DNF after 2 hours in. I could not bear to waste any more time on this one.

Author came across as untrustworthy, stories were self absorbed, hard to follow actual "memoir" through tangents.

When I saw this audio ARC on NetGalley, I was really intrigued and excited to listen to Barrett Brown’s story about Anonymous, hacktivism, and his sentencing/federal prison time. Unfortunately, I made the decision to DNF after a very painful 20% of the book, determining there was no way I could force myself to listen to another 8 hours.

The storyline is very disjointed. After a few chapters, I’m still not sure what the point is, where he is going, or what his angle is with this book. It’s like a collection of anecdotes and what honestly comes across as attempts at narcissistic sensationalism. Several moments early on I felt were absolutely made up to make himself sound like a cool “bro”. Sorry Barrett, I’m not buying what you’re selling.

The nail in the coffin for me is the narration - Barrett’s voice lacks intonation and emotion, and is quite garble-y at times. It almost gives Ben Stein, but without Ben’s clear enunciation or signature humor that makes his monotony entertaining. They really needed a different narrator unless the goal is for the listeners to sleep through 10 hours of this book.

I can’t speak for the whole book, so maybe someone will like this. When I’m feeling the need for self-flagellation maybe I’ll attempt to listen to more of this…

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Narration: C
Content/Memoir: C-
Story Telling/Writing: C-
Best Aspect: Allows the listener to hear the words and thoughts of a person who cares just for themselves.
Worst Aspect: Very hard to follow in part, so much chatter about the author that wasn’t cohesive. Choppy.
Recommend: No.

Based on the description I was interested in learning more about a person and a situation with which I was unfamiliar. It is rare that I decided to not finish a book and even rarer still when I choose to give my thoughts on a book I did not finish. Yet, here we are......

It is possible that maybe if I had more familiarity with the concept of hactivism that this would have resonated with me in a more connected way. However, I found the writing pompous and largely inaccessible. I listened to large chunks without truly understanding why I was being told about that and more alarmingly not having much interest.

The title describes the author as a narcissist which came through in the writings. It felt like a grandiose portrayal of his writing, sense of humor, etc. It is possible that this may have come off differently if I had been reading myself rather than listening to him read.

Overall, this one just was not for me. I gave up at around 20% in.

I liked the concept but the author had his fair share of problems not sounding pompous most of the time. I'm also sure there's another side of the story, though I do believe the US government probably over prosecuted him.

I wasn't very familiar with Barrett Brown before reading this book, but I was interested to hear about his journalism covering his time in prison as well as his involvement with the hacktivist group, Anonymous. Overall this was an interesting read, but it sometimes felt a bit erratic or scattered.

This book for me was a miss for the main reason that I found it hard to follow. I did like Brown’s voice, but I just really struggled to piece together a timeline and understand what was happening. I maybe would have been more able to do that in print format, but I’m not sure. I also think having a background in understanding hactivism/Anonymous was maybe required, and I have a relatively cursory understanding. I really wanted to learn a lot and enjoy it but I just found it confusing.

You know the saying that goes something like "when someone tells you who they are, believe them"? I should have listened. The cover of Barrett Brown's book includes 'Hacktivist, Narcissist, Anonymous: A Memoir.' He certainly comes across as a narcissist. My Glorious Defeats is a semi-coherent, but mostly rambling memoir of someone who I think believes he is a much bigger figure than her actually is. We are given long chapters with random stories related to incarceration and Brown's acquaintances. His drug use is often referenced, as well as constantly changing girlfriends. I felt like so much of the information we are given had no impact on the story and felt like self-aggrandizing fluff.

I almost stopped listening after the first few chapters as I felt uninterested as to how the prison stories were relevant to the overarching story. I stuck it out in the interest of hearing the intersection of Anonymous and Julian Assange (as he's been released this week). I don't think my efforts had any real payoff, and I can't say I would recommend this memoir to most people. Perhaps there is a subset of Barrett Brown fans or fan-girls (ex-girlfriends?), but I can't imagine his story being compelling to most. I much rather would have been interested in his upbringing, computer use/getting into 4chan, how he decided to make the actions he did, etc. but this was not that. There is random name dropping and boasting, very bad voice impersonations, and what felt like no clear storyline.

A pro for the audiobook is that Barrett Brown himself narrates and he does have a strong voice. I was also interested to learn Brown was the inspiration behind Mr. Robot - a show I really enjoyed and had no idea.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and the author and narrator Barrett Brown for an ALC of My Glorious Defeats.

As someone not very familiar with Barrett Brown, I found this bio to be a captivating read. It delves into his experiences of going to prison, his involvement as a hacktivist with Anonymous, and his work as a journalist. The book details his complex story involving drugs, justice, personality, and truth. Overall, it’s a fascinating account of a very interesting individual.

I was very interested in hearing what the author had to say about Anonymous and his story in general. However this book couldn’t grab my attention. I couldn’t tell if it was his narration or the writing style (maybe both?) for what should be an interesting subject matter I was bored and wondering when I would become more captivated. I gave up after 20% sorry!