Book Review: Shut Up: We All Have Issues by Corey Deitz

I picked this up as a freebie when it was randomly brought to my attention at the top of the list of humourous foreign language kindle books on Amazon.es I had never heard of Corey Deitz before (and am now waiting for comments enquiring about what rock I've been hiding under) The description read thus:

"This book is one man's quest to rid himself of all his psychological demons by exorcising them with self-deprecating humor.

By day, Corey Deitz is a radio personality. By night, he's just another poor, neurotic slob curling up in a fetal position and sobbing like a little girl in the corner of a room. Deitz has issues and doesn't mind putting them on display in the hopes the reader will realize in comparison, he or she is not as bad off as previously thought.

This book is a landmark in understanding the human mind and the author should be commended for allowing his pathetic fears, mental ticks, and social anxieties to be put on display like a piece of salmon at Sigmund Freud's favorite delicatessen.

Deitz's philosophy is clear: why pay hundreds of dollars to a shrink with a fancy business card when this book is dirt cheap. In a world full of pretentious psychiatrists and expensive couches, Shut Up: We All Have Issues is a fresh look at getting your head straight at futon prices"

I think it was the title that caught my attention more than anything. I've been a bit of a grump lately over certain people I know who never stop moaning but don't really have anything to moan about!

What I got certainly wasn't what I expected. There was far more humour at the expense of others than self-deprecating humour, and maybe I need to check my sense of humour but I don't find mocking people who hoard dead animals in their freezers all that funny. Yes, in places I found myself agreeing with the author's rants and it raised a smile or two but most of it I found un-funny, and a lot of the American political humour went right over my head. I know a little about US politics but not enough to get the jokes in this book.

As far this book providing a way of getting your head straight at futon prices, up to 85% in the book was just a series of anecdotes that often rambled off on odd tangents. It was only after that point that there was any element of how the book might help the reader (and you need to bear in mind there were shedloads of footnotes so that 15% wasn't all advice)

I wasn't expecting much in the way of a self-help book but I was expecting something that might make me look at my life in a more positive light perhaps. This was a very odd read, and now I've reviewed it I will be deleting it from my kindle.

Format: Kindle, freebie
My Rating: 1*