I love reading books and after finishing my doctorate in 2011 and taking a much-needed break from reading much of anything, I finally started reading for enjoyment again about a year ago. My reading patterns were scattered at best but the things I did read, I enjoyed. I was reading pretty much anything that was not in the form of a peer-reviewed article like magazines, newspapers, blogs and all kinds of sports-related columns and articles.
I’m glad one of the items on my #35Project list is to read books and/or novels more and over the last two months, I’ve actually read two books. The first was “I Suck At Girls,” a follow up to “Shit My Dad Says” from Justin Halpern.
If you don’t know of Justin Halpern or recognize the name, then you might have seen his short-lived TV show named after his first book staring William Shatner. The storyline of his first book is of a guy who moves back in with his parents and his documentation of sorts of his blunt, yet hilarious father. I enjoyed the show but it wasn’t quite the same as the book, and as the case with many book-to-movie situations, it’s safe to say the book was a hundred times better than the show. The show just didn’t quite have the same feel as the book.
In Halpern’s second book, he spins off the story line from the first book and talks about his terrible luck with the opposite sex over the course of his life. In almost a retrospective nature, he opens with the discussion of a pending engagement and then reflects on his entire life. I’m not kidding when he reviews his entire life. He goes over everything and much like the tone of his first book, his tone and storytelling is self-deprecating, quick paced and easy to read. Not to mention Halpern’s father is around for quips and advice for Justin in the same tone and feel as the first book. He’s not a ladies man in any sense of the word and his ability to be blunt about his “relationships” over the course of his life are not only funny but relatable. I’ve never been a ladies man in any sense of the term and as Halpern talks about the experiences and thoughts that ran through his head, I found it very similar to my crazy experiences with women and just not understanding what the hell is going on sometimes.
Not to mention I found myself laughing the entire time I was reading. Nothing says a book is well written and humorous than sitting in an airport and laughing so much that the person next to you is so annoyed at the constant fits of laughter they have to ask what you’re reading. To me, that’s s pretty good book.
If anything, “I Suck at Girls” showed how funny of a writer Halpern is but his second book really displayed his ability to transform into more of a storyteller and an author who was able to carry me through a sequence of events while leading me to a fantastic ending. There was s sens of nervousness that washed over me as He talks about meeting Amanda and where it’s going that I had a I feeling I knew where everything was going but there was still a part of me that wasn’t sure if it was really going to work out.
There’s no question I would recommend this book to my friends but I would suggest reading “Shit My Dad Says” first, not because it’s necessary but because it helps provide a foundation for “I Suck at Girls” more than anything.
And it’s funny. Who wouldn’t want to read something funny?
Later this week, I’ll talk about the second book I read this month, Dan Brown’s newest book “Inferno.”