(hb; 2017: nonfiction/humor)
From the inside flap
"From the beloved and wildly popular podcast WTF with Marc Maron comes a book of intimate, hilarious and life changing conversations with some of the funniest, and most important people in the world like you’ve never heard them before. Waiting for the Punch features the stories and thoughts of such luminaries as Amy Schumer, Mel Brooks, Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Sir Ian McKellen, Lorne Michels, Judd Apatow, Lena Dunham, Jimmy Fallon, RuPaul, Louis CK, David Sedaris, Bruce Springsteen, and President Obama.
"This book is not simply a collection of these interviews, but instead something more wondrous: a running narrative of the world’s most recognizable names working through the problems, doubts, joys, triumphs, and failures we all experience. With each chapter covering a different topic: parenting, childhood, relationships, sexuality, success, failures and others, Punch becomes a sort of everyman’s guide to life. Barack Obama candidly discusses the challenges of the presidency, and the bittersweet moments of seeing your children grow up. Amy Schumer recounts the pain of her parents’ divorce. Molly Shannon uproariously remembers the time she and her best friend hopped a plane from Ohio to New York City when they were twelve on a dare. Amy Poehler dishes on why just because you become a parent doesn’t mean you have to like anybody else’s kids but your own. Bruce Springsteen expounds on the dual nature of desperation to both motivate and devastate.
"Full of stories that are at once laugh-out loud funny, heartbreakingly honest, joyous, tragic and powerful, Waiting for the Punch is a book to be read from cover to cover, but it is also one to return to again and again."
Review
Subtitled
Words to live by from the WTF Podcast,
this collection of transcripts from Maron’s garage-based Internet show, is
laugh-out-loud funny, meaningful and sad in its many interview moments. The
guests range from President Barack Obama to Jen Kirkman to Mick Foley to Lena
Dunham (and numerous others). The topics include: Childhood, Success, Mental
Health, Sex and Failure, and all the accompanying emotions these topics bring
about. I did not read all the guest interviews ─ I am not a fan of certain
people or otherwise curious about them ─ but I read most of the interviews, and
the ones I read this made this a worthwhile, provocative (in a comforting way)
book, one worth reading.
(hb; 2016: nonfiction, humor)
From the inside flap:
"Jen Kirkman wants to be the voice in your head that says, Hey, you’re okay. Even if you sometimes think you aren’t! And especially if other people try to tell you you’re not.
"In I Know What I’m Doing—and Other Lies I Tell Myself, Jen offers up all the gory details of a life permanently in progress. She reassures you that it’s okay to not have life completely figured out, even when you reach middle age (and find your first gray pubic hair!). She talks about making unusual or unpopular life decisions (such as cultivating a “friend with benefits” or not going home for the holidays) because you don’t necessarily want for yourself what everyone else seems to think you should. It’s about renting when everyone says you should own, dating around when everyone thinks you should settle down, and traveling alone when everyone pities you for going to Paris without a man.
"From marriage to divorce and sex to mental health, I Know What I’m Doing is about embracing the fact that life is a bit of a sh*t show and it’s definitely more than okay to stay true to yourself."
Review:
I Know What I'm Doing, like her first book (I Can Barely Take Care of Myself), is a wry, dark-humored and excellent read that is worth your time. Unlike her previous book, it feels more personal, more intense, because now she (as she states in the book) was freer to write about closer-to-her-heart, day-to-day subjects. I especially enjoyed her chapter on Joan Rivers, which effectively, nicely encapsulated the book's themes, a great closer for this work. This is worth reading and worth owning, if you are a big Jen Kirkman or looking for a clever, heart-smart take on relationships, society's expectations for women and being an entertainer.
(hb; 2013: nonfiction, humor)
From the back cover:
" 'You'll change your mind.'
"That's what everyone says to Jen Kirkman—and countless women like her—when she confesses she doesn't plan to have children. But you know what? It's hard enough to be an adult. You have to dress yourself and pay bills and remember to buy birthday gifts. You have to drive and get annual physicals and tip for good service. Some adults take on the added burden of caring for a tiny human being with no language skills or bladder control. Parenthood can be very rewarding, but let's face it, so are margaritas at the adults-only pool.
"Jen's stand-up routine includes lots of jokes about not having kids (and some about masturbation and Johnny Depp), after which complete strangers constantly approach her and ask, "But who will take care of you when you're old?" (Servants!) Some insist, "You'd be such a great mom!" (Really? You know me so well!)
"Whether living rent-free in her childhood bedroom while trying to break into comedy (the best free birth control around, she says), or taking the stage at major clubs and joining a hit TV show—and along the way getting married, divorced, and attending excruciating afternoon birthday parties for her parent friends—Jen is completely happy and fulfilled by her decision not to procreate."
Review:
Barely is a smart, funny (in a dark-ish, underlying-serious way) book that entertains even as it, with Kirkman's well-articulated arguments and autobiographical bits, lists many of the reasons why she -- like many of us who decide not to have kids -- have made that decision. Her humor and points, sharp and not intended for children and the thin-skinned, are empathetic to those who are parents -- further showing Kirkman's humanity, even when she is making jokes and going against the stated grain.
This is a good read, worth owning for those inclined toward Kirkman's logic and wry, dark-ish sense of humor. If you like this book, you might want to check out her follow-up, I Know What I'm Doing and Other Lies I Tell Myself.
