Rating: 
Summary: A Massive PR Conspiracy But...
Review: ...nonetheless the book, and the idea behind it is (paradoxically) a winner. Write a book about being a self-described failure, get a sympathetic publisher and get your friends to write sympathetic reviews and what do you have? A Gen-Z classic: talentless slacker failure becomes a success by writing about being a talentless slacker failure. Which proves the exact opposite of the book's premise: the author is neither talentless, nor a slacker, nor a failure. But never mind.
Rating:
Summary: Josh Abraham from NY Stole My Idea But I Will Do Another
Review: A few years ago my mother shared a skin care secret with me..."kim" she used to say, "laughter is NOT ONLY the best medicine...NO..kim, laughter is the best medicine for your SKIN." And although my mother died of skin cancer (from merely laughing at the sun instead of using sunscreen) that piece of advice has always stuck with me. And boy does my skin look great after reading Dan Kennedy's new book Loser Goes First. See you later, Kim Bosch
Rating:
Summary: A few years ago my mother shared a skin care secret with me
Review: A few years ago my mother shared a skin care secret with me..."kim," she said heavily, "You're black." This came as no real surprise, as my father is also black. But, I was twelve, and I wondered what the implications being black in a white body would have on my nascent middle school social life.
Dan Kennedy doesn't have to worry, however, about being black or having a nascent middle school social life. Thankfully, he can put all of that behin d him, along with his hopes of being a hip DJ, MTV VJ, champion bass-fisherman, guitar hero, health club guru and coffee cart barrista.
What Dan Kennedy is is a writer, a wry, sharply observant writer. If he was a bit funnier, he would be David Sedaris. If he was a bit whinier, he would be Paul Feig (Freaks & Geeks, Kick Me). If he was a bit smarter, Dave Eggars. However, he is the real-deal combination plate of all the above. Love him, cherish him, and above all, read him.
Rating:
Summary: Loser Goes First Keeps Me Young
Review: A few years ago my mother shared a skin-care secret with me: a little laughter keeps the jowls away. If my mother is correct, Dan Kennedy's "Loser Goes First" would keep any reader's face looking healthy and youthful for many years to come. In an hilarious memoir-y account of his many wins and losses, you'll smile, you'll laugh, you'll chuckle, you'll chortle. D.K.'s wit proves to be as razor-sharp as that new super Gillette Mach III Turbo. Hey! Just like the razor, Dan Kennedy will keep your chin and cheeks looking good! He should do ads for them or something. "Loser Goes First": Funny and rejuvenating! (I think dermatologists would agree that too much smiling actually gives you "laugh lines", thus eventually causing jowls.)
Rating:
Summary: Recapturing My Childhood
Review: Dan Kennedy has captured my childhood,though with generation's X vocabulary. The hilarity and pain of growing up is delightfully interwoven with irony and honesty. I felt as if Dan Kennedy had been in my life for years and I shared with him again my most embarrasing moments, as well as the funniest. I am looking forward to more of his books with great glee!
Rating: 
Summary: A funny memoir and enjoyable read
Review: Dan Kennedy's first book, an autobiographical look at life, is a strong comedic effort which results in a light read you don't want to put down for long. He details growing up in Southern California and how various failures and near-successes were just par for the course in ending up in a respectable job and as a productive member of society.
Making mistakes that often remind me of myself and are often side-splitting yet mind boggling. In a way, you may have a hard time believing someone could fall into the same traps time and again, but it happens. At times one is left to wonder if Dan is suffering from some sort of mild mental disease or retardation, but that is just a sure sign his comedy and style of writing are working! Not to spoil it, but rest assured in the end (nearly) everything works out, and our narrator seems to actual stumble into some good fortune here and there. But getting there is one hell of a trip.
I recommend to all looking for a humorous, if not inspirational, look at life. It only makes you wonder what's coming next! I'll be "first" in line to find out.
Rating:
Summary: The Art of The Slacker
Review: Dan Kennedy's memoir "Loser Goes First" is a warts-and-all look at the life of that most enduring literary character: The Slacker. I mean that respectfully.
Kennedy describes in hilarious and wince-inducing detail his many travails, from receiving the wrong Christmas present at age ten to his inability to get his own "Smitty's" coffee shop, being relegated to the cart outside on a dock devoid of any customers. At every turn, it seems like Dan might be finally striking gold...but then again, the theme of the book is his many disappointments and failures. Throughout it all, he maintains his dark wit and lackluster approach to the job world.
This hit close to home for me because I've been stuck in the same awful job for the past six years, and I often wonder if I'll get out and do anything substantial with my life. Plus, my life has been a series of mis-steps and wrong choices, coupled with endless humiliation and an impending sense of futility against all that the world throws at me. So to have my fears echoed by this guy in his book was refreshing. Plus, as Sarah Vowell's comment on the back jacket says, it's a "how-not-to" guide rather than a "ho-to".
Overall, the book plays fast and loose with the conventions of autobiography, and you could say in some ways that it's a much shorter "Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". Through all the mishaps and mistakes that pepper his life, Dan Kennedy remains interesting and engaging in his book. I hope we can all find our own outlet for talent in a lot shorter amount of time than he did, however.
Rating:
Summary: No Loser Here
Review: Dan Kennedy's memoir-esque look at life is hilarious, if not slightly stolen from the Dave Eggers book of self-analyzation and tone--right down to the customization of page styles (Dan Kennedy's works have repeatedly shown up on McSweeney's, by the way.) But whatever similarities exist, whether you like Dave Eggers or not, should be ignored because this book exists and thrives on its own. The writing is crisp and clear and laugh-out-loud funny, sitting just up a notch from David Sedaris. Kennedy tells stories of youth with a self-deprecating style that never shifts to the excessive or whiny. The only restriction here is the point of reference to the generation of which Kennedy is a member. Baby-boomers will have a hard time with some of the material, but they shouldn't shy away. The quality of writing is strong enough to entertain-and very much so. Well worth the purchase price-you'll get at least three reads out of it. I'm keeping on eye on Kennedy for his next project. Let's hope he turns to fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Hits close to home
Review: Five minutes into reading this book, I felt like I was reading my own memoirs, if I had the motivation to do it. The procrastination, the job-hopping, the seemingly "wasted talent" of the author: yes, this could very well be my life story. When Kennedy fails to comprehend why his boss doesn't understand that he only works three days a month (since he makes 500 dollars a day, of course!) I knew exactly what he was talking about. Still, I would have liked to read about how he went from being a slacker with no money and no ambition to being the current DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT AT ATLANTIC RECORDS! That I wouldn't mind falling into. Otherwise, hilarious random coming-of-age story.
Rating:
Summary: Hits close to home
Review: Five minutes into reading this book, I felt like I was reading my own memoirs, if I had the motivation to do it. The procrastination, the job-hopping, the seemingly "wasted talent" of the author: yes, this could very well be my life story. When Kennedy fails to comprehend why his boss doesn't understand that he only works three days a month (since he makes 500 dollars a day, of course!) I knew exactly what he was talking about. Still, I would have liked to read about how he went from being a slacker with no money and no ambition to being the current DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT AT ATLANTIC RECORDS! That I wouldn't mind falling into. Otherwise, hilarious random coming-of-age story.
|
