And Whiskey Too...

Ever since the original release of Tucker Max's I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell in 2006, I've been hearing about this book. I come from a huge Irish family which includes many avid readers who proclaimed to love it, and I'd had countless friends tell me, "Kelsey, you NEED to read this book!" Well, I finally got myself a copy while I was home in Chicago over Christmas, and let me just take a moment to tell you: you NEED to read this book!

I picked this book up at my local Borders one evening, and once I read the description on the back, I knew my friends were right, I did need to read it:

"My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole. I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead. But I do contribute to humanity in one very important way: I share my adventures with the world."

In my opinion, anyone who can describe himself in such an honest, though incredibly unflattering, way is someone worth reading about. I spent exactly two almost entirely sleepless nights reading Tucker Max's completely ridiculous and utterly hilarious stories...at one point, I was literally crying from laughter (if you get the book, read "The Austin Road Trip, Day Two" and I promise, you'll be in tears as well). I don't know about everyone else, but reading about someone who literally has no respect for any kind of social convention and is lacking any shame whatsoever is incredibly refreshing. I have to admit, I use literature as an escape, and it was nice, for a change, to escape into the mind of someone who says and does the things that no one else has the cojones to say and do. The absolute best part: he's a real guy. He's a real, flesh-and-blood guy, and all of his stories are true.

I will say that I've been in some pretty ridiculous and laughable situations, especially since entering college and discovering alcohol, but my collection would have nothing on Tucker's. I will also admit that, as a female, I found a couple of his stories somewhat misogynistic; but overall, I laughed so hard and enjoyed this book so much that I couldn't have cared less if he didn't treat every girl he met with respect. In fact, I don't think he treated a single girl he mentioned in the book with respect, but somehow I still kind of want to be his friend. I won't even try to delve into the psychoses behind this, although I will say that the majority of the girls mentioned in Tucker's stories didn't really treat themselves with anything I would call "respect". Whether this makes what Tucker did necessarily right or wrong is not a question that I think I can answer; I'll leave that one open for you to think about while you explore the book. I will leave you with a friendly warning though: if you have any deep-seated issues with the vulgar or obscene, this book is probably not for you. That said, I hope some of you who read this at least consider borrowing a copy from the library to check out this hysterical book. Happy Readings!