Thank you to @hachettebooks for the physical copy and @hachetteaudio for the audiobook copy.

This was a pretty fun book to listen to. Jason Gay chronicles his life as a parent, husband and sports writer during the past few year (especially including the pandemic). His stories make you feel normal. I appreciated his section about phone usage and laughed a lot about his mother’s relationship with their cat Baxter. Also the chapter about his friend Tom was touching.

Overall I give this book a 3.9 stars out of 5. A funny quick read perfect for this month.

I WOULDN'T DO THAT IF I WERE ME is another delightful collection (after Little Victories) from The Wall Street Journal columnist, Jason Gay. Here, he chronicles "Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs (but Mostly Blunders)," beginning with his attempts to introduce his son to NASCAR racing in Florida. That trip required a stop at Orlando airport and Gay humorously points out the difficulty of convincing your seven-year-old that the Daytona 500 is likely to be more fun than a visit with the famous Mouse. It is those everyday events (e.g., parenting as "Surrender Dad," allowing unsupervised screen time and plenty of pizza) and small details (e.g., crazy shopping lists when texting with your spouse) that fill Gay's weirdly reflective text and will make readers smile and laugh. His writing is very amusing and has universal appeal. Enjoy! And if you would like a preview, The Wall Street Journal recently published an adapted essay:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/i-hated-fishing-then-fishing-changed-my-life-11666969037

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Enjoyable book of essays about Jason Gay's life and family. I always enjoy reading his column in the WSJ and this book didn't disappoint.

An internal monologue of musings and observations, Jason Gay’s reflects the mind of a modern parent, a modern husband, and a modern human being as he retells life snippets from pre pandemic days and a reflective insight during the pandemic days. In a relatable voice he dispels any notion that you are alone in your worries about mundane life consuming the special moments, or in Jason’s case, amplifying the special moments, from taking his son to Daytona to reminiscing in a dad chat about the old college boy days, Jason is a friendly and comforting voice to take on those wandering adventures inside your own head.

A glimpse of life in essays is a sub-genre that I’ve been loving more of in the past few years & that’s what made me pick up this book. I love authors describing normal snippets of life in a way that makes the mundane feel fresh to me again. Most of the books I’ve read like this have been written by white, middle-aged women and seem a bit more earnest or focused on a lesson they’re pointing toward. Jason’s essays were not without this, but did seem overall to be a bit more light-hearted and random at times. I laughed multiple times while reading this, especially during anecdotes about parenting his children. Not every single essay would be 5⭐️s to me separately, as I definitely enjoyed some more than others, but I just so loved this collection as a whole. There were multiple times I wanted to find someone around me and force them to read the chapter I had just read so I could have someone to chuckle with over an observation Jason made that I knew to be true as soon as I read it. And that is one of the best signs of a good book to me.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a collection of stories and observations about parenthood, travel, and other experiences. Most of the stories are fairly short and focused around a theme. While this collection wasn't quite for me and felt a little over the top at times, I can see why the stories would resonate with some people. Overall an interesting find.

This was a very entertaining book written by a very talented author who takes everyday situations and makes them humorous. Each chapter is about a different subject that is relevant to today, but there are a few things that keep reappearing like the cat, his family (Jojo, Jessie and Bessie) and his mother.
Lighthearted and many profound revelations will make you smile from ear to ear while reading this. I look forward to continuing discovering more adventures from Jason Gray. I am happy to recommend this book and thanks for the opportunity to review this.
5+