, and don't wait for holidays to celebrate, because you're alive today. That's a message I'm okay with, I just wish it didn't have to be repeated for 250 pages.