This is going to be less personal than the title suggests (sorry, Mom), mainly because there’s something else really notable about this book beyond the subject matter.
Here’s the big news: I read it off the Kindle. Not only that- it was a hardcover. So things were weird this past week…or at least, my bag was heavier.
I don’t remember the last time I turned pages in a book or carried one around that wasn’t for school. I’ve become so Kindle reliant that this thing I’d done for the first 21+ years of my life suddenly felt foreign. But I had to do it this way- Nadine and I had the awesome opportunity to go see Aziz in person and we got the book as part of the deal. (Though he declined our offer for oysters, which would have made it even more worth it.)
I was going to wait to read it, but didn’t feel like lugging a hardcover book around to a multi-day work event. Instead, the book followed me all over the city this week. There were adjustments for sure- for example, my little crossbody bags that hold my Kindle so comfortably had to be thrown aside to make way for a relatively behemoth book. Definite con vote on that part. But it didn’t take me long to be drawn back into the dreamy way pages turn- a visual and non-percentage-based representation of what’s been accomplished and what lies ahead- or the vintage-y feeling of sitting at a table or outside a restaurant thumbing through a book. Pro vote for that part though my handling of the hardcover is a little clumsy after years of one handed reading.
In the end, I loved the book enough that I was willing to cart it around with me; that said, I appreciate the Kindle even more (if that’s possible) for its lightness, its ability to access a gazillion books and its cute little pink case. I’m not trading it back out anytime soon, but I might be quicker to borrow a hard copy book from a friend than I have been in the past.
In terms of content, there was- again– a 0.0 percent chance that I was going to feel anything but adoration for this book. It was clearly an immense effort- one of interest over necessity. (Aziz threw a little shade about other celebrity humor books, but we can forgive that.) While largely the lessons are ones that we could all have figured out on our own- this generation by and large really sucks at communication- it was fascinating to get to see some of the behind-the-scenes reasons why. I definitely recommend it- super quick, super funny, really all around great.
And while you’re at it, check out his Live at Madison Square Garden stand up special on Netflix- I got to see it last year at the Verizon Center and I’d estimate that I’ve watched it at least ten times since.
You’ll like this if: well, you’ll like it if you like Aziz’s stand up- it’s a more academic extension of that.
Happy reading!
Buy Modern Romance (on Kindle or hardcover!)
carlyreads 