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.

Nate, this book is absolute gold. Big Dumb Eyes is hilarious in that classic Nate Bargatze way—dry, self-deprecating, and somehow both absurd and totally relatable. The fact that he narrates it himself just makes it all hit harder (and funnier). Smart, sharp, and sneakily heartfelt—I loved every second.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars in gratitude for sharing yourself with us

If you are a fan of Nate Bargatze’s stand-up comedy, you won’t want to miss this memoir. Nate has written a collection of random personal stories about his life, general musings, and funny anecdotes. He even includes some introspective pages to reflect on your own life. I enjoyed learning more about the man behind the jokes. This is a lighthearted read that will leave you wanting more.

Thank you, Nate Bargatze, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this audiobook! The sound quality and production was excellent. I enjoyed the extra sound effects sprinkled in. The author, Nate Bargatze, did an amazing job narrating. I enjoy when the author reads their own work because it brings the book to life in unique ways.

3 ⭐️ I really like Nate as a comedian but this book didn’t really translate as a super interesting or overly funny read. Nate’s upbringing in the South is pretty typical, it reads like a normal person giving a basic and somewhat boring history of their childhood. There are a lot of “you had to be there” type stories with his friends. He glosses over some of his Father’s personal childhood trauma, which is understandable. I guess, I just didn’t find any relatability, inspiration or nostalgia in his story, which is a large part of why I read these “celebrity” memoirs. I am glad I got the audiobook narration, as Nate reads this himself. It is written and produced with his trademark dry humor and I think it translates well into audio. I am not sure how it would work in a written book. So if you pick this up, I definitely recommend the audio version. I wish it came with the PDF of pictures that he referred to a lot throughout the book. I also really enjoyed the “blank” pages and breaks inserted into the book in a few parts, very original.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Nate Bargatze is one of my favorite comedians. His southern boy demeanor, common sense logic, and unhurried delivery are the trifecta of funny. The guy just looks like the underdog, so you root for him, even in the stories you don't.

He isn't afraid of some self-depreciating humor, obviously his book is titled Big Dumb Eyes, but what I love about his act is how gosh dang reasonable it all is. He can tell a story about walking the dog and it's hilarious. He talks about his first car. I laughed out loud. He talks about a man who worked at a furniture story he may or may not have even met, and I was rolling. Whatever the X factor is, this guy has it.

Now, Nate has famously claimed he is not a reader. He'd 'like to be' he says, but books are just 'so many words'. As such, in his own book, there are breaks. I listened to the audio version, and he plays a little bit of elevator music to cleanse the palette a little bit before jumping into the next story, as to not overwhelm you with all the words. I believe in the hard copy there are several blank pages. Hilarious, and on brand.

I was actually surprised how much I laughed at the stories in this book. Nate's humor is one of a kind and hearing these stories of his life and childhood was so nostalgic. I'd kill to be a fly on the wall at one of his family's board-game nights. They sound like a hoot.

I also love how comedy memoirs like this one (and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are examples of this too), the comedian will tweak the narration to actually acknowledge you are listening to the book instead of reading it on paper instead of strictly reading every single word as it appears in print. If you're not a big reader, like Nate, absolutely you should still read this...just listen to it instead!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I never get tired of hearing Nate Bargatze's stories especially told by him. The audiobook of Big Dumb Eyes was a quick enjoyable read. Some stories hit harder than others. The Chicago apartment rat and the amusement park stories were my favorites. Nate's self-deprecating comedy style was funny but also heartwarming as well. If you like Nate Bargatze's stand up, you'll enjoy this audiobook! Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this audio ARC.