Sunday, January 5, 2014

Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

From Goodreads:

In Dad is Fat, stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan, who’s best known for his legendary riffs on Hot Pockets, bacon, manatees, and McDonald's, expresses all the joys and horrors of life with five young children—everything from cousins ("celebrities for little kids") to toddlers’ communication skills (“they always sound like they have traveled by horseback for hours to deliver important news”), to the eating habits of four year olds (“there is no difference between a four year old eating a taco and throwing a taco on the floor”). Reminiscent of Bill Cosby’s Fatherhood, Dad is Fat is sharply observed, explosively funny, and a cry for help from a man who has realized he and his wife are outnumbered in their own home.

Aaron and I saw Jim Gaffigan a few months ago with some friends and my face hurt so bad afterward from smiling and laughing that hard for so long.

I didn't find myself laughing quite so much while reading Dad is Fat but, more frequently, made a "true that!" face while nodding my head. The humor is definitely still there but it felt more like sharp, clever observation than the stand-up comedy I'm used to from him. He also had a lot of surprisingly sweet moments in talking about how much he loves his children and how amazing he thinks his wife, Jeannie, is. Absolutely worth listening to (especially because he reads the audiobook himself)!

No comments: