Seth Rogen

Road trip audiobook!

And nothing makes a long drive zip by like laughing your head off most of the way. And, bonus, the book was exactly as long as the drive!

I'm not a huge Seth Rogen fan or anything, but the few movies of his that I have seen are usually okay. This book is much, much better though, loaded with humorous anecdotes from his life as a preteen stand-up comedian through the international incident created by his film about Kim Jong Un, The Interview. And the audiobook includes 80+ show more supporting voices backing up Rogen's narration -- from family and childhood friends to celebrity pals -- turning some sections into little comic sketches.

Rogen makes for an excellent traveling companion.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Bubby and Zaidy -- Bonanza -- Sons of Commandment -- The Karate Yid -- Pornographic Entertainment -- Yearbook -- The Mohel -- An Evening at the Improv -- Firing Ray -- Amsterdam -- Drinking in L.A. -- 2012 -- Angry Whopper -- Face/Off -- Rhymin' and Stealin' -- Hacks -- Tigers!!!!!! -- Verification -- Xenu -- Acid -- Woz and the Magic Castle -- Jewish Summer Camp -- Acknowledgments

The YEARBOOK audio full cast features Seth Rogen, with Vikas Adam, Jason Alexander, MacLeod Andrews, Eric B. Anthony, James Anthony, Tom Antonellis, Brian Arens, Dan Aykroyd, Ike Barinholtz, Noah Bentley, Buzz Blackburn, Cassandra Campbell, Alan Carlson, Hannah Choi, Tommy Chong, Sacha Baron Cohen, Lise Coyle, Nick Damiani, Lauri Jo Daniels, Inés del Castillo, Sabina Demidovich, Giordan Diaz, James DiGiacomo, Snoop Dogg, Andrew Fetherolf, Dylan Frankel, Jono Freedrix, Elan Garfias, Lee Goettl, Evan Goldberg, Michel Gondry, Christopher Grove, Simon Helberg, Hillary Huber, Kyle Hunter, Billy Idol, Ray James, Lori Ada Jaroslow, Gregory Jones, Jim Kaplan, Vincent Kartheiser, Terrence Kidd, Ami Korn, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Helen Laser, Raymond J. Lee, Darryl Lenox, Teri Linden, Eric Jason Martin, Katharine Lee McEwan, Miles Meili, Todd Menesses, Scott Miller, Raymond Ochoa, Gaye Pardo, Ronald Peet, Jay Pharoah, Mark Pooley, Will Reiser, Andrew Rich, Christopher Paul Richards, Danya Rogen, Lauren Miller Rogen, Mark Rogen, Sandy Rogen, Tara Sands, Paul Scheer, Samba Schutte, James Scofield, Wesley Scott, Jason Segel, Ariel Shaffir, Mike Shapiro, Rob Shapiro, James Sie, Martin Starr, Nick Thurston, Kiff VandenHeuvel, Byron Wagner, Paul-Mikél Williams, and Mirron Willis. show less

Started off really funny, I enjoyed hearing about him as a child and how he got started. Then, he lost me with all the political, Trump and Twitter stuff. AND there's only sooo many drug stories you can take!

I don't know why, but I was really drawn to this book. I'm not a Seth Rogen fan. I don't know much about him other than his stupid laugh, he's known for his drug use, and he's part of the James Franco, Jonah Hill, Judd Apatow group. But for some reason, this book drew me in.

First the negative: The language is pretty rough. I should have known considering the movies Rogen is famous for, but it's a whole lot cursing. Drug use is talked about and endorsed heavily. I will say, I heard some well show more thought-out, intelligent arguments in favor of marijuana and shrooms that I have not heard before, so that was interesting.

The positives: Seth Rogen is a pretty smart guy. This isn't a book going through each movie and getting them made and becoming famous. This is a book about a guy who enjoys his friends, loves movies, loves drugs, and is awed by the fact he gets to meet famous people and make movies. Some of his stories are funny, some are wild, and he tells some interesting stories about meeting George Lucas, Nicolas Cage, and Eddie Griffin.

These stories give insight to who Rogen is and how he thinks. He talks about being Jewish and having to deal with antisemitism, growing up in Canada, Jewish summer camp. He shows understanding for Kanye and his mental illness while at the same time, wishing he would shut up. That part is pretty funny to me. He speaks a lot about his movie The Interview and national problems it caused, issues with the movie studios, and holding to his creative integrity.

It's a fun book I'm glad I read. I definitely appreciate Rogen more as a person and creator. show less

Best for:
Fans of Seth Rogen. Fans for humorous memoirs in general.

In a nutshell:
Actor, writer, and apparently former stand-up comedian (?)

Worth quoting:
Many things, but I listened while working out so didn’t note anything down.

Why I chose it:
I find Seth Rogen generally pretty funny in general, and the fact that he — and others — were doing the reading of the book sucked me in.

Review:
I didn’t know much about Rogen when I started listening to this book. I think I first saw him in show more Knocked Up (I missed Freaks and Geeks originally and had to watch it once it was available on streaming), and have seen others of the movies he’s written, like Superbad and 50/50. I don’t generally have a strong opinion about him either way. Or at least, I didn’t. Now, I rather like him.

The book is a mixture of stories from his childhood and stories of his life as a successful actor and writer. And of course there is a long running theme: his use of drugs like weed and mushrooms. If one isn’t a fan of stories of drug use, this probably isn’t the right book. Rogen does however seem at least somewhat aware that he was able to get away with many of his antics because he was a white kid, and that the stories might have gone very differently for a person of color.

Things that surprised me - he started doing stand-up comedy (didn’t know) at age 12! And like, kept at it all through his teen years. Fascinating. But the stories that really were interesting to listen to include his experience with mushrooms in Amsterdam, and the whole story behind the movie The Interview, about a journalist sent to assassinate the leader of North Korea.

Rogen is a great storyteller. There’s a casual tone that feels like someone funny I know just telling a story after dinner when we’re hanging out. But what really made the book for me is the fact that he got a ton of people to read whatever wasn’t in his voice. When his wife first appears in the story, she reads her part. Jason Segel features in a discussion about a ridiculous audition for 8 Mile. Even Snoop Dogg (yes, him) makes an appearance. It breaks up what can be a challenge of audio books, and keeps the reader involved.

Recommend to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Recommend to a Friend show less