This book is mainly about Montaigne and one man's experience of reading him over the years. While his style is sort of folksy cornpone (which I don't particularly care for), Perry is good at it (and I even laughed out loud a couple times). Plus, his exploration of Montaigne's essays are interesting, if not hugely insightful. Definitely more of a humor book than a philosophy book. ( )

Didn't find this as engaging as his other memoirs, less of him and more of everything seen through the lens of someone else. It did make me buy a copy of Montaigne's essays--the translation itself is ancient, with the more modern ones being much more expensive. ( )

A Fan in Barn Boots
In Montaigne in Barn Boots, Mike Perry reflects on the writings of Montaigne as he compares it to his own personal philosophy. For me, I dipped my toes in Montaigne’s essays and they quickly went numb. However, Mr. Perry made those essays with his down-home folksy similes and metaphors easy to understand . I fear that comes off less than a compliment, but it is a compliment. Those comparisons were dead-on and unique.
Even Mr. Perry questions presenting another memoir from him. Do we want to hear more of Mike’s life and his beliefs? Do we want him to get more personal? This books gives a resounding yes. He writes about his own life to investigate what being human means. He is so effective that he can write a whole book discussing himself without over-indulging and getting over personal.
Yes, Mr. Perry, we want more. We want to know about the man off-stage and those subjects you have not broached. And Mr, Perry we want you to get very personal without going to far and being respectful of our tender sensibilities.
That was his undertaking and he was successful. He does both. For example, he lets us know that his marriage is more than just love poems to her. He reveals that he does have a marriage like ours with its ups and downs while still being as reverential to his wife as our wives wish we would be.
( )

With Montaigne in Barn Boots, author Michael Perry joins the ranks of so many others who have realized that reading Montaigne is like peering into a mirror. You look across the centuries and find that people in Montaigne’s time were just about the same as we are in this “Modern” Era.

Initially, Perry sought out Montaigne for his thoughts on having Kidney Stones, since he was afflicted with them himself. However, Montaigne’s candid nature won him over, even though some of the words are really complicated depending on the translation. He writes of his reading like a chicken pecking at feed, frantically gorging down morsels too big for their gullets.

So Perry discusses the entire gamut of life in this relatively short package; from marriage to death. Packed with wisdom and wry humor, this book is pretty enjoyable. ( )

Who knew Montaigne is such a popular philosopher. Perry's use of his writings to hang some of his own life story from is an interesting angle. I listened to the audio, and I will get the book in print as well, so as to savor some of his wonderful phrasing. ( )