Was it OMG amazing, can't put it down, best book of the year? No. But it was perfectly pleasant and a good read between commitment books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of Rax King’s memoir, Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer.

I have to confess that King’s book was completely unexpected. Previous to reading her memoir, I was not aware of King, who hosts a podcast of the same theme as her book. I have not have a chance to listen to her podcast, but I have since subscribed and I look forward to it.

What I found surprising, was the tone of her memoir. Based on the cover and title, I was expecting a relatively fluffy book that would allow me to relate to King with a shared love for our less refined side of American culture. What I was not expecting was the serious tone and heavy subject matter that is soaked into every chapter. There is humor, mostly from King’s wry comments and keen observations, but she also attacks heavy subjects such as relationship abuse, body image issues, and sordid affairs. It’s dark and weighty. It’s cringy too, such as the reveal of a young Rex doing her best to be sexy for a much older, married boyfriend. Each chapter intwines a “tacky” culture phenomenon with her personal issue, such as finding the joy in watching Jersey Shore with her father, as he is dying.

The book may not have been what I was anticipating, but I want to convey to would-be readers that Tacky is so much more and so much better than I was expecting. Far from fluff, it was a profoundly moving experience. King’s memoir is raw and she offers no apologies, nor should she, for the life she has lived and the tacky culture that she loves. Read this book!

My Tacky™️ moment is closetedly liking Nickelback when the band became uncool overnight while I was in junior high. I watched their music videos [insert “Photograph” meme here] climb the charts every day on MTV’s Total Request Live. Nickelback was also a bonding experience for my family (which eventually fell apart lol). Every time we rode in my dad’s Honda Ridgeline, we’d sing along to Chad’s raspy croon. “This is how - you remind me - of what I really am.”

Then one day I woke up and Nickelback was no longer ~in~. They became passé, and for what? My family and I continued to enjoy them (my favorite song being the underrated single “Someday”), just not in the hallways of my middle school. (EDIT: Actually, my sister researched them for a music class project and her homemade poster did, in fact, hang in the school hallway.)

Like King points out in these essays (which all share a common denominator of sex), tacky people/places/things of the early aughts are now back in style: millennials screaming “Rockstar” at karaoke, unironically binge watching Survivor and other reality television, unnecessary feminine hygiene trends that take us back to the scents of Bath & Body Works. So now that we have established a safe space for our culture’s tackiest phenomena, Rax King and I are here to remind you that Cheesecake Factory is GOOD!

This was a fun nostalgic look on Rax King's childhood and life loving everything 'tacky'. Full of fun stories and learning how to love what you love without worrying about what other people think about it.
Some stories I connected with more than others, which is expected from a book of essays. I loved the love letter to Hot Topic, as someone who still gets a majority of my wardrobe from there.
While it's not exactly my favorite writing style, I did enjoy the humor and her reminders to not place anyone's opinions as 'law' while dismissing your own based on the public opinion. I personally love being tacky, too much, and overly excitable and loved the celebration!

Loved this book! Cheesecake Factory, B*Witched and... Creed? Laughed out loud multiple times!

Have given it as a gift to many people over the last few months, Spreading the gospel far and wide.

As a lover of pop culture and "tacky" things, I love the idea of examining your own life through your love for those things. This book was entertaining and hilarious and it allowed me to look at my own life in new ways.

A series of essays in which the author explores something considered “trashy” in pop culture while also tying in her own personal stories. I thought the first few and last few essays did a good job tying in this idea of tacky and why these things were considered tacky. I didn’t see that as much throughout the middle chapters. There were also some essays where I didn’t really see the connection to her personal stories.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the description I was expecting something a little more along the lines of Lindy West's Shit, Actually, which I enjoyed. I love deep dives into pop culture and the stories behind them. I thought the pop culture aspect of this book would be the focal point with the author's story adding more context to why things of that time hit the way they did. Instead it was more of a backdrop. Not what I was expecting.

An intelligent, fun essay collection investigating the odds and ends of "low culture". The author has such a piquant, humorous style, and though I found the book dragged in its later parts, it's written with a promising voice i'd follow anywhere. I'm looking to more future work from Rax King.

This series of essay is really just a disguise for the authors partial memoir in her sexual and romantic misadventures. Entertaining but not what I was expecting. Towards the end all the essays started reading the same.

I felt like the quality really waxed and waned with this book. At times it was funny and clever but other times it just seemed to be about her sex life which wasn't that interesting. I wish she had either written a straight memoir or a book of essays about pop culture that had more reflection or depth. This sort of flip flopped around too much and didn't get into that much depth about her life or culture. Fine for a magazine article, not as fun to read as book of essays.

These essays were nostalgic and funky in the best way possible. We get to remember what it was like to grow up in the 2000s and how it shaped our lives today. Through showing us pop culture phenomenons, like the Jersey Shore, that had an impact on King's life, there is a greater exploration of the way that these pieces of a life can make an impact, even if it does not seem like they are at the time.

This collection of 14 essays dives deep into “tacky” aspects of pop culture and how they impacted the author’s life as she came of age, explored her sexuality, and survived an abusive relationship. Specific tacky topics include the illustrious shopping mall culture, Sex & The City, Jersey Shore, Cheesecake Factory, & The Sims. While I appreciate what the author was going for, the book ends up being less about pop culture and more about her relationship with intimacy, adultery, and failed relationships.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this 2.5 stars, but rounded up.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It was funny, it was relatable, it seemed to match up with the description given for the book. However, somewhere around halfway through this collection of essays, I felt like the train was derailed. I began having trouble telling what "tacky pop culture" subject was meant to be the topic of the essays. There is nothing wrong with a memoir, which is how it began to feel, but it was not what I was expecting. And while I appreciate the author's honesty, I personally disliked how blase she seemed to be about infidelity. Obviously that is my own issue, but it tainted the end of the book for me, which is why I did not rate it higher.

Loved this--I follow the author on Twitter and this felt like more of the relatable, darkly humorous content I've come to expect and enjoy from her.

When I first started reading this book I was really excited. I thought it was going to be a very funny and interesting look at tacky culture and growing up in the early 2000s, which is something I find relatable. Some of the essays were a really nice blend of memoir and cultural commentary, especially the ones about the Jersey Shore and Degrassi. However, I feel like this book was marketed incorrectly because it was more of a memoir of the author's sexual encounters, than a deep dive into tacky early 2000s culture, which is fine but not really what I signed up for.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rax King’s ode to all things tacky is a funny, nostalgia-filled ride and a reminder to love what you love. I had a hard time relating to a lot of the chapters, but still got a laugh from them. I think I still have a bottle of Warm Vanilla Sugar around somewhere.

If you enjoy 2000s nostalgia and general tacky (i.e. fun) things, you may enjoy this essay collection.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As much as people love to rag on the “tacky” parts of society, it’s hard to say that they haven’t made their mark on us. Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King is a collection of essays that explores how the “tacky” parts of our culture have been shaped by us and, in turn, shape us.

I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book. Rather than a series of essays that follow a “yes, this is tacky but here’s why you should love it” structure that one might expect based on the title, readers will find essays that focus on how each of these tacky things (bands, objects, stores, behaviors, etc) reveals a truth of being human or how they are loved because they are comforting. One essay that particularly resonated with me connected “Jersey Shore” with memories of a father and a parent/child bond. I know I associate certain “tacky” things with important people in my life, and I loved how King captured that affectionate tenderness.

Toward the end of the collection, it felt like the focus shifted from the “tacky” item itself to focusing more on what the author associated with it. I was a little disappointed with this because I enjoyed how the author would convey a series of anecdotes about her experience with the “tacky” item only to turn the piece on its head and reveal that the anecdotes show the true value of the piece. That being said, I adored the author’s unique voice with its humorous yet earnestly enthusiastic wit. Regardless of the subject matter, the writing style had me turning each page.

I would recommend this book for readers who are looking to defend their own “tacky” interests or those who are interested in the value of memories and moments tied to objects.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer is an essay collection about enjoying the “wrong” elements of American pop culture. Wrong as in tacky and popularly snubbed after their (debatable) peak prime — Think the band Creed, shows like Jersey Shore and America’s Next Top Model, the tween girl favorite Bath & Body Works scent of Warm Vanilla Sugar, the store Hot Topic, the game The Sims, and the ever popular Cheesecake Factory restaurant.

While I haven’t loved all of these pieces of pop culture, I did, at one time, love some (looking at you ANTM and The Sims)! I still hold no qualms with Cheesecake Factory, arguably high on my list of preferred chain restaurants, if I’m going to eat at one. I admit the volume of its menu can be overwhelming, but this won’t stop me from agreeing to eat there.

”I’ve longed for the Cheesecake Factory myself, because it is the precise sake experience everywhere, and because I could go there today or next year or in 2009 or in Oregon or San Juan and find absolutely zero surprises.”

I liked some of Rax’s exploration essays much more than others, which is fairly common for me with most essay or short story collections. As a whole, I found Tacky entertaining. There’s an implied reminder not to let the court of public opinion sway your enjoyment of anything — Life is short, embrace what you want!

I think I am the wrong age group for this book. I didn’t really relate to a lot of what was written. It was just an okay book for me.