Solid 3.5. Very funny, well-written. No surprises. A memoir culminating at the age of 30, even of a pretty interesting life such as Zach’s, is a bit over ambitious.

The book is intended for people already familiar with the author’s life. Given the import and global appeal of his message, I feel this is a mistake. The narrative would have benefited from more explanation of his family constellation earlier in the story, as well as a more linear structure.

All this aside, Zach is funny as hell. Even his saddest reflections are recalled from a perspective of wit and inner strength.

The moment I appreciated the most was when he saw the edited version of Oprah’s interview with him, and Oprah crying, saying that she couldn’t imagine going through what he faced every day. Zach’s reaction was along the lines of (I’m paraphrasing): “Uh, I’m a white middle class guy who benefitted from every privilege life could throw at me. I’ve got a disability and tons of accommodations for it. This woman grew up black, in poverty, in 1950s Chicago. I think she had it a LITTLE harder than I did!”

Wow. Floored me. Bravo, Zach.

So definitely a book I recommend. Is it the best book you’ll ever read? Probably not. Is it worth reading? Yes. ( )

I wish that I had liked this memoir by Zach (with a H) Anner more than I did.

If you are not familiar with him, Mr. Anner lives with cerebral palsy, and back in 2011 won his own travel show on the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011. I recall the reality show that Mr. Anner was on that got him his own show, and I honestly don't remember much else besides saying that's cool when I heard who won. Since his show has been cancelled it seems that Mr. Anner has been hosting a web series with Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) and also producing segments on his own Youtube channel.

I had a lot of trouble getting through this memoir in certain parts. I think the most pressing problem that I saw was that the book jumped around a lot and only seemed highly focused on the Oprah Winfrey reality show.

We get tidbits here and there about Mr. Anner's family (which I loved) but he doesn't dwell on them too much besides tossing a bone here and there in the book until we get to Chapter 17: Grandma: The Musical! That is when the book really came alive for me as a reader. Even when we do have Mr. Anner focus on certain aspects of his younger years, he bounces around a lot within a chapter in order to link it to whatever overall theme he wants to discuss.

I did find it a bit....troubling or simply naive that Mr. Anner danced around the issues that many people had with sites like Reddit and 4Chan. I don't think it's old men and women trying to control the internet, it's making sure sites like that don't just go around and do the things that some of the members do. I am glad that Mr. Anner had a positive experience with them, but I found it a bit disingenuous for him to not really delve into why Reddit and 4Chan members voted for him (it sounds like they did it to stick to Oprah because of whatever reasons) and I really couldn't get to what he was trying to say there because I felt like he was being overly cautious to not insult Oprah or Reddit.

I think the big thing was that we don't get a sense of all that Mr. Anner had gone through until the very end of the book when he acknowledges that he had some depression and medical issues in high school which sidelined him and also caused him to question a lot of things that were going on in his life at the time. And once again, I have to say, that was when I felt like I was getting to see the real Mr. Anner. I thought the whole book was him trying to be as funny and witty as possible and trying to gloss over certain experiences he had.

All in all I found it to be a so-so memoir. ( )

If you aren’t familiar with Zach Anner, it’s time to get to know him. He is freaking hilarious and his book is made up of his real life adventures. It’s a great read which will make you laugh while also delivering some hard truths along the way.
Little nuggets like, “Laughing at somebody is just another way of dismissing them, but laughing with somebody is a bridge to understanding.” Zach writes with honesty and wit and will leave you feeling like part of his inner circle. ( )

If you aren’t familiar with Zach Anner, it’s time to get to know him. He is freaking hilarious and his book is made up of his real life adventures. It’s a great read which will make you laugh while also delivering some hard truths along the way.
Little nuggets like, “Laughing at somebody is just another way of dismissing them, but laughing with somebody is a bridge to understanding.” Zach writes with honesty and wit and will leave you feeling like part of his inner circle. ( )

Maybe the physical book would be better than the audio, because then I could speed read more and move faster through the jokes that are in every sentence, simile, description, analogy, that drag the narrative out. Sure, they're good, but it's too much, and in the audio they're drawn out as if he's expecting to be interrupted by laughter or a "ba-da-bum" on the drum set. I get why the first anecdotes are about his O network show, but then why go reverse chronology from there? When he's ending the Disney section and alludes to his future in Austin, Texas, I already know what happens in that chapter of his life because I just read it. There's nothing pulling me through the book (other than my stubbornness to read the book to the end) because I'm going backwards through his life for the most part. Also, every section ends with his life lessons. That's nice, and they're good reflections, but it gets tedious. I'd recommend this book as viewed as short stories --
pick it up and read one, put it down and come back weeks/months later.
Or maybe I'd connect more if I was already a fan, but to be honest I've never heard of the guy. I just saw the title in hotlists and liked the title.
UPDATE: To be fair, it does get better (amazingly!) for the final few chapters. More mature, less gimmicky. That, or the guy just grew on me. ( )