Underwood, Scotch, and Wry

by Brian D. Meeks

Underwood, Scotch, and Wry is a snarky look at social media through the eyes of a Luddite college professor .

Arthur enjoys drink, the company of his female TAs, and generally being a pain in the butt for the dean of the English department. He has tenure. He hates computers.

The dean hates him.

Watch as Arthur and the dean engage in a angst filled battle to end (or save) his job. If you like social media, blogging, and mockery, you’ll enjoy Underwood, Scotch, and Wry.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Comedy, Literary Fiction, Novels, Ebooks

203 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2014

About the author

Brian D. Meeks is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Economics. He is the author of the Henry Wood Detective Series, a satire series, Underwood, Scotch, and Wry, and has some stand alone YA, a science fiction series, and in 2019 is working on a 10 book Epic Fantasy series.

He lives on the Las Vegas strip.

And really loves people who post pictures of guinea pigs on Facebook.

They are adorable!

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tough book to review. I really enjoyed the playful, snarky style, and witty references. But at times, and especially in the final third of the book, it felt very much like a men's rights manifesto. First, I have been a bystander in this situation of professors sleeping with graduate students, and it is rarely clean or win-win. Usually someone gets hurt, and usually it is the student, no matter what the gender of the professor or student happens to be. So we have this morally ambiguous professor who is beset by women who are willing to lie to him, about him, and to others just to get the professor (or get him into bed). And in fact he only survives because he gets over the first women who hurt him and took his power (i.e. ability to write) away from him. And with that power coming back, he is able to defeat the evil women and ride off with his righteous life back. Add to this the knowledge that the author resembles his character (at least in some aspects) and it makes this book feel less like light-hearted fiction and more like a bit of allegory from a somewhat misogynistic guy.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

a quick, semi-enjoyable read, but way to many tropes, way to many stereotypes.

[Tate Sexton · Rating 1 out of 5]

No Reason to Love Arthur

I got the book because it was free and other reviews were good for it. It looked funny with a grumpy professor as the endearing main character. It started off good, but by the end I just wanted him to pay for all his consciousness and stupid mistakes. That would give me more satisfaction than having him walk out of the court yelling to all his students "drinks are on me!". I just couldn't take the rock star professor when I was all done. It was a short read though so I didn't have to take him too long.

[Christina Correa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fantastic, til I reached the end and the author snuck in several anti-feminist remarks. It ruined the entire book, really, turned it into a tale about how an entirely sympathetic man was almost destroyed by over-zealous "feminists." It smacked of the author having issues with women, not to mention a feeble understanding of gender relations.

[Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise is that of an older professor who hates technology and is forced to teach a class on social media (twitter, facebook, blogging). Supposed to be comical.

It didn't work out quite as believably in practice.
I remain unconvinced that attendance was above 100% and the students were so engaged and excited about something most of them have been doing for years.
I remain unconvinced that the professor was able to teach a class for the entire semester on the subject uses as shallow analysis as he did in the excerpts we were given.
I remain unconvinced that social media is as important as he kept saying it was.
I remain unconvinced that this was an enjoyable book.

It was sad that when this is supposed to be a book about a professor learning about social media and how powerful a tool it can be, and yet every example in the book was just goofing off with it with no real societal benefit and even when the professor got in trouble, his "followers" weren't able to accomplish anything with social media. He wasn't a great, moral guy either, we were just supposed to laugh at his antics which honestly weren't displayed very well. I felt like I wasted my time, unfortunately.

[Beagle44 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just plain fun

I don't often plunk down 5 stars and am no literary expert but this was fun and witty and just plain fun! Of course including a cat in Arthur's life is always a plus for me . A nod to Buttons in the Henry Wood series.

[D. Thrush · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arthur is a snarky, underachieving, alcoholic, former writer with writer’s block who now reluctantly teaches at a university. Arthur has little regard for rules. The Dean decides that she wants to get rid of Arthur due to Arthur’s dalliance with Arthur’s TA’s and Arthur’s poor attitude towards teaching. How dare she. And now you may have noticed that I have neglected to use the pronoun “he” as happens too often in this book. The banter is clever, and this is the sort of book I’d like about a witty, boozy, rebel who is too weak to resist his vices. In an attempt to find a viable reason to dismiss him, the Dean assigns Arthur to teach a class about social media of which he knows nothing. At some point, a misguided former TA accuses him of sexual harassment, and Arthur finds nothing wrong with getting drunk at a local bar with his students. All this could be amusing and at times was until in the last third of the book “the feminists” are portrayed as vengeful, puritanical enemies. Where did that bit of misogyny come from? All the female characters are uptight and nasty except for the ones who sleep with him or his friends. I was enjoying the story just fine until “the feminists” were maligned, and I realized how the female characters were being portrayed. Otherwise, I would’ve enjoyed the book much more.

[Bryan Spellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

28 of 75 for 2015. I loved it. Maybe because I'm bogged down in three different serious books, all of which I'm enjoying, but not getting through very quickly. I needed something for a lark. Opened this, my latest BookBub addition, and got lost. The narrative is crisp and funny, and for those of us who have lived our lives in the bizarre world known as academia, the story is right on. I've always said that academic politics are as vicious as they come, second only to church politics. The author himself calls this "snarky," and yes, it may well be, but I have a feeling I'll be revisiting this college course many times in the future. Arthur is a place-holding professor, resting on his laurels after having published one best seller quite some time in the past. He has tenure now, but is just putting in time. The Dean, in an effort to get rid of him, forces him to teach a class on social media, anathema to the luddite literature professor. Nonetheless, thanks to a group of eager young TAs, Arthur takes to the subject, foiling the Dean's plot. The Dean has to up the ante, and she does. Will Arthur pull through? You'll just have to read it. Like social media itself, this book could be addictive.

[Terynce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because of Arthur. He's an English professor, his Dean wants to get rid of him for not being traditional and boring, he drinks a lot, sleeps with his TAs, and responds with wry humor to most every situation.

The book does have some issues. For characters other than Arthur, we're not offered a third of similar insight. To say they are one-dimensional is probably being overly generous. We're offered no reasons or explanations for their actions, explicitly or otherwise.

Arthur's transformation occurs too quickly. I find it hard to believe even the most ardent technophobes could work at a college, as a professor, and never use a computer. If that were the case, it would take more than an overenthusiastic TA to show up and convinces him to do so. How did someone with the ire of the Dean to such an extent earn tenure in the first place? What happens to Rebecca, the reporter that pushed the story? What was the final counter-offer to Crystal? Testimony? What was the trip about?

This story is written more like an inside joke between friends that already have the backstory and more details than we were privy to. But I liked Arthur. He made me laugh and it was a quick read.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 1.5 of 5

Arthur Byrne is a college professor with tenure and a penchant for scotch and female teaching assistants and a talent for avoiding technology. The Luddite professor has become a little bit of an embarrassment for the small college, looking to improve and grow, but they can't do much about a tenured professor.

Byrne is assigned to teach a class on Social Media - a tough course for a Luddite who doesn't even like to read emails. But Byrne manages to pull himself together enough to take on the challenge, and with the help of his TA's, he even manages to make the class interesting - to the point of it becoming a much talked-about class. And so the school officials look for another way to remove this blight on the university, hoping to catch him in the act of cavorting with an undergrad.

Will Arthur grow up and become the professor everyone wants to learn from, or will the university catch him with his pants down and finally be able to rid themselves of him?

The book started out quite interestingly and the story held me at the start, but as it went along it grew a little more implausible and the character of Arthur Byrne grew more and more annoying. The character of Byrne came across not as a character with witty, snappy comebacks, but as an extension of the author who was trying to show off how clever he could be. Perhaps this isn't the case, but the snappy comebacks never rang true and his patter, while it might have been fun if he were among friends, really made him out to be a jerk. The description and some of the reviews refer to him as 'snarky' but snarky, as a constant, is straining.

As Byrne got more and more in interested in the topic he was teaching, he became likable. We could see the professor that he could be - someone actually interested in seeing students learning something. But as the students began to take an interest in what he was teaching, his popularity seemed to go to his head and he strutted around, cocky and untouchable. Even a lawsuit by the university doesn't faze him and he walks around as though he's above it all.

As the book ends, our protagonist's misogynistic and hedonistic ways are confirmed and we can't help but wonder if he learned anything valuable at all. We certainly didn't.

Looking for a good book? Underwood, Scotch, and Wry by Brian D. Meeks is a tribute to tenured college professors who play with co-eds and avoid any actual educating, but it is not a recommended read.

[Anthony G. Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't understand why anyone would say this book is dull - I haven't read anything quite this enjoyable and entertaining for - jeez, I don't know how many years. I liked Henry Wood Perception and found that I had downloaded this book quite a while ago but had never read it, but glad I did.

I put my review where the title should go but couldn't figure out how to cut and paste on the kindle and didn't want to retype the whole thing - so have to add a few words here.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the humor in this book. It has been on my list FOREVER, so I’m glad I finally picked it up to read. Academics, in particular, will find parts of the story to be particularly poignant. Highly recommend!

[Jim Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this guy!

2 chapters in I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed. A couple of times my wife asked me what's so funny. I'm looking forward to see what else Mr. Meeks has to offer.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out a bit slow, and didn't really grab my interest until about the fourth chapter. The main character isn't very likeable at first, but he grew on me. It's sort of a coming-of-age story for an older crowd. Enjoyed it.

[Patricia Moffitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has all the sins the Bible talks about and basically glorifies them. This disappointed me a lot. The Arthur character does some growing in the book and has you hoping good things for him.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Lots of fun wordplay.

[Deb O rah · Rating 4 out of 5]

humorous. sarcastic. misogynistic.

[Neil Levitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally original

Zero cliches, takes a seemingly boring subject and nails it
A great read, I'm hooked on this author, very interesting stuff

[Deanna Derosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the spoof on the Digital Age" and "Social Media." Also, the depiction of academia is all too familiar for those who have worked in it. :)

[Victoria Pearse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book

You people should just read this novel yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourselves and I really enjoyed reading this novel very much so. Shelley Ma

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the positive side, this was a quick read.

However, the protagonist—and the author—think of themselves as exceptionally clever, and it gets old in a hurry.

[Lynda A Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wordsmith

Meeks piqued my interest in The first chapter. I stayed up reading into the wee hours. A great story, told by an excellent writer with a great wit.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur is a tenured English professor at a semi-no-name college. He likes his Scotch, he likes his (female) teaching assistants, and he likes to slack off on his teaching. Obviously the head of his department hates him, and she hatches a plot to get him fired. Arthur is a Luddite with no interest whatsoever in 21st century (or even 20th century) technology. However, he is assigned to teach a new class in using social media to enhance the writing experience and self-promote. Arthur's lost, until a very nice, and tech savvy, TA offers to help. Her name is Wen, and she's a cheerleader for her new professor, whose single best seller is her favorite read. She gathers a team of Arthur-supporters, buys him a smartphone, gets him accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and generally teaches the course for him, with help from a few other equally capable students. The department head is furious that Arthur has apparently morphed into a media socialite, so she sets him up using a former student and a photographer to take a picture of a drunken Arthur with a semi-nude female on his lap. The image goes viral, Arthur is called on the carpet, and his TAs go to work to prove that he's the innocent party. All's well that end's well, as they say, and the denouement is appropriately snarky. Well done, Mr. Meeks. Very enjoyable!

[Del · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been on a mystery reading streak for the past few months and needed something light to break the tension of trying to figure out who-did-it in the mysteries. I decided to give Underwood, Scotch, and Wry a read. I was not disappointed in my choice.

Professor Arthur Byrne, an old curmudgeon, is forced to step into the modern age of computers and social media. After being threatened with losing his teaching position, Arthur reluctantly takes on the dreaded task of teaching a brand new course on social media. He starts out by purchasing his first cell phone and is introduced to Apps. He sets up a Twitter account and begins sending out tweets. He also discovers the world of Blogs. To round out his intro to computers, he purchases a two-monitor system and takes on the Gaming world. His social media class becomes quite popular with the students. With this popularity his teaching position appears to be secure, but Arthur loves women and scotch which may derail his future in academia.

As I thought about rating the story, I initially landed on three starts, but since it fulfilled my desire for light reading, plus it had me laughing out loud, I bumped the rating up to four stars. I would recommend this book. Read it for what it is, purely entertainment, not a literary tour de force.

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dunno...My expectations were a little high, I think. I read that it was snarky and satirical, so I was hoping that I would find my "the next Where'd You Go, Bernadette." It just never really hit my funny bone, and dry humor is MY THING.

I don't even mind that the main character is a womanizer. I didn't mind that he wasn't all that likable. Actually, I felt a little bit ambivalent towards him because he was so lacking in depth that I didn't even know if I should like him or not. Even a funny book should have some character development. It came across as a bunch of dry dialog to me. I remember thinking that I got more of vivid description of a truck Arthur was driving alongside on a road trip than I ever got of Arthur himself.

I couldn't really ever get into any kind of rhythm with the plot, and it wasn't the insightful commentary on social media that I thought it was going to be. Toward the end it was like the author thought "oh yeah! Social media is the theme of this book. Let me throw in a line or two here about someone writing a blog post and tweeting something."

I never really fell into step with this one.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Underwood, Scotch, and Wry was a book that I found…unique, to say the least. The plot is poor and random, most of the characters were odd and underdeveloped, yet I found this book to be the best I’ve read in quite a while. Simply put, this was because of the word choice.
I learned more words reading Underwood, Scotch, and Wry than I ever could have reading in the New Oxford American Dictionary. Yes, most of the characters seem like inanimate objects; despite this, the main character, Arthur Byrne, uses his spectacular arsenal of vocabulary and sarcasm to form an attachment to any literature-loving reader. By the end of the book, I was on the edge of my seat rooting for Mr. B. I found it amazing how the plot could be so predictable and boring, yet the book never lost my interest at any point. From the multiple points of view to the surprisingly specific details about Arthur’s cat, Underwood, Scotch, and Wry is a literary masterpiece. 5/5

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick, very enjoyable, and entertaining read. I like to read short-ish, light hearted books between the more serious or intense stories to give my brain a break. This was perfect for that! It was funny and addicting - I couldn't put it down! As much as the main character - Arthur - begs to be disliked with his curmudgeon demeanor and total lacking in social/people skills or political correctness, I couldn't help but love him! He is witty and sarcastic and, in my mind, whenever I read his dialogue I pictured Hugh Laurie's character, House, and heard the dialogue in his voice! If this is ever made into a movie, I do believe Hugh Laurie should play Arthur....hands down!!! I can't wait to start the sequel - Underwood, Scotch, and Cry - to see what trouble Arthur gets himself into this time! I recommend this for anyone who likes humorous stories, social media, and writers.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read, and yet I found myself conflicted about how to rate this book. The premise was great: an elderly, tenured, luddite professor is forced to teach a class on social media because the powers-that-be want the class to be a flop so they can oust him from the university. The professor’s TAs don’t want the class to flop because their reputation is on the line, so they try to bring Professor Byrne up to date. Hilarity ensues. I enjoyed the tight, clever writing. I found the professor to be of the “loveable reprobate” type. I laughed out loud several times. So I pretty much loved the first half of the book. But then the story got too sex-driven and too political and it lost my interest.

[Sages_and_Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light Reading

I had no idea what this book was about but the title intrigued me. For me this was a so, so read. The only character that was really developed fully was the main character a curmudgeonly middle aged college professor. He clings to the partying days of his fading youth by having flings with young college co-ends. As a main character, I actually found him quite morally despicable. The plus is it was refreshing to see an author willing to create a main character that wasn't completely likable. Overall I would say this was a mildly entertaining light read.