Humorous insights into each state. It was a refreshing read during a time in our country’s history that can often feel very dark.

I really did not care that much for Overstated: A Coast-to-Coast Roast of the 50 States. I had hopes that it would be fun and funny. However, it mostly was not. I give it two stars.

Overstated by Colin Quinn is a state by state roast exposing the good and the bad of each state. It is very limited in its scope but I actually learned some facts about states that I do not know much about like West Virginia and Colorado. It was not as laugh out loud as I was expecting but it was enjoyable and a quick read.

A comical (and highly opinionated) overview of the 50 states that make up the United States of America. I loved that this read like a collection of short stories with factoids mixed in with the humor. I laughed at the commentary on the states I've lived in and loved Quinn's take on the states on my yet-to-be explored list. Overall a really enjoyable read during a stressful time.

This book is absolutely hilarious as Colin Quinn is but the surprise is how knowledgeable he is about history. So many smart little pieces of history blended with bits of comedy,Really entertains read.#netgalley #st.martibs

One thing I insist on in books in the humor section is that they be funny. They don’t have to be hilarious, laugh-out-loud funny. I’ll take a chuckle or even a whimsical smile. Overstated didn’t pass the funny hurdle for me at all.

It was surprising because I always liked the author’s understated type of humor on talk shows and standup routines. I think the meta idea of riffing on all fifty states sounds good on paper but fails in execution. Overall, Overstated was not for me. 2 stars.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was hilarious! I love that Colin Quinn is not only skilled at providing entertainment, but is very knowledgeable about history. I think written by another author that this book would have fallen short, but this author's writing flowed.

It's nice that Colin Quinn did not waste his free time during the Lockdown. He took an armchair tour of the 50 states, and came up with this nifty collection of commentary about the unique regions that make up the U.S. Don't worry - no matter where you live in this country, you will have the opportunity to be amused, or possibly, offended as Quinn reels off one-liners about your particular state.

Quinn on Asheville, North Carolina (aka The Hippie South):
". . . they eat organic roadkill. It's the only place they roast hogs in patchouli oil."

On South Dakota:
"Maybe being associated with North Dakota is holding you back? How about this? You change your name. Rebrand. West Minnesota. Anything."

On Idaho:
"Originally incorporated as a parking lot for Utah, Idaho really grew into its own. It's got the beauty of Wyoming combined with the boredom of Iowa."

On Louisiana:
"One time I landed at the airport and the cab driver, who was at least 400 pounds, stopped halfway through the trip and made me get out and pump gas while he went into the store to pay and pick up some goodies! And came out with a six-pack of beer. And opened one while he was driving me. And offered me one. And it was 10:30 a.m. That's New Orleans."

I got quite a few chuckles out of this one.

Whether or not we remain the united states seems to be anyone's guess.

"Now we are in the factions moment in history, where everybody is broken up into cults trying to force their values and ideals onto each other, and so far, its not looking very promising for our future."

Quinn offers no solutions to our current problems, but check out this book if you want a few laughs as you watch it all go down the tubes.

*Thanks to Allison at St. Martin's Press for a chance to check this out prepublication.

Let me preface this by saying I love Colin Quinn from his Remote Control days and I wish this was available as an audio book because I read the whole thing in his voice. Quinn is really funny and a whole lot smarter than most people probably give him credit for.

Quinn takes us on a state by state tour of America and provides us with some wry observations and his take on history. I was particularly interested in reading about my own home state, Illinois. Illinois is, as Quinn states, "New York for XL People." And really, is there anything else notable about Illinois other than Chicago? I think not! We're the "New York for friendly people." "They're sort of rough-and-tumble, but still backslapping friendly." My favorite tidbit about my home state? How Illinois claimed Abraham Lincoln and decided to be the Land of Lincoln even though he was from Kentucky. Kentucky just sat quiet and let Illinois walk all over them.

The trip through the west was particularly enjoyable with his observations on cattle ranchers, gun slingers and how the west was "won."

It took me a minute to get into the book but once I got past the east coast, I was cruising. Just when you think Colin Quinn is just being funny, you end up learning a few things.

This book is a great concept and very timely. Asking us to look at each state in the country to maybe understand what makes us tick and keeps us united. I think Colin Quinn is smart and sometimes funny, although he sometimes seems to be the only one in on the joke. Bottom line, this is a quick read and you will probably learn a few things about each state.

Some of the funniest people are also some of the smartest people and Colin Quinn is both funny and smart. You have to be able to laugh at yourself because everybody has their time in the barrel in this book. I chuckled out loud a few times. What I didn’t expect was to actually learn a few things. Is there really a Confederate Memorial Day, wtf?

This is not without a couple of nitpicks. I believe Jim Jones and his followers actually drank Flavor Aid and not Kool-Aid because he was being cheap. Some of the jokes, particularly about other comedians might be too inside baseball and maybe only comedy nerds will understand them. I am a comedy nerd btw.

This is a very timely book, it needs to come out very soon because I’m not sure how the corona humor will age.

I actually might get this in audio book format if that comes out. I want to hear it roast style and I feel like shouting “ok now do all the countries!!” I recommend this if you can laugh at yourself and you like American history.

If you love Colin Quinn you will love this book. I kind of wish I had done it on audio but I read it with his voice and cadence in my head and that was perfect. I'm not sure how someone who doesn't know Colin well might think of the book as a bit of a manic brain dump. There is so much information packed into each short chapter, not just roast-y, funny quips but real solid historical information. This slowed down my reading a bit because I really wanted to absorb everything. For states I knew, I found myself laughing more, for states I was less familiar with, I would read to learn and then re-read to laugh. There were several Colin-y left turn diatribes throughout and within the chapters which were fun takes on other political American issues and quips about the founding fathers.

I also really loved that it had been pretty recently updated as there were some COVID comments as well.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, it was not what I thought it was going to be at all. I like Colin Quinn and think he is very funny but this book was not funny at all. Thank you.

I like Colin Quinn. I like his style, he’s smart and old school in the right way, which is to say classy, not rapey (until someone says differently as things go these days) guy, hip to the cause but discerning enough not to get too bogged down by all the modern day wokeness. I liked that he’s now pursuing his historical interests. Some comedians tend to go that way, often with excellent results, just look at the late great Terry Jones’ body of work on medieval past. Colin Quinn’s Netflix special was fun and I even got to check out the man live some years back, which was also good fun. So yeah, naturally I checked out his book when the opportunity presented itself through Netgalley. And once again, good fun was had. Nice going, Mr. Quinn. Overstated in a cleverly titled book about the US states, all 50 of them, presented with a certain inimitable comedic flair and wry observational commentary. It isn’t as apolitical of a book as you might think, in fact it’s surprisingly (mostly) nonpartisan. Quinn focuses on the historical facts as oppose to ugly stereotypes and reductive clichés , but occasionally blend both for comedic effect. And it works, the overall effect is like a demented large family sitting down for some vaguely inappropriate celebration. Which is to say a bunch of people who do not belong together and barely have that many similarities outside of maybe language forced together and told to enjoy each other, share and care. Which is to say…why? This sort of thing hasn’t worked historically, just look at Yugoslavia. There are inherently too many differences, too many different values, you can’t possibly expect, say, New Englanders and Texans be similar enough to share a country, And yet…here we are. Quinn’s right, USA was a great experiment. But sometimes melting pots melt down. Now that’s its neither great (again or otherwise) and not even that good, maybe it’s time to rethink things. Old bizarre idea and ideologies that no longer work. Things like Electoral College. So you might think thoughts like that while reading this book. Or you might just have a few laughs, put it away and forget about it. After all, the author doesn’t go out of his way to overstate any messages and subtlety doesn’t exactly have that all American appeal. This book might be great for foreigners to try to understand the US. And who knows. Maybe countries are meant to be comprised of bickering monumentally different minded individuals much like families, maybe it’s meant to be a quilt woven during some fugue mental state. It seems fundamentally wrong. But it makes for a funny book. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, it was not what I thought it was going to be at all. I like Colin Quinn and think he is very funny but this book was not funny at all. Thank you.

I have to admit that I enjoy books written by comedians. Even if I don’t like the comedian I might pick up their book and see if it surprises me. From Seinfeld to Ray Romano to Tom Papa to Colin Jost, I tend to read them all.

“Overstated: A Coast-to-Coast Roast of the 50 States” by Colin Quinn falls into the non-biographical comedian books, consisting mostly of Mr. Quinn’s humorous observations about each of the 50 states in the US. The states are grouped by region, with a brief introduction to each region before going state-by-state.

If you like Colin Quinn’s brand of humor and/or his stand-up, then you will enjoy this book. It will make you smile and occasionally chuckle, but there’s nothing too outrageous or controversial to be found here. Do some of the observations play upon our stereotypes? Yes, but that’s what makes it funny. Does Mr. Quinn skew towards the east coast college educated viewpoint? Yes again, but what do you expect from him? By the way, he gives a lot more credit to my hometown (Chicago) than most New Yorkers.

So – an enjoyable, quick read. You’ll smile, you might learn a fact or two, you’ll move on to something else.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

A laugh out loud book that will have you reading passages to whomever is in the house with you. I have been to many of the states mentioned, and Quinn nails their quirks. He fuses how the state came into play in the building of this country, and what sets it apart from other states. This book could be termed political (though humor would be the first adjective to describe it), however, Quinn toes the line and it's enjoyable for the reds, the blues, and the Independent.
Loved it!

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC

I sure didn't think I would like the book.

I thought back to SNL of yesteryear and prepared for a snobby blast of all things not NY or EC.

I was delightfully disappointed! Great book, equal posturing and pinching of each state and a lot of out loud funny stuff.

"Three can keep a secret of two are dead". Yeah, well true. :)


Fantastic Mr. Q.

Enjoy

Overstated by Colin Quinn is a sassy, contemporary, tongue-in-cheek commentary on some of the pivotal points in the foundation of our nation as well as a shout-out to each state. He breaks up the states into geographical regions and attempts to dissect each in regards to their history, stereotypes, and calling out each in their pluses, minuses, truths, and what has made each the unique location that it is.

I have always appreciated Mr. Quinn’s sense of humor. He is dark, sarcastic, and sassy. Some get that type of unconventional humor, and some don’t. I happen to be in the group that most certainly does. As I read the book, I could even imagine the look that he gives when he drops the one-liners...made me giggle.

For the most part, he seemed to be fairly accurate in his observations. He is imperfect, as well all are, and had his own opinions on some matters, however I appreciated his thought process and the way the book was written. I laughed out loud on many occasions. He was also appropriately accurate on my own state, which I was surprised to see, and was appreciative of course. I also enjoyed his compare/contrast with the US and Denmark towards the end. I definitely got a kick out of that.

A quick-witted and humorous read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Honestly, Overstated is just dull. It's been done before, and by better authors. If you're looking for comedy, there isn't too much there, if you're looking for info on states, not much there either. It's fine, I just wouldn't spend my money on it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.