Seriously I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres

from goodreads

2 stars

This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. It is a nice time to reflect on the good things in life. No matter how awful you think your life is, there is always something to be thankful for, even if it is smelling air that doesn't stink or having knees that bend.

This Thanksgiving it was a bit harder for me to think of what to be thankful for because I had the biggest cold ever. Nose stuffed, head stuffed and just feeling in general very ick. Luckily I wasn't hosting anyone otherwise our dinner would have consisted of whatever my husband could scrounge together. Instead we went to over to our wonderful friends house (I kept a healthy distance from all) and had a nice relaxing afternoon. My friends are going to be moving soon. They will be living over an hour away. I am sad I won't get to see them super often, but I am excited to visit them at their new property. From the pictures I've seen it looks beautiful and I am so happy that they have found a place to call their own.

Now that the sickness fog has ended I can acknowledge a lot of things I have to be thankful for. A family who is a bit nutty at times but in the end are keepers. Technology that helps me budget, learn things, and connect with others around the world. The beautiful part of the planet I live in. Right now the trees are beautiful with bright oranges and reds. I think autumn is one of my favourite seasons. Though I do like the smell of mud in spring. I am also thankful for people's imaginations and stories. I get to experience so much through their words and for that I will always be thankful.

Synopsis

Comedienne Ellen DeGeneres allows us to look through the world through her eyes.

My Thoughts

I was so looking forward to this book. It has been on my to read list for years. I love Ellen's talk show, I love how generous and humble she is about everything. She is great. Unfortunately I did not find this book to be as great as she is. It was disappointing.

At first I tried to listen to the book. I had it on my ipod so I could listen to it while at the hospital after having Mr. S. It was quiet so I put it on and I could not listen to it. It is voiced by Ellen and while that is normally a good thing, I don't think that was the case with this. To me it felt like she was speed reading it with little change in inflection. I think I listened to a couple of chapters and that was enough.

So, I decided instead to read it. I got it out this summer and read it. It reads nicely. I read it with her voice in my head, one that changes and is not speed reading, and that part was great. There were some gems and moments when I did actually laugh, but on the whole the humour was just not for me. It was not subtle at all. Everything was a joke and I just didn't care. I think I was expecting a bit more of a witty, not so obvious, type of humour and this was not it. Now perhaps it was the time of life I was reading it. Perhaps because of my anticipation for reading it I had set the bar too high and so no matter what was written I would have been disappointed. I don't know. It just didn't do it for me when I read it.

So while her book was a bit of a disappointment for me, I still love her and her positivity. The joy she brings into the world is amazing. So with that I think I will stick to her talk show, and not worry about her books.