I Suck at Girls

by Justin Halpern
Hennepin County Library hardcover 180 pages
genre: memoir, humor

Not as funny as his first book, this one has more heart. As he contemplates proposing to Amanda, his dad tells him to take a day to reflect. Justin spends the bulk of the book reminiscing about all his experiences with the opposite sex. Sometimes his recollections are funny, but more often they are poignant. He was not the man he hoped to be during his adolescence. An enjoyable read (and interesting for me to think about what my sons' stories might be if they wrote them down). Halpern is a talented author. How fun that his big break came through his Twitter feed!

Sh*t My Dad Says

by Justin Halpern
Hennepin County Library hardcover 158 pages
genre: NF memoir

Oh my. Though extremely profane, this made me laugh! Patty S first told me about Mr. Halpern. I checked it out online and laughed out loud. I don't really remember why I decided to request the book from the library, but it was a quick and enjoyable read. I read some of it out loud to Louise and Ann and was a bit shocked at the profanity coming out of my mouth . . . this will definitely not appeal to everyone.

But there's also a story of a father-son relationship that makes me curious for more. How did Justin become such a seemingly pleasant and creative individual with his dad being so rough all the time? (Though love shines through, too, and some of my favorite parts were when his dad just said "I love you.") It's also fascinating to read about how this book came to be. Halpern started using his dad's unusual sayings as his IM status, then as his Twitter feed. In a very short time, he went from a few followers to hundreds of thousands of followers and the media contacting him for interviews. Crazy!