William

Epic Disappointment

Revisado: 12-08-24

My wife and I became a nudist in our 20’s. I often wonder what it would have been like to grow up a nudist. So I was very excited to read a memoir from someone who grew up in the same area of Florida I did. However, I hated every second of this book. From the clunky writing style meant to mimic a child’s speech, to the narrator’s choice to imitate Forest Gump. On the narrator, I have listened to her in other books and she has a beautiful voice, so either she think’s Florida talk like inbred mountain people or the actual author sounds that way and the narrator was imitating her. To add insult to injury, the author turned her back on nudism. Such a shame from start to finish.

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Not worth the money or time

Revisado: 09-17-24

This book is more of an advertisement for "The Amazing Comedy Theater" and has very little information.

I was about to give the book one star because the narrator talked so fast. However, the voice became normal when I reduced the speed to 0.8x. Like Ron White once said, "If you are bombing, slow down... and if you are killing, slow down."

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Career Comic Gives Advice for Aspiring Comics

Revisado: 05-17-24

I've read over a dozen books on comedy, and all of them have had a few nuggets of enlightenment. However, most of the comedic autobiographies like Steve Martins, Billy Crystal, Jimmy Carr, etc, while great books, come from comic geniuses that found their way to greatness in unrelatable ways.
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Steve Sabo, is a battle hardened comic, who despite being incredibly funny (check him out on YouTube) has never had a Netflix special. What he has had is a fulltime comedy carrier for decades.
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Steve Sabo tells it like it is - the raw and unpleasant truth about Show Business and the life of a Road Comic. And while it is often quite disheartening, it is also educational and helps young comics make realistic goals.
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More importantly, How To Fail At Stand-up Comedy gave great nuance advice about what not to do that no other How To Be A Comic book touched on.
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I've been doing open mic's for a year now and last month I bombed for the first time. Don't get me wrong, I have had sets with only smiles and light laughter before but this was boondock crickets quiet! I was shaken to my core. The strangest part was that I had actually killed with the same set the night before at another club. It wasn't until I read this book, did I realize it wasn't just a bad crowd (which it was) but I had made two major fauxpas with my first two lines.
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-See, I'm 6'3", 400lbs, and fairly animated when I preform. So when I saw the sage at the back of the bar was only 4'x6' I thought it would be funny to say, "What happen, you couldn't afford the whole sheet of plywood... I'm a big ole boy, I need more room than this" to open my set. So what I thought was self-deprecating was actually fauxpas number one, "Never insult the stage."
-The next joke was my actual opener, that had gotten huge laughs the three previous shows - which had caused me to become accustomed to pausing to let the laughs die down - however this time, it was met with depravation-chamber quality silence. Granted this was an open-mic with only comedians in attendance and half of them had heard the joke at the other club the night before, but this was almost angry silence. Fauxpas number one had already alienated these local comics (I was in WI but live MS). Then I made fauxpas number two, as the silence continued through my set, I acknowledged that I was bombing. From there, I couldn't bring the crowd back around. Even the two friends I brought with me looked at me with a level of pity that is usually reserved for conciliation over the death of a pet.
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However, until I read this book, I didn't see that the bad night was mostly self-inflicted. However, once I was able to see those things, I was able to analyze the set in a new way and found that the night before, I had also left out an edgy tag by accident, but I had added it to the blitzkrieg of bombs the second night. I've since corrected these fauxpas and the set is better than before and back killing.
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One last note on this book: the narrator is a computer program that was shockingly good. Professional narrators are in deep trouble.

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I like Sarah a lot less now

Revisado: 11-10-23

I actually bought the printed copy first but just couldn't get into it, so I thought listening to the audio version on my commute might be better. It wasn't.

I love Sarah's comedy. However, since I can't stand to finish the last hour of her book, and I can't return it, I felt the only way to make things right, was to write a review and spare others the expense.

Every autobiography is a one-sided story where the author paints themselves as the victim or heroes in every scenario. That has to be expected but Sarah is a "Champion" at this. Perhaps if I would have listened to the last hour, it would have turned out that the whole book was supposed to be ironic and the real tip for "How To Be Champion" was to writing an autobiography.

Either way, Sarah spends so much time pitying herself that the timeline of her life is lost. I really wanted to know what it was like for a woman to become a comedian. Did she do a lot of gigs before getting on TV? Did she struggle to find her voice? How did she transfer from being a 9 to 5 worker to a full-time comedian? What was her first time really like and what were those joke like compared to now?

Instead, Sarah spent the whole time lamenting on being bullied by literally everyone in her school (even the nerdy kid with glasses) - which reminded me of the old adage, if it seems like everyone, it's probably you.

Eventfully, she moved on to complaining about people noticing her looks because she is a woman. I hate to be the barer of bad news, Sarah but there are only two groups of people who are noticed for their looks: Very pretty people, and very ugly people. No one cares about that large group in the middle (This applies to both men and women - just ask Brad Pitt or Lyle Lovett). I had always thought she was a fantastic comedian of perfectly nice looks, that dressed that way for comic affect (like Chris Porter in his earlier shows). It turned out she dresses that way to draw attention from what she deems her less flattering features, then complains because people notice it - like those people who tattoo their faces and then wonder why everyone staring.

This was all punctuated by a narration that was so melancholy, that it practically screamed, "See how despite being rich and famous, I'm really just a sad victim?"

Look, this book has a lot of 5 star reviews, so maybe it's just me (I believe in that old adage myself). So buy the book but if it turns out I was right, please come back and mark this review as "helpful", so I can say, out loud to my computer, "I told you so!" It really is the little joys that get me through my day.

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Judy Carter's voice makes me wish I were def

Revisado: 10-02-23

This book is bad on every level and I returned it at the halfway point.

For starters, Judy Charter's voice sounds like a 90yo Jewish woman from New York has a cold and is whining because her kids won't visit her. Then add that she is talking so fast, that it sounds like she's about to miss her bus. This combination of tone and cadence was so grating, I actually felt myself clenching the steering wheel of my car.

As for context - if you are looking to write hacky, clean, dad jokes, then this is the book for you. In fact, it is obvious that a legion of comedy central comedians followed her format through out the earlier 2000's... you know, those comedians that did politically correct, clean jokes about what it was like to be White/black/Jewish/Indian/male/female/gay but you never saw more than once. In the three hours I listened to this book, Judy used the work Hack a hundred times, and yet missed the irony that what she was instructing was all pure hack.

Yes, she had some good tips: write ever day, look at the audience not your shoes, plan a gig. However, these tips are in every comedy book. Save your money. I got more out of the Ralphie May's Comedy 101 YouTube video than I got out of this book and his voice didn't make me homicidal.

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Fun and Fantastic!

Revisado: 03-23-22

If , like me, you are a Sci-Fi nerd with a sense of humor, then I strongly recommend this book.

I believe the real test of a good audiobook is when you find yourself sitting in your driveway at the end of a long commute, still listening to the story. This was the case with Hank. It is a mash up of superpowered mutants, gangland violence, planet eating aliens, and a mild mannered thug, Hank who keeps it all together.

The narration was wonderfully distinct. Each character had its own accent and tone. However, Hank's cadence sounded like it was supposed to be a John Wayne impersonation but came off like a dramatic Captain Kirk monologue with pauses and inflections in odd part of the sentences. Just the same, it only slightly distracted from a great performance and great book. I plan to listen to the entire Hank series and hope the Hank voice evens out over time.

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Great book if you can get past the PC preaching.

Revisado: 10-29-21

For starters, let me say that I really love listening to Will Wheaton narrate. I've said it before, it just feels like a old friend is reading the book to me. That being said, Will did such a good job narrating that I forgot it was him and lost myself in the book.

As for the story, let's start with the positive:

The plot and premise are original and quite enjoyable. If you were a fan of the movie, you will probably like the book but prepare yourself, because other than the names of the characters and the basic root of the plot, the movie and the book are not similar at all. Nonetheless, I found myself sitting in my driveway on several days, continuing to listen even after I had finished my daily commute. I suppose that is the best measure of an audiobook.

I also really enjoyed the trip down memory lane as I was an 80's kid myself.

As for the negative:

The characters are forgettable and the dialog is a bit cheesy at times but the plot makes up for that.

Sadly, there was a time when literature cut across the grain of the status quo and presented new ideas. These days, so much main stream writing (especially Sci-Fi) goes down a list of check boxes to appease the PC police.

In the first chapter, Cline/Artemis goes on a atheist rant. This is actually a twist since most PC writers usually just attack organized religion. However Cline pontificates that all people of faith are delusional morons. I wouldn't even mention this in my review, as it is one of those check boxes publishers seem to require these days, but the topic never comes up again throughout the book. So the rant seemed pointless and sounded more like Cline has personal issues he is trying to work through.

The other part of the PC narrative was the Global Warming angle. I'm not denying Global Warming, I'm just saying Clines depiction of the apocalypses didn't make any sense. Despite the characters in the book being privy to multiple forms of renewable energy such as solar and even human powered generators, the entire world has been plunged into ciaos due to the lack of oil which causes an energy crisis. Instead of fleshing out a world were people have adapted to the end of oil, Cline simply gets stuck in a loop of, "Man is evil and the world is doomed."

That all being said, these preachy PC check boxes spring up and then are quickly washed into the distant background leaving a fairly entertaining book. I do recommend Ready Player One for the pure entertainment value.

FYI: I also attempted to listen to Ready Player Two but after 2 hours of PC drivel without any sign of a plot on the horizon, I gave up and returned the audiobook for a credit refund. Even Will Wheaton couldn't save that one.

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Applicable To Workplace Safety

Revisado: 06-18-21

As a safety professional, I found this book incredibly applicable to my work and have begun integrating some of the theories in this book into my safety program. But even if it weren’t so useful, I still found the information very interesting I even caught myself sitting in the driveway of my house at the end of my commute, not wanting to turn off the book.

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Awful Politically correct drivel.

Revisado: 10-14-20

One of the guest to this traditional southern dinner was a vegan... and that sort of left wing nonsense continued throughout the book. “Book” I mean podcast. When prairie chickens couldn’t be procured, they substituted the bird with tofu.

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Fantastic Info That Is Worthy Of Repeat Reads

Revisado: 03-13-19

I have owned this book since 2014 and I listen to it every year before the beekeeping season starts. Alex Norton's Scottish brogue has become the theme music of my beekeeping journey.

The book is fairly short, as are most audio beekeeping books, but it is filled with useful information. The best of this information is the section on hive splits.

If you are a new beekeeper, then I strongly suggest you give this book a listen. If you are a seasoned beekeeper, then I still suggest the book - sure it won't provide you with new information but you just might be reminded of some basics you have forgotten.

If for no other reason, I recommend this book for Alex Norton's voice. The way he says Mer-Der when talking about killing old queens, echoes in my head every time I have to do the deed.

Just a wonderful book... I think I'll give it a listen before I make my Spring splits next week.

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