I was introduced to Nate Bargatze's comedy on Saturday Night Live, where he did his now-viral George Washington sketches. These are, in my opinion, sheer genius, but throughout this book, Bargatze tries to convince us that he is just the opposite. This is the approach he takes in his standup as well - painting a picture of an ordinary guy from a small town who was dumb enough to flunk bowling in college - a guy who also had a fall as a child and broke his skull, which (he claims) is the reason that he isn't the genius he wanted to be.

All of the chapters here are slice-of-life stories, from his own childhood to having children of his own (I particularly liked the chapter on his daughter's birth, where he swears he is not going to cut the cord, but guess what). Much of the book is, as Bargatze describes it, "light, funny and relaxing." His style is low key and modest. It's not until you get to the end of chapters that you realize you were laughing the whole time.

I admit to having a bit of trouble with his occasional use of improper grammar ("me and Laura went to the store"). It reinforces the stereotype of an ignorant southern kid, and it bothered me because his whole shtick is trying to convince you that he is not a genius when in fact, he is.

I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to more Nate Bargatze in the future. Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.