A successful, creative comedian/actor mistaking randomness for creativity. Let me be clear, my estimation of this book is not some puritan knee-jerk reaction to base material — I have no such prejudice — but simply a reader responding to the lack of structure or vision in the material. A memoir by any other name does not a memoir make: many forget that a memoir not written explicitly and carefully for an audience is just a diary or journal written in retrospect. Better writers than Oswalt have forgotten this. I recently read Venice Observed by Mary McCarthy, an esteemed writer apparently. She likewise failed to connect the reader with the material. You could make a convincing argument that this is the primary job of all writers. Fail at this and nothing else matters. The comparison between McCarthy and Oswalt is an interesting one, I think. The writing style and subject matter could be no further apart, and yet both authors fail in very much the same way. Random memories are just that, your random memories. If you expect a reader to care you need to make those memories the reader’s, vicariously, so that the reader can invest. Oswalt tells us he understands this on some level. About half way through the book, the origin of the book’s title is made clear. He says:

But for me, and my circle of high school friends, it came down to Zombies, Spaceships, or Wastelands. These were the three doors out of the Vestibule of Adolescence, and each opened onto a dark, echoing hallway. The corridors twisted and intertwined, like a DNA helix. Maybe those paths were a rough reflection of the DNA we were born with, which made us more likely to cherish and pursue one corridor over another.

I’m going to try to explain each of these categories (and will probably fail). And then I’ll figure out where I came out, on the other end, once the cards were played. I think this chapter is more for me than for you.

I think this book is for you, Patton, not us, and this is disrespectful of the reader’s time, this the most cardinal of writerly sins. ( )

This wasn't quite what I imagined it would be, but it was a pleasant and sometimes amusing collection of stories about modern life, growing up in the suburbs, and becoming a standup comedian. ( )

If you like Patton, read this. Don't listen to the audio book (if there is one). Read it for real. It's a quick read, super funny, and just really great. ( )

There were a few stories that I found interesting or amusing but mostly they weren't my thing. I'll keep enjoying Patton Oswalt on TV and Twitter and probably not in books. ( )

I really liked the sections of the book that were memoir rather than comedy bits. I think Patton Oswalt is at his best when he’s just commenting about his life and the people he’s met. The segment on his Canadian comedy tour was probably my favorite part of the book, and I loved the last chapter about his grandma. I could have done without the hobo songs and greeting card chapters.
The author is sharp and insightful, and I hope he writes another book that has more about his life. I did enjoy the vampire comic, though-seeing more comic book scripts by him would be cool too.
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