I have been a fan of Guy Branum for a long time. When I saw he had a book coming out I knew that I needed to read it. I am also a fan of biography books so it was a double win!!

If you are a fan of Guy Branam and his humour, then you will love this as much as I did! If bawdy, blunt, and sometimes graphic humour isn’t your thing, then maybe skip this one. But I loved it!! I will admit that there were a few patches in the book that I had to push myself through and not skip but overall I really enjoyed this book and his take on pop culture!!

I am a big fan of Hollywood and entertainment industry memoirs, biographies, and essays but this one just didn't do it for me. I'm not sure if it was the way the essays were laid out or if I just didn't like the tone, but I had to stop reading about halfway through. I found myself annoyed and frustrated with the narration and didn't find the subject matter as easy and breezy as the summary led me to believe. Guy Branum went much deeper into his childhood and trauma than I was prepared for and it caught me off guard with little to no warning before.

Very fun and readable. I listened to his podcast, Pop Rocket, so I heard his very distinctive voice in my head as I was reading.

Start reading to get the dirt on Chelsea Handler and stay for the more in depth discussions on adolescence, quiz bowl and being an outsider. Guy Branum is funny and interesting, but what you do not know is how insanely intelligent and complicated he and his life has been.

My Life as a Goddess takes you through his entire life- from his early days and relationship with his father, his complicated sister and relationship with her, and the circuitous route he took to become a writer and comic. It is a more serious book than you expect it to be, it is not a catty tell all.

I feel like I learned a lot about him and what it was like growing up entirely different than your family.

Guy Branum's "My Life as a Goddess" is hilarious and charming. I loved his stories of realizing being a lawyer wasn't for him and finding his calling as a comedian. Guy is a great writer and kept me interested through the entire book, including his hilarious footnotes at the end of each chapter.

I really enjoyed his discussion of different things he was interested in, from Canada to Ruth Bader Ginsburg into the narrative of his life. He always did a great job of tying these seemingly off-topic discussions into the events of his life.

I received an ARC of this book from Net galley for an honest review. I've been a fan of Guy Branum for years, ever since I saw him on Chelsea Lately. So when I saw he had a book coming out I knew I was going to read it. I'm a fan of memoirs in general and comedic personalities especially. This book did not disappoint. While it took me a little while to get into the book and Guy's writing style, once I was there I couldn't put this down. I enjoyed learning about his childhood and the breadth of knowledge that Guy has acquired over the years. The footnotes were especially fun. I can only hope that Guy continues to write in the future.

I first encountered Guy Branum from his podcast, Pop Rocket, which had been recommended to me by other similar pop culture podcasts. While he and his cohosts are delightful on that show, he had dropped enough hints about his life, family, and upbringing to make me want to learn more about it. As a memoir, this book definitely delivers. Branum's writing is funny and engaging, his life has been interesting and very different from my own, and these combine into a memorable memoir. I love the funny, sarcastic, and know-it-all footnotes in every chapter. I didn't need the celebrity gossip, personally, but I know it's what a lot of people will be looking for, and Branum keeps it all focused on his own life story, so it feels dishy without being mean. I'm definitely even more of a fan of his now that I've read this.

I initially picked this book because I remember Guy as one of the panelists on Chelsea Lately. But this isn't a normal comedian memoir. Guy grew up in the turdish part of California where he did not fit in. But he was a voracious reader and media consumer. And he eventually went to law school and started stand up comedy (I think in that order). So he's an interesting guy, this Guy.

Guy talks about his farming town, battles from the Greeks or some stuff, movies, movie tropes being bullsh*t, books, being gay, and then he FINALLY dishes on Chelsea Lately and all of his work experiences in Holllywood (HI IM NIKI IM HERE FOR THE GOSSIP)

There wasnt really any point where I was laughing out loud, but Guy has a unique perspective on life. He's smart and witty and that's what we need.

I have loved Guy Branum since his Last Comic Standing says, but it wasn't until I heard his episode on the podcast Mental Illness Happy Hour that I realised how intelligent and insightful he was beyond being hilarious. This book is a great distillation of all that.

I have an addiction to celebrity memoirs, especially those of comedians. I've read and/or listened to dozens of them, and though I'd never heard of Guy Branum, the cover and his work credits made me interested.

To be honest, I expected something... funny. All of the comedian memoirs I've read have been funny, or at least, tried to be funny. My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture didn't.

The book is really a memoir of someone's life as an outsider in a medium-sized, admittedly interesting, town in farmland-ville California. Guy Branum is a very smart guy, something he easily and unconsciously shows off with his prose and vocabulary (I had to use my Kindle definition feature a few times, which I don't normally have to do), but I had a hard time picturing him being, well, funny. I could see him as a writer, even a television writer, but even at the end I had a difficult time figuring out his comedic style.

If you are looking for a funny book or one with lots of Hollywood gossip, this really isn't the story for you. If you want a pop-culture heavy story about a Jewish (-ish) guy from California who used his brains and luck to find a satisfying career in Hollywood, then you are on more of the right track.

Though it wasn't what I expected, I still enjoyed My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un) Popular Culture. I think if you are a fan of Guy's or a big Chelsea Handler fan, you would enjoy this one.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

I love Guy Branum. I only know him through various podcasts I listen to but I always enjoy his insights and humor. I was so excited to get this book. I settled in expecting a hilarious, witty and light hearted book of essays. This book was nothing like I expected. Instead it was a book of essays full of heart wrenching insights, sadness and raw honesty. It was so much better than I expected. There was still lots of humor and funny stories but it was just so much more.

I love this book; I thought Branum's ability to look at his life was fair and hilarious. Plus the Canada chapter was phenomenal.

Guy Branum was a comedy writer for some of my favorite shows like Chelsea Lately, The Mindy Project and Billy on the Street. This book is a collection of stories detailing his childhood and teen years in a Northern CA farm town to his time spent working with comedy stars like Chelsea Handler and Joan Rivers. Anyone who has ever felt like an outcast or never could find their niche, this book is for you

Smart, honest, and downright hilarious, Guy Branum is just as funny in print as I thought he’d be. Having known his work, mostly thanks to the MFM podcast and his, Talk Show The Game Show I knew I had to read this, so I was super glad to have been provided an e-arc for review from the publisher.
Guy’s stories of not belonging and then finding your place really touched me, I felt like I knew him and I truly enjoyed reading this book. I’ve read quite a few memoirs over the years and if there’s one thing I learned, its to choose your memoirs carefully. I am so happy I chose the right one.

I didn't know anything about Guy Branum previously, but now I am a huge fan. Branum is a stand-up comedian/actor/writer/lawyer/all-around talented fella. He is also gay, very tall, and very large. And he's very, very good at trivia and quiz bowls. (You will be better at both those things as well if you read this book and remember even 1/3 of the references - there's a Jenny Holzer allusion, FFS!)

Though this book is full of humorous autobiographical essays, it's also got a ton of great insights into queer theory, homophobia, and politics -- in one of the most bizarre details in the book, Branum was "treated" to a Secret Service visit after making an offhand comment about then-First Daughter Chelsea Clinton in a humor column written for his college paper. It was perhaps the first time that he rose to national attention, but definitely should not have been the last.

Not only are Branum's stories funny and heartfelt, but he has the best vocabulary of any writer I've encountered in quite a while. I found myself having to look up a word or two every few pages to make sure that it meant what I thought (or to learn what it meant). Branum attended law school, has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of trivia, and his passion for using the right word for the right situation is not only admirable, but downright inspiring.

Just read this book and be glad you did, damn it.

I think essays must be easier for commedians to write than a straight memoir because so many chose that path! It works for Branum, I think but I wish some parts were a little longer or more detailed.It was funny though and an interesting peak at a D-list celebrity.

I think Guy is great. I loved the Chelsea Lately roundtable all those years ago and he was an awesome addition whenever he participated. So, I was super excited to get approved for this one. However, it’s a bit of a mess. Guy goes off on tangents about topics that at one point had me considering stopping reading altogether. For example, there is an entire section on the history of Canada. When it’s firsr introduced, one thinks it will be a brief story to show more of what Guy was like as a child. It goes on WAY too long. The book is at its best when Guy is simply telling stories about his life. But when sections like the Canada one and Greek mythology come up, the book drags. I think if certain sections could be edited down somewhat, the book has the potential to be much better. As it is now, I was disappointed.

This was, overall, an enjoyable book. At times I felt that Branum didn't tie chapters and sections together as well as he could have and there were definitely a few stances he took that I didn't love, but overall this was well-written, amusing, and heart-felt. I also obviously enjoyed reading about somebody else that wasted three years going to law school

I got this as an ARC from NetGalley.

Guy's a great writer and I appreciated his candor, humor, and all the random bits of historical and cultural knowledge sprinkled throughout.