This is the perfect work commute audiobook. It’s silly, funny, entertaining, and just puts you in a good mood on your way into work. This book isn’t really about anything in-particular but honestly, that’s what I like most about it. Random thoughts and stories told from the perspective of Nate Bargatze. Need a palette cleanser from serious, hard hitting true crimes or edge of your seat thrillers? This is the book for you.

Would recommend! Thank you #netgalley and #nateBargatze for providing this ARC in exchange for my review.

Nate is my absolute favorite comedian, so I was super excited when I heard he would be writing a book (and was even more excited when I found out he was narrating the audiobook)! I feel like I could probably listen to Nate talk about anything, and I'd love it, but it was really cool to hear some of the stories he has told in his specials in more detail. Also thought it was great to learn more about the recurring characters in his life and understand them a little better than I have through the hyperbole of standup.

Overall, the narration felt more like I was listening to his standup or his podcast, more than listening to an audiobook, because of the ways he would speak directly to the listener and tweak a few words here and there. Absolutely loved the callback to his bit about books having the most words and needing to get his head above water, especially awesome that they still found a way to represent blank pages in audiobook form without just utter silence.

My favorite part was probably the lore about Michael Loafman. Not sure why lol but loved it.

Lastly, I have to comment on Nate calling doodles the perfect dog???? Love the entire book, but I will stand by those dogs being both the WORST and not cute at all. Please tell me someone else agrees oml.

Thank you to Hachette Audio & NetGalley for the ALC.

Fans on Nate will be interested in this. His style of humor works a little better in standup than on the page, in my opinion, but it was interesting to learn more about his past, especially the story of his father's background. I think this one is better to have as an audiobook than on print.

Thank you @NetGalley and @hachetteaudio for an advanced copy of this on audiobook.

“𝕀 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕒 𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕦𝕤, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕀 𝕗𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗𝕗 𝕒 𝕔𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕗, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕀’𝕞 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕟.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)

I love Stand Up Comedy— so of course I’ve seen some of Nate Bargatze’s specials— that man is everywhere.

I don’t have much in common with him— I’m not Christian, I’m not southern, and I have a lot of college credits under my belt. No shade, he just mentions this a lot in this book.

This audiobook started out rocky for me. I think it took Nate a while to find his reading cadence. The delivery felt super different from his standup, but he got into his groove, and it felt like listening to a long voice note from a friend by the 3rd chapter or so.

I didn’t like hearing about the rehoming of one his dogs, thats just something that always bothers me, so heads up there if you’re like me in that regard.

We’re big fans of Nate Bargatze in our home. We’ve attended a few shows over the years and have tickets to see him later this year. I loved when he hosted SNL and will randomly giggle when I encounter some of the topics mentioned in his Washington’s Dream skit. When I saw that he was releasing a book I knew I wanted to read it.

If you’re a fan of his, enjoy clean humor, or small town humor, then this book is for you. Is there anything earth shattering or absolutely have to know in it? Not really. It is, however, incredibly entertaining. Absolutely. I found myself chuckling throughout. It’s filled with anecdotes that he says can be read in order or jumped around topically. I like having books like that on hand where you can read as you have time.

🎧 We all have our preferred reading formats and rarely will I insist that one is better than the other (audio is mine) but honestly if you’re going to read this one I think you’re missing out if you’re reading with your eyes. It’s narrated by Nate himself which really adds to the stories in a way that I could not. He delivers each story with the same dry humor and cadence as his standup which. It is exactly what you would expect and an absolute delight.

Thanks to Hachette Audio for the advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

I’ve loved Nate since the beginning and this book is EVERYTHING! 10/10 no notes. Especially the audiobook to hear him talk is like a full comedy special!

Such a lighthearted, fun audiobook into Nate Bargatze's life. I enjoy his stand-up so I was excited when I saw he had a book coming out. I love when the author reads his own autobiography; the tone of voice and emotions are truly captured this way. Well written, silly, fun.

Really hilarious memoir, especially as an audiobook. Made me laugh out loud many times.

Bargatze's comedy is so down to earth and relatable. He reads the audiobook himself so he infuses the narration with the same dry humor he has during his live performances. Every time he mentions being "born in the 1900s" it truly makes me burst out laughing. He is close to the same age as I am so many of his childhood recollections are similar to mine, which made it more funny.

If you're already a fan of Nate Bargatze's humor, this book will hit the spot, and if you're not you should definitely give it a try. The audiobook is definitely the way to go here.

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Hachette Audio for this ARC.

I’m not an audio book person. I tend to zone out, then completely miss half the story. That said, I do try to listen to audiobooks when read by the author as they seem more meaningful. Nate Bargatze did not disappoint.

I felt like I was sitting across from Nate listening to his big ol’ southern accent tell me stories about his life. Some funny moments of how he and his family lost his sister…twice. Did you know he also flunked bowling in college? I’d say that’s a skill in and of itself.

Throughout the audio book, he mentions pictures in the PDF. I’m disappointed I missed those. Should you listen to the audiobook or grab a physical copy? That’s up to you. In my opinion, it was great to hear the stories.

See you in August in Boston Nate!

If you are already a fan of Nate's comedy, this book will definitely be a hit with you as it is full of his wit, charm and humour. If you haven't found Nate yet, this book will for sure make you a fan. This book is filled with funny stories from his life but with more context than he is usually able to give in his stand up. There are also some stories that will touch your heart and even make you cry. His father's experience with his mother definitely had me in tears. I do kinda wish there had been some better handling of the more serious topics like abuse though.

I would highly recommend the audio book version as hearing all of these stories in his signature voice really brings it home for me.

I received a copy of the audiobook through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Really enjoyed this book and the author narrating it. It was a fun and funny collection of stories. My mom is a big fan and I can't wait to share it with her.

As a fan of Nate Bargatze, I was so excited to listen to his memoir as he’s the narrator! He has a way of comedic relief that is very refreshing. His memoir is a mix of story telling, opinions, and fun facts making it for a really entertaining listen.

I absolutely love how funny Nate is. I loved listening to this book, instead of it being a stand up, it was more like talking to friend and swapping stories. I just wish this book was longer.

I enjoyed this book and I laughed a few times but after reading it, I felt a little unsettled. Nate Bergatze made more money touring than any other comedian last year, including his hero Jerry Seinfeld 🤮. It’s obvious people love the “I’m just a big dummy” act and it is an act because this man is clearly smart. I just can’t help think about how much vitriol directed toward women who also act dumb. That’s definitely something that needs to be unpacked.

The other thing that felt really unsettling was the references he made. Joe Rogan, Harry Potter, and Jerry Seinfeld. It was like the dog whistle Olympics. This wouldn’t have been bad on its own but after I read the book I stumbled across a video from Nate’s podcast from December 2023 where he talks about planning a trip to Israel. Less than 2 months after Oct 7. All of that combined gave me very big ick. I’m sure the vast majority of his fans will not care about that at all but I do. So. There’s that.

This book is perfect for fans of Nate, comedy, and light reads. It may not be for those who view every book under an intersectional feminist and/or liberation lens.

Big Dumb Eyes is an absolute joy; I loved listening to the audiobook ARC from NetGalley, and I finished the listen in less than a day!

Nate Bargatze has been my absolute favorite comedian for several years now. I saw him live a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the show. I met his dad, who he speaks of often and fondly in the book, and he was also a delight!

Listening to the audiobook is very similar to watching him live or on TV. His stories are hysterical, and clean, which is difficult to pull off, and Mr. Bargatze nails it every time.

Highly recommend this audiobook!

Nate Bargatze is a favorite comedian in our home so I naturally was going to read his memoir! The audio version was especially enjoyable since Nate reads it himself with his trademark deadpan tone and expressions. I also liked having the actual hard copy to enjoy the many photos he inserted of the life events he discusses. If you're not as familiar with Nate, start here to learn a little background and immediately dive into his routines on Netflix, Youtube and many other places. You'll soon learn he is family-friendly and how he came to be a highly-sought-after comedian.
I look forward to seeing his career progress and eventually maybe another book!
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC. All opinions are mine.

Big, Dumb Eyes
By Nate Bargatze
Audio : by the hysterical, dry delivery of the author. The production value, the "phone calls," the giggling by the author all made for an extremely enjoyable experience. Great job, Hatchett Audio!

If you are a fan of Nate Bargatze, please raise your right hand and promise to listen to one to two chapters each day in order to secure smiles, grins and giggles. This book won’t change your life but it will make you happy.

I think I’ve seen all of Nate’s online shows — and I saw him live last year. In this entire book, only 2 stories are repeats. I found this amazing — I mean, how many regular every-day moments can be funny? Well — according to Seinfeld (a Bargatze inspiration) — ALL OF THEM.

My favorite part? His chuckle every once in awhile. Also, that you get a break from “all the words” with (either blank pages in the real book or) a musical interlude. You know, because his self-deprecating humor assumes you might need an intermission.

Enjoy!
4.25 stars because I am a fan!

This was quite pleasant and just sorta fun. I chuckled several times. I got tired of the "I'm so dumb" shtick, though.
I would recommend this to lots of patrons, though!

I loved this! I’m a huge Nate Bargatze fan and have watched many of his stand up routines. I loved hearing stories from other parts of his life and still getting glimpses of that Nate humor sprinkled in. I really enjoyed this!

I enjoy the audiobook memoirs as you get to listen to the person share their stories with you and it feels personal. I was excited to get approved for this book since I have tickets to his show in two months!! This book was written in his writing style and you can tell by the way it’s written he isn’t a reader and doesn’t really want you to sit there and read this book in one sitting. He even shares you can jump around and read chapters in different orders. I don’t think this book is really supposed to be super engaging or exciting. It just there to share more stories about his life before he became a comedian/stories outside of how he got there and real life situations.

This book didn’t keep my interest like other comedian memoirs did which was disappointing. As I have read the memoirs from Tina fey, Amy Poehler, and Kevin Hart.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.