Well, that was something I don’t read everyday. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had the ability to make me laugh out loud on one page and cringe on the next. When I first picked up Sh*t My Dad Says, I had no idea it originated from Halpern’s twitter page. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I can see why the twitter page, which compromised of random quotes from Halpern’s dad, would be a hit. It’s just the right amount of comic relief you may need while wasting precious hours of your life scrolling through twitter. It’s sort of like following Yoda, Darth Vader, Snape or my personal favorite, Lord Voldemort, on twitter.
His tweets are mildly offensive, but admit it. You lol’ed, didn’t you? So, in that context the quotes found in Sh*t My Dad Says are funny. But what happens when you put it all in one place? The short answer is simple: It’s not very funny. Okay, wait. Some of the quotes are funny and in the beginning I did laugh quite a bit, but as I got further and further into the book, the novelty wore off. What was once humorous as an occasional tweet, turned into just a very vulgar book.
My biggest issue with Sh*t My Dad Says is that most of the quotes were directed towards Halpern when he was a child. This did not sit right with me at all. Cursing at and shaming children is wrong on so many levels and I failed to see the humor in that. It totally killed the entertainment factor when his dad is directing the F-bomb at his young son left and right. And I was sitting here waiting for an adult to correct this guy, but it didn’t seem like it was anyone’s issue but mine. It was very shocking because if my dad had said half of the things Halpern’s did to me, I would cry a river. I’m not saying his dad didn’t love him or care about him, but wow. I just don’t understand how someone could show so little respect and talk down to a child like that.
So as far as I’m concerned, these quotes would have been better off remaining on twitter and not in a book. Sh*t My Dad Says is the perfect example of the age-old rule: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Donna @ Bites
I felt the same way about Denis Leary’s book, Suck On This Year. Why We Suck was epic ad on audio it’s four and a half hours of listening to Denis Leary. I love the man. Like dip him in gold and worship him, love. But Suck On This Year was a compilation of his tweets from that previous year. I’m not sure what else I was expecting but I pretty much buy into anything Leary so, of course, I bought it. Turns out I’d read half of them already because I get his updates on Facebook and the rest were only mildly amusing. At the end of the day I was the asshole that actually paid full jacket price for a 90 page book of tweets, one tweet per page, barely. With pictures. So yeah, I get it. Good idea, shitty execution.
Stephanie Sinclair
It’s like overindulging in you favorite flavored ice-cream. Seems like an awesome idea at first, but you later regret it in the dentist chair.
Lexie B.
I think these things are much more manageable in small doses. The occasional tweet? That’s fine, entertaining, not too overwhelming. But an entire book? To be honest, I don’t think I’d want to read an entire book full of ANYONE’S tweets, no matter how awesome they might be.
And I was equally shocked at the quotes I’ve seen, and the fact that Halpern was the subject of many of these when he was only a kid. My parents persisted in the belief that “crap” was a swear word till about eighth grade, so the idea of them dropping the F-bomb in normal conversation is mind-boggling. I suppose some people are raised in very different environments than others, but that still seems . . . unnecessarily harsh.
Stephanie Sinclair
My parents were the same way! You couldn’t even utter the word “stupid” in our home. That’s pretty much how I role with my kids too. I’d have to be pretty angry to curse at all and I’ve never done that in front of my kids. Though obviously all bets are off when I’m writing a review for a truly awful book! 😉