Welp, it’s July and I haven’t made a single book post all year. Instead of bombarding you with the many, many books I’ve read (34 so far), I’m just going to hit the highlights, starting with memoirs written by comedians.
My dad died in January, so I have been in dire need of fun and funny books, and Kevin Hart, Leslie Jones, and Trevor Noah all delivered.
Obviously, comedian’s lives are not all sunshine and light, so they sometimes dealt with heavy topics. However, they made me laugh with them through the pain.
I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is a delight. I needed something funny to read, and I was not disappointed. Hart deals with life through humor, and that was more than evident here. I listened to the audiobook (highly recommend!), and it’s obvious that he goes off script several times, WHICH I AM HERE FOR. Just inject it straight into my veins. I love the off the cuff commentary and storytelling. I had to take several drives to and from the airport, and Kevin kept me company along the way. (In case you can’t tell, we’re friends now.)
Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It was very obvious from the beginning of this audiobook that Leslie Jones was going off script, and I don’t know at which point I looked at the description of the book and saw this: “A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER with 5+ hours of bonus material not found in the print version.”
FIVE PLUS HOURS.
All of them magnificent. ILU, Leslie Jones.
Book is excellent, filled with vulnerability and, of course, humor. Leslie (we’re best friends now; deal with it) does not hold back and shares with an authenticity I wasn’t expecting. I started recommending the book before I finished it, and I stand by every recommendation. Listening to this book was literally like listening to one of my friends (no, actually literally because she reminds me so much of a good friend of mine). She’s a little country, a little hood, a lotta professional, loud, a little (okay, a lot) vulgar. I love her, and I love this book.
Also, her book inspired me to write a post about Quantum Leap Moments.
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fantastic audiobook. I didn’t know Trevor Noah had such a facility with languages/accents. His little boy voice killed me in the best way possible.
Aside from being a general coming of age memoir, there’s a lot of excellent commentary on how stupid racism is and, in the chapter about his mother, how the criminal justice system fails victims of domestic and intimate partner violence.
That said, the memoir is not maudlin at all. There’s a lot of humor throughout, though this should not be mistaken for a comedic memoir.
The one thing I was expecting to read about but did not is how he decided to pursue a career in comedy, but this is very much about his experiences growing up as a mixed/Black kid in South Africa.
Listening to this book also helped me figure out how to address an issue I was having in a project I’m working on, so thank you, Trevor Noah! And yay for reading!
It will also not surprise you that I have since started watching their respective comedy specials. I’m currently making my way through Trevor Noah’s Netflix oeuvre.
No meme graphic this week since I’m firmly in adult (and not kidlit) territory here, but this is, of course, an It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? post.
Have a great week, everyone!
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