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Good Talk, Dad: The Birds and the Bees...and Other Conversations We Forgot to Have
From popular TV hosts and bestselling authors Bill and Willie Geist, a hilarious testament to the special nature of father-son relationships. In GOOD TALK, DAD, this talented father-son team shares stories of their funny and heartwarming relationship. Told in a unique back-and-forth banter style, this extended conversation riffs on everything from music and sports to summer camp, driving lessons, and family life. Imagine Big Russ & Me meets Sh*t My Dad Says. After Bill went public with his struggle with Parkinsons disease, the Geists decided to collaborate on this book so their children and grandchildren would have a record of their unique bond. Now that Willie is a father (and Bill a grandfather), Willie has continued Bill's child-rearing traditions in the hopes of carrying on the riotous Geistian parenting legacy. The result is delightfully entertaining, wildly funny, and poignant as well.
5 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
August 1, 2014
I really enjoyed reading this book and one day I would like to listen to the authors narrating it. It's an entertaining look at the relationship between the father and son, with each providing their viewpoint on issues they never discussed, and on various family events. Reading about Willie's childhood, you feel like it had to be the best childhood experience ever, or were grateful you didn't grow up anywhere near these people. The banter between these two men is evidence of their close relationship, and through the book we see that although there might not have been those father/son conversations, Bill's actions provided Willie with all the parental guidance he needed.
September 23, 2014
For years, I have enjoyed Bill Geist because of his wonderful, warm, and light-hearted contributions to CBS Sunday Morning. This book is a continutation of that style and it is obvious that the apple does not fall far from the tree when you hear Willie Geist share his side of the story.
This was a fun read (or listen) and had many laugh out loud moments....especially Bill's conversation about the Rolling Stones in about Chapter 10.
Enjoy!!!
This was a fun read (or listen) and had many laugh out loud moments....especially Bill's conversation about the Rolling Stones in about Chapter 10.
Enjoy!!!
October 21, 2019
In addition to laugh-outloud funny at times, there were so many stories that reflected on my own life.
January 25, 2015
Very nicely done.
June 30, 2020
I like Willie Geist though I never really knew anything about him aside from Morning Joe or his newest show, Sunday Today. He has an iconic voice and I thought that he and his Dad narrating the book would make the book even better. I was hoping for more than just stories. They were often humorous but I was itching for more. I am a "more" kind of person. I truly never got a real glimpse of who Willie is or his Dad. Not sure what I was really after by reading (listening to) this book but it certainly left me wanting.
August 18, 2024
Listened to the audio book read by both Bill and Willie Giest. They are both excellent story tellers and trade off their version of both growing up and raising children. The stories are often hilarious and frequently endearing and heart warming .
June 24, 2021
I’m not super familiar with Bill Geist but became familiar with Willie Geist years ago when I watched Morning Joe. Very entertaining book and a lot of fun to listen to with the two of them reading their respective chapters. If you’re looking for a fun and quick read, I’d definitely recommend it.
June 13, 2014
Bill Geist has been doing pieces for CBS Sunday Morning for years. He usually profiles interesting (quirky) people and places, and his sense of humor makes me smile. His son Willie Geist is currently one of the co-hosts on the third hour of the Today Show, and is featured on MSNBC's Morning Joe. He clearly inherited his father's sense of humor.
Just in time for Father's Day, they have written a book that I dare say most of us can relate to: Good Talk Dad: The Birds and The Bees...And Other Conversations We Forgot To Have, which pokes fun at the fact that Bill never gave Willie 'the sex talk'. Come to think of it, they never had deep conversations about other important things either. Sound familiar?
Early on, Willie describes embarrassingly being baptized as a 19 year-old in a church service, along with several babies sleeping peacefully in their mother's arms. He asks:
"Couldn't they have done this in a private ceremony before the service, as they do with the technical awards at the Oscars? In a ceremony earlier today, nineteen-year-old Willie Geist was given the sacrament of baptism."
If that made you giggle, you'll love this book as much as I did. Bill and Willie alternate telling stories from their lives, some of which differed depending on whom was telling it.
Bill and his wife Jody decided to send Willie to summer camp. But not to the camp that all Willie's friends were going to; Willie went to Camp Carson, "where convicted nonviolent offenders were sent to serve out their sentences", unbeknownst to Bill and Jody. That wasn't in the brochure. The campers had to decide whether they were safer backing the Latin Kings or the Spanish Gangster Disciples, who, at night, slashed each other car tires as a "prank".
When Bill received a $10,000 check to write a book, he bought a brand new red Jeep to celebrate. Willie loved his dad's "instinct to take that ten-thousand-dollar book check and spend every nickel of it as fast as you could, like a rapper who just got his first record deal".
Some of the funniest stories involve that Jeep. Jody taught Willie to drive on that Jeep, and then when it was all beat up and on its last legs, Jody drove down to Nashville to accompany Willie to college, but they had to make many stops along the way, coaxing that Jeep and stopping to repair it and feed it antifreeze several times before making it to Vanderbilt.
Bill and Willie shared a love of the New York Yankees and inappropriate humor. When Willie's basketball team held a year end banquet and discovered that the special guest was not a famous New Jersey Nets player but the team mascot, the boys pounded the poor mascot with rolls from the table. Some dads disciplined their sons, yanking them out of there. Bill laughed hysterically, thinking it was pretty darn funny.
There are serious moments in here, such as when Bill finally tells his children (after ten years) that he has Parkinson's disease. They found out when they received emails from people after reading about it on Bill's Facebook page. They suspected something was wrong, but never realized the truth.
I loved the stories about aunts and uncles and grandparents; it reminded me of my own family. And when Willie becomes a dad, his stories about his children, Lucie and George, are utterly charming.
This is a perfect book to read this Father's Day, or to give as a gift. It is funny, heartwarming (but mostly funny) and Bill and Willie are terrific writers; their voices come shining through as if they sitting next to you on the couch, recounting their stories aloud. It's like S@$t My Dad Says, but without all the cursing.
Just in time for Father's Day, they have written a book that I dare say most of us can relate to: Good Talk Dad: The Birds and The Bees...And Other Conversations We Forgot To Have, which pokes fun at the fact that Bill never gave Willie 'the sex talk'. Come to think of it, they never had deep conversations about other important things either. Sound familiar?
Early on, Willie describes embarrassingly being baptized as a 19 year-old in a church service, along with several babies sleeping peacefully in their mother's arms. He asks:
"Couldn't they have done this in a private ceremony before the service, as they do with the technical awards at the Oscars? In a ceremony earlier today, nineteen-year-old Willie Geist was given the sacrament of baptism."
If that made you giggle, you'll love this book as much as I did. Bill and Willie alternate telling stories from their lives, some of which differed depending on whom was telling it.
Bill and his wife Jody decided to send Willie to summer camp. But not to the camp that all Willie's friends were going to; Willie went to Camp Carson, "where convicted nonviolent offenders were sent to serve out their sentences", unbeknownst to Bill and Jody. That wasn't in the brochure. The campers had to decide whether they were safer backing the Latin Kings or the Spanish Gangster Disciples, who, at night, slashed each other car tires as a "prank".
When Bill received a $10,000 check to write a book, he bought a brand new red Jeep to celebrate. Willie loved his dad's "instinct to take that ten-thousand-dollar book check and spend every nickel of it as fast as you could, like a rapper who just got his first record deal".
Some of the funniest stories involve that Jeep. Jody taught Willie to drive on that Jeep, and then when it was all beat up and on its last legs, Jody drove down to Nashville to accompany Willie to college, but they had to make many stops along the way, coaxing that Jeep and stopping to repair it and feed it antifreeze several times before making it to Vanderbilt.
Bill and Willie shared a love of the New York Yankees and inappropriate humor. When Willie's basketball team held a year end banquet and discovered that the special guest was not a famous New Jersey Nets player but the team mascot, the boys pounded the poor mascot with rolls from the table. Some dads disciplined their sons, yanking them out of there. Bill laughed hysterically, thinking it was pretty darn funny.
There are serious moments in here, such as when Bill finally tells his children (after ten years) that he has Parkinson's disease. They found out when they received emails from people after reading about it on Bill's Facebook page. They suspected something was wrong, but never realized the truth.
I loved the stories about aunts and uncles and grandparents; it reminded me of my own family. And when Willie becomes a dad, his stories about his children, Lucie and George, are utterly charming.
This is a perfect book to read this Father's Day, or to give as a gift. It is funny, heartwarming (but mostly funny) and Bill and Willie are terrific writers; their voices come shining through as if they sitting next to you on the couch, recounting their stories aloud. It's like S@$t My Dad Says, but without all the cursing.
June 14, 2014
I love Bill Geist's human interest features on "CBS Sunday Morning" where he reports on quirky and sometimes totally bizarre slices of American life from the Santa Claus University to the convention of antique toaster collectors. And I also see Willie Geist almost every morning as I watch "Morning Joe" on MSNBC and read the morning papers. Yet somehow I never made the connection that they were father and son (yes I know, I'm a little slow on the uptake).
This breezy little read is their collaboration on how fathers and sons deal with one another and what makes a good family, and it is hilarious and also heartwarming. The story about Willie's summer at a camp where all the counselors were were non-violent gang member serving out their sentences as camp counselors, was only topped by Willie's surreal retelling of his road trip with his Uncle Herb to see the Rolling Stones in Atlantic City.
Along the way we hear about the family's Jeep, purchased with Bill's first book advance and living on through 15 years of adventures before going to its final junkyard resting place as well as more serious subjects like Bill's year in Vietnam in the late 1960's and his struggle to "come clean" about his Parkinson's disease.
The Geists are warm, funny and clearly love their family and this book is the perfect Father's Day present for any dad. (
This breezy little read is their collaboration on how fathers and sons deal with one another and what makes a good family, and it is hilarious and also heartwarming. The story about Willie's summer at a camp where all the counselors were were non-violent gang member serving out their sentences as camp counselors, was only topped by Willie's surreal retelling of his road trip with his Uncle Herb to see the Rolling Stones in Atlantic City.
Along the way we hear about the family's Jeep, purchased with Bill's first book advance and living on through 15 years of adventures before going to its final junkyard resting place as well as more serious subjects like Bill's year in Vietnam in the late 1960's and his struggle to "come clean" about his Parkinson's disease.
The Geists are warm, funny and clearly love their family and this book is the perfect Father's Day present for any dad. (
June 1, 2014
I wanted to love this book since I enjoy all of Bill Geist's work. It is worth the read but not a great book. The described family dynamics were entertaining to a point but I found myself disliking son Willie. Casual and what are meant to be funny references to his adolescent rule breaking, run ins with the law (that father Bill always gets him out of), and excessive drinking got old. We learn in an amusing way that while Bill worked hard to earn his success, son Willie sort of fell into it. The parts of the book written by Bill are superior to Willie's but that is expected since Willie is not a writer. The chapters where Bill describes his Viet Nam tour of duty and then Parkinson's Disease are soul baring emotional.
Good Talk, dad is worth your time and would make an excellent book for a plane trip.
Good Talk, dad is worth your time and would make an excellent book for a plane trip.
March 18, 2016
Authored by beloved CBS This Morning contributor Bill Geist and his son Willie (who I'd never heard of before), this collection of growing-up-together stories appears to have been a source of great fun and bonding. Unfortunately it's less fun for the reader. Certainly there are highlights (Bill's career notes, his Parkinson's revelation) and some moments played for laughs (especially their Geist date in history bits), but mostly it results in a dry vanity project.
I seriously question their format for the book, it really amounts to a lazy way to produce a project together. They wrote it in an epistolary way, but I found this very awkward - how much better it would have been to address their readers in the text than one another ("Willie, I never told you...").
The book trades on their minor fame, and is really far less interesting than I think they realize.
I seriously question their format for the book, it really amounts to a lazy way to produce a project together. They wrote it in an epistolary way, but I found this very awkward - how much better it would have been to address their readers in the text than one another ("Willie, I never told you...").
The book trades on their minor fame, and is really far less interesting than I think they realize.
November 22, 2015
Laugh out loud funny! The famous (?) father and son duo, Bill and Willie Geist, recall numerous tales of Willie 's childhood: sports, teen and pre-teen antics, family gatherings and outings, and of course the talks that never really happened. Though my own childhood and experiences raising my own children pale in comparison, I found some things to directly relate to. But mostly I simply enjoyed the pleasure of the Geist family stories. If you have a daily commute or are anticipating a car trip, I highly recommend the audio book. I listened to and from work and probably received strange looks from fellow travelers who noticed me laughing heartily for no apparently reason! Thank you Bill and Willie for making my week!
November 8, 2014
I have long enjoyed Bill Geist and his sense of humor through his pieces on CBS. His son, Willie is now a regular on NBC's Today Show. I was excited to see this book available in audio, each author narrating his own part.
The premise of the book is having the talks that father and son should have had. They didn't. Until now.
There are many good chuckle moments, but mostly there's a lot of reminiscing, maybe even some revealing individual secrets. Mostly there is evidence of a lot of love and mutual respect.
I'm glad I could share a few minutes of their journeys.
The premise of the book is having the talks that father and son should have had. They didn't. Until now.
There are many good chuckle moments, but mostly there's a lot of reminiscing, maybe even some revealing individual secrets. Mostly there is evidence of a lot of love and mutual respect.
I'm glad I could share a few minutes of their journeys.
February 18, 2016
I really haven't seen the Geists on tv, but I thought the premise of father/son essays to each other and about growing up was interesting. Turns out to be some really humorous, precious stories about a family that really loves each other. The second half of the book really clinched it. Laugh out loud funny at times. Good read.
August 13, 2014
Father and son news reporters describe their take on life from their own perspectives. Subjects include fatherhood, music, sports, holidays, summer camp, and the memories of family life. Sometimes entertaining, other times rather boring.
June 3, 2024
What a delightful read. Two very witty writers. Bill has always been one of my favorite correspondents on CBS Sunday morning. Willie Geist is equally humorous and the back and forth stories with his dad are priceless.
August 25, 2016
3.5 stars
July 24, 2017
We listened to this on audio. It was great. Listening to Bill and Willie tell family stories. I had watched Bill Geist for years on Sunday Morning. He always found the most obscure places and interesting people.
When I learned that Willie, part-time NBC reporter guy, was his son, I had to like him too. Besides, he had a little of his dad's sense of humor.
The book wasn't a let down in anyway. I laughed. I laughed out loud at times. Sure, there were melancholy moments like their discussions about Bill's time in Viet Nam and when he revealed he had Parkinson's disease. But there was way more humor. Often it was just that they looked at their situations and found them amusing after the fact. Most of us don't take the time to look back.
If you like Bill and Willie, this is a great book to listen to.
When I learned that Willie, part-time NBC reporter guy, was his son, I had to like him too. Besides, he had a little of his dad's sense of humor.
The book wasn't a let down in anyway. I laughed. I laughed out loud at times. Sure, there were melancholy moments like their discussions about Bill's time in Viet Nam and when he revealed he had Parkinson's disease. But there was way more humor. Often it was just that they looked at their situations and found them amusing after the fact. Most of us don't take the time to look back.
If you like Bill and Willie, this is a great book to listen to.
June 30, 2022
I've always enjoyed Bill Geist's work on CBS Sunday Morning, and I'm vaguely familiar with his son, Willie. This unique book is like a written conversation between father and son, at times touching and hilarious. Bill always came across as quite a card, so I imagine it was fun being his kid. Some of the stories these two tell allegedly have never been revealed to each other, and the alternating format gives them a chance to respond. (Remember, son, when I tried to do that with a composition notebook with you one school year?).
I was going to read this book last year around this time, but for some reason, I couldn't find it. My own father died on Father's Day last year, and I don't believe I could have finished this book. But with a year's distance, I found it quite an enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book for fathers, sons, and anyone who enjoys funny family stories.
I was going to read this book last year around this time, but for some reason, I couldn't find it. My own father died on Father's Day last year, and I don't believe I could have finished this book. But with a year's distance, I found it quite an enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book for fathers, sons, and anyone who enjoys funny family stories.
May 10, 2018
I am a fan of both Bill and Willie Geist. I grew up watching Bill do his segments on CBS Sunday Morning, and watch Willie on the TODAY Show, and now on MSNBC's Morning Joe, so this book was the perfect read for me.
Bill and Willie exchange stories back and forth of Willie's upbringing, their respective careers in TV, and of course as the title suggests, the birds and the bees. Both men bring a great sense of humor to the book and have serious/heartbreaking moments as well. I listened to this on audio which is narrated by both Bill and Willie, and if you can get the audiobook I highly recommend it. It feels like you are sitting there with the Geists laughing and reminiscing with them both.
Bill and Willie exchange stories back and forth of Willie's upbringing, their respective careers in TV, and of course as the title suggests, the birds and the bees. Both men bring a great sense of humor to the book and have serious/heartbreaking moments as well. I listened to this on audio which is narrated by both Bill and Willie, and if you can get the audiobook I highly recommend it. It feels like you are sitting there with the Geists laughing and reminiscing with them both.
October 7, 2021
Unfamiliar with either one of the authors going in, I was struck, I was fascinated, by how absolutely alike each of their writing voice was like the other. Absolutely interchangeable. I understand of course, that they are father and son, but I would have never thought writing voice would have been an inherited trait, but I find it equally implausible that something this exact would have been learned. Certainly I must have read parent-offspring authors before, or siblings who both write, but I cannot recall having ever been as aware of two people writing so much like each other. Even as I surely will not read either of these Geist again, I will definitely pay attention to signs of a family writing similarities going forward.
January 6, 2020
It's pretty rare for me to laugh out loud several times when reading a book - but that happened here. Over twenty years ago, I read Bill Geist's Little League Confidential and thought it was hilarious. Well, the son that he coached way back when is now a grown man with kids of his own (and co-hosts Morning Joe). They are equally funny as they banter back and forth in this book about father-son talks that they should have had and stories from the past. If you grew up in the 1980s you'll relate to Willie Geist and if you grew up in the 1950s you'll relate to Bill Geist. Highly recommend for all readers - but especially fathers and sons.
June 16, 2020
I loved this book, it was heartfelt, funny, and normal. It was nice to read that other families are as goofy as mine. I earned the utmost respect for Bill as he talked about the war, the rotten jobs, and Parkinson's. I laughed out loud a couple of times (causing my husband to give me a strange look). Even though I am not a sport oriented person, I understood and related to Will as he talked about sports, falling in love, parenting, and being a son. This is a GREAT read!
June 9, 2022
I caught an episode of a new Ina Garten show where Willie was her guest and he talked about this book so I decided to give it a go. I always liked Bill’s stories on the Sunday Morning show. It was funny and sweet just as I had expected. However, there were some things that I didn’t expect including Bill sharing about his Parkinson’s diagnosis and a powerfully written account by Bill of his year in Vietnam. Bottom line, it’s a happy story about family.
June 1, 2023
I am a faithful NBC watcher, except on Sunday mornings. I love me some CBS Sunday morning. I guess that made me a shoe in to be a fan of this book. Bill and Willie tell hilarious family stories, and they add in some touching ones as well. This is a great audiobook for car travel, but if I had known that only chapter one was about the birds of the bees, I may have skipped it and come back to it later while I was listening to it with our whole family. Funny funny book
November 20, 2023
Totally enjoyed this book. Listened on audio, so was great to hear it read by Willie and Bill. I have always like Willie on the news, so I am a little biased. There was some really cute parts that got me to laugh out loud - I especially like the parts with Willie and his little daughter - her first college football game at age 4 (the goldnen pants versus the lite blue shirts), her first horse ride, and her missing leotard.
January 22, 2020
Very nice book with lots of homespun humor. It was written by both Bill and Willy Geist, each in their own little segments. The audiobooks were read by the authors themselves , which I think made it that much more enjoyable. Their dialog about child rearing makes me wish I could have read this book before I raised my kids. A great, easygoing read.
April 21, 2020
I have always enjoyed Bill Geist's commentaries and humorous point of view when he was on Sunday Morning, as well as his other books. This was a real treat to have a peek into the conversation between son and father. Even better with Audible Books.
It has everything you would expect: great humor, honest observation and the poignancy of a wonderful bond. Pick it up, you won't be disappointed.
It has everything you would expect: great humor, honest observation and the poignancy of a wonderful bond. Pick it up, you won't be disappointed.
May 11, 2020
I have always enjoyed Bill Geist’s humor and now I am learning to love his son, Willie almost as much. This book was so enjoyable (I listened to the audiobook from the library) as I could hear their voices telling me the sometimes hysterical and other times poignant stories of their family times together. I loved ❤️it.
April 3, 2023
I listened to this book with Audible and I think that's the best way to "read" this book. I read A LOT, both read and listen. I enjoy reading and find it relaxing and informative.
This book was the most enjoyable I've read probably ever. It's interesting and funny. Bill and Willie reading it make it all the better.
This book was the most enjoyable I've read probably ever. It's interesting and funny. Bill and Willie reading it make it all the better.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews