65 Books in a Year: Book #3 I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

I think if I divide my review of this book into parts it will help me better understand why I like it so much and why I would so be Mr. Max's friend had I the chance to meet him.

I Feel Like I Know Him...
OK, not really, but we are the same age and because of that his experiences ring true to me. I've been telling people that if I took the stories from every guy I've met, starting with the first day of college and ending with yesterday, all of their stories (and, I will not tell them because they are not mine to share, but really I know some stories that are just as outrageous and hilarious; probably more so as they are from people I know) would not even begin to amount to the plethora of stories that this one guy has...lots of crazy stories from just one guy. His stories make me laugh as much as I want to throw-up and, frankly, they make me feel a little nostalgic for a time when I had friends who had crazy stories to tell. I like that he communicates with his readers via his email and his blog. I like that he respects his friends enough to not tell their stories without their permission.

I mean we've all met this type of guy, you know the cocky self-aware guy who parties hard to work hard (in Max's case working hard is typing his exploits on his blog, writing books, writing advice columns and articles), who is educated and learned and well-read, and who, no matter how much we hate it, does not lie. Why would he? What would he be getting from the lie? Obviously, he gets more from telling the truth. He's the kind of guy who has just as many girl friends as guy friends as fbs. The kind of guy who really is an open book.

On Being Anti-Female, Anti-Feminist and Unfunny...
I'm not sure why people verbally and, I guess sometimes, physically abuse this guy. He's not any different than a lot of guys out there. Even his way of story telling isn't any different. I can't tell if people don't like him because he took something that loads of males go through and made money off of it or if they don't like him out of some misguided jealousy and or misplaced rage about the injustice of the world.

I like the way he writes. I truly believe he would not respect a girl who wasn't smart--sure he'd sleep with her, but he wouldn't like her. I think that he could like someone and make fun of them at the same time.

Even guys like this grow up. It seems that even now this is happening to Mr. Max, even as I type this.

And, if someone thinks Tucker Max is cool and tries to be him, they aren't even going to get close if they aren't honest and aren't willing to take responsibility for their actions. It seems (now granted I haven't read any of the recent books although I have them ready to read on my Nook) that this guy has rules and standards for every aspect of his life; even if those rules are a little skewed. See page 157:

"...I have since learned how awful it was and now take pains to explain to women what I want and what I expect from them before we do anything, which is not only the right thing to do, it prevents the kind of issues that happen here [saying "I love you" and not really meaning it] from occurring later on."

I just like this (from one of his websites FAQ; a FAQ, I'd like to note, I read after writing the above):

"... most people cannot conceive of a reality outside their own experience. If they can’t see themselves doing it, they can’t believe anyone else can do it. So when some jealous anti-social loser reads my stuff, sometimes he will react in disbelief because he can’t imagine himself interacting with people in a way that doesn’t suck."

And, he's got a pretty Kick A** booklist...as a friend in college said to me on more than one occasion, "You really like brain sex [talking about books, movies, plays, lectures, philosophizing about life]." Yes, yes I do and I'm sure I could talk to Tucker Max about a number of topics. I'm just as sure that I'd never want to meet Mr. Max at a bar or a club or at a function of any kind.

The Ranking...
So, why the 4-stars? After a few drunken, throw-up party stories, they all seem to be the same and it got a little tiring to not be able to comment/talk back and it felt like a train-wreck towards the end; a train-wreck I couldn't stop reading about.

Is it wrong that I refuse to call this "fratire"?