Accessible, fun book by one of the best comedians out there today. I love that the author makes the book accessible to those who read in smaller bits, it is a kind and lovely way he shows his personality and empathy for those who aren’t big into devouring books in one sitting.

This was a great listen! Funny like his stand-up shows, with a little heart thrown in for good measure! Great to hear him reading new material and not just printing recycled stand-up stories. A gem! Thanks to Hachette audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen in exchange for an unbiased review.
I hate onions too…unless they are onion rings!

Nate Bargatze has been cracking my husband and me up for a few years now, so when I saw he had a book out, I was excited to get it. We appreciate his clean humor, and as Southern kids of the 80s and 90s, we can pretty much relate to all of it. While we love his stand up routines, not all of his humor translated well to book format, (even though I did this on audio.) Nate narrates it himself, and I definitely think audio is the way to go so you get his delivery. That said, in book format much of it started to feel repetitive, so I laughed less as it went on.

One thing that surprised me in this book was that it had equal parts humor and heart. I really enjoyed hearing more about his family, the testimony of his dad’s life changing salvation, and his siblings. While he jokes about his family, it is clear that they have a strong bond and loving relationship, with a healthy dose of sibling rivalry.

While Nate’s standup routines remain my favorite, I do recommend this audiobook for a light read when you’re in the mood for a laugh. I hope it brings a smile to your face like it did for me!

Big Dumb Eyes releases tomorrow, May 6! Thanks to @netgalley and @hatchettaudio for my ALC!

📖 Comedy/memoir. Clean language. No sexual content. Single mention of suicidal ideation. Christian faith is mentioned.

First, I want to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.
I first started following Nate when my husband started sending me some reels and then showed me his history sketches from SNL. So when I saw he was coming out with a book, I knew I wanted to read it.
I’ll start by saying the audiobook is definitely the way to go since it is read by Nate himself, but if you are expecting a comedy routine then this book is not that.
This book feels like stories told by a new friend where you leave thinking, wow, his life could have been a sitcom. The stories range from his first car to his food preferences to his clown of a father and while I didn’t laugh out loud after every sentence, it did make me smile and it was a fun listen.
If you’re a fan of Nate’s standup and want to know a bit more of what made him the comedian he is today then I highly suggest picking up this audiobook.

I went into this one not familiar with Nate Bargatze or his comedy, but it was humorous and enjoyable. Love that it was clean comedy since so much comedy is vulgar now. Hearing about his family and stories was fun and made me want to look into his comedy more. The only thing that bothered me was the book had lots of repeating the same thing over and over...

Who is your favorite comedian, and why is it Nate Bargatze??

His deadpans and reverent hot takes on social awkwardness make for some of the most relatable laugh-out-loud moments AND because it's clean - you don't even have to wait for the kids to go to bed to watch!

If you're already a fan, or just need something to listen to, his first book, Big Dumb Eyes is available as a physical book and on audio, May 6th. It has all the humor you would expect with plenty of deep dives into his youth, meeting his wife, Laura, and his friend, Pee Pee (don't worry - he thoroughly addresses when and how his friend got this name).

I will say that the audio was surprisingly heartwarming and endearing. I would have a crush... BUT I don't! Because I am confident that Laura would hunt me down and also punch me in the eye with a closed fist.

Anyway, don't let this one pass you by. Big Dumb Eyes is for the readers and non-readers alike.
Nate narrates the audiobook - excellently, I might add - so if he can read it, you can too!

Special thanks to Hachette Audio for sharing an advanced listening copy with me in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars, rounded up.
Nate Bargatze is so relatable! Being from the South and in his age group, many of his stories resonated with me, but I think one reason he's become so popular is that he is easy to relate to in general. I would consider this a comedic memoir, and it was fun to learn about some of his background in growing up, getting into comedy, and meeting his wife. There were a few chapters that didn't strike me as particularly humorous, but I think that's because so much of his humor relies on his great delivery, so it didn't always convey as well in written form.

If you’re a fan of Nate’s, you will enjoy this book. I love the audio version since it was like listening to his comedy shows. Lots of fun new stories that I hadn’t heard! I love all the fun stories about his childhood and parents, and his relationship with his wife. Great listen/read.

While I am glad that Nate has had such a great career thus far (he is the absolute fav of one of my very best friends!) this one just wasn't for me. More of a taste issue than anything, I think. Wishing him all the best in future!

Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for this advance listening copy. I was only vaguely familiar with Nate Bargatze before listening to this audiobook. I think that’s why it took me a bit to get fully invested in the beginning. But I ended up listening to the entire thing in one day while doing chores around the house. I appreciate his clean comedy - it even got a few laughs out of my 15 year old son when we listened together in the car. If you are already a Nate Bargatze fan, you will love this, and if he is new to you, this audiobook is a fun place to start.

If you're already a Nate Bargatze fan, Big Dumb Eyes feels like a conversation with your funniest, most relatable friend — the one who somehow turns everyday awkwardness into stand-up gold. His signature deadpan delivery comes through loud and clear, especially in the audiobook (highly recommend!).

The book is filled with hilarious, slice-of-life stories, self-deprecating humor, and random tangents that make you laugh out loud in public (ask me how I know). There’s warmth, wit, and plenty of "I do that too!" moments.

While a few bits feel familiar if you’ve watched his specials, there's enough new material and storytelling charm to keep it fresh. Big Dumb Eyes is perfect for fans of observational comedy, memoirs, or anyone who just wants to laugh without trying too hard.

Thank you to @NetGalley, @HachetteAudio, and @GrandCentralPub for the advanced copy!

DNF, I didn’t find it funny or original or interesting in any way. Just some rambling stories. Put down after 30%.

I had never heard of Nate Bargatze until I saw his Netflix special....which i then promptly watched the other 2 and made my husband watch them as well. This book was super funny! I love Nate and his BIG DUMB EYES! I would definitely recommend this book and I am so happy I got an ARC of this thank you!!

I was provided an ALC via Netgally, all opinions are my own.

Nate Bargatze is one of my favorite comics. I love that he practices clean comedy, and his almost deadpan delivery style really speaks to me. I also find him really relatable in the way he tells stories about his life and family. His George Washington skit on SNL about the weights and measures is one of the funniest things I've ever seen, no matter how many times my husband and I watch it we are in tears laughing.

I've never had the pleasure of seeing him live, so this is probably the closest I'll get in the near future but this book had me cracking up. I've seen several of his specials and this brings alot of material I've not heard before or expands on material he's used in shows. I'm a big audiobook listener so this wasn't the most words, and I was able to listen to it in a day while doing chores around the house this weekend. I loved getting to know Nate and his family just like I would in one of his specials but in an expanded way. If you are a fan of his comedic style this biography is filled with his comedic delivery with tales of his community, parents, siblings, friends and wife that you wouldn't normally hear in one of his shows.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to the day I can see Nate live in person. The final audiobook has a PDF with pictures that he describes, but they weren't available with the audio arc. I will be checking out the book once it publishes so I can get the full effect.

So fun! I love Nate Bargatze and getting to hear him in book form was a great experience. I'm not the biggest audiobook person but hearing this in his own voice I felt just added to the experience!

Nate Bargatze is a comedian I only really know about because my husband thought he was funny—and, after watching several of his comedy skits together, I’ll admit that he made me laugh. As far as Big Dumb Eyes is concerned, I feel like I’ve officially reached a point where I’m exceedingly done picking up books written by comedians. For whatever reason, somehow near every single time that I’ve tried to read one of these the comedians simply cannot figure out how to transfer their stand up into the format of a book. It’s not a Bargatze problem, exactly, since it’s happened time and time again for me. So, unless I’m inherently interested in their life and what made them who they are, I don’t know that I can continue reading them.

Even comedians who I deeply adore—Jack Whitehall comes to mind—just couldn’t write a book that can make me laugh.

All of that said, I’m not sure whether Bargatze’s goal with this book is comedy or if it’s just to write about his life. And it’s tough to write a review for a memoir considering how personal these things are—but I can say, unquestionably, I’m not even a little bit interested in this man’s life. He’s far more religious than I’d realized and I have a long history of not caring about that sort of thing unless it’s coming from a place of toxicity (and at that point, I’m just mad). I’m happy Bargatze has a pleasant experience with religion and that he loves his life, but my goodness I was just so painfully bored the entire time.

Perhaps the most interest piquing aspect of the book was the competitive relationship Nate has with his brother and how they both tried to pass this on to their daughters with absolutely abysmal results. It was a short, quippy moment in the book that really didn’t matter all to much in the grand scheme of things. And now that I’ve finished it, I’m just kind of sat here wondering what else I could have done with all that time that would have been more enjoyable. And I do think that this is partially a me problem since I’m not generally a memoir person unless something truly profound or interesting or devastating happens to be the centerpiece of the book.

Nate is a pretty average guy—kind and goofy with a positive life—which is good for him and his family. But it also doesn’t make for incredibly compelling storytelling.

I think the biggest gripe I have with the book, however, is how it repeatedly jumps around timelines based on random theming of various chapters. One second reading about his childhood, then his daughter, then how he met his wife. There’s no telling which point of his life is going to come next because chronologic formatting was not the goal here. Not sure why, but it definitely interrupted the flow. I also…really just didn’t care for the blank page thing. This is even more jarring in audiobook format—for all the reasons Bargatze references (not really sure how you reference blank pages in an audiobook, but elevator music sure isn’t it).

Nate does an alright job of narrating—his voice is at least pleasant to listen to. I don’t think it really translates the comedy in the way that some might expect, though. I mean, again: I didn’t laugh once during this book.

Who isn’t a fan of Nate? I’ve enjoyed his standup specials and SNL appearances and thought this would be a fun audiobook to listen to. I think listening to Nate narrate the book really allows him to get you to feel his stories. I never really knew about the history with his dad, and it was such an interesting story. This was Nate on a whole new level, and I recommend it to his fans.

I want to express my gratitude to Hachette Audio and Grand Central Publishing for providing this audiobook for review consideration through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

I’m a fan of Nate Bargatze’s laid-back, deadpan humor, so I was excited to check out *Big Dumb Eyes*. Overall, I enjoyed it—it definitely made me laugh, and Nate’s signature clean, observational comedy shines through in this. If you’re looking for a solid, feel-good comedy experience without anything raunchy or over-the-top, this is a great pick.
That said, I was a little disappointed that many of the jokes felt familiar. As someone who follows Nate’s stand-up pretty closely, I’d already heard a lot of the material in some form. While it’s still fun to see it packaged in a polished book, it didn’t feel as fresh or surprising as I’d hoped.
Still, *Big Dumb Eyes* delivers exactly what it promises: a lighthearted, relatable comedian who knows how to get big laughs from everyday life.

Rating: 3.5 stars
I’m a longtime fan of Nate Bargatze—we even saw him live on his most recent tour—so I was really excited for this book! Big Dumb Eyes is a collection of personal stories told in Nate’s familiar, laid-back style, with plenty of observational humor and some fun food-related bits throughout. I listened to the audiobook, which Nate narrates himself, and that was definitely a highlight—it really felt like an extended stand-up set throughout the whole book!

Some of my favorite moments were in stories like “The Biggest Little Speed Trap in Tennessee,” where Nate shares hilarious small-town stories of growing up and run-ins with local police (his mom’s “Not today, Po-Po” line had me laughing out loud), and “I Am Definitely Not Shopping Right Now,” which perfectly captures his deadpan humor and the kind of silly debate every couple has. Another standout was the story about his first apartment, which was overrun with rats—his dry delivery made an otherwise gross situation genuinely funny, and I do NOT find rodents funny, so that's something!

That said, while there are great stories and familiar laughs, the overall pacing felt uneven, and it didn’t fully hold my attention from start to finish. It’s definitely enjoyable, especially for fans, but it didn’t have quite the same spark or tightness as his stand-up. A fun listen if you love Nate’s style, but it’s a bit lighter in impact than I expected.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced audio of Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze.

I've enjoyed Nate Bargatze's stand-up, so thought this would be a great audio. It was enjoyable, and I did chuckle at times, but this is no stand-up show. It's reflections and life stories, which are wonderful, just don't expect to tear up with laughter.