This collection was more reflective than I thought it would be -- genuine and heartfelt. It still had glimmers of Bargatze's charm and would probably be a good fit for anyone who's followed along with his comedy.

If you’ve never seen one of his specials, this is a great introduction via text. However, if you’re looking for more of a biography or memoir, this is probably not the book for you. He’s the same hilarious Nate in the pages, but it’s not your typical book. Reads very colloquial and conversational, which can sometimes be funny and sometimes be not exactly what you’re picking up a book for. Overall Fun read, great story, but watch his stand-up special instead.

I listened to the audio version of Big Dumb Eyes because I love Nate Bargatze’s voice so much. Normally I listen to audiobooks on a faster speed, but with this one I couldn’t—it just didn’t sound like him sped up! That meant it took me longer to finish than usual, but it was worth it. I laughed out loud so many times and really enjoyed it overall.

Nate Bargatze is my favorite comedian whom I saw on tour last year and I have never laughed so hard in my life- this book was one step down from that. His delivery even in print form is simply magical- he is such a gifted comedian and this book is a great taste of what his comedy is like- its clean comedy that will leave you rolllllling! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are fan of Nate Bargatze, and even if you are not, there is a lot to make you laugh in this book. I've heard some of the material in his shows, but there were many funny stories I had never heard. Great, easy read.

Hilarious and most enjoyable book. I love Nate's form of comedy with his humble, clean, self deprecating style, and this book was right on point. He was able to share more about his life and family through his Nate-esque style of storytelling. I thought book might be better on audio but that was not the case - I laughed out loud reading, even more so than the few parts to which I listened. This book would make for an easy and fun read for really anyone of any age and the perfect road trip audio! Now to find him on tour and see him in real life . . .

Bargatze is one of my favorite comedians working today, and I was curious how his sense of humor, as well as cadence, would work as a written work. But Nate has killed it with his first book, and I hope he continues to write. I absolutely loved this.

Nate proves once again that clean comedy isn’t boring. It’s just harder to pull off. His stories about family and faith feel genuine, standing out in a comedy world that usually leans cynical.

This was a mix of comedy, sincerity, and Nate’s trademark likability. Big Dumb Eyes delivers clean, deadpan, low-drama humor. Just the way I like it.

I don’t buy that Nate is as dumb as he tries to convince us he is. The book leans hard into the “aw-shucks, clueless guy” persona, but honestly, he comes across more like a brilliant dufus. Someone sharp enough to know exactly how to make himself sound simple. Don’t worry, Nate -- your secret is safe with me.

Big Dumb Eyes is a nice compilation of stories from Nate Bargatze’s life. This book is the first thing I know him from, I haven’t seen any of his specials, but he seems like a nice man. I didn’t love when he’d tell a little story and then say this was a lie by the way LOL. Overall memoirs are always interesting to me and this was an easy to read, good one.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Big Dumb Eyes, but I ended up really enjoying it. Read it with the family on a road trip, and we all enjoyed it. If you’re familiar with his stand-up, you’ll recognize a few repeated stories, but they still land well.

I haven't followed Bargatze's career too closely, but I appreciate that he's a clean comedian and person of faith.

The first half of this was kind of meh...I didn't laugh. The second half though had me laughing late at night in bed and my roommates wondering what in the world was going on.

It's always helpful to have a clean comedy book on my kindle as a palate cleanser...I'm thankful for this one. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

2.5 stars rounded up

I was excited about Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze because I think that Nate is funny on stage but the book was a collection of mostly unconnected stories from the author's past that seemed to have no point. I thought this book would be like The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl where Issa Rae tells her story through funny anecdotes but the book didn't go deep enough and it wasn't funny enough for me. While the book tries to be relatable, I think that it lacks the author's on-stage charm. I understand the book was some meta-joke about him being dumb but when he treats the reader as dumb too it presented itself as condescension.

I'm rating as a 2.5 because I thought that the story about his grandmother's treatment of his father was very insightful on his dad's psyche and why he would treat his children, but the book wasn't about his father. Nate jokes on-stage and on the book about books having too many words but he presumably wrote this and it was so many words that felt like he said nothing substantial about himself. I don't think I would recommend this book given that it felt a little flat to me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Nate Bargatze for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Big Dumb eyes was a fun easy read. I enjoy watching Nate’s standup and decided to give this book a try and wasn’t disappointed. I think listening to his voice narrating the audiobook would make it even better!

As a rule of thumb, I don't read memoirs from people under the age of 60. They always feel unfinished and maybe even a little pretentious. My only exceptions to that rule are for extraordinary people who died young, revolutionaries...and comedians. I like Nate Bargatze's stand-up and his dry delivery, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book.

I will start by saying that there are some really good moments in this book. The stories about Nate and his sister, Abigail, are heartwarming and funny. And the ones where his dad is the star are superb. I couldn't wait to read more about them (I would legit just read a book about his childhood with his dad's shenanigans).

But this book was a slog to get through. There’s an exhausting amount of “I’m just a dumb guy” energy, how he's not equally yoked with his wife, Laura, and highlighting moments that only make him look like a manchild which starts out kind of charming but quickly becomes grating.

There are also a few running jokes that fall flat for me, like the whole story around P-P. Or how dumb Nate is. They get old fast. And yet, despite being a famous comedian, there's only one chapter where he addresses his career at all. And most of that chapter is about being a dog owner while trying to make it in the big city. I'd have loved to have seen more of what happened between there and becoming who he is now.

Then the fact that the book is written kind of like he was speaking into a voice recorder and hit “send" is off-putting. I’m sure the decision was intentional so that it reads kind of like his stand-up, or like he actually wrote it and not a ghostwriter. But it made the book tiresome because I wanted a little more polish to make it more palatable.

All in all, I didn’t love this book or even like it very much. It wasn’t even funny. I kept waiting for his trademark humor to show up, but it never did. Which is disappointing because I'll definitely be watching his next stand-up special and laughing my butt off the next time he's on SNL.
But I won’t be reading his next book.

I really enjoy Nate's stand up comedy, but I feel like this book was just being stuck in an awkward conversation with him. Perhaps my expectations were too high, though, and if I hadn't known much about him before reading this I may have liked it more.

Nate Bargatze is a genius comic. I've been following him for years so I was excited and surprised to see that he was writing a book! If you've watched his comedy, you'll love this book. It's more stories like we get in his sets, but it's surrounds more about his family and wife, Laura, than we typically see in his comedy. It's the story of who he is and who is surrounds himself with. It's funny and engaging. I highly recommend this book if you like stand-up!

Nate Bargatze is funny and relatable. Loved his stories, especially living in Tennessee. It was an easy read and each chapter stood alone, so easy to take breaks and come back to it without missing a beat. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the digital Advanced Readers copy.

Nate is one of the best comedians out there. Me and my folks adore him. This collection of stories isn’t exceptionally hysterical BUT it’s damn good and I can read it in his voice. He’s definitely gifted and I hope his screenplay is as good

Nate Bargatze is an absolute superstar. Since he first exploded onto the comedy scene, he has been nonstop.

"Big Dumb Eyes" is hilarious and refreshing right from the start. The whole book feels like one big conversation with Bargatze, filled with amusing anecdotes with surprisingly emotional insights hidden within them.

I would recommend this book to any type of reader and guarantee that they will laugh out loud.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

What is there not to love about Nate Bargatze? As a "family-friendly" (aka non swearing) comedian, his dry humor covered with self-deprecation is one of my favorite voices out there. I discovered him years ago and have been waiting patiently for his book to come out. He's one of the few writers that will always make me ugly snort laugh. This book did not disappoint