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The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay: Essays
From stand-up comedian and Broad City writer/star Eliot Glazer comes a hilarious and heartfelt essay collection for Las Culturistas listeners, 30 Rock fanatics, and any reader who wishes David Sedaris were just a tad filthier.
Comedian and writer Eliot Glazer may occasionally get some stuff right, but being gay is not one of them.
Poppers make him dizzy. Parties make him panicked. And the term "guncle" makes him queasy. When it comes to being part of the LGBTQ+ community, Eliot just can't seem to find his shade of the rainbow, which is precisely why he repeatedly suggests a grayscale one instead (although no one seems to listen). In a community built around the "chosen family," Eliot can't even get adopted.
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay is for anyone who fully spirals while shopping for a throw pillow, does breathing exercises before entering a pool party, or has a full-fledged breakdown after accidentally dyeing their fake front tooth bubblegum blue amid a torrid affair with a guy under house arrest. (Okay, that might just be Eliot, but it's one hell of a story.)
This collection of essays is for Las Culturistas listeners, 30 Rock fanatics, and any reader who wishes David Sedaris were just a tad filthier. Eliot's laugh-out-loud yet quietly heartbreaking stories capture the glory, chaos, and contradictions of queer modern life-a rallying cry for anyone who's ever felt like the odd one out, the minority within the minority, and the one who always seems to "do it wrong.""-- Provided by publisher.
Comedian and writer Eliot Glazer may occasionally get some stuff right, but being gay is not one of them.
Poppers make him dizzy. Parties make him panicked. And the term "guncle" makes him queasy. When it comes to being part of the LGBTQ+ community, Eliot just can't seem to find his shade of the rainbow, which is precisely why he repeatedly suggests a grayscale one instead (although no one seems to listen). In a community built around the "chosen family," Eliot can't even get adopted.
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay is for anyone who fully spirals while shopping for a throw pillow, does breathing exercises before entering a pool party, or has a full-fledged breakdown after accidentally dyeing their fake front tooth bubblegum blue amid a torrid affair with a guy under house arrest. (Okay, that might just be Eliot, but it's one hell of a story.)
This collection of essays is for Las Culturistas listeners, 30 Rock fanatics, and any reader who wishes David Sedaris were just a tad filthier. Eliot's laugh-out-loud yet quietly heartbreaking stories capture the glory, chaos, and contradictions of queer modern life-a rallying cry for anyone who's ever felt like the odd one out, the minority within the minority, and the one who always seems to "do it wrong.""-- Provided by publisher.
Audible Audio
Published August 11, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 24, 2026
I saw Elliot explain his book before I read it, so I imagined him narrating these little essays to me the whole time I read. With that said, I wanted MORE! More queer chaos, more storytelling, more childhood - it felt disconnected from his life, and I wanted it to be under the magnifying glass. And selfishly… I wanted more Ilana 🥲🥲🥲🥲
August 25, 2026
funny. gay.
September 27, 2026
Recently, I felt very seen (exposed? clocked? dragged?) by a clip online where the gist of the joke was “Ask a gay guy what he’s reading and he’ll say ‘A book about a gay guy…’” Got my ass. While my immediate response was to feel defensive – Shouldn’t I read about the queer experience? Doesn’t representation matter? – I also had to admit that many of the nonfiction variety of gay-guy books were starting to feel repetitive. Memoir after memoir after collection of essays, (famous) gay guys will build their books around how much they “aren’t like other gays” and don’t fit into stereotypes in the gay community. Of course, their experiences are valid, and they are entitled to share their stories. But maybe because I’m not in New York or L.A., not fitting in on Fire Island will never feel all that relatable to me. Eliot Glazer is a successful comedy writer and seems like a great dude. But for me, the tone here was more quippy than laugh-out-loud funny. I guess I’m looking for more human emotion and less “I went to naked hot yoga and boy was it awkward!” This book about a gay guy was good for a handful of chuckles.
August 25, 2026
Fun and funny. Lots of great essays and anecdotes from Eliot Glazer. My favorite may have been the story about his high school job at Talbots! Top notch.
October 7, 2026
trying to click on 3 stars. i'm sure this was very funny for someone who finds humorous books funny.
September 5, 2026
He makes excuses to avoid engaging with his own life, which doesn’t make for interesting stories. He criticizes first to soften the rejection he expects. He treats low stakes like high stakes. He’s not as distant from gay culture as he makes himself out to be. His jokes are effortful with little to no payoff.
September 3, 2026
2.5 generously rounded up. I don’t want to rip this apart because I don’t do gay-on-gay crime but tbh this felt like a pre-standup draft that wasn’t edited for the stage. There were funnyish moments and some pretty relatable moments but I felt like this read as more self-loathing gay and not necessarily bad gay. It wasn’t personal enough. The moments I enjoyed were there parts that scratched the surface of personal but those parts ended too quickly and went right back into stand-up, which just isn’t as funny on paper without actual performance. Love this author but wanted more
August 24, 2026
Unfortunately, this was a big miss for me. The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay is a great book if you want to read stories that are unfunny and feel like the author is talking at you.
I attended the book launch at the Strand in NYC with Eliot, in conversation with his sister, Ilana. The conversation was laugh-out-loud funny, and Ilana promised the book would be as well. However, the promise fell flat. I thoroughly enjoy both of their comedy, especially in Broad City, so I naturally assumed the book would be funny. At the launch event, Eliot did discuss his process of transitioning to "long form" comedy by writing this book, but after reading it, I think short-term comedy/stand-up is a better fit.
I could forgive the lack of funny if the stories felt compelling, but each essay didn't really seem to have much of a point. There was no real character arc or development. The stories read as if your anxious, gay acquaintance is telling you what happened over the weekend—which is cute and fun at a party, but not in book form.
The book was promoted as a book for younger, anxious gays who "don't know how to be gay," and I get that. A guidebook of sorts that we all wish we had when we were younger. During the launch, Eliot said things like "it's okay to be weird" and to be yourself, but unfortunately, the book didn't really deliver that motto. The last story was about him going to a sex party—various sex parties, actually—but rather than tell a story of how he became more comfortable over time, learning to appreciate his body, his confidence, etc, the literal note to the younger generation was "I make this special cocktail to drink beforehand so I loosen up, and you can too!" The "Sluttini"—a combination of tequila and Gatorade Zero—might be a great way for Eliot to loosen up, but unfortunately, it doesn't make for a great story, and stories like these don’t make for a great book.
I attended the book launch at the Strand in NYC with Eliot, in conversation with his sister, Ilana. The conversation was laugh-out-loud funny, and Ilana promised the book would be as well. However, the promise fell flat. I thoroughly enjoy both of their comedy, especially in Broad City, so I naturally assumed the book would be funny. At the launch event, Eliot did discuss his process of transitioning to "long form" comedy by writing this book, but after reading it, I think short-term comedy/stand-up is a better fit.
I could forgive the lack of funny if the stories felt compelling, but each essay didn't really seem to have much of a point. There was no real character arc or development. The stories read as if your anxious, gay acquaintance is telling you what happened over the weekend—which is cute and fun at a party, but not in book form.
The book was promoted as a book for younger, anxious gays who "don't know how to be gay," and I get that. A guidebook of sorts that we all wish we had when we were younger. During the launch, Eliot said things like "it's okay to be weird" and to be yourself, but unfortunately, the book didn't really deliver that motto. The last story was about him going to a sex party—various sex parties, actually—but rather than tell a story of how he became more comfortable over time, learning to appreciate his body, his confidence, etc, the literal note to the younger generation was "I make this special cocktail to drink beforehand so I loosen up, and you can too!" The "Sluttini"—a combination of tequila and Gatorade Zero—might be a great way for Eliot to loosen up, but unfortunately, it doesn't make for a great story, and stories like these don’t make for a great book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Eliot Glazer is a neurotic, gay, Jewish Millennial (something that I recognized as a fellow neurotic, gay, Jewish Millennial).
The title and cover of this book grabbed my attention and the funny and relatable stories kept it.
He talks about his social anxiety and how on vacations to gay destinations like Fire Island he’d prefer reading a book by the pool to a circuit party, and I kept thinking “wow…me too”!
Glazer is a “bona fide Golden Girls scholar” and in college wrote three (not one, but three) term papers on the cultural impact of Bea Arthur.
I never got into some of the shows that many gays love like Drag Race and The Real Housewives of {Insert City Here}, but I’m fairly confident that I could win any Golden Girls trivia contest and Dorothy was always my favorite.
Reading this book felt like meeting a friend for coffee and laughing about past and current experiences, a gay Coffee Talk With Linda Richman, if you will.
I haven’t been reading a lot of memoirs lately and this definitely reminded me that they are my favorite form of nonfiction!
I didn’t watch Broad City when it was released, but now I want to go back and stream it!
And though I never thought of it, he’s right, Hurricane Katrina really is a perfect drag queen name!
Thanks to Gallery Books and Eliot Glazer for proving me with an eARC to review via NetGalley.
Pub Date: August 11, 2026
The title and cover of this book grabbed my attention and the funny and relatable stories kept it.
He talks about his social anxiety and how on vacations to gay destinations like Fire Island he’d prefer reading a book by the pool to a circuit party, and I kept thinking “wow…me too”!
Glazer is a “bona fide Golden Girls scholar” and in college wrote three (not one, but three) term papers on the cultural impact of Bea Arthur.
I never got into some of the shows that many gays love like Drag Race and The Real Housewives of {Insert City Here}, but I’m fairly confident that I could win any Golden Girls trivia contest and Dorothy was always my favorite.
Reading this book felt like meeting a friend for coffee and laughing about past and current experiences, a gay Coffee Talk With Linda Richman, if you will.
I haven’t been reading a lot of memoirs lately and this definitely reminded me that they are my favorite form of nonfiction!
I didn’t watch Broad City when it was released, but now I want to go back and stream it!
And though I never thought of it, he’s right, Hurricane Katrina really is a perfect drag queen name!
Thanks to Gallery Books and Eliot Glazer for proving me with an eARC to review via NetGalley.
Pub Date: August 11, 2026
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4 stars
I could have read much, much more of this, and I hope that my dreams will come true on that front. I've just finished this collection and already looking forward to the next.
I came to Eliot Glazer by way of _Broad City_, and I quickly grew an independent appreciation for his work (which is really saying something because I love that show, its creators, etc.). Glazer's insights and infusions throughout my pop culture life have brought me a lot of joy and laughs, and this collection is yet another great example of why.
These essays are nicely varied, humorous, and personal, and they paint Glazer as exactly who he appears to be through his popular persona: a down-to-earth, hilarious individual. Readers who are incoming fans and those who are meeting this writer for the first time will all be able to access this content easily.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and only wish that there were more of it.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I could have read much, much more of this, and I hope that my dreams will come true on that front. I've just finished this collection and already looking forward to the next.
I came to Eliot Glazer by way of _Broad City_, and I quickly grew an independent appreciation for his work (which is really saying something because I love that show, its creators, etc.). Glazer's insights and infusions throughout my pop culture life have brought me a lot of joy and laughs, and this collection is yet another great example of why.
These essays are nicely varied, humorous, and personal, and they paint Glazer as exactly who he appears to be through his popular persona: a down-to-earth, hilarious individual. Readers who are incoming fans and those who are meeting this writer for the first time will all be able to access this content easily.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and only wish that there were more of it.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
ARC for review. To be published August 11, 2026.
4 stars
Glazer is an actor/writer and is the brother of Ilana, creator of “Broad City.” I’ve heard of her, not him and I’ve heard of the show but haven’t watched it, but the book sounded cute, so I was in.
And I enjoyed this short biography of Eliot, the anti-Frankie Grande, who admits to being the type of guy who enjoys tea and Scrabble more than dance music and poppers. On a trip to Fire Island where he’s staying at a share house with a bunch of friends all he wants is to find a decent ice cream cone. He’s my people.
The book is filled with gentle, amusing anecdotes and Eliot sounds like the type of guy you would want to brunch with, or to have in your contacts for when you are blue. Here’s hoping he finds love and happiness.
4 stars
Glazer is an actor/writer and is the brother of Ilana, creator of “Broad City.” I’ve heard of her, not him and I’ve heard of the show but haven’t watched it, but the book sounded cute, so I was in.
And I enjoyed this short biography of Eliot, the anti-Frankie Grande, who admits to being the type of guy who enjoys tea and Scrabble more than dance music and poppers. On a trip to Fire Island where he’s staying at a share house with a bunch of friends all he wants is to find a decent ice cream cone. He’s my people.
The book is filled with gentle, amusing anecdotes and Eliot sounds like the type of guy you would want to brunch with, or to have in your contacts for when you are blue. Here’s hoping he finds love and happiness.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I adored this book. It is hilarious. I am a huge fan of Broad City, and so the book was a pretty easy sell to me, but genuinely, this book was hilarious. It also was, while still being hilarious, at times quite heart warming. I also learned quite a bit! Thank you, Eliot, for the intimate, honest, and again – hilarious – glimpse into your innermost life as a spiritual gay woman and the delightful, kind, and deeply neurotic person that you are. The idea of writing more here is intimidating because of how much I adored the writing in this book. So instead, I will end by trying to mentally communicate my many good feelings and vibes about this book.
September 10, 2026
Overall I love Eliot’s style of writing. Smart, quippy, with jokes packed into every paragraph that kept me laughing throughout. The high school theatre chapter was my favorite and I was outwardly guffawing annoying those around me. The chapters on Queer eye and some of the others in the middle lost me and felt like they lacked the same hyper specific point of view as the first chapters. The last chapter (and the yoga studio one tbh) however was brilliant and brought it home and felt unbelievably relatable and felt more akin to the beginning. I hope he writes more and considers novels as well. Looking forward to what he does next!
September 15, 2026
I’m convinced the people giving this low ratings have no sense of humor or take themselves way too seriously. This isn’t supposed to be life altering prose, or a riveting, coming of age novel. It’s not “Call me by your name”, and it isn’t trying to be either. It’s a series of cheeky essays written by a comedian about the awkward situations he finds himself in, and his attempt to find his way among the gay community. I thought it was hilarious and often found myself literally laughing out loud. I recommend listening to the audiobook which is read by the author. The audiobook made my commute so much more enjoyable.
September 1, 2026
I don't know who this dude is, which really shouldn't matter.....I just didn't find it particularly funny or enlightening. I recently read Big Baby by Kevin James Thornton, so the bar was set really high from the get go with this one. (I HIGHLY recommend it)! The list of "not gay things" was the funniest part, and I found the list to be mildly humorous. Please don't think that I was clutching my pearls or anything, and that's why I didn't especially care for it.....that's definitely not the case...I just didn't.
October 15, 2026
Funny, gay, extremely poignant and specific for the gays living in metropolitan cities with access to the finer things in life - ie. Fire Island and gay sports leagues. Had quite a few chuckles and giggles from this, which more than likely coalesced with the fact that Eliot narrates the audiobook and some of his line deliveries were sheer perfection. Nothing groundbreaking, but enjoyable!
August 21, 2026
Have you ever felt that everyone else knew how to do things and you didn’t? You’re not alone. Beautifully tracks what it looks like to feel excluded while forging your own path, settling into oneself, and coming to terms with who you are and who you want to be. Also, FUNNY!
September 7, 2026
A great collection, I love a good comedic personal essay (see: all of R. Eric Thomas’ writing). Collection was too short, I think, and had more of a novelty air about it, and lacked enough tonal complexity for my liking. But it is undeniably funny, as I knew it would be!
September 23, 2026
I loved this book/collections of essays so much! I love his voice, tone, and perspective in the essays! Thank you for this book! So fun and funny and queer, challenging norms and all! I absolutely loved it!
September 23, 2026
I loved this book/collections of essays so much! I love his voice, tone, and perspective in the essays! Thank you for this book! So fun and funny and queer, challenging norms and all! I absolutely loved it!
September 23, 2026
I loved this book/collections of essays so much! I love his voice, tone, and perspective in the essays! Thank you for this book! So fun and funny and queer, challenging norms and all! I absolutely loved it!
September 23, 2026
This book did not match its hype or advertisement. It wasn’t that funny, I maybe giggled twice. At times, the language was just unnecessarily verbose and like word soup. Each story failed to make a point and it felt extremely contradictory and shallow.
October 12, 2026
I wanted to enjoy this more than I actually did!
While it got a lot more interesting towards the end, a lot of it felt like “I’m not like those other gays” and didn’t say anything new about gay men or queer culture that hasn’t already been said in a less pick me kind of way.
While it got a lot more interesting towards the end, a lot of it felt like “I’m not like those other gays” and didn’t say anything new about gay men or queer culture that hasn’t already been said in a less pick me kind of way.
August 5, 2026
I really loved this!
It was heartfelt, honest, and funny and could have been so much longer with no complaints from me!
It was heartfelt, honest, and funny and could have been so much longer with no complaints from me!
August 31, 2026
Está más corto de lo que me hubiera gustado, pero igual no deje de sonreír durante todo el tiempo mientras lo leía.
September 1, 2026
had me at Glazer 💕
September 9, 2026
sadly, just not good
September 12, 2026
Fun audiobook. 3.5
September 14, 2026
I laughed out loud, but it might not be for everyone. Some of the essays were better than others, which is expected. I had a good time and it’s a short read!
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September 16, 2026Audio
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews