Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for this advanced copy of Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze. I have seen Nate Bargatze live, and love his specials, so I was really excited to listen to his narration of his own book. His stories were entertaining, some of my favorites were about the rat in Chicago and his dad forcing him to ride rollercoasters to get his money’s-worth, but at times some of the stories got a little redundant. He prefaces the book by saying that he’s going to repeat himself, to allow the book to be read out of order, but that seemed unnecessary to me. I prefer his stand-up specials over his book.

I love hearing Nate's voice and listening to his silly stories about growing up and how he got into Comedy. This book was pure fun, nothing profound, and I loved it.

I've been a fan of Nate's stand-up comedy and so when I saw he came out with a book, I was interested in checking it out. I'm sad to say that it leaves me feeling a little deflated at the lack of humorous moments and feeling a bit cringey by this peek into the story of his life. It's not that a comedian has to keep us laughing the entire time but entertained is the goal. I wasn't feeling any of that. It felt like these stories of small town life were gimmicky and I don't believe that is how he is trying to come across. I say all of that to also compliment him on his ability to make fun of himself and the circumstances of how his life has unfolded. His humility is what has won him thousands of fans. Humble and self-deprecating humor is his most interesting quality. At times, it just made me feel "bad" to laugh at some of the stories of his life particularly with his father's tough upbringing.
I'm not sure if this book will bring his fans the joy they may be seeking.

I really enjoyed Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze. I have an almost identical sibling gender/age gap dynamic, so the stories about his siblings made me nostalgic for my own childhood. I laughed so hard at the part about him hitting his sister with a pillow. I also have the exact same two orders from McDonalds, so I related to that chapter.

I received an ALC from Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes you just want to laugh. Books written by comedians are typically an extension of their stand-up shows. Jerry Seinfeld even has one full of bits from his decades in showbiz. Jim Gaffgan often writes on a theme, such as being fat or loving food (two of his books which I have enjoyed reading multiple times). A trilogy of books written by 1980s comedian Paul Reiser shared a common theme throughout as his personal life changed and he offered more stories from each stage. Now clean comedian Nate Bargatze tries his hand with his first book, Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind

Told in his usual rambling, self-deprecating way, the book is a collection of amusing bits from this Southern comedian born in the 1900s. He expands upon material from his numerous comedy specials and will have his fans laughing out loud or chuckling to themselves as they read more of his silly stories. The audiobook of Big Dumb Eyes is narrated by the comedian, which truly is the best way to enjoy this short book, in my opinion. It’s just over six hours in length and has some special laughs in store just for those listening to the audiobook. Just like rewatching the comedy specials, Big Dumb Eyes is a book I would listen to again and again.

This book is set to be released May 6, 2025.Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I am not very familiar with Nate’s stand up act, so I went in kind of blind. I enjoyed it though! He’s obviously funny, but it’s not like joke after joke funny, more like he makes light of his situations. I enjoyed learning about his childhood, growing up poor in the south and his family dynamics. I’m about the same age as him so could relate to the “1900s” as he calls it.
I’d recommend it to anyone, even if you aren’t familiar with his stand up! Now I’ll have to go check him out on stage!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: May 6, 2025

I enjoy Bargatze’s standup so this was a fast pick for me. As a self-proclaimed book hater, he does a great job narrating the audiobook, and I can’t imagine reading this another way. Listen, it’s hard enough to make people laugh during a carefully crafted one hour show, so writing a book a lot longer than that is a tall order. There are some great biographical stories and a few funny quips here and there, but the humor just didn’t hit like I was expecting/hoping. I really enjoyed the unique audio production during certain conversations and phone calls throughout the audiobook, the special call outs to listeners when photos, etc were referenced, and the musical interludes of the blank pages!

I loved this audiobook. Nate Bargatze is one of my favorite comedians and his book is excellent. I’m not sure if I would have liked the print version because I feel like this just needs to be read in Bargatze’s voice.

This was a fun listen. Nate narrated and did a great job. I was hoping for more laughs as I enjoy his stand up. Thank you for the opportunity to listen early.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3

As a devoted fan of Nate Bargatze’s dry delivery and self-deprecating charm on Netflix, SNL, and in countless interviews, I was genuinely excited to dive into Big Dumb Eyes.

Narrated by Bargatze himself, the audiobook felt more like a casual memoir than a laugh-out-loud comedy special.

While his signature tone and storytelling style carried over, the jokes didn’t quite land. In fact, I never laughed out loud—a surprising shift from my usual experience watching him on screen. This book highlights just how difficult it is to be consistently funny, even when telling your own stories.

That said, his reflections and everyday anecdotes still had heart. They just lacked the sharp comedic punch many listeners might expect.

Special thanks to Hachette Audio for the advanced listener copy via NetGalley. I had high hopes, but Big Dumb Eyes didn’t quite meet them.

Hi, big dumb Nate Bargatze fan here!

Listening to Nate's standup over the years gave me a little glimpse into his life and what makes him so funny (it's definitely clown trauma...). I wasn't sure how much "new content" I was going to hear from him, or if there would be repeat stories I have already listened to. I am happy to report he saved his best stories for this book.

If you do not speed this up, it will feel as if Nate is doing a 7 hour show for you rather than reading to you. I was laughing out loud pretty consistently for 6 hours and 56 minutes. You don't need to follow the chapters, either. Each chapter is a different, magnificent story 🤣 I highly recommend you listen to this as well as check his tour out!

Cute

If you are a fan, you will love this. I can't say I had any belly laughs, but I sure did chuckle a lot. Some things, like the fact that Nate's dad was a clown, were repeated more than I needed, but his stand-up also has similar repetition. All in all an enjoyable book.

I really enjoyed Nate Bargatze's stand up specials and SNL hosting, so I was excited to listen to his audiobook! It was good, not as funny as his stand ups but still humorous. Definitely an easy listen!

3.75/5 ⭐️

Bargatze isn’t a fan of book, logically the thing to do is write a book for people that don’t like books. I think he mostly did what he set out to, moves event to event in a non linear order with gusto. So, that is to say that it is a fun read that doesn’t have a true Narrative but does paint a good picture of who the author is and where he came from.

If you're a fan of Nate Bargatze's comedy, this book is for you. If you haven't heard of him yet, 1) where are you living, under a rock? and 2) get on that because he's pretty funny. I really enjoyed his autobiography which bounces around his life with funny stories from his childhood, young adulthood, and now. You get to know him a little more than in his traditional standup, and while some stories were repeated from his show, there was a ton of new material. My husband and I listened to this one together in the car, and we both laughed out loud multiple times. Silly at times, always clean fun, and also interesting to learn more about his life - I felt this was the perfect book for Nate Bargatze. I highly recommend the audiobook, which he narrates himself.
Note: The publisher was kind enough to send me an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy a good memoir. I find that they often tell the truth, even when it is hard to admit. Good memoirs over insight or meaning into life. Good memoirs create a connection through a story in which the reader can relate themselves to the writer. I found this book to be okay. It was enjoyable enough, however it did not have the elements that I typically am drawn to in a memoir. There were many stories about growing up, but I did not particularly find connection in them. Now, this could be because I grew up in New England, and the culture is simply different than in the south.

Many of the stories blended into one another and sounded similar. I am okay with a memoir not being linear, but so many of the stories were so similar that I kept having the feeling, "Didn't he already talk about this?" The production audio was good, but it was also very slow. Again, maybe it is because I am from New England. But even listening to the audio at 2x the speed, I found there to be a lot of dead spaces and large pauses.

Overall, this book was okay. There were a few stories where I chuckled (here's looking at you, chapter about meeting the Princesses at Disney World) but overall, I think more diversity in the stories or more insights into why the stories were significant would improve the book. I do appreciate NetGalley allowing me to listen to this audiobook and provide my honest feedback.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for this audio Arc.

I really enjoyed this audio arc from one of my favorite stand up comedians, Nate Bargatze. I tend to listen to my audio books on my drive too and from work. I found myself giggling and smiling on my drive as I listened to this arc. I highly recommend.

Nate Bargatze is my favorite comedian, so of course I had to listen to this audiobook. This is definitely the way to hear his story since he narrates it’s himself. You do miss out on the pictures so I’ll eventually grab the book version as well. If you’re a fan, it’s worth the listen.

I really like Nate Bargatze’s comedy, so I thought this would be an easy 5-star listen. But honestly... it just didn’t click for me the way I hoped. Right off the bat, the intro says it’s a book for people who don’t like to read...which I get is part of his whole thing...but it kind of made me go, “uh oh, maybe this isn’t for me.”

There were definitely some heartwarming moments—his story about bonding with his sister over Men in Black was super sweet. Still love Nate on stage, but overall, this one wasn’t for me. Thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC audiobook!

Nate Bargatze is one of my favorite comedians. I was introduced to him from TikTok and I love his clean humor. I was so excited to see that he wrote a book. I listened to the audiobook and it was a long comedy show. He finds humor in everything and it was a great lighthearted read. It was nice to learn about his upbringing and fun stories from his past. I would highly recommend if you love comedy shows to listen to the audiobook which he narrates himself.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ARC/ALC in exchange for my honest review.