Wanderlust, USA

by Flula Borg (Author/Narrator)

Flula Borg's life is the stuff of myth. A frequent guest of Conan O'Brien, the German-born actor (think Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat crossed with Billy Eichner) regales audiences with stories from his outlandish travel exploits, and his fascination with America and its "peoples" have warmed hearts nationwide. Flula fell in love with the United States on his first visit as a young boy, and calls this vast country full of exciting, creative, weird, and compassionate people superoberaffengeil - "incredibly top monkey sassy" or, simply, "cool."

In this zany, eye-opening and delightful six-part audio series, Flula travels the breadth of the United States in search of its coveted and weirdest pastimes to learn more about the country, and better understand what drives people to these cultural events. His adventures include:

Experiencing the famed Iditarod dog-sledding race in Alaska
Partying Up during the World Cup of Surfing in Hawaii
Donning Elvis duds for Elvis Week in Memphis
Portraying a Minuteman at Lexington's famous Revolutionary War reenactment

In each episode, Flula can be found "shooting the poops" as he calls it with the people he meets, including event organizers, participants, founders, and spectators. His goal is to understand what these quintessentially American event means to the communities involved, how each came to exist, and why they have all persisted - and of course, how he can take part! In addition, each segment is filled with fictional advertisements and mini episodes that explore a region or city's local haunt, as well as techno tracks created entirely from the sounds he recorded at each event.

Infused with Flula's infectious enthusiasm, Wanderlust, USA is an immersive and uproarious experience that reveals the heart of America in a unique way. Boom!

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Humor, Travel, Memoir, Comedy

6 pages, Audiobook

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flula Borg is for those with a rather niche sense of humor, but if you've seen him on Conan and find his mispronunciations funny then the is the audiobook for you!

You might even learn a few things about America and Germany, in these silly interviews some of which may or may not be a joke, but mostly it's just dumb and charmingly hilarious

I for one love this guy. He's even now a movie star in the new The Suicide Squad...

[Gary Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audio-only title had me chuckling all the way through. German-born Flula Borg brings his aggressive exuberance to his attempts to understand various bits of Americana: Elvis impersonators, alien abductions, Revolutionary War re-enactments, etc. Wanderlust USA is funny, but I can't quite give it five stars because sometimes its humor gives way to silliness and potty jokes.

[Stuart Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Social media star Flula Borg’s first book is part absurdist travelogue and part hilarious comedic memoir, where he tackles everything from how to surf if you’re afraid of the ocean, the Alcatraz of Unicorns (the Kentucky Derby), Elvis Impersonators (both German and American), the UFOs who abducted his childhood poodle, the Iditarod, and writing a musical about Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, the German hero of the Revolutionary War whom Lin-Manuel Miranda tragically overlooked in “Hamilton.”

If you’re a fan of absurd humor, you’ll enjoy this book—it’s incredibly weird and filled to the brim with Flula’s goofy sense of humor and rapid-fire musings. I especially liked the actual (albeit still somewhat silly) interviews he conducted with good-natured interviewees about the history of the things he was researching, as well as the parts of the book that delved into memoir: Flula is charming and very engaging, and it was fun to learn more about his past and why he chose to engage with the specific six topics I listed above.

If you want a weird, fun, silly listen, check this book out! I loved it.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should definitely be experienced as an audiobook. Flula narrates and it’s the icing on the cake.

[Christina ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received the audiobook of Wanderlust, USA for free from Libro.fm, and it was definitely an entertaining listen!

It felt more like a few podcast episodes than an audiobook where Flula (the author) talks about his childhood in Germany and his fascination with American pastimes. Each chapter was like a separate adventure where he explores a different quintessentially American activity.

I'll admit, it was fun to see my country through his creative and hilarious eyes though there wasn't a lot of real substance to this book — which is half the fun of reading for me. If I'm entirely honest, though, I probably needed something fluffy (like this) during the pandemic. So all in all? No complaints. 🙃

tl;dr ★★

[Kore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the ALC audio book curtesy of Libro.fm, the publisher and, Title Wave Books Revised.

Wanderlust, USA is a hilarious take on one man’s journey to experience everything he wanted to in America that was zany and weird. Flula Borg narrating his own book and putting some German flare into the BG audio was refreshing to hear. I loved every moment of this audio book. The banter he has with others and his producer always made me laugh. What a great way to tell a story whether it’s non-fic or fiction.

[Kirsten Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book free through Libro.fm, and I wasn’t really expecting to get much out of it...and I didn’t, so expectations were met. It got me what I needed, which was to not have to work alone in my house in total silence.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

well closer to 4.5, but i want to listen to it a few more times. his impromptu calls were so much better than his scripted ones.

[Chelsea Kapaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so silly and entertaining. Nothing too deep as far as the content but I was definitely amused.

[Timber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected nothing out of listening to this audiobook and it delivered slightly better than my expectations on one chapter.

[Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

After recently seeing my first Flula video on YouTube, I was hooked! He may not appeal to everyone, but he always makes me laugh. His strong German accent, mispronunciations, and observations about the American people, idioms, activities and places are very funny. Even the people he interviews can't help laughing. He travelled around America and interviewed people about various things America is known for: surfing in California, the Kentucky Derby, Elvis in Mississippi, UFO abductions in New Mexico, Hamilton the Musical, and the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska. He also includes funny insights into German culture and his childhood which really appealed to me because of my German background. I also enjoyed the reference to one of the old songs I learned and often sang, "Muss I denn".

[Aisha AlJanahi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, round down. Flula is better in small doses. This book was too much flula. Flula is also better with a Conan.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

   In this memoir-podcast, Flula Borg explores some of the unique aspects of American culture such as the Iditarod, Elvis impersonations, surfing culture, UFOs and aliens, Revolutionary War reenactments, and the Kentucky Derby, while also tying in references to his own German culture and making numerous jokes about anything and everything.
   I get that it is humorous, and his stories are pretty zany, but I just didn’t find it funny, personally. Even though I totally get cultural misunderstandings, having lived for periods of time in three countries not my own. Having never listened to him before, or even heard of him before I got this book free from Libro.fm, I went in pretty blind/deaf about his style. What seemed to get me the most, maybe, is how much he played to linguistic misunderstandings for many of the jokes, and heavily. To an outrageous degree. It got old rather fast, and I don’t know if this is just his comedic style or his normal style (can that be a thing for comedians? I’m not sure). Either way, I tired of it quickly, and couldn’t wait for it to be done. I really should have DNFd it, but since it was only about four and a half hours, it was a good way to waste some time while I waited for work to pick up, or while I put together some cross-stitch ornaments I had completed (I also hate the finishing stage of cross-stitch – it can get so time consuming! I’d rather do all the stitching and someone else the finishing, but I digress…). I keep trying humor books, and they keep falling flat for me – maybe I should take this as a sign that I just don’t seem to like books with the primary goal of being funny.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this and what a wonderful crazy road trip it was! The book is funny and tender all at once. Flula's fun way with speaking English makes for new wonderful words. My favorite was "overstatementing" instead of "overstating". I love that! Flula takes trips to 6 places in the USA that have significance to him. So there are 6 chapters in the book. Each chapter begins with a tie-in to Germany and how Flula became interested in the particular topic of which he is exploring and researching. At each location he interviews people and many of them are eccentrics who are so interesting to listen to. Between chapters, Flula plays a techno song that he has composed as a summary of the most recent chapter. These songs are fun and creative as well.
Chapter 1--Surfing; destination: Huntington Beach, California
Chapter 2--Kentucky Derby; destination: Louisville, Kentucky
Chapter 3--Elvis; destination: Tupelo, Mississippi
Chapter 4--UFOS; destination: Roswell, New Mexico
Chapter 5--Revolutionary War reenactments; destination: Lexington, Kentucky
Chapter 6--Iditarod; destination: Nome, Alaska
I sure hope he does another book like this. I learned so many things!

[Xavier Guillaume · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flula Borg, German comedian and techno DJ, accounts his tales traveling across the United States visiting fun places like the Kentucky Derby and Roswell, NM. He even goes to Tupelo, MS! What's funny about this book is he interviews some really weird, bizarre people, which is saying a lot because Flula is pretty bizarre himself. I wouldn't say you really gain anything from this book, besides some mild entertainment. It was definitely fun to listen to while doing chores around the house. Flula has this zany demeanor where he likes to do a lot of wordplay, making puns, and strange connections, or taking English idioms quite literally. If you have ever seen him on Conan, etc. it is a lot like that. He's a crazy, fun crackhead, without the crack (at least I hope!).

Only 3 stars though, because some parts dragged, and it was a little too zany even for me. If you love Flula Borg, I definitely recommend checking it out! He's a personality, that's for sure!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie, this was a weird book. It is an audiobook, which means it was never published as a printed book. Flula Borg is hilarious, really playing up his German background/accent, but I read this for a Travel Memoir category for my Reading Challenge and this is NOT a travel memoir. Not at all. It's just a humor book, plain and simple.

Flula supposedly goes around the country to participate in American things that he only heard about as he grew up in Germany, like a surfing contest in California, the Kentucky Derby, and the Alaskan Iditarod. However, since this is all in audio, and since half of the interviews feel staged, I don't actually think he went to any of these places. Way more emphasis is placed on stories from Flula's childhood than anything else. So, read it if you want some laughs. Don't read it if you're looking for an actual travel memoir.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up because I'm on a stay at home order and I'll take all the laffs I can get.

I vaguely knew that there was a human named Flula Borg prior to downloading this audiobook free from Libro.fm. At first, I wasn't sold. But then he summarized his remake of Point Break and I was sold.

Not entirely sure how to classify this one...and not entirely sure what's an actual interview and what's a comedic interview, but it's a good time and there are some solid gold nuggets in it. A book hasn't made me lol in a while and it's exactly what I needed at this moment in time.

[Marcia Van Camp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun...it definitely needs to be listened to. There were so many funny and crazy stories about Flula’s life that I loved. I learned some new things about German pop culture that were fun and about Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. A few interviews he tried to conduct went a little south and those were sometimes painful to listen to and so awkward.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Total ausgezeichnet! I love Flula Borg. Super entertaining. I'm not sure how much of it is an act but I'm pretty sure I speak German the way Flula speaks English.

Also, a shout out to Bamberg! The best berg.

[Anne - ReadingfortheWeekend · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is more of a scripted podcast or a YouTube without video than a book. Parts of it are funny, but overall it is just random weirdness. Way too overproduced to be considered a book- there were even techno songs added in.

[Lizzie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this audiobook. It is so silly, and so wonderful. I don't think I have ever laughed so much while listening to or reading a book. It was an absolute delight, and I cannot recommend it enough.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the strangest audiobook I've ever listened to. The ending was better because it kind of devolved from a book format into a podcast format? But after a while the whole thing just got to be super annoying.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love Fula Borg. Was this book corny? Yes. Was this kinda weird? Yes. Was it clear that there were a handful of people changing their voices for some of the “interviews”? Yes. But, was it funny as hell? Yes. So what else really matters?

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny! I laughed out loud every time I listened to this, on my way to and from work. And then I couldn't stop giggling to myself about some of the lines/conversations throughout the day. Hilarious and endearing. I would expect nothing less from Flula!

[Rachel Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flula is hilarious. This was a fun, easy audiobook to listen to and enjoy. 3 1/2 stars for pure entertainment!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and entertaining audiobook. A little silly and cringy at times, but a good distraction. If you are a fan of Flula Borg, this is a must.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

He’s a fairly entertaining one-note dude.

[Becky Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, kind of boring, but you know, it’s Flula and I love Flula.

[Kate Fowler]

This is more like a 6 part podcast instead of an audiobook. It’s a good way to spend a road trip!

[Heather F · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this audiobook. The chapters were drawn out, and missing much of Flula's signature absurdity. Also, footnotes don't really work with an audiobook.