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My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un)Popular Culture
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Humor (2018)“Smart, fast, clever, and funny (As f*ck!)” (Tiffany Haddish), this collection of side-splitting and illuminating essays by the popular stand-up comedian, alum of Chelsea Lately and The Mindy Project, and host of truTV’s Talk Show the Game Show is perfect for fans of the New York Times bestsellers Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling and We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby.
From a young age, Guy Branum always felt as if he were on the outside looking in.
From a stiflingly boring farm town, he couldn’t relate to his neighbors. While other boys played outside, he stayed indoors reading Greek mythology. And being gay and overweight, he got used to diminishing himself. But little by little, he started learning from all the sad, strange, lonely outcasts in history who had come before him, and he started to feel hope.
In this “singular, genuinely ballsy, and essential” (Billy Eichner) collection of personal essays, Guy talks about finding a sense of belonging at Berkeley—and stirring up controversy in a newspaper column that led to a run‑in with the Secret Service. He recounts the pitfalls of being typecast as the “Sassy Gay Friend,” and how, after taking a wrong turn in life (i.e. law school), he found stand‑up comedy and artistic freedom. He analyzes society’s calculated deprivation of personhood from fat people, and how, though it’s taken him a while to accept who he is, he has learned that with a little patience and a lot of humor, self-acceptance is possible.
“Keenly observant and intelligent, Branum’s book not only offers uproarious insights into walking paths less traveled, but also into what self-acceptance means in a world still woefully intolerant of difference” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). My Life as a Goddess is an unforgettable and deeply moving book by one of today’s most endearing and galvanizing voices in comedy.
From a young age, Guy Branum always felt as if he were on the outside looking in.
From a stiflingly boring farm town, he couldn’t relate to his neighbors. While other boys played outside, he stayed indoors reading Greek mythology. And being gay and overweight, he got used to diminishing himself. But little by little, he started learning from all the sad, strange, lonely outcasts in history who had come before him, and he started to feel hope.
In this “singular, genuinely ballsy, and essential” (Billy Eichner) collection of personal essays, Guy talks about finding a sense of belonging at Berkeley—and stirring up controversy in a newspaper column that led to a run‑in with the Secret Service. He recounts the pitfalls of being typecast as the “Sassy Gay Friend,” and how, after taking a wrong turn in life (i.e. law school), he found stand‑up comedy and artistic freedom. He analyzes society’s calculated deprivation of personhood from fat people, and how, though it’s taken him a while to accept who he is, he has learned that with a little patience and a lot of humor, self-acceptance is possible.
“Keenly observant and intelligent, Branum’s book not only offers uproarious insights into walking paths less traveled, but also into what self-acceptance means in a world still woefully intolerant of difference” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). My Life as a Goddess is an unforgettable and deeply moving book by one of today’s most endearing and galvanizing voices in comedy.
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First published July 31, 2018
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August 12, 2018
4.5 stars.
"We talk about nature and nurture when analyzing a person's character. We see two ways that an identity is formed. One is biological, the mean of parents' traits passed down genetically. The other is environmental: How did the world around this person guide and encourage him? The problem is that by either of these methods, I shouldn't be me. I should be shorter and dumber and not at all concerned with what pairs well with star anise syrup in a cocktail." (BTW, it's notes of orange.)
At a young age, Guy Branum already knew he was different. Growing up in Yuba City, a farming town in Northern California, he was much larger (both taller and fatter) than his peers. Big boys were supposed to be fighters, but Guy didn't have it in him to fight. What he wanted to do was sit inside, read, and learn, find answers to the endless number of questions he had, about nearly everything in the world. But that met with disapproval from his parents, especially his father, who wanted his son to act "normal."
As Guy grew older, as he grew bigger and fatter, he indulged his father's wish and played high school football for four years. But he never had any passion for it. And as he realized he was gay, he knew that was another reason society would look down on him. What he wanted more than anything was to get out of Yuba City, go someplace more exciting, and be free of the expectations of those around him. And while he felt bad about himself, and tried to hide himself and who he really was in plain sight for so long, at some point he realized that he was worthy of love and success and praise, no matter what others might say or think.
"I'm not supposed to like myself, and I'm certainly not supposed to think that I should matter. The world has spent a lot of time telling me that, and in the past thirty or so years, I often listened, because we all listen. The world is mostly full of fine facts and good lessons, but some of those facts and lessons were built to keep you down. And I got kept down for decades. Then I remembered that I was a goddess. I may not always feel like it, but I have powers."
In My Life as a Goddess , a memoir/collection of essays, Branum shares his long journey to self-discovery, from his difficult relationship with his father to the love of movies he shared with his mother; his discovery of his sense of humor and his writing ability while attending Berkeley—which led to an interesting run-in with the Secret Service; what he believes to be society's struggles with both fat and gay people; finally feeling free enough to go to gay clubs; and the rise of his career as a stand-up comedian, comedy writer, and occasional actor.
Parts of this book were literally laugh-out-loud funny. (I got more than my share of odd looks when I read this book in public, and the one time I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe I realized I needed just to read it at home.) Branum's love of pop culture, television sitcoms, movies, and music felt so familiar to me. More than a few times I thought he and I could be great friends, or we'd try to out-funny each other, and he'd probably win, so I'd feel bitter.
But this is more than a comic memoir. My Life as a Goddess has real emotional heft to it as well, and I found myself nodding and even tearing up at times as I recognized situations which occurred in my own life. Branum is tremendously insightful but he doesn't feel sorry for himself; he recounts his life in a very matter-of-fact way. You may think that the difficulty of his journey helped turn him into the immensely funny man he has become, and certainly you see that with a lot of LGBT people, whose creativity was burnished amidst poor treatment.
Branum's childhood and his growth into adulthood was a difficult journey, but thankfully he has risen above it, and more thankfully for us, he is willing to share himself with us. At times he rambles a bit on unrelated topics (and he even recognizes it as he is doing it), but then his heart and his sense of humor shine through, and you realize this book, and this man, are truly special.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
"We talk about nature and nurture when analyzing a person's character. We see two ways that an identity is formed. One is biological, the mean of parents' traits passed down genetically. The other is environmental: How did the world around this person guide and encourage him? The problem is that by either of these methods, I shouldn't be me. I should be shorter and dumber and not at all concerned with what pairs well with star anise syrup in a cocktail." (BTW, it's notes of orange.)
At a young age, Guy Branum already knew he was different. Growing up in Yuba City, a farming town in Northern California, he was much larger (both taller and fatter) than his peers. Big boys were supposed to be fighters, but Guy didn't have it in him to fight. What he wanted to do was sit inside, read, and learn, find answers to the endless number of questions he had, about nearly everything in the world. But that met with disapproval from his parents, especially his father, who wanted his son to act "normal."
As Guy grew older, as he grew bigger and fatter, he indulged his father's wish and played high school football for four years. But he never had any passion for it. And as he realized he was gay, he knew that was another reason society would look down on him. What he wanted more than anything was to get out of Yuba City, go someplace more exciting, and be free of the expectations of those around him. And while he felt bad about himself, and tried to hide himself and who he really was in plain sight for so long, at some point he realized that he was worthy of love and success and praise, no matter what others might say or think.
"I'm not supposed to like myself, and I'm certainly not supposed to think that I should matter. The world has spent a lot of time telling me that, and in the past thirty or so years, I often listened, because we all listen. The world is mostly full of fine facts and good lessons, but some of those facts and lessons were built to keep you down. And I got kept down for decades. Then I remembered that I was a goddess. I may not always feel like it, but I have powers."
In My Life as a Goddess , a memoir/collection of essays, Branum shares his long journey to self-discovery, from his difficult relationship with his father to the love of movies he shared with his mother; his discovery of his sense of humor and his writing ability while attending Berkeley—which led to an interesting run-in with the Secret Service; what he believes to be society's struggles with both fat and gay people; finally feeling free enough to go to gay clubs; and the rise of his career as a stand-up comedian, comedy writer, and occasional actor.
Parts of this book were literally laugh-out-loud funny. (I got more than my share of odd looks when I read this book in public, and the one time I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe I realized I needed just to read it at home.) Branum's love of pop culture, television sitcoms, movies, and music felt so familiar to me. More than a few times I thought he and I could be great friends, or we'd try to out-funny each other, and he'd probably win, so I'd feel bitter.
But this is more than a comic memoir. My Life as a Goddess has real emotional heft to it as well, and I found myself nodding and even tearing up at times as I recognized situations which occurred in my own life. Branum is tremendously insightful but he doesn't feel sorry for himself; he recounts his life in a very matter-of-fact way. You may think that the difficulty of his journey helped turn him into the immensely funny man he has become, and certainly you see that with a lot of LGBT people, whose creativity was burnished amidst poor treatment.
Branum's childhood and his growth into adulthood was a difficult journey, but thankfully he has risen above it, and more thankfully for us, he is willing to share himself with us. At times he rambles a bit on unrelated topics (and he even recognizes it as he is doing it), but then his heart and his sense of humor shine through, and you realize this book, and this man, are truly special.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
August 1, 2018
I have an addiction to celebrity memoirs, especially those of comedians. I've read and/or listened to dozens of them, and though I'd never heard of Guy Branum, the cover and his work credits made me interested.
To be honest, I expected something... funny. All of the comedian memoirs I've read have been funny, or at least, tried to be funny. My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture didn't.
The book is really a memoir of someone's life as an outsider in a medium-sized, admittedly interesting, town in farmland-ville California. Guy Branum is a very smart guy, something he easily and unconsciously shows off with his prose and vocabulary (I had to use my Kindle definition feature a few times, which I don't normally have to do), but I had a hard time picturing him being, well, funny. I could see him as a writer, even a television writer, but even at the end I had a difficult time figuring out his comedic style.
If you are looking for a funny book or one with lots of Hollywood gossip, this really isn't the story for you. If you want a pop-culture heavy story about a Jewish (-ish) guy from California who used his brains and luck to find a satisfying career in Hollywood, then you are on more of the right track.
Though it wasn't what I expected, I still enjoyed My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture. I think if you are a fan of Guy's or a big Chelsea Handler fan, you would enjoy this one.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
To be honest, I expected something... funny. All of the comedian memoirs I've read have been funny, or at least, tried to be funny. My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture didn't.
The book is really a memoir of someone's life as an outsider in a medium-sized, admittedly interesting, town in farmland-ville California. Guy Branum is a very smart guy, something he easily and unconsciously shows off with his prose and vocabulary (I had to use my Kindle definition feature a few times, which I don't normally have to do), but I had a hard time picturing him being, well, funny. I could see him as a writer, even a television writer, but even at the end I had a difficult time figuring out his comedic style.
If you are looking for a funny book or one with lots of Hollywood gossip, this really isn't the story for you. If you want a pop-culture heavy story about a Jewish (-ish) guy from California who used his brains and luck to find a satisfying career in Hollywood, then you are on more of the right track.
Though it wasn't what I expected, I still enjoyed My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture. I think if you are a fan of Guy's or a big Chelsea Handler fan, you would enjoy this one.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
March 30, 2022
In a world where people don't have space for you, you have to make your own space.I’ve heard Guy Branum several times on one of my favorite podcasts, Lovett or Leave It. But I had no plans to read his book until I needed it to fill a category in the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge (read a book with the word “pop,” “sugar,” or “challenge” in the title).
…
Pardon me for a moment while I digress from my digression.
…
There has hardly been an argument with a loved one in my adult life that did not involve the words "You think you know everything!" being launched at me. It is true. I do, often, think I know everything.
I’m happy to say that My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture was really quite good. Mr. Branum is not only a comedy writer, but one with a law degree and a willingness to reflect thoughtfully on his past and his influences. So the book is not just gloriously sarcastic, but insightful about a variety of topics such as how many kids learn human nature and societal norms from watching old sitcoms. The early portions of the book are especially powerful and moving in places: understanding his feelings of otherness as a gay child, his anger at the judgments against fat people, and his troubled relationships with his father and sister (including an extended chapter discussing the History of Canada as a metaphor/allegory to describe his home life as a child stuck between the warring influences of his father and his sister).
My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture is an above-average memoir. Recommended.
September 3, 2018
My Life as a Goddess (A Memoir Through (Un)popular Culture)
By Guy Branum
Published by Atria (division of Simon & Schuster), 2018
Five stars
Guy Branum’s brilliant memoir is essentially J.D. Vance’s overly-praised “Hillbilly Elegy” as written by a funny gay man. I surely didn’t expect that when I bought it, but there you are. What this book really drove home to me – again – is that gay men need to write our stories, because we’re still largely getting left out of mainstream history (which means television, movies, cable, theater, music, dance, plus actual history). No matter what it seems like to you, especially if you’re still under 40, what I say is true. So, if you’re a writer, write your own story, because it matters.
Guy Branum’s self-deprecating comic memoir is smart, hilarious, heartbreaking. He grew up an overlarge inquiring sissy boy in blue-collar rural California (learning about the setting of his childhood is worth the read on its own—we Easterners are appallingly ignorant). He has lived his adult life as a fat gay man in a gay world where conventional looks and bodies are way too important. He has been a professional comedy writer for many years now, surviving and even thriving in the nastiest, most judgement-filled part of American commercial culture.
Guy Branum is indeed a goddess.
Guy Branum could also be my son, and I’d just like to reach up (he’s tall) and hug him and tell him that he’s loved. This book mattered to me because of the story and because of Branum’s gift as a writer. There’s a great deal of insight into modern reality, which is both a buffer and an amplifier to his personal story of struggle and survival. His life is a generation younger than mine, and every single detail is entirely different from mine in every possible way – and yet on every page there is something that resonated with me and my life. It says something that we can have such different lives with such common experiences, and that’s exactly why this book is important.
By Guy Branum
Published by Atria (division of Simon & Schuster), 2018
Five stars
Guy Branum’s brilliant memoir is essentially J.D. Vance’s overly-praised “Hillbilly Elegy” as written by a funny gay man. I surely didn’t expect that when I bought it, but there you are. What this book really drove home to me – again – is that gay men need to write our stories, because we’re still largely getting left out of mainstream history (which means television, movies, cable, theater, music, dance, plus actual history). No matter what it seems like to you, especially if you’re still under 40, what I say is true. So, if you’re a writer, write your own story, because it matters.
Guy Branum’s self-deprecating comic memoir is smart, hilarious, heartbreaking. He grew up an overlarge inquiring sissy boy in blue-collar rural California (learning about the setting of his childhood is worth the read on its own—we Easterners are appallingly ignorant). He has lived his adult life as a fat gay man in a gay world where conventional looks and bodies are way too important. He has been a professional comedy writer for many years now, surviving and even thriving in the nastiest, most judgement-filled part of American commercial culture.
Guy Branum is indeed a goddess.
Guy Branum could also be my son, and I’d just like to reach up (he’s tall) and hug him and tell him that he’s loved. This book mattered to me because of the story and because of Branum’s gift as a writer. There’s a great deal of insight into modern reality, which is both a buffer and an amplifier to his personal story of struggle and survival. His life is a generation younger than mine, and every single detail is entirely different from mine in every possible way – and yet on every page there is something that resonated with me and my life. It says something that we can have such different lives with such common experiences, and that’s exactly why this book is important.
August 21, 2018
I hate critiquing memoirs. Who am I to judge someone else’s life and experience?
This book was difficult to slug through. 50% of this book was fascinating and I could deeply relate to. There were lines from the book I wanted to share with friends and family and be like, wow, this guy is me! His college experience, coming out story and fascination of all things pop culture resonated deeply with me.
But then 50% of the book were strange allegories that I could not connect with. Guy devoted an entire chapter to Canadian history. And not in a funny context...straight up Canadian history. And when the book ended with an allegory about Entourage, I was done and spent.
This book was difficult to slug through. 50% of this book was fascinating and I could deeply relate to. There were lines from the book I wanted to share with friends and family and be like, wow, this guy is me! His college experience, coming out story and fascination of all things pop culture resonated deeply with me.
But then 50% of the book were strange allegories that I could not connect with. Guy devoted an entire chapter to Canadian history. And not in a funny context...straight up Canadian history. And when the book ended with an allegory about Entourage, I was done and spent.
January 19, 2019
I was reminded recently when hearing Guy on a podcast that I've been meaning to read this book and while I am not very familiar with him, I immediately became a fan. The world of celebrity/comedian essay/memoir books is growing and while there are several very strong entries, they can also be a bit of a mess. But Guy's book carves out its own unique space, examining many of the central moments in his life through pop culture, and has a distinctive voice that makes it a real joy. I loved his ridiculously obscure references, his long tangents, his breakdowns of plots and lyrics. I also loved listening to him read it all with gusto and fearlessness.
While some pieces of the book work better than others, there is no real dud, an unusual feat for a book like this with a tricky concept. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (can we please get a feminist revisiting of that movie? it's clearly long overdue). Guy isn't just someone who knows a lot of pop culture. He's SMART. He is aware of who he is in a broader societal context and he's happy to break down all the reasons why his gayness, his fatness, etc are judged through a lens of a white patriarchy.
If you are coming to this books for celebrity gossip, there's not a lot, just a chapter or so at the end. I think that's for the best. This book, like so many others, gets much more boring when Guy gets moderately famous. (No one really handles this well, the closest I've seen a book to getting it right is Retta's memoir, which actually seems to get how bonkers it is to be famous and instead of treating it like just the way things are is continually stopping to look around and consider WTF is all this?) Luckily we mostly get Guy's earlier life, his struggles with denial over his sexuality, his difficulty finding a place he fit, discovering comedy, working out his family relationships. I particularly adored the chapters on his hometown.
Highly recommend the audio. I was always very happy to turn this on and hear Guy's enthusiastic commentary in my ears.
While some pieces of the book work better than others, there is no real dud, an unusual feat for a book like this with a tricky concept. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (can we please get a feminist revisiting of that movie? it's clearly long overdue). Guy isn't just someone who knows a lot of pop culture. He's SMART. He is aware of who he is in a broader societal context and he's happy to break down all the reasons why his gayness, his fatness, etc are judged through a lens of a white patriarchy.
If you are coming to this books for celebrity gossip, there's not a lot, just a chapter or so at the end. I think that's for the best. This book, like so many others, gets much more boring when Guy gets moderately famous. (No one really handles this well, the closest I've seen a book to getting it right is Retta's memoir, which actually seems to get how bonkers it is to be famous and instead of treating it like just the way things are is continually stopping to look around and consider WTF is all this?) Luckily we mostly get Guy's earlier life, his struggles with denial over his sexuality, his difficulty finding a place he fit, discovering comedy, working out his family relationships. I particularly adored the chapters on his hometown.
Highly recommend the audio. I was always very happy to turn this on and hear Guy's enthusiastic commentary in my ears.
January 15, 2020
"From a young age, Guy Branum always felt as if he were on the outside looking in.
Self-taught, introspective, and from a stiflingly boring farm town, he couldn’t relate to his neighbors. While other boys played outside, he stayed indoors reading Greek mythology. And being gay and overweight, he got used to diminishing himself. But little by little, he started learning from all the sad, strange, lonely outcasts in history who had come before him, and he started to feel hope.
In this collection of personal essays, Guy talks about finding a sense of belonging at Berkeley—and stirring up controversy in a newspaper column that led to a run‑in with the Secret Service. He recounts the pitfalls of being typecast as the “Sassy Gay Friend,” and how, after taking a wrong turn in life (i.e. law school), he found stand‑up comedy and artistic freedom. He analyzes society’s calculated deprivation of personhood from fat people, and how, though it’s taken him a while to accept who he is, he has learned that with a little patience and a lot of humor, self-acceptance is possible."
Self-taught, introspective, and from a stiflingly boring farm town, he couldn’t relate to his neighbors. While other boys played outside, he stayed indoors reading Greek mythology. And being gay and overweight, he got used to diminishing himself. But little by little, he started learning from all the sad, strange, lonely outcasts in history who had come before him, and he started to feel hope.
In this collection of personal essays, Guy talks about finding a sense of belonging at Berkeley—and stirring up controversy in a newspaper column that led to a run‑in with the Secret Service. He recounts the pitfalls of being typecast as the “Sassy Gay Friend,” and how, after taking a wrong turn in life (i.e. law school), he found stand‑up comedy and artistic freedom. He analyzes society’s calculated deprivation of personhood from fat people, and how, though it’s taken him a while to accept who he is, he has learned that with a little patience and a lot of humor, self-acceptance is possible."
January 14, 2019
I LOVED this book. I'm familiar with Guy Branum's work but wasn't really a superfan or anything coming into this, but I was so impressed with how smart and funny and insightful he is. From the subtitle (and from other books I've read) I was a little nervous about this being a deep dive into sitcoms I never watched, but instead it's something much more universal. (While also specifically being a powerful story of growing up a closeted gay teen and later coming out as an adult, and processing the messaging he'd received from pop culture about sexuality.)
It's more melancholy than I'd expected, but it also has plenty of sharply funny lines. Plus, footnote jokes! I love a good footnote joke.
It's more melancholy than I'd expected, but it also has plenty of sharply funny lines. Plus, footnote jokes! I love a good footnote joke.
June 30, 2018
I got this book as a goodreads giveaway not knowing anything about Guy Branum. I was looking forward to a funny memoir, but this book was mostly Guy describing tv shows and movies. I don’t feel like I learned many things about him and I certainly didn’t laugh.
June 2, 2018
I didn't know anything about Guy Branum previously, but now I am a huge fan. Branum is a stand-up comedian/actor/writer/lawyer/all-around talented fella. He is also gay, very tall, and very large. And he's very, very good at trivia and quiz bowls. (You will be better at both those things as well if you read this book and remember even 1/3 of the references - there's a Jenny Holzer allusion, FFS!)
Though this book is full of humorous autobiographical essays, it's also got a ton of great insights into queer theory, homophobia, and politics -- in one of the most bizarre details in the book, Branum was "treated" to a Secret Service visit after making an offhand comment about then-First Daughter Chelsea Clinton in a humor column written for his college paper. It was perhaps the first time that he rose to national attention, but definitely should not have been the last.
Not only are Branum's stories funny and heartfelt, but he has the best vocabulary of any writer I've encountered in quite a while. I found myself having to look up a word or two every few pages to make sure that it meant what I thought (or to learn what it meant). Branum attended law school, has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of trivia, and his passion for using the right word for the right situation is not only admirable, but downright inspiring.
Just read this book and be glad you did, damn it.
I received access to this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Though this book is full of humorous autobiographical essays, it's also got a ton of great insights into queer theory, homophobia, and politics -- in one of the most bizarre details in the book, Branum was "treated" to a Secret Service visit after making an offhand comment about then-First Daughter Chelsea Clinton in a humor column written for his college paper. It was perhaps the first time that he rose to national attention, but definitely should not have been the last.
Not only are Branum's stories funny and heartfelt, but he has the best vocabulary of any writer I've encountered in quite a while. I found myself having to look up a word or two every few pages to make sure that it meant what I thought (or to learn what it meant). Branum attended law school, has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of trivia, and his passion for using the right word for the right situation is not only admirable, but downright inspiring.
Just read this book and be glad you did, damn it.
I received access to this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 5, 2018
I will admit, I had no idea who Guy was before I read this book, not even an iota. After reading this though, I am in awe that I somehow completely overlooked his whole career. He's so funny! How did our paths never cross? Part memoir, part humor, part history and pop culture lesson; this memoir is unique and entirely fun to read. I'm a huge fan of footnotes and there are A TON of footnotes; humorous asides, sarcastic comments, clarification, etc. It's genius! The stories I enjoyed the most were the ones where Guy is rehashing his youth growing up in a quasi-Jewish home in the redneck hills of California as a giant gay child. It's humorous, real, raw at parts, but he never loses levity. Another great celebrity memoir by someone you may or may not have heard of, but are certainly glad you did by the end of the book.
October 17, 2018
This was kind of a slog and sometimes had so many digressions that I lost the thread of whatever the essay was originally about. I also wish that he treated the reader like less of an adversary with whom he couldn't possibly have anything in common. That said I really enjoyed some of the essays (especially the one about finding yourself in narratives you are meant to be excluded from, but also the ones about fatness, his Passover seders, how he came to stand-up, and the epilogue).
October 15, 2018
this book really did not live up to the hype!! Lots of people I like and podcasts I listen to recommended it but it was so underwhelming. I think the thing that bothered me the most was the tone, it was v pretentious. And I know it’s in the title that this book covers unpopular culture so I should’ve been prepared but I just did not enjoy reading extended metaphors and analyses of shows and movies that I have not and will never see
January 13, 2019
I expected to like this book, and to find it funny. I did not realize the levels of humanity, thoughtfulness and heart I would experience as well. I loved this book and I absolutely think you should read it. Yes, you.
January 24, 2019
I loved this book.
I started with the Kindle edition and then realized that I should switch and listen to it in audio. I have no regrets about this book. This is NOT a cohesive and chronological memoir, but a collection of bio-essays on Branum's thoughts, experiences, strengths. I will be going back through the Kindle edition because there are quotes from this book that I need in my life.
His ability to look at a larger subject and then reflect on its components before returning to the whole is remarkable. I particularly enjoy that use of English, so it's very appealing to me. Your mileage may vary.
He swims back and forth within the essays in reflecting on his own privilege in some capacities, while impressing upon others to also understand the kinds of difficulties that are faced by gay men and by larger people.
His essay on his father, the section on Babette's Feast, the contemplations on Canada and on the Punjab region- frankly, all of these sections should be taught in English 101 as examples of the narrative essay. They are exquisite.
I gifted my sister the Kindle book because I didn't think she had time or quiet to listen to the audio version. I highly commend any version of this book to you, and sooner rather than later.
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I started with the Kindle edition and then realized that I should switch and listen to it in audio. I have no regrets about this book. This is NOT a cohesive and chronological memoir, but a collection of bio-essays on Branum's thoughts, experiences, strengths. I will be going back through the Kindle edition because there are quotes from this book that I need in my life.
His ability to look at a larger subject and then reflect on its components before returning to the whole is remarkable. I particularly enjoy that use of English, so it's very appealing to me. Your mileage may vary.
He swims back and forth within the essays in reflecting on his own privilege in some capacities, while impressing upon others to also understand the kinds of difficulties that are faced by gay men and by larger people.
His essay on his father, the section on Babette's Feast, the contemplations on Canada and on the Punjab region- frankly, all of these sections should be taught in English 101 as examples of the narrative essay. They are exquisite.
I gifted my sister the Kindle book because I didn't think she had time or quiet to listen to the audio version. I highly commend any version of this book to you, and sooner rather than later.
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September 23, 2018
I didn’t actually finish this book because the parts I loved and felt super seen by didn’t nearly make up for the incredibly entitled and unempathetic attitudes that pervaded it. Happy Endings is a subversive triumph and it’s embarrassing that a comedy writer wouldn’t see that. Freddie Mercury was bi. *Gay white men still experience white privilege and male privilege*. You can still be classist af even if you grew up poor. Being smart enough to use the language of social justice without truly examining your core beliefs and your position in life is d a n g e r o u s.
August 29, 2018
I wanted to like this more than I did. Bits are laugh out loud funny, but over all it feels flat. Mr Branum is obviously quite smart and witty but I was hoping fore more in the vein of David Sedaris and less in the vein of a literary journal.
August 29, 2018
There are countless celebrity memoirs in the world and almost as many where people tell their story about coming out but few are as insightful and powerful as Guy's. He manages to tell his side of the story while also thoroughly breaking down the aspects of his story beyond himself. He is well read, quick witted and hilarious. I've long enjoyed his stand up and his comedic writing but the aspects of this story that really moved me are when he uses unflinching honesty to explain his relationship with the people who have had the biggest impacts on his life. He not only explains these relationships but he also explains what could have happened had he done things differently. It's somber, striking and beautiful.
Oh and his breakdown of the meaning behind bohemian rhapsody is one of the most intelligent things I've ever read.
Oh and his breakdown of the meaning behind bohemian rhapsody is one of the most intelligent things I've ever read.
March 17, 2019
I listened to this on audiobook over the last few weeks and really enjoyed it - I love a good memoir and have read a number of memoirs by comedians, but I found Branum to be a bit...hmm. I felt like he went deeper than many of those memoirs do? Like he was interested in being funny, yes, and there were some parts that were very funny, but there were also a lot of parts that were raw and painful and sharp and true, too. Plus a lot about living in rural California, which is a thing I feel like doesn’t get talked about much in books unless you’re Steinbeck, and some really great linkages between pop culture products and politics. Oh, and some extremely astute observations about the Bay Area and LA. Branum is clearly a smart and unique mind, and it makes for a very effective and often touching book.
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September 1, 2018This was a lovely read. I'm mostly familiar with Guy from his podcast, Pop Rocket, and I loved his thorough analysis of multiple topics in this book.
Guy is incredibly funny, but he also manages to convey incredible pain and general cultural analysis. Many parts of this book aren't a laugh riot, but that's fine by me. In my opinion, the purchase was worth it simply for the amazing chapter "The Man Who Watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
Guy is incredibly funny, but he also manages to convey incredible pain and general cultural analysis. Many parts of this book aren't a laugh riot, but that's fine by me. In my opinion, the purchase was worth it simply for the amazing chapter "The Man Who Watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
October 31, 2018
Read if you're into: close readings of pop culture, close readings of Queen songs, close readings of John Wayne films, close readings of personal experiences as if they are fiction (but in a good way).
Do not read if: you don't know what close readings are.
AKA this is a pop culture books for people who knew how to English majors, even if they weren't English majors. I cried like four times. I loved it.
Do not read if: you don't know what close readings are.
AKA this is a pop culture books for people who knew how to English majors, even if they weren't English majors. I cried like four times. I loved it.
February 18, 2019
This book struck so many chords in me. Sometimes a book just meets YOU EXACTLY where you are in the moment and this is that book for me, right now.
I started reading it from the library and then stopped to order my own copy so I could underline and annotate, but couldn't even bring myself to do that. Maybe on my next read.
This is open and honest and funny and speaks to everyone who has ever felt "othered".
I started reading it from the library and then stopped to order my own copy so I could underline and annotate, but couldn't even bring myself to do that. Maybe on my next read.
This is open and honest and funny and speaks to everyone who has ever felt "othered".
January 23, 2019
I definitely recommend the audiobook for Branum's great narration and accents. For the most part, I found the memoir and his stories entertaining, honest, and at times inspiring. There were a couple of chapters that seemed like they could have been cut (Canadian history!), but overall, a good reading experience.
August 14, 2018
This is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. I wish I could go back in time and give it to myself when I was 15. Guy is hilarious, obviously, but he also has some of the most insightful analysis of issues affecting gay men. His writing is super intelligent, but also super approachable.
September 16, 2018
Guy Branum's book is an interesting case study in the benefits and limits of what we might call "woke comedy." On the one hand, the way that he mixes humor in with sociological insight can be good; when it works it makes the jokes feel more substantial and it makes the sociology feel less ponderous. But when it doesn't work - well, then it ruins both of them, by sucking the fun out of the jokes and by making the sociological sections feel petty.
Overall I think Branum gets the balance right - there's more good than bad here, particularly when it comes to the chapters about his family, which are often quite touching. However, when he does overshoot the mark it can be very frustrating. In particular I'm thinking of the footnotes where he imagines imaginary objections and then argues against them, because those almost always come across as overly defensive and neurotic.
You can tell that Branum's a writer who has come into his own during the age of Twitter because whenever he makes a point about how he faced discrimination because of his sexual orientation he anticipates someone trying to undercut his argument by pointing out that he's still privileged because he's a white male -which is exactly the sort of response you'd see in a Twitter thread. But there's a difference between a book and a Twitter thread. You don't necessarily ask to see a specific perspective in your Twitter feed - their algorithm regularly shoves random accounts into your eyeline - so naturally that's a more contentious space. In contrast, you shouldn't have to argue that your perspective is legitimate and worthwhile in your own book. If we've picked up your memoir you should trust that the reader believes your insights are worth reading. If we didn't think that then why would we have specifically sought out your book in the first place?
When 'woke comedy' like My Life As a Goddess works it is great - open hearted and forward thinking, it can reaffirm your faith in humanity and make you laugh to boot. But when it doesn't work it is exhausting, because having to follow a train of thought through every potential counter- argument that a thought-policing pedant could throw at it is laborious and very much the opposite of hilarious.
I can't say that I loved this book, but I will give it this: it seems like it is a good distillation of who Guy Branum is, and there's worth in that, and it also seems like a good snapshot of where we are as a culture at the moment (on the left at least), and there's worth in that, too. It could have been a lot better if it was maybe 15% less self conscious, but unfortunately we don't live at a time when being un-self conscious makes sense. No, we live in a time when every single idiot with a GoodReads account can chime in on every single book they read with all their half-assed criticisms, and how are you supposed to create something that's totally open and honest in an environment like that?
Overall I think Branum gets the balance right - there's more good than bad here, particularly when it comes to the chapters about his family, which are often quite touching. However, when he does overshoot the mark it can be very frustrating. In particular I'm thinking of the footnotes where he imagines imaginary objections and then argues against them, because those almost always come across as overly defensive and neurotic.
You can tell that Branum's a writer who has come into his own during the age of Twitter because whenever he makes a point about how he faced discrimination because of his sexual orientation he anticipates someone trying to undercut his argument by pointing out that he's still privileged because he's a white male -which is exactly the sort of response you'd see in a Twitter thread. But there's a difference between a book and a Twitter thread. You don't necessarily ask to see a specific perspective in your Twitter feed - their algorithm regularly shoves random accounts into your eyeline - so naturally that's a more contentious space. In contrast, you shouldn't have to argue that your perspective is legitimate and worthwhile in your own book. If we've picked up your memoir you should trust that the reader believes your insights are worth reading. If we didn't think that then why would we have specifically sought out your book in the first place?
When 'woke comedy' like My Life As a Goddess works it is great - open hearted and forward thinking, it can reaffirm your faith in humanity and make you laugh to boot. But when it doesn't work it is exhausting, because having to follow a train of thought through every potential counter- argument that a thought-policing pedant could throw at it is laborious and very much the opposite of hilarious.
I can't say that I loved this book, but I will give it this: it seems like it is a good distillation of who Guy Branum is, and there's worth in that, and it also seems like a good snapshot of where we are as a culture at the moment (on the left at least), and there's worth in that, too. It could have been a lot better if it was maybe 15% less self conscious, but unfortunately we don't live at a time when being un-self conscious makes sense. No, we live in a time when every single idiot with a GoodReads account can chime in on every single book they read with all their half-assed criticisms, and how are you supposed to create something that's totally open and honest in an environment like that?
August 10, 2018
It was smart to include the subtitle of this book, "A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture." This is by-and-large a book of cultural critiques and to some degree, straight-up descriptions of plots of movies and TV shows. Many of the cultural references from his childhood are admittedly outside of my own timeline, but I understood a fair amount. If you are someone who knows of Guy from his truly fabulous podcast "Pop Rocket," you won't be out-of-place, until Guy derides you for probably not getting a reference which you may in fact get.
It was his keen self-awareness that pointed out what I, as a gay man, felt frustrated by. This is maybe not a problem of his, but a problem that Guy speaks to throughout the book: the need for gay men to hide certain facts about themselves due to how they may be perceived by the outside world. Much of this felt like it was written for straight girls- gay men don't need the constant explanations and footnotes about what gay culture is. I was left wanting a little more grit. In the coming out story, there was no revelatory sexual experience. Perhaps he wanted to avoid that cliché, perhaps his experience was uncouth, or perhaps he fell victim to the gay-man-as-eunuch pitfall: We can be funny, quippy, and clever, but that ends when we describe the way our private parts are used.
Some of it was repetitive, and I felt could have used some editing finesse- perhaps, though it's a stylistic choice. It is a memoir, not an autobiography, but I don't love the jumps around in time- a linear storyline would have been better, in my opinion.
All-in-all, I fell in love with Guy throughout this book. He has a truly agile mind, even if he may try a little too hard to prove it. I hope the book is successful enough to warrant another one. Not to get too schmaltzy or personal, but when he learns to love himself a little more, enough to allow someone else to love him- I'd love to get that perspective down the line.
It's worth the read, and is more than anything an inspirational story that may just get you to look at things a little differently.
It was his keen self-awareness that pointed out what I, as a gay man, felt frustrated by. This is maybe not a problem of his, but a problem that Guy speaks to throughout the book: the need for gay men to hide certain facts about themselves due to how they may be perceived by the outside world. Much of this felt like it was written for straight girls- gay men don't need the constant explanations and footnotes about what gay culture is. I was left wanting a little more grit. In the coming out story, there was no revelatory sexual experience. Perhaps he wanted to avoid that cliché, perhaps his experience was uncouth, or perhaps he fell victim to the gay-man-as-eunuch pitfall: We can be funny, quippy, and clever, but that ends when we describe the way our private parts are used.
Some of it was repetitive, and I felt could have used some editing finesse- perhaps, though it's a stylistic choice. It is a memoir, not an autobiography, but I don't love the jumps around in time- a linear storyline would have been better, in my opinion.
All-in-all, I fell in love with Guy throughout this book. He has a truly agile mind, even if he may try a little too hard to prove it. I hope the book is successful enough to warrant another one. Not to get too schmaltzy or personal, but when he learns to love himself a little more, enough to allow someone else to love him- I'd love to get that perspective down the line.
It's worth the read, and is more than anything an inspirational story that may just get you to look at things a little differently.
November 27, 2018
I really liked this book! I think it took me a little too long to read based on the genre - it was a little dense (but not necessarily in a bad way for me). I think that while he explains a lot of the cultural references he's discussing, there is a lot of information you sort of already need to have on your own coming into the book to fully understand everything. When I had that info, it was really fun, because it felt like knowing a secret language and getting to put all of the pieces together. I certainly didn't think going into the book that my knowledge of Kristeva's concept of abjection and the story of Durga slaying the buffalo demon, for example, would come in handy, but I kind of loved that they did.
While this is a memoir that moves relatively chronologically through the author's life, many of the chapters work well as standalone essays. I thought that there was a good mix of humor and emotional sincerity, and I also liked all of the cultural analysis.
I think overall this book probably isn't for everyone, but it was definitely a good fit for me personally.
While this is a memoir that moves relatively chronologically through the author's life, many of the chapters work well as standalone essays. I thought that there was a good mix of humor and emotional sincerity, and I also liked all of the cultural analysis.
I think overall this book probably isn't for everyone, but it was definitely a good fit for me personally.
February 23, 2019
I found so much of Guy Branum's memoir My Life as a Goddess deeply relatable, both on a personal level and in a more universal sense. I enjoyed reading his insider perspectives on comedy and Hollywood, and I equally appreciated the highly allusive depictions of his existence before he entered the entertainment business, particularly the passages about his family and how he handled his coming out to them. I am hesitating to give My Life a fifth star (it is probably actually a 4.5-star book) for two reasons: 1. it wasn't quite as laugh-out-loud funny as I was hoping and 2. it creates too much of a knowing distance between itself and the reader at times. On the whole, it is quite engaging and witty, but it is occasionally a bit too erudite for its own good. Still, it joins an ever-growing pantheon of compelling memoirs from comedians, and I came away from it genuinely impressed with both Guy Branum's humor and his intellectual heft.
October 16, 2018
I read a quote about being a fat person someone had lifted from this book and thought I would love it. Some of the writing is wonderful, Guy obviously loves words and can write beautifully. I didn't even mind the digressions into Canadian history (perhaps because I am Canadian). But overall I felt like I was reading a book by someone who really really wanted me to know he was really really smart. As someone who was "bookish" in a working class neighbourhood, I know the deep desire to want to differentiate yourself from those around you and their perceived simplicity. But in the end it comes across as contempt for the people he grew up with mixed with some light bitterness for the people who kept giving him chances to write jokes for a living. I enjoyed reading it, but I'm not sure I felt any affinity to Guy after reading it, like most humourous memoirs I've read.
February 7, 2019
I learned about Guy Branum through podcasts. He was a guest host on the Gilmore Guys. I enjoyed him so much that I started listening to his podcast, PopRocket.
I really enjoyed this book. At the beginning, I was laughing out loud and read about forty pages in a sitting. I appreciated Guy's stories about his life. I especially identified with the part where he talked about being the poor kid who loved facts. I was nodding my head in agreement. When life is unstable, facts can give you stability. Thank you, Guy, for articulating that thought so much better than I could. Definitely recommended.
I really enjoyed this book. At the beginning, I was laughing out loud and read about forty pages in a sitting. I appreciated Guy's stories about his life. I especially identified with the part where he talked about being the poor kid who loved facts. I was nodding my head in agreement. When life is unstable, facts can give you stability. Thank you, Guy, for articulating that thought so much better than I could. Definitely recommended.
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