Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Sleepwalk With Me - Mike Birbiglia


Mike Birbiglia 

Sometimes it's good to laugh at yourself, and that's exactly what Mike Birbiglia does in this memoir. Mike created a perfect balance between personal, funny and serious - meaning almost all of his stories are very personal, laugh at loud funny and rarely heavy enough that it'll bring down your mood. If you're a fan of his stand-up you'll find a lot of overlap, but in a good way. Things like Birbiglia's Like Fun jokes develop into something more. It's more like he has decided to acknowledge his stand up, but take it on a different journey for his first book -which I really appreciated.

At 191 pages, Sleepwalk With Me is a quick read. I tore through the pages like a house on fire. I spent all of yesterday on a less then pleasant train ride, and usually during these rides I turn to Mike's comedy albums to give me a few laughs and keep my spirit up but this time I decided reading would be a better use of my time. There were still parts where I laughing out loud and having the time of my life, and I didn't have to worry about those silly ear-buds falling out ever five seconds!

There is a lot of honest in Sleepwalk With Me. At 32 Birbiglia admits he's a bit young for a memoir, not wanting anyone to think he's 'wrapping it up'. I particularly liked his brief section on Mitch Hedberg, which, along with his sleepwalking stories are the most serious of the entire book. This is one of the better comedic memoir's I've read this year, and it really exceeded my expectations. If you're in need of a pick me up you should totally pick this one up.

1 comment:

Amy said...

I've always liked Mike's stories on "This American Life". I have a feeling I would really like his book too! Thanks for the review.