Hugh W.

Phenomenal

Reviewed: 11-16-18

Bought on a whim and was shocked how good it is. This guy can write and there’s a very strong message. It’s Hilarious and heartfelt — an in the trenches look at his own character arc spanning years of hard work to become a writer. The guy’s resilience is impressive, his wit admirable, his dedication to family along the way something i strive to achieve as well. Inspiring and also just a real look at what it takes to be successful, what it takes to chase down a dream that’s calling you. I’ve listened to dozens and dozens of memoirs, this one really struck a chord with me. Give it a chance. A+ oh and the narrator is exceptional as well.

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4 people found this helpful

For this genre it’s avg

Reviewed: 03-21-18

Just middle of the pack, not terrible, not exceptional. Because there’s so much content out there I’d recommend you grab something exceptional.

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2 people found this helpful

Above avg but very long winded

Reviewed: 03-20-18

Author feels like he has to overexplain/comment on everything. Done sparingly it’s good but done to this degree does make story move too slowly. The story is what’s good not his analysis.

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Crackling, Courageous, Compelling

Reviewed: 11-13-17

Fully of laughs as well as plenty of insight into her own life struggles. I am a quasi fan of her stand up but a huge fan of this book and have already recommended it to a few friends, male and female alike.
AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

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Hugely Disappointing

Reviewed: 12-02-16

What would have made Popular better?

Poorly organized. No thruline. Material is dated b/c it's about okaycupid which no one uses now. Read like average blog entries from a community college student who's just starting to learn to write. She wants to come across as a humble but instead she comes across as a name dropping social climber who denies how much her good looks play into her story which never would've happened otherwise. No idea how this book got published, at least without a major rewrite.

Would you ever listen to anything by Lauren Urasek and Laura Barcella again?

Never in a million years.

What character would you cut from Popular?

Repeating I'm #1 on okay cupid a zillion times.

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Overwritten with a couple gems

Reviewed: 03-28-15

A couple explanations of concepts are great and so are the practical examples, but they are lost in an overwritten text where too much time is spent on the easy stuff.

Author has a good sense of humor and sound convictions (appreciated in this field) just a poor literary structure. This shouldn't be organized like a Gladwell book, it should be organized like a book of 2-3 page short stories.

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Rare work of genius in this genre PHENOMENAL

Reviewed: 11-23-14

What made the experience of listening to Revolution the most enjoyable?

Tracks his spiritual reawakening, his shift in perspective, his insight gained through mistake after mistake. He is by no means a saint and doesn't claim to be. His indomitable determination is inspirational and his desire to share these pearls of wisdom is such a breath of fresh air in the realm of these trite celebrity advice giving memoirs. Most celebrities have these rich lives, many from rags to riches, and yet when you read what they have to say, nothing to share that could help others. He has something substantive to say. He's spent the time reading, researching, experiencing, and formulating these thoughts. And indeed, these are some very deep thoughts, they will make you think, they will challenge you, and of course it would be impossible for them not to entertain you and make you laugh. He dispells the myths of celebrity, fame, fortune. He calls the Oscars boring and a huge letdown. Nobody says these things. He has serious balls. His past books due to their nature were restricted in what he could express. Now he's laying it all out there. Here it is world, these are my best thoughts, take what you want and leave the rest. We're all in this together. And I'll have you know I had less than favorable notions of him until I became more familiar with his work (standup, interviews). I consider him a role model and wish there were more public figures like him.

What does Russell Brand bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's a performer more than anything else. Just like Amy Poehler or Tina Fey him reading the book is more the way the material should be consumed. His voice, his inflection, his speech patterns, him. It's like a screenwriter also directing the material, more of a complete vision.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Time to Grow

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11 people found this helpful