This was such a fun read-- and it was the cherry on top that Nate Bargatze read his own stories. Like during his comedy shows, the timing and dry delivery was perfect, and it was such a fun audiobook. There were just enough quirky parts and fun sound effects to make the whole thing fun to read.

Overall, I loved this! I think anyone who likes Nate or needs an easy, lighthearted read would!

I really enjoyed Big Dumb Eyes. Nate Bargatze has this laid-back, funny way of telling stories that just works. It felt like he was talking straight to me, and I laughed out loud more than a few times. What I liked most is that he doesn’t try too hard—he just owns his awkwardness and turns everyday stuff into something hilarious. It’s not over-the-top or fake funny; it’s just honest and goofy in the best way. If you like his stand-up, you’ll probably love this too.

This book was laugh out loud funny! Listening to this is a must because part of the joy is hearing Nate's delivery. I could not stop laughing. His stories about his dad, the clown, and his siblings was so genuine. I loved hearing some of the same stories from his act but with more details. I will listen to this book again!!!

Nate Bargatze is my favorite comedian, so I knew I was going to love this one. Written as a memoir in short story format, each chapter tells a different tale from his life. I really enjoyed learning more about his background through his self-deprecating and hilarious lens. He narrates the audiobook himself, and it feels like listening to one of his stand-up specials. His conversational tone really draws you in. My husband and I have tickets to see him live next week and I can’t wait! If you’re a fan already, you’ll definitely want to grab a copy. And if you’re not a fan yet, I bet you will be after you read this book!

Nate Bargatze is so unbelievably funny! In this book he tells about how he grew up, lots about his family (mother, father, siblings, wife and daughter), and many funny stories about his own eccentricities.

Also, I'm sure reading the book is funny enough -- BUT if you can listen to the audio book, Do It! The audio production and narration are excellent, and Nate is hilarious as he reads the book. Sometimes he laughs during the reading, I loved that!

If you just need something light between heavy reads, and if you like to laugh, you need to read this book! Enjoy!!!! ;)

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Nate Bargatze, and Hatchett Audio and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Nate B:
If you’re a fan of Nate Bargatze, you are going to love this book! If you’re a casual fan like me, you’re still going to really enjoy it. Listening to this book feels like having a long form conversation with someone who is just honestly and casually funny.
Relatable childhood mishaps, teenage insecurities, and a healthy dose of adult self deprecation. It’s very “long form improv” in the way certain jokes are brought back up when you least expect them. Some of the stories have a point, and some are just plain relatable (the first time trying to understand Catholic communion, for example, made me laugh the hardest).
And if you are like me and enjoy your memoirs read by the author, you’ll love this one a lot. I mean, Nate narrates with a casualness that does feel like he’s sharing a story and not reading a page. Inflection, pauses and silly laughs break up the stories. Oh, and have you ever wondered how a blank page is narrated? Nate Bargatze did it best here.
Anyway, I highly recommend you consider this is you’re looking for some funny stories.
Thank you so much NetGalley for an ALC of this book- this is my honest review!

I'm familiar with the author from his Netflix specials so I was excited to get an advance copy of the audiobook read by him. However, I'm not so familiar that I could tell if this was all original material or not. With that said, this is exactly what you would expect from him: entertaining, clean stories from his life in the South. His deadpan delivery with his Tennessee accent are so funny as he talks about his childhood, friends, family, church, and hometown.

This was really an enjoyable read.

Nate is one of my favorite comedians, and his book definitely showcased his humor, making me literally laugh out loud while listening to every chapter.

But even with the humor, there was heart. This is a memoir, so just like everyone else, there was some trauma in his life, and in his family's lives. But his story was never about dwelling on the pain. He showed how he and his family moved on with humility, humor, and grace.

Religion is mentioned throughout this book because it was always a large part of their lives. But not one word of it is Nate preaching or judging or pushing his beliefs. It only helps explain his story.

I'm very grateful that
Netgalley and the publisher allowed me to have both an advanced ebook and audiobook copy of Big Dumb Eyes. It was so nice to sit and laugh for a while. And it just reinforced my love of his comedy.
5⭐️

As good as I hoped, unlike some comedian's books this one covers new ground not in his comedy specials. Funny the whole time without being just joke after joke. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoy Nate Bargatze, I highly recommend this book!

I have watched pretty much all of his stand up shows and it was interesting I get more of a backstory on his life. One thing nice about this book, it didn’t really have any repeat jokes in it, so it was all new material.

I read the first third of this book, then the remainder of the book, I listened to the audiobook. Both were very good, but I recommend listening to it since his delivery is so good. I listened to some of it on a walk and I found myself giggling several times. So I definitely looked like an idiot smiling and laughing to myself. However, the one downfall of the audiobook is you don’t see the pictures.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks NetGalley for giving me access to this ALC. Prior to this book I only knew Nate Bargatze from his SNL hosting stints. Listening to this felt like watching a standup act — random funny vignettes about his life and family with callbacks to earlier chapters throughout. It doesn’t have much of a unifying thread, but it’s a light, fast listen.

This book wasn’t my cup of tea. I found some parts funny, but mostly I was bored. I had to quit 30% in.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t know much about Nate Bargatze before starting this book. I knew he was a pretty funny comedian that told relatable jokes. I discovered him through TikTok and later his Netflix specials. So when I saw the opportunity to learn a little more about him I took the chance.

Nate covers a lot in this book from his childhood on to now. He talks about living in a small town that only had two cops, his family, his basketball career (or lack there of), and what it’s like having a clown as a father.

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of the audiobook which is narrated by Nate himself which made the book even funnier.

The only thing I thought was slightly annoying were the pauses he added. It was kind of weird and unnecessary. Also reminding us about why they call his friend ‘P’ all the time got kind of annoying.

Thank you, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to get the ALC of Nate Bargatze’s book!
Nate is one of my favorite comedians, and the audiobook was perfect to get the tone of his jokes and, of course, his southern accent.
I was entertained and laughing throughout the story, and found the information about his dad’s upbringing something I won’t forget.
I loved hearing about his relationships, the “NBA”, and how he was a genius until he wasn’t, thanks to a fall!
The only downside I did not enjoy was all the jumping around to different timelines.

Thank you, Nate, for sharing your story with the world!
And thank you Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing for the ALC.

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!