Diary of Indignities

by Patrick Hughes

Diary of Indignities first foisted itself on an unsuspecting public on the popular blog Bad News Hughes, where thousands of readers are disgusted, amused and just plain baffled by these vivid, seriocomic stories of soul-melting shame. Patrick Hughes doesn't understand exactly where, or when, things went wrong in what should have been a "normal life," but he's more than happy - make that driven - to share his personal calamities with his readers. Inexplicably, he has an uncanny talent for personal failure, with more than the average share of embarrassment, heartbreak, carefree violence, booze, bodily injury, hypochondria, inappropriate nudity, painful rashes, neuroses, colonoscopy procedures and unpleasant smells - all totally true. In Diary of Indignities, complete with humiliating full-color photo essays, the author guides readers past good taste, sense and even logic into that magical, mayhem-ridden world known as his life.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Memoir

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2007

Reviews

[Susan Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, hands down, the funniest book I have ever read in my life.

[Giddy Girlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Diary,
A funny thing happened while I was reading "Diary of Indignities". Ryan said to me "you're not laughing out loud as much as I had expected" and at first it was dissettling. I should have been seized with hilarity... but then I realized why. My ear-to-ear grin wasn't just from reading the absurdities of fried turds or being relentlessly arm-molested by a retard. I was smiling because it felt like coming home. In some other galaxy or perhaps Seinfeld bizzarro universe, you and I were part of the same gang, my friend. I was that girl. The one on the periphery of the group, the brazen get-away driver, the alibi-creator, the conscious one who would drive you home at 5am. Even when you lived 8 hours away. The one who paid for your stitches and lied to the cops for you. In so many ways, I was right there with you. Dick House? I know that place! Some family bought it and is raising their kid there! Hope they know how radioactive it is. The squatter house? We had a corporate development with no security. Minnesota Wristwatch? I actually saw a guy do the "rodeo" stunt at a frat party.

It made me smile and fondly reminisce. Probably the best part of these indignant stories is that it gave a little... how to phrase it? Validation? to all all of the craziness of my past. The mental scars of a jack-off party and peeing on a trampoline. For once, it felt like finally someone else knew, understood. It freaks me out sometimes being Ms. Corporate America and my co-workers having NO IDEA. And knowing that not only could they not understand, but that their minds would melt with the knowing. Like all "regular" people who didn't spend their formative years hanging around inside freshly dug graves.

So THANK YOU, Patrick Hughes. By sharing your indignities, you made me feel a little better. And not because I'm any better off than you. But because at least I don't have an anal fissure.

xoxo

Mia

[Bryan Hovey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Side-splitting, piss in your pants funny. I've never had a book make me laugh out loud like this one did. Now I just need to figure out if I should be concerned that a lot of the stories are eerily similar to experiences I have had.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick Hughes got his start at the brilliant, yes brilliant, Bad News Hughes, http://badnewshughes.blogspot.com/. This book is a collection of the best of those blog entries with a few extras thrown. Hughes documents the absurd, painful and humiliating episodes that seem to hound his life. It can be amazingly funny (I can't remember laughing out loud so much as I read a book), but be warned; it can also be extremely profane and crude. This book s seriously not for the faint of heart. But for all his bluster and bravado, Hughes always manages to give these stories a lot of heart and some of them can be heart-breakingly bitter-sweet. Don't let that wimpy last line lull you into a false sense of security, though, because the moment you start thinking he's a softy, Hughes will bring you back to reality with a story about something like frying a turd. And God bless him for it.

[Shannon L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was acquainted with Patrick as a teenager, shopping at his old record store, Shaft records. Buying some of my favorite records and having him kindly suggest other bands might like. I was a fan of his blog and joked with him one day asking when the book was coming out, to which he messaged me the cover. I was so stoked. When I finally got my hands on it during the bleakest of New Orleans Summers, it provided much welcome, needed and uncontrollable laughter...just as his blog did, finding me laughing, loudly, in public spaces. His honesty and earnest tales of growing up as a nerdy weird punk dude are truly a gift and I'm certainly glad he shared them. So many relatable situations.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read most of these entries on his blog, but am loving having a paper version of Pat's collected antics. I should caution against reading it in a public place, as it is prone to evoking guilty grins and girlish giggles which can easily be misinterpreted by those around you, alliteration notwithstanding.

This isn't for the those with weak stomachs, but it is the best $11 you can spend on words this summer. Or not.

[Carlton Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will learn absolutely nothing from this book, except maybe that is not a good idea to put human feces in a microwave oven, which I think instinctively we all know is off limits...just get this book and laugh and laugh and laugh.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had me laughing out loud multiple times and saying what the, just as much. Great book!

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously, it seems odd for me to review and rate a book that's on my "to-read" list, but I'm quite positive I've actually read nearly every essay contained in this book via Hughes's incredible online version of his Diary of Indignities [http://badnewshughes.blogspot.com/]. Still, I need to pick up a copy just to have around the house as his essays are some of the most hilarious, unconventional essays I've ever read. These are not for the easily offended, but if you have a good sense of humor and don't mind reading rather eloquent essays about, say, Patrick Hughes's crotch [http://badnewshughes.blogspot.com/200...], then you'll no doubt enjoy it.

[Nan The Great · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a graphic reminder that everyone's life is chock full of tiny indignities. Ya know, getting the unexpected period, choking at dinner on a first date, the myriad reasons you don't introduce your friends to your family. Pat Hughes not only shamelessly admits to his moments of embarrassment but manages make the retelling gloriously funny. Somehow he seems to have gotten the lions share the shitstorm.

I seriously laughed out loud as John and I read the book aloud to each other in the evenings. This book rates one of the best Christmas presents I have ever gotten.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot tell you how long I've waiting to read this book, and, thankfully, it did not disappoint. Our library doesn't have it, nobody on BookMooch had it (so I'm sending it back out into the world), so I ended up buying it used on Amazon. My favorite stories about Christmas were missing, but there were pictures of said Christmases, so that was good.

Also, if my dog wrote a book, it would also be called Diary of Indignities.

[kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Patrick Hughes... I've loved his stories since I began reading his website years ago. While many of my favorites from the website are in this book, there were also new nuggets of gold to gnaw on. Crazy family. Crazy childhood. He has it all, and is willing to share it... Probably to a degree more than most people would like. I actually cried from laughing so hard at times.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will likely offend most people. But if you are a challenge to appall then buy this and see how much of a man's talk of his ass ailments you can take. Of course it's also freaking hilarious. You may want to warm up with the author's blog first: http://badnewshughes.blogspot.com/

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Pat Hughes is amazing (and I'm not just saying that because I know him). I read somewhere he is like a less attractive Chuck Klosterman, but I digress. Pat has a spot on sense of humor. I gobbled up this book and immediately wanted more.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't discovered the blog of Patrick Hughes, then go to http://badnewshughes.blogspot.com/, and prepare to laugh your a** off.
His book consists of the best posts from his blog (along with some new ones), all of which are hysterical.
I highly recommend this book.

[Travis]

I won't add stars here since Pat's a friend but I will champion the somber pieces (like the one about going to Tallahassee) that maybe get overshadowed by the bits about jello-shots & slapstick medical emergencies.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of a friend wrote this. It's about his bizarre childhood and life. Definitely not a book for everyone, but a book that will gross you out and fascinate you if you're into that sort of thing. I'd read the back cover for a better idea of what it's about.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

You should buy this book in such a way (independent bookstore, non-used, whatever) that Patrick benefits, because he is more than rad enough to deserve it. Great stories, anecdotes, family photos. Dan Akroyd approved, seriously!!

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very funny at times. Ridiculous at others. A lot of bathroom humor...

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may asked to be buried with this book, or put it in the trunk with my shitless body depending on the circumstances.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious.

[Bombadee]

His blog is hilarious

http://badnewshughes.blogspot.com/

[Alanda Coon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious in a very adolescent way. This guy has truly endured MANY indignities & spills it in this book.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this a lot, but not nearly as much as Chris did, who laughed so hard that people looked at him funny.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voyeur gold!

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! great commute read or for short story fans as this is a compilation of Hughes blog posts. Warning may not want to read in the waiting room of the doctors office.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still not quite finished, but it has been laugh out loud funny. A little crude in spots but still hilarious. I'll have to check out his blog "bad news hughes".

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. I guess I expected more hijinx....just seemed like the typical run-of-the-mill teenager/ man with arrested development instead of being "out there" like I expected.