Overstated: A Coast-to-Coast Roast of the 50 States

by Colin Quinn

In Colin Quinn's new book, the popular comedian, social commentator, and star of the shows Red State Blue State and Unconstitutional tackles the condition of our union today.

Utah: The Church of States
Vermont: The Old Hippie State
Florida: The Hot Mess State
Arizona: The Instagram Model State
Wisconsin: The Diet Starts Tomorrow State

The United States is in a fifty-states-wide couples' counseling session, thinking about filing for divorce. But is that really what we want? Can a nation composed of states that are so different possibly hang together?

Colin Quinn, comedian, social commentator, and writer and star of Red State Blue State and Unconstitutional, calls us out state-by-state, from Connecticut to Hawaii. He identifies the hypocrisies inherent in what we claim to believe and what we actually do. Within a framework of big-picture thinking about systems of government--after all, how would you put this country together if you started from scratch today?--to dead-on observations about the quirks and vibes of the citizens in each region, Overstated skewers us all: red, blue, and purple. It's ultimately infused with the same blend of optimism and practicality that sparked the U.S. into being.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, History, Audiobook, Comedy, Travel, American History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2020

Reviews

[Jim Fonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a humorous book about the 50 states which I read because I am working on a book about what is unique or different about each of the states. I have posted California, New Jersey and Rhode as sample chapters and you can see them here. https://medium.com/@jimwfonseca/calif...

The author of this book, Colin Quinn, is a comedian famous for being the Weekend Update anchor for years on Saturday Night Live. You can tell what the text is like from his subtitle for each state: North Carolina is America’s Ashtray; Nebraska is Alone in a Crowded Room; Arkansas is the Big Box State (Walmart); Colorado is The East of the West and Texas is The New York of the South.



He picks the theme of various states to give him a platform to sound off about current issues. There’s nothing NEW in the book, you’ve heard it all before, but it is funny. After all, he’s a comedian and this book is entertainment. So Connecticut, Rich Man, Poor Man, is about the haves and have-nots; in Massachusetts, Tax This, Kid, he focuses on the Puritan heritage to go off about the trend toward trying to impose political correctness on comedians (won’t work). Minnesota, home of the Mall of America – well he hates malls.

Sometimes he just picks a famous musician to roast – Bruce Springsteen is most of the New Jersey chapter and the group REM for Georgia. Or other famous people: he describes Michigan as a battleground between Henry Ford and Jimmy Hoffa.

Sometimes he focuses on a movie or a TV series: Breaking Bad for New Mexico (a movie about a high school chemistry teacher turned meth producer), or Laverne and Shirley to talk about blue collar folks in Wisconsin.

There are a lot of good one-liners: In Maine, “sleeping in” means getting up at 5:30 am; Maine people are so quiet because they realize “90% of conversation is bullshit;” the union of the North and South is like “an ugly marriage.”



So, few facts but funny stuff and good entertainment. It reminds us too how thin the ice is when we say “People from Iowa……” – what? Can you say something that applies even to 20% of them? LOL

Top image (not from the book) from sunnyskyz.com
The author from nymag.com

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice that Colin Quinn did not waste his free time during the Lockdown. He took an armchair tour of the 50 states, and came up with this nifty collection of commentary about the unique regions that make up the U.S. Don't worry - no matter where you live in this country, you will have the opportunity to be amused, or possibly, offended as Quinn reels off one-liners about your particular state.

Quinn on Asheville, North Carolina (aka The Hippie South):
. . . they eat organic roadkill. It's the only place they roast hogs in patchouli oil.

On South Dakota:
Maybe being associated with North Dakota is holding you back? How about this? You change your name. Rebrand. West Minnesota. Anything.

On Idaho:
Originally incorporated as a parking lot for Utah, Idaho really grew into its own. It's got the beauty of Wyoming combined with the boredom of Iowa.

On Louisiana:
One time I landed at the airport and the cab driver, who was at least 400 pounds, stopped halfway through the trip and made me get out and pump gas while he went into the store to pay and pick up some goodies! And came out with a six-pack of beer. And opened one while he was driving me. And offered me one. And it was 10:30 a.m. That's New Orleans.

I got quite a few chuckles out of this one.

Whether or not we remain the united states seems to be anyone's guess.

Now we are in the factions moment in history, where everybody is broken up into cults trying to force their values and ideals onto each other, and so far, its not looking very promising for our future.

Quinn offers no solutions to our current problems, but check out this book if you want a few laughs as you watch it all go down the tubes.

*Thanks to Allison at St. Martin's Press for a chance to check this out prepublication.

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Colin Quinn because he is very educated and makes me laugh out loud about stuff most comedians don't even understand like the US Constitution, American history and the political differences between the states. For example, he sums up Louisiana with the motto "Three can keep a secret if two are dead." I have to admit I read the part about my home state of Texas first. He is right that Texans are as arrogant as New Yorkers. And I was impressed that he quoted Davy Crockett's "You can all go to hell, I'm going to Texas." He does fall down in my eyes when he says there are no trees in Texas. Obviously he has not been to the right place as we have ancient oak trees by the millions and a whole forest called The Big Thicket, which I think refers to the clouds of mosquitoes that live there.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarcastic, sassy, and hilarious observations for all 50 states, this is made for those looking for escapism in the form of old-school comedy. As long as you don't take offense easily to your state getting blasted for things that are meant to be in jest and aren't extremely critical of the fact there are so few facts - you might find it ultimately relatable (as I did) and good popcorn entertainment. While some chapters dedicated to states are mostly confined to big cities, those cities make up most of the states population so I can't really call that a downfall as I have seen so many do in their reviews. It was a quick read to get away from the "everybody is offended" and oft stale political climate this country finds itself in at current moment.

Mr. Quinn says it best, "Comedy doesn’t work best when people are standing next to you asking you to justify your language, clarify your meaning, and articulate your intentions and beliefs."

And just because I am who I am, I loved this quote about a little band I am such a huge fan of, "The band Phish is from Vermont, which shocks no one. If the band Phish can’t be from Vermont, then what’s it all mean?" -- which you won't understand unless you're a Phan ;)

3.5 solid stars solely for entertainment purposes.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads Giveaways.

I appreciated that this book was a quick read. Overall I felt that the author didn't have enough of interest to say about each state to warrant this book being written. It felt like if your drunk uncle was going through the Wikipedia pages for each state pulling out whatever names or places stuck out and giving a stream of consciousness speech featuring everything he's glimpsed on the internet about the place. This would be a fun book to pick up to check out a few states that mean something to you, but making your way through all of them doesn't provide much variety.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Colin Quinn. I like his style, he’s smart and old school in the right way, which is to say classy, not rapey (until someone says differently as things go these days) guy, hip to the cause but discerning enough not to get too bogged down by all the modern day wokeness. I liked that he’s now pursuing his historical interests. Some comedians tend to go that way, often with excellent results, just look at the late great Terry Jones’ body of work on medieval past. Colin Quinn’s Netflix special was fun and I even got to check out the man live some years back, which was also good fun. So yeah, naturally I checked out his book when the opportunity presented itself through Netgalley. And once again, good fun was had. Nice going, Mr. Quinn. Overstated in a cleverly titled book about the US states, all 50 of them, presented with a certain inimitable comedic flair and wry observational commentary. It isn’t as apolitical of a book as you might think, in fact it’s surprisingly (mostly) nonpartisan. Quinn focuses on the historical facts as oppose to ugly stereotypes and reductive clichés , but occasionally blend both for comedic effect. And it works, the overall effect is like a demented large family sitting down for some vaguely inappropriate celebration. Which is to say a bunch of people who do not belong together and barely have that many similarities outside of maybe language forced together and told to enjoy each other, share and care. Which is to say…why? This sort of thing hasn’t worked historically, just look at Yugoslavia. There are inherently too many differences, too many different values, you can’t possibly expect, say, New Englanders and Texans be similar enough to share a country, And yet…here we are. Quinn’s right, USA was a great experiment. But sometimes melting pots melt down. Now that’s its neither great (again or otherwise) and not even that good, maybe it’s time to rethink things. Old bizarre idea and ideologies that no longer work. Things like Electoral College. So you might think thoughts like that while reading this book. Or you might just have a few laughs, put it away and forget about it. After all, the author doesn’t go out of his way to overstate any messages and subtlety doesn’t exactly have that all American appeal. This book might be great for foreigners to try to understand the US. And who knows. Maybe countries are meant to be comprised of bickering monumentally different minded individuals much like families, maybe it’s meant to be a quilt woven during some fugue mental state. It seems fundamentally wrong. But it makes for a funny book. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre, but with a few tidbits of good, dry humor mixed in, and some fun jabs at the states, and our country. Liked the sub-title of my home state North Carolina, America's Ashtray. This was true 30 years ago or more, but not as much today.

It was supposed to be a roast of each state, and to some extent it was, but also, Colin seems to not know very much about a few states, especially Montana. Of course, for the states with the largest cities, New York, Illinois and California, it was more about NYC, Chicago, LA.

His quote of Lincoln at the end is spot on, about our nation, we will live forever, or die by suicide.

[Kirby Rock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of fun. I listened on audiobook, read by the author. I heard Colin Quinn on Conan’s podcast recently, and they read some excerpts from this book, which were funny. An equal-opportunity roast of America sounded pretty good right about now. And I always enjoy a little light historical humor. Anyway, this was about what I expected. Colin Quinn is a centrist, which is useful for a book like this but also annoying (i.e. he uses the phrase “social justice warriors” when talking about the problem of divisiveness— I’m totally ok dividing myself away from racists and don’t think it’s a problem at all, actually). Alternatively, Colin Quinn is a good writer, and there are many funny lines in this book, plus some interesting points. Sure, it’s reductive and doesn’t capture the complexity of each state, but it’s comedy, so what do you expect. The description of Texas alone was perfect.

[Author Annabelle Leigha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was GREAT! I was giggling through most of it and was nodding in agreement for almost everything he said! I can't wait to add it to my library.

[Snem · Rating 4 out of 5]

[This review is from an advanced reading copy, thank you St. Martin’s Press.]

Some of the funniest people are also some of the smartest people and Colin Quinn is both funny and smart. You have to be able to laugh at yourself because everybody has their time in the barrel in this book. I chuckled out loud a few times. What I didn’t expect was to actually learn a few things. Is there really a Confederate Memorial Day, wtf?

This is not without a couple of nitpicks. I believe Jim Jones and his followers actually drank Flavor Aid and not Kool-Aid because he was being cheap. Some of the jokes, particularly about other comedians might be too inside baseball and maybe only comedy nerds will understand them. I am a comedy nerd btw.

This is a very timely book, it needs to come out very soon because I’m not sure how the corona humor will age.

I actually might get this in audio book format if that comes out. I want to hear it roast style and I feel like shouting “ok now do all the countries!!” I recommend this if you can laugh at yourself and you like American history.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty and dry in delivery, Colin Quinn has long been one of my favorite comedians. Author narrates making this exploration of our curious and celebrated regionalism a performance akin to Long Story Short .

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the day, I used to love Colin Quinn before I hated him. I found him hilarious and looked forward to his SNL skits. Then, he seemed to start taking himself a bit too seriously and his jokes stopped being funny and it just got weird and I was over him. It appeared I wasn’t the only one, but he’s still kicking around and I saw this book and it was an interesting enough concept.

Color me pleasantly surprised! This was almost exclusively the Colin Quinn I used to love and very little of the other one. Quinn sticks to making this a comedic book and rarely strays into serious territory; when he does, it’s brief (albeit, somewhat painful). It was a good decision because he knocks it out of the park in that regard. I laughed out loud easily over two dozen times, which is a very solid result for a short comedy book about the 50 states.

I’ve read some reviews that are correct that many chapters are woefully inadequate to cover their entire State, but how could it not be? I went in not expecting a mix of Fodor’s and Rodney Dangerfield. That said, I thought he largely nailed it in roasting things about each State that truly do stand out to many people.

Passages took me back to the classic, biting wit and humor Quinn exuded back in his prime:

“Even Utah’s scandals are PG. Most players on other D1 teams are getting Vegas sex trips and new Porsches, and at BYU they give you a three-day spa treatment and orchestra seats to Dear Evan Hansen”

And

“Hemingway is considered the great American writer, and he lived through the Spanish Civil War and tragic French love affairs, and heartbreak and betrayal and World War II, and yet it took Idaho to finally make him think, ‘Life is pointless’”

Come on...that's funny. A fast, fun read that gives us a whirlwind tour of the USA and provides plenty of laughs along the way.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overstated by Colin Quinn is a sassy, contemporary, tongue-in-cheek commentary on some of the pivotal points in the foundation of our nation as well as a shout-out to each state. He breaks up the states into geographical regions and attempts to dissect each in regards to their history, stereotypes, and calling out each in their pluses, minuses, truths, and what has made each the unique location that it is.

I have always appreciated Mr. Quinn’s sense of humor. He is dark, sarcastic, and sassy. Some get that type of unconventional humor, and some don’t. I happen to be in the group that most certainly does. As I read the book, I could even imagine the look that he gives when he drops the one-liners...made me giggle.

For the most part, he seemed to be fairly accurate in his observations. He is imperfect, as well all are, and had his own opinions on some matters, however I appreciated his thought process and the way the book was written. I laughed out loud on many occasions. He was also appropriately accurate on my own state, which I was surprised to see, and was appreciative of course. I also enjoyed his compare/contrast with the US and Denmark towards the end. I definitely got a kick out of that.

A quick-witted and humorous read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

[Jennifer Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received through FirstReads...
This is a quick read, and in some places it feels like it was a quick write as well, which is one of the reasons it's getting 3 stars instead of 4. I enjoyed chuckling along with some of the observations that I've experienced myself, but a lot of the chapters felt repetitious and would veer off in one direction that had very little to do with the state itself. I guess I'd say it was uneven. It wasn't as funny as I'd hoped, in large part because it pretty much avoided the really offensive stereotypes about the states, which are often true(and funny)! Could he have not mentioned that down here in Georgia some kind of work crew hits a gas/power/water line about twice a week? And that if it gets below 60 degrees they close school because people might get cold? Being a person from Minnesota, I'm still stunned that it's acceptable practice to not show up for work down here "because it's cold". Also most of the MN chapter was about the mall of America. I hate that place. And not all people from MN are alike. People from different areas detest each other. After 10 yrs away, I still get a look on my face when certain suburbs are mentioned. I can't help it, I think they're gross, and I always will. Wow, this book really brought up some stuff!

[Andrew Forbes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did this guy have like some agreement where he was required to write a book? This is up there with the dumbest books ever published - it’s like a coffee table book that you got in a white elephant gift exchange and then gave to Goodwill after looking at it sometimes and being annoyed every time you did. There are better books sitting on your grandparents’ toilets. It’s not just that the content is dumb or uninspired, it’s that the writing is terrible - like I am picturing Mark Sanford arguing with his Oxford educated speechwriter over whether a word is a word as the example of how this was probably edited (or rather not edited). Yes that is a real story, look it up. Guaranteed it’ll be a better book that you find it in.

Here are my comments on the substance: 90% of the stuff he says isn’t accurate, 5% he admits isn’t accurate BECAUSE HE’S NEVER EVEN BEEN TO THE PLACE HE IS WRITING ABOUT, and 5% is accurate but pointless (like someone telling you that Long Island is really an island).

I get 20 digital borrows on my library card every month, and I never have gotten close to using them all. This was still a waste of one of them.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overstated is a humorous look at the history and current state of our nation. Quinn breaks it down by state and region. It took me about a week to get through this book. If I read too many at a time, they would all just run together. I found it best to read a couple, put the book down, and then pick it back up a little later.

I learned quite a bit reading this book about each state and its history as a part of the United States.
America is the most unique collection of personalities. I loved how Quinn pointed out that America is the country that made being an individual possible. He also emphasizes how divided our country currently is and how the individuals need to come together at times for greater good, as we have so many times in the past. In the midst of the funny anecdotes, Quinn actually offers a lot of wisdom about the future of our country.

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colin read this for the audio version. I thought he would make it funnier. Not so much. The opinions are really a point of view. I do agree with most, especially California.
The book mostly feels like a self indulgent exercise.
A lazy, review? YES, I just didn't feel the need to give it too much of my time.

[Christopher Geraghty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became a fan of Colin Quinn when I saw his show Long Story Short on Broadway. I also saw Unconstitutional and A New York Story. I saw Red State Blue State on NetFlix. This book is an expansion of a segment he did in that show. I think he is very smart and very funny. I started reading this book in 2020 but it took me awhile to finish it. Not because it was boring but because I kept pausing to look up a person or a place or an event he would reference that I wanted to learn more about. I wonder if he will write a sequel to this book and focus on other countries he has visited and performed in. I would definitely read it. Colin Quinn and Lewis Black are two of my favorite comedians.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really pleased to find a current comedy book at the library, and it was sort of educational without being ridiculous or semi-serious. I've been to one comedy roast in my life, so I guess I can relate to them now, but I really liked how easy to read this book was. I was wondering, throughout, if the facts he incorporated into jokes about each state was right, but I hope they are. So I guess he's been to almost all the states, so he knows them kind of through comedy traveling or something. I was a little bored by his long lecture mode of PA and the constitution and whatnot, but I guess he just likes PA, (I don't most of the time and I live there) so I guess I should be honored. My favorite was Vermont because he makes fun of hippies and whatnot without being overly critical. Makes me want to travel to small towns in America.

[Elliot Chalom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read most of the book but decided to skim the end. I’m a big fan of Quinn’s, seen his shows and absolutely LOVED his previous book, The Coloring Book. I don’t know why this one just didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t especially funny nor was it as insightfully critical as I expect from Quinn. Overall it’s probably better than 2 stars, but I had high expectations that weren’t met. Maybe the differences between the 50 states just isn’t that interesting of a topic in 2021? Certainly not as interesting as the difference between races/ethnicities that Quinn goes through in The Coloring Book. Or maybe he just wasn’t as scathing as he normally is? Whatever, didn’t work for me but I still respect the author / comedian immensely.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Colin Quinn. It really helped that I read this book about all 50 states (and DC!) in his voice.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly insightful, smart, funny, and hopeful. I really enjoyed the audiobook, which is read by the author.

[David Salkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good roast of all 50 states....

[Debbie Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Colin Quinn when I saw this book was out I had to read it. I really enjoyed it and it’s a fast read.

[Jim Beatty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow is great until you're 11 years old, and then it's a pain in the ass until death.

[✨ Anna ✨ | ReadAllNight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, funny, and fact-filled quick read. The audio version is great since Colin narrates it.

He was also right on for my home state, Ohio!

[Kimberly Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the levity and love of country I needed this week.

[Brittany Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining commentary/roast of each state.

[Liz Cymanski · Rating 2 out of 5]

sometimes I dislike a book I read but understand how other people might like it. this book was not that. I don't know how anyone could consider this a good book. I think I could write a better book than this.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chuckle worthy fun roast of the states. I listened to it in bits and pieces as down time.