Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind by Nate Bargatze

 

Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind by Nate Bargatze - 240 pages

Nate Bargatze used to be a genius. That is, until the summer after seventh grade when he slipped, fell off a cliff, hit his head on a rock, and “my skull got, like, dented or something.” Before this accident, he dreamed of being “an electric engineer, or a doctor that does brain stuff, or a math teacher who teaches the hardest math on earth.” Afterwards, all he could do was stand-up comedy.* But the “brain stuff” industry’s loss is everyone else’s gain because Nate went on to become one of today’s top-grossing comedians, breaking both attendance and streaming records. 
In his highly anticipated first book, Nate talks about life as a non-genius. From stories about his first car (named Old Blue, a clunky Mazda with a tennis ball stick shift) and his travels as a Southerner (Northerners like to ask if he believes in dinosaurs), to tales of his first apartment where he was almost devoured by rats and his many debates with his wife over his chores, his diet, and even his definition of “shopping.” He also reflects on such heady topics as his irrational passion for Vandy football and the mysterious origins of sushi (how can a California roll come from old-time Japan?). 

BIG DUMB EYES is full of heart. It will make readers laugh out loud and nod in recognition, but it probably won’t make them think too much.

*Nate’s family disputes this entire story. 

I listened to this on audiobook.  Normally comedian books read by the author are good but this was hard to get through.  I think some of the stories could be good, but he does not read it well.  This one was just ok.

Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo – A Hilarious Stand-Up Comedian Memoir of Filipino Heritage and Perseverance by Jo Koy

 

Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo – A Hilarious Stand-Up Comedian Memoir of Filipino Heritage and Perseverance by Jo Koy

318 pages

A stunning, hilarious memoir from beloved comedian Jo Koy, “far and away one of the funniest people out there” (Chelsea Handler). Mixed Plate illuminates the burning drive and unique humor that make Jo Koy one of today’s most successful comedians. Includes never-before-seen photos.

Well guys, here it is—my story. A funny, sad, at times pathetic but also kick-ass tale of how a half-Filipino, half-white kid whose mom thought (and still thinks) his career goal was to become a clown became a success. Not an overnight success, because that would have made for a really short read, but an All-American success who could give my immigrant mom the kind of life she hoped for when she came to this country, and my son the kind of life I wished I’d had as a kid. With all the details of what it felt like to get the doors closed in my face, to grind it out on the road with my arsenal of dick jokes, and how my career finally took off once I embraced the craziness of my family, which I always thought was uniquely Filipino but turns out is as universal as it gets.

In this book, I’ll take you behind the mic, behind the curtain—OK, way behind it. From growing up with a mom who made me dance like Michael Jackson at the Knights of Columbus, to some real dark stuff, the stuff we don’t talk about often enough as immigrants. Mental health, poverty, drinking. And show you the path to my American Dream. Which was paved with a lot of failure, department store raffle tickets to win free color televisions, bad jokes, old VHS tapes, a motorcycle my mom probably still hates, the only college final I aced (wasn’t math), and getting my first laugh on stage. There’s photo evidence of it all here, too.

In this book, I get serious about my funny. And I want to make you laugh a little while I do it. I’m like Hawaii’s favorite lunch—the mixed plate. Little bit of this, a little bit of that. My book Mixed Plate is too.

This was an interesting story about how Jo Koy struggled to find success as a comedian.  I listened to the audio, which was great since it's read by the author.  I really enjoyed this, as he reads it as only Jo Koy can.  

That's a Great Question, I'd Love To Tell You by Elyse Myers

That's a Great Question, I'd Love To Tell You by Elyse Myers, 269 pages

Reading a social media influencer's book is always a dicey proposition, no matter how much you enjoy their public persona. Sometimes they're just not interesting in long form. That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You is a read that's equal part cozy, cringy, complicated, and just a little bit crazy. 

The format of the book itself, the way the information is presented to the reader, is an interesting insight into the workings of Myer's mind. Memory and poetry crash together, all illustrated by the author's own hand.  It was an adjustment shifting from shortform videos to the written word, but ultimately, the book reads like Myers speaks. I could almost hear her narrating in my head. It was a fun read with a lot of heart. 

 

Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox & Nelle Fortenberry

 

Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox & Nelle Fortenberry - 162 pages

A poignant, heartfelt and funny memoir about how, in 1985, Michael J Fox brought two iconic roles to life simultaneously - Alex Keaton in Family Ties and Marty McFly in Back to the Future. Here is the amazing true story, as only Michael J Fox can tell it ...

In early 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars on television. His world was about to get even bigger, but only if he could survive the kind of double duty unheard of in Hollywood. Fox's days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom Family Ties, but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon, he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg, Back to the Future. Sitcom during the day, movie at night - day after day, for months.

Fox's nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. It was in this time portal that Alex P. Keaton handed the baton to Marty McFly while Michael J. Fox tried to catch a few minutes of sleep. Alex's bravado, Marty's flair, and Fox's comedic virtuosity all swirled together to create something truly special.

In Future Boy, Fox tells the remarkable story of playing two landmark roles at the same time - a slice of entertainment history that's never been told. Using new interviews with the cast and crew of both projects, the result is a vividly drawn and eye-opening story of creative achievement by a beloved icon.

"Back to the Future" is hands down my favorite movie so I was so glad to get to read this.  I really enjoyed Mike's narrative of how he filmed both "Family Ties" and "Back to the Future" at the same time, it seems both exhausting and insane.  He gave 100% to both shows and added a lot of ad-lib humor to the movie.  I enjoyed reading about certain scenes and being able to picture that scene, and his voice in this book is great! Honestly, I don't remember watching "Family Ties" but reading this made me want to check it out.

Nice Girls Don't Win by Parvati Shallow

 Nice Girls Don't Win by Parvati Shallow-256 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Synopsis: A bold, eye-opening memoir about survival, trauma, and healing from one of reality television’s most talked-about stars

At twenty-five years old, Parvati Shallow was plunged into fame and fortune after becoming the $1 million winner of the reality television series Survivor. But despite her success, the ghosts of her traumatic past, coupled with the harsh glare of the public eye, kept her locked in a survival cycle of fear and shame that sabotaged her self-confidence and eroded her self-trust. It wasn’t until a series of painful life events, including the death of her younger brother and a challenging divorce, that she found herself on a path of healing that would awaken her to her true power and reset the course of her life.

In Nice Girls Don't Win Shallow shares the stories that allowed her to transform her most difficult moments into powerful catalysts for empowerment. From her childhood growing up in a Florida commune run by a tyrannical female guru, to her journey out of the South and inside the L.A. casting rooms that would eventually drop her into the lush but brutal landscapes of Survivor, Shallow shows readers what it took to build herself into the ultimate survivor—for better, and more often, for worse. And then she reveals what it took rebuild herself into something much greater.

As harrowing as it is healing, Shallow’s story is a testament to the profound lessons that can be found in radical self-acceptance and self-love.

Thoughts: This is a captivating account of her multiple appearances on Survivor and her appearance on The Traitors. Shallow also discusses her upbringing in a cult and how her parents got them out. She also discusses her personal journey to accepting all parts of herself. I found this enlightening and a good read. 

Nice Girls Don't Win by Parvati Shallow

Nice Girls Don't Win by Parvati Shallow

256 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

At twenty-five years old, Parvati Shallow was plunged into fame and fortune after becoming the $1 million winner of the reality television series Survivor. But despite her success, the ghosts of her traumatic past, coupled with the harsh glare of the public eye, kept her locked in a survival cycle of fear and shame that sabotaged her self-confidence and eroded her self-trust. It wasn’t until a series of painful life events, including the death of her younger brother and a challenging divorce, that she found herself on a path of healing that would awaken her to her true power and reset the course of her life.

In Nice Girls Don't Win Shallow shares the stories that allowed her to transform her most difficult moments into powerful catalysts for empowerment. From her childhood growing up in a Florida commune run by a tyrannical female guru, to her journey out of the South and inside the L.A. casting rooms that would eventually drop her into the lush but brutal landscapes of Survivor, Shallow shows readers what it took to build herself into the ultimate survivor—for better, and more often, for worse. And then she reveals what it took rebuild herself into something much greater.

As harrowing as it is healing, Shallow’s story is a testament to the profound lessons that can be found in radical self-acceptance and self-love.

Review

I grew up watching (and still watch) Survivor, and Parvati has always been one of my favorite characters/people on and off the show. I read that CBS made her cut a lot of things from this book, so I think if she came back in like 10 years and rewrote this, it would be just a little more compelling- but it also allowed her to get really introspective. Her book is probably not for everyone but if you love strong women and reality TV, watch her on Season 16 of Survivor!

The Still Point of the Turning World

The Still Point of the Turning World by Emily Rapp // 272 pgs

⭐⭐⭐

Like all mothers, Emily Rapp had ambitious plans for her first and only child, Ronan.  He would be smart, loyal, physically fearless, and level-headed, but fun.  He would be good at crossword puzzles like his father.  He would be an avid skier like his mother.  Rapp would speak to him in foreign languages and give him the best education.

But all of these plans changed when Ronan was diagnosed at nine months old with Tay-Sachs disease, a rare and always-fatal degenerative disorder.  Ronan was not expected to live beyond the age of three; he would be permanently stalled at a developmental level of six months.  Rapp and her husband were forced to re-evaluate everything they thought they knew about parenting.  They would have to learn to live with their child in the moment; to find happiness in the midst of sorrow; to parent without a future.

The Still Point of the Turning World is the story of a mother’s journey through grief and beyond it.  Rapp’s response to her son’s diagnosis was a belief that she needed to “make my world big”—to make sense of her family’s situation through art, literature, philosophy, theology and myth.  Drawing on a broad range of thinkers and writers, from C.S. Lewis to Sylvia Plath, Hegel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Rapp learns what wisdom there is to be gained from parenting a terminally ill child.  In luminous, exquisitely moving prose she re-examines our most fundamental assumptions about what it means to be a good parent, to be a success, and to live a meaningful life.

--

This was a sad and poignant read about death and disability. I felt like I was reading a mother’s personal diary detailing her acceptance and grief over the death of her still living child. 

I found Rapp’s perspectives on parenting and death to be refreshing, and it’s easy to empathize with a mother who must grieve what she loves the most. I feel like it was healthy and therapeutic for her to write this book, and I always love seeing new perspectives on death and the meaning of life. Rapp’s personal anecdotes of being disabled were also interesting to read, as well as the connection through that she could have with her son.

It was different from what I was expecting, which was a more biographical approach to her son’s life. While we did get a lot of that (I absolutely adored reading about the little things Rapp loved about her son, the language she used was hauntingly beautiful), it was more so a philosophical exploration of life itself. Rapp showcases a wisdom shadowed by unbelievable grief in a beautiful way, and I’m thankful to have experienced her perspective.

I Was a Doctor In Auschwitz by Gisella Perl

I Was a Doctor In Auschwitz by Gisella Perl, 129 pages

Like most books about the Holocaust, I Was a Doctor in Auschwitz is an intense, brutal read. This memoir struck new levels of horrors in me because I had never really thought about the problem of pregnancy would be in such a place. I have read about the unspeakable horrors and experimentations that were performed on pregnant prisoners and their progeny but this book drove it home in an awful new way.

 

 

Hunger by Roxane Gay

Hunger by Roxane Gay, 306 pages

As a fat woman walking through this world, I felt this memoir echo in my bones. Gay's words were equal parts galvanizing, galling, defeating, and triumphant. I hadn't read anything she'd written and chose Hunger because the idea of a memoir to one's body--a missive, a rumination, a plea--appealed to me. As a woman in society, I am all too familiar with the (often unreasonable) aesthetic demands placed on women. 

In the words of Time: "Gay's writing is simple and direct, but never cold or sterile. She directly confronts complex issues of identity and privilege, but it's always accessible and insightful."

I was unaware of the extreme violence of her past. That fact coupled with the intensity and raw honesty of the text was like jumping face first in a sea of ice water.  I was absorbed and read the book very quickly, but it stays with me. I suspect I'll be chewing on it for a while. 

 

Never Saw Me Coming by Tanya Smith

Never Saw Me Coming by Tanya Smith, 432 pages

Shelby from Goodreads: "I was super nervous because it isn’t my normal genre but something about the slight smirk on the cover drew me in. I cried, laughed, had my jaw on the floor, and bit my nails to oblivion."

 

From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough

 

From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough - 304 pages

In 2022, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter to help finally finish her long-gestating memoir.

A month later, Lisa Marie was dead, and the world would never know her story in her own words, never know the passionate, joyful, caring, and complicated woman that Riley loved and grieved.

Riley got the tapes that her mother had recorded for the book, laid in her bed, and listened as Lisa Marie told story after story about smashing golf carts together in the yards of Graceland, about the unconditional love she felt from her father, about being upstairs, just the two of them. About getting dragged screaming out of the bathroom as she ran towards his body on the floor. About living in Los Angeles with her mother, getting sent to school after school, always kicked out, always in trouble. About her singular, lifelong relationship with Danny Keough, about being married to Michael Jackson, what they shared in common. About motherhood. About deep addiction. About ever-present grief. Riley knew she had to fulfill her mother’s wish to reveal these memories, incandescent and painful, to the world.

To make her mother known.

This extraordinary book is written in both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voices, a mother and daughter communicating—from this world to the one beyond—as they try to heal each other. Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other—the last words of the only child of an American icon.

To be honest, I am not an Elvis fan, and I've not ever listened to any of Lisa Marie Presley's music.  But I was curious about this book b/c I find her a bit of an enigma.  I plowed right through this book; it is very well written and fascinating.  Definitely a great read.

Unbound by Tarana Burke

 Unbound by Tarana Burke, 258 pages  *challenge book

From the founder and activist behind one of the largest movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the "me too" movement, Tarana Burke debuts a powerful memoir about her own journey to saying those two simple yet infinitely powerful words-me too-and how she brought empathy back to an entire generation in one of the largest cultural events in American history. Tarana didn't always have the courage to say "me too." As a child, she reeled from her sexual assault, believing she was responsible. Unable to confess what she thought of as her own sins for fear of shattering her family, her soul split in two. One side was the bright, intellectually curious third generation Bronxite steeped in Black literature and power, and the other was the bad, shame ridden girl who thought of herself as a vile rule breaker, not of a victim. She tucked one away, hidden behind a wall of pain and anger, which seemed to work...until it didn't. Tarana fought to reunite her fractured soul, through organizing, pursuing justice, and finding community. In her debut memoir she shares her extensive work supporting and empowering Black and brown girls, and the devastating realization that to truly help these girls she needed to help that scared, ashamed child still in her soul. She needed to stop running and confront what had happened to her, for Heaven and Diamond and the countless other young Black women for whom she cared. They gave her the courage to embrace her power. A power which in turn she shared with the entire world. Through these young Black and brown women, Tarana found that we can only offer empathy to others if we first offer it to ourselves. Unbound is the story of an inimitable woman's inner strength and perseverance, all in pursuit of bringing healing to her community and the world around her, but it is also a story of possibility, of empathy, of power, and of the leader we all have inside ourselves. In sharing her path toward healing and saying "me too," Tarana reaches out a hand to help us all on our own journeys.

In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some by Josh Gad

In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some by Josh Gad -- 272 pages

A heartfelt and hilarious collection of essays from the comedian and entertainer known for voicing Olaf in Disney's Frozen and for his award-winning turn as Elder Cunningham in the Broadway smash hit The Book of Mormon

For the first and possibly last time Josh Gad dives into a wide array of personal topics: the lasting impact of his parents’ divorce; how he struggled with weight and self-image; his first big break; how everyone was sure his most successful ventures (both on the big screen and on the stage) would fail; his take on fatherhood; and much more. This trip down the rabbit hole of overly personal stories will distract readers from climate change, the downward descent of democracy in Western civilization, and the existential threat that AI poses to Drake’s music—with never-before-seen photos and few-to-no spelling errors. Whether you know him from Disney or Broadway, YouTube, the silver screen, or not at all, one fact remains: Gad’s work never fails to bring people together (as long as they’re alive). His delightful debut, written in the tradition of Amy Poehler, Jim Gaffigan, and Mindy Kaling, reminds us to keep going, even when the chips and doubters are stacked against you.

UnSweetined by Jodie Sweetin

UnSweetined by Jodie Sweetin, 235 pages

In UnSweetined, Jodie Sweetin shares the story of her life after Full House: a frenzied descent into drug and alcohol addiction. She is sincere and unflinching as she shares some of her painful personal battles, stories that often end up with her in physical harm and hurting those she loves. After several years and many unsuccessful attempts to get sober, Sweetin finds the strength to begin truly healing when she discovers she's pregnant. 

This memoir predates Fuller House and the birth of her second child so I would be very curious to see how Sweetin's sobriety is going.  The narrative and flow of this book was a little monotonous, but I think I may have been unduly influenced by the raw, mordant construction of Jennette McCurdy's I'm Glad My Mom Died. A+ for the title punnage, though. 

Lifeform by Jenny Slate

Lifeform by Jenny Slate -- 240 pages

From actor, comedian, co-creator of Marcel the Shell, and New York Times bestselling author of Little Weirds, Jenny Slate, a wild, soulful, hilarious collection of genre-bending essays depicting the journey into motherhood as you’ve never seen it before

What happened was this: Jenny Slate was a human mammal who sniffed the air every morning hoping to find another person to love who would love her, and in that period there was a deep dark loneliness that she had to face and befriend, and then we are pleased to report that she did fall in love, and in that period she was like chimes, or a flock of clean breaths, and her spine lying flat was the many-colored planks on the xylophone, but also she was rabid with fear of losing this love, because of past injury. And then what happened was that she became a wild-pregnant-mammal-thing and then she exploded herself by having a whole baby blast through her vagina during a global plague and then she was expected to carry on like everything was normal—but was this normal, and had she or anything ever been normal? Herein lies an account of this journey, told in five phases—Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby, and Ongoing—through luminous, laugh-out-loud funny, unclassifiable essays that take the form of letters to a doctor, dreams of a stork, fantasy therapy sessions, gossip between racoons, excerpts from an imaginary olden timey play, obituaries, theories about post-partum hair loss, graduation speeches, and more. No one writes like Jenny Slate.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

 

The Glass Castle  by Jeannette Walls 288 pages

In the tradition of Mary Karr's "The Liars' Club" and Rick Bragg's "All Over But the Shouting," Jeannette Walls has written a stunning and life-affirming memoir about surviving a willfully impoverished, eccentric and severely misguided family. The child of an alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother discusses her family's nomadic upbringing, during which she and her siblings fended for themselves while their parents outmaneuvered bill collectors and the authorities.

I had heard so much about this book, but I had never read it myself.  It was very intriguing, and really sad story told very well.  My heart ached for these children, yet understood the need and desire to stay with parents that really don't take care of them.  I am so glad I read it.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir

 

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry  272 pages

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

I did not know how much this man suffered. It was a depressing read and eery because we know the end.

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears -- 288 pages

The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.

Moonshine and Watermelons, Van Patten

Moonshine and Watermelons, Van Patten | 140 pages

A fun look at growing up in the Missouri Ozarks a few decades ago. Van Patten moved to the Steelville area when he was a young teen, showing up on his grandparents' doorstep unannounced after leaving a tumultuous life in California. He makes friends with the locals and learns their ways, from moonshine-soaked watermelons and trout fishing to preteens driving trucks and blowing up fields.

It's interesting to see what's similar and what's very different - while no 14yo would get away with "John Wayne-in" anymore, these Missouri gravel bed creeks are still incredible and the best place to spend a day.

Night by Elie Wiesel

 

Night (The Night Trilogy #1) by Elie Wiesel, 120 p.

"Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel's testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must simply never be allowed to happen again." -- from back cover.