I was a little skeptical about this--like, is there anything left to say about the Iraq War? Isn't it kind of beating a dead horse with a drone at this point?--but I heard enough great reviews about it that I picked it up, and I'm glad I did.

It's definitely a satire of the (W) Bush era, and Fox News, and Hollywood, but it's populated with such human characters that it feels fresh. It's the story of Billy Lynn and his fellow soldiers from Bravo Squad, who have become minor celebrities due to their embedded Fox News journalist's footage of sketchily-described skirmish. They're back to the US on a 2-week Victory Tour, during which they attend a Dallas Cowboys game, which is when most of the book's action takes place. It's a story of courage, hypocrisy, and the "band of brothers" love the Bravos have for each other.

Did I say it's funny? It's funny: “Okay, so maybe they aren't the greatest generation by anyone's standard, but they are surely the best of the bottom third percentile of their own somewhat muddled and suspect generation.”

I also think this would have a lot of teen appeal. Billy's only 19, and he grapples with a lot of big issues while being given limited information.

Also, Beyonce is in it.

This has already been compared to [b:The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|693208|The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|Sherman Alexie|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327908992s/693208.jpg|829330] a whole bunch and like, I get it, they're both stories about young American Indian boys going to largely white schools. This one's set across the country, in New York, and in the 1970s. And it's less... cynical, maybe, than Alexie's.

Lately there's been a whole wave of "historical" YA set in the 80s but I haven't read much in the 70s, and I really appreciated all the talk of 70s music--specifically how they were all kind of still in shock about the Beatles breaking up, but also really into Wings.

I liked how sweet Lewis was, and a very frank narrator about not being sure how to make new friends. I also appreciated its frankness about bullying and the realistic closure from that arc.

I read other reviews that really encouraged the audiobook version of this, since it's read by Bob and David and other Mr. Show regulars (Brian Posehn, Paul F Tompkins, Scott Aukerman, etc). I can't compare to the print book, but I LOVED the audiobook. The material is a little rough and you can maybe understand why these didn't make it to film, but they're still really funny, and I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes feel of this.

I think basically if you liked Mr. Show you would like this, particularly the audiobook. If you did not like Mr. Show you probably have a bad sense of humor.

Uhh I feel like I'm the last person to read this. It's good. Great art, compelling use of graphic novel format to quickly illustrate stories, inspirational civil rights story.

I never even met David Rakoff and sometimes out of the blue I still feel really sad that he died. TOO SOON :'(

Anyway, I'm not a devotee of poetry by any means, and there are few circumstances under which I'd pick up a novel written entirely in rhyming couplets. But "David Rakoff's last book" is one of those circumstances, and I loved it. A bit of this was in the Frenemies episode of This American Life ( http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/389/frenemies )--the Scorpion and the Tortois story, which I loved at the time. And thanks to TAL, I was able to hear this whole book in my head in David Rakoff's voice.

This is a series of poetic interludes about different characters whose lives are linked. So, for example, Nathan's story (The Scorpion and the Tortoise wedding toast) is preceded by Susan's story (his ex-girlfriend) and followed by Joshua's (his ex-best friend, now married to his ex-girlfriend). But some of the links are more distant, and I almost cried when I realized at the end how they all relate. I'm almost crying now. Dammit!

Anyway, this is all very Rakoffian--hilarious and humane. He's very insightful, which makes for good humor about people's quirks & foibles, but ultimately he's sympathetic toward all these characters, which means the reader is too. Actually okay, the back cover blurb says "Rakoff's insistence on beauty and the necessity of kindness in a selfish world raises the novel far above mere satire," and I'll co-sign that.

This was a fairly short & fast read, but it packed a huge emotional punch. (Also it's short enough that the rhyming couplets never felt gimmicky to me.)

Oh also there are illustrations by Seth (apparently he's a one name only artist? Which I didn't think you could be if your name was Seth, but this guy's going for it), which I liked and thought looked kind of familiar, and then I got to the About the author/illustrator section and realized he's doing the art for the new Lemony Snicket books. Cool!

I was kind of skeptical about this--the whole point of the Moth is that the stories are told live. What's the point of a book of them?? Plus, I listen to the Moth a lot, so... haven't I already heard these stories?

It's true that a lot of these did sound familiar to me as I read them, but honestly, it didn't matter at all--or maybe it helped even, that I could kind of remember hearing the teller's voice? This was really everything I loved about the Moth, but in book form! Such funny, sad, inspiring stories!!

Also I cried like 8 separate times reading this book.

Also I really liked the introduction/preface that talked about the history of the Moth. Hooray for the Moth!

My feelings about this book are difficult to separate out from a few facts:
1) I think we are entering the era of backlash against Dave Eggers but I still just love him, like, as a person and as an author who has written works that are important to me, as a person
2) I am an avid user of social media

Okay. So. I think this is sharply-observed and honestly some good technological guesswork. It's not too hard to imagine a world where Facebook has been replaced by the Circle. And I do think the privacy issues raised by social media, and by The Circle, are very important to consider.

It's not quite as Jonathan Franzen-y as, um, Jonathan Franzen, but it still feels a lot like it was written by someone who doesn't use or understand social media trying to explain the appeal of social media? Like, guys, it is possible to have meaningful connections over social media. It is! Stop acting like it isn't. That said, of course, it's also good to step back and think about what role social media is having in your life, and the difference between sharing voluntarily and the kind of dystopian total transparency that ends up happening.

It's a bit heavy-handed, as I think his fiction tends to be. I guess maybe his nonfiction is too, but it has a different feel... I guess by virtue of being "true" you can get away with more. Still, an overall good read and more of a page-turner than I expected.

I think this is honestly a 3-star book that I'm giving a bonus star due to my general goodwill toward Jim Henson. It's a solid, well-researched read, but pretty straightforward prose.

I mean, I LOVE Jim Henson. Who doesn't, right? In a way, that's kind of the problem with this biography. I'm not saying I wanted his name drug through the mud or anything, but this is pretty much just 500 pages of how everyone loves Jim Henson. Even the negative parts are glossed over like a job interview applicant trying to make lemonade out of their weaknesses. Like, did he cheat on Jane Henson? Yes, but... they had an understanding, and she was fine with it, and he was always really nice to his girlfriends. OK, fine. Did he work insane hours? Yes, but... his children admired his work ethic, and he always made sure to call home.

Also I was kind of annoyed by how just about every chapter talked about both 1) how Jim didn't care about the money and wasn't doing this for the money, and 2) how Jim had a taste for fancy things and impulse-bought another fancy car or yacht or whatever. I mean, yes, I get that people can contradict each other, but Jones never seemed super aware of the contradiction here? And it was seriously like every chapter.

Still, I mean, there's a reason everybody loves Jim Henson, and reading about his ~vision~ and history etc was great. A lot of the stuff in here I already knew (due to my status as a devoted Muppet fan), but there was also a lot I didn't know and was overall charmed by. And yeah, I cried at the chapter about Jim Henson's funeral.

Mmm I'm granting a bonus star because I just LOVE Lemony Snicket's use of language. So funny and clever and well-crafted.

The mystery itself is kind of whatever? I'm kind of not as into this as Series of Unfortunate Events--but then, I don't think I got super involved with ASOUE until book 5 or 6 or so, because that's when the secret societies and such got really intricate. This is only supposed to be a 4-book series, so, IDK?

Would only recommend to hardcore Lemony Snicket fans. Of which I am one.

This was beautifully written but not really my cup of tea?

My manager & I both had to read it for the library's adult book club, and when we were planning for it she said, "What did you think of it?" and I said, "I'm still trying to figure out what happened, and how I feel about it?" and she said "Thank God, I thought I was the only one."