If you're a fan of Parks and Recreation, then this book is for you! I really enjoyed reading all of the anecdotes, as told by Jim O'Heir, as well as others from the show. I love the show and have been the biggest fan for a long time, but I learned so much from this book and it felt like a warm hug and coming home to family. Some of the stories felt more surface level, and didn't reveal too much, but most of them were fun and made my fan heart happy. One issue I have with the book (at least the ebook) was the formatting was awful, and many of the images either didn't show up, were jumbled, or had their descriptions/captions is very odd places and didn't match the photo it was trying to tie to. Aside from that, I enjoyed this book and I know others will too, whether die hard fans or not. This was really a trip down memory lane and the show remains timeless. I will be starting my rewatch of Parks and Recreation as soon as my review is posted!

3.5 stars

Jim O’Heir, best known for his character of Jerry on Parks and Recreation, shares a heartfelt behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show. With stories and reflections from cast members like Chris Pratt, Retta, and Greg Daniels, we get a glimpse of what it was like working on one of the most loved sitcoms in recent years, including anecdotes that haven’t been shared before.

While it’s a nice read for Parks and Rec enthusiasts, the narrative occasionally feels like a long, meandering ramble. There’s a bit too much emphasis on Jim's admiration for Chris Pratt, and at times, it feels repetitive. I also expected more insight into Jim’s personal life, but, aside from a small sidebar about the death of his mother, the narrative focuses centrally on his career and his co-stars. All in all, it’s a fun read, but I was left wanting a bit more depth.

As a huge Parks and Rec fan (probably the biggest, but who can say) I was really excited to read this book. Sadly, this book gives less of an inside scoop and more of a rehashing of old stories that have already been told many times in interviews, YouTube videos, articles, and the Parks and Recollection podcast. The only thing I hadn’t already heard much about was the close friendship between Jim O’Heir and Retta. I’ve also never been more sure that a memoir was not ghostwritten, and unfortunately it’s because the writing here is pretty bad. O’Heir circles tangentially through stories from auditions and sets and photoshoots, needing to frequently say “but back to my original topic.” We also hear about multiple completely unrelated events from his career, from shooting other movies to the time he met Mary Tyler Moore (this anecdote was several pages long). There were also a few language choices that felt extremely dated and at times offensive. Again disappointing because I was so excited to get to read this.

As a huge fan of Parks and Rec when I saw that Jim Heir was writing a memoir I knew I needed to read it. His stories were a sweet recollection of his time on the show. I loved the inside view.

I enjoyed this memoir, not only does it give you a behind the scenes look of the life of Jerry (Gary, Terry, Larry) on set from Parks and Rec, but also a look at Jim O'Heir's life as well. You will laugh, you will cry, you get to reminiscence a wonderful TV show. There were some places in the book where I was wondering how it tied to Parks and Rec or Jim, but it always got there in the end. I would highly recommend any fan of Parks and Rec to pick up this book when it comes out!

Welcome to Pawnee

For fans of Parks and Recreation, Welcome to Pawnee will be a fun look behind the scenes at Jim O’Heir’s experience on the show. The actor behind the often mistreated gentle sweetheart if Jerry/Gary/Larry Gurgich gives interesting insight into the creation and production of the show as well as some anecdotes about his experiences in the industry as a whole.

While the content itself of the book was entertaining and gripping as a fan of the show, there is some work to be done structurally. There is little transition between one story and the next, and the narration jumps pretty abruptly between, for example, stories from O’Heir’s early acting days to a recounting of how characters were cast. This combined with some pretty big formatting issues with the ebook make the reading experience pretty choppy a lot of the time. These are issues that I think could be easily fixed with some further editing, but they are definitely worth noting.

Overall, O’Heir gives readers a very personal first hand look into the making of Parks and Rec. It’s a great read for fans of the show looking to learn a little more behind the scenes information, and with further formatting and some rearranging the text, I could see this being even better.

This was an enjoyable, behind the scenes read, of Parks and Rec. Goes into some tangents regarding O'Heir's personal life, reading a bit more like a memoir of his experiences rather than as Parks centered as I thought it would be. Overall, I found the book enjoyable.

I love books like this. Reading the background stories and anecdotes about my favorite shows is a fave read and this was a great one. Love these peaks into how shows were made and how the cast was together.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

As a longtime fans of Parks, and the more recent Parks and Recollection podcast, I was excited to read this book. Podcast host Jim O'Heir had been referring to this book for awhile now. While I enjoyed it, I did find that this often veered quickly between Parks memories and other stories in his life. Those other stories didn't always feel relevant. The language was sometimes crass and could have used a bit more editing. The e-book file was very difficult to follow. Probably 95% of the photos are missing, the empty frames sit in weird places, and the captions would be in the middle of other sentences. It was also hard to tell when a quote from a third party would end and Jim's narration would begin. These issues were very distracting to the reading of the book.

Nostalgia is big money in entertainment.

There are a few new stories on the big screen and in print. But most content these days is derived from something that came before. Spinoffs. Reruns. Revivals. Sequels. Rewatch podcasts. We’ve found endless ways to live in the past with our favorite movies, books, and television shows.

Welcome to Pawnee by Jim O’Heir lives in that world of nostalgia. Written by the actor who played background character turned side character Jerry/Garry/Larry/Barry Gurgich on the hit sit-com Parks and Recreation.

For the record, I love Parks and Rec. It’s among my favorite feel-good comedy shows of all time. My wife and I have watched and re-watched the show approximately five times. I’m not immune to the nostalgia monster either. That’s why I was willing to pick up a comp of this new book (which I was given for free in exchange for this review).

I’ve read similar recap books of shows like The Office, Seinfeld, and The Daily Show — some of the other all-time comedies that have graced the small screen in my lifetime.

Welcome to Pawnee is like those books, but different. It’s part oral history of the show, and part pseudo-memoir of Jim O’Heir, who’s enjoyed a semi-successful career in Hollywood, highlighted by the titular show. There was plenty to like in this book for raving fans of the show — who, let’s be honest, is the vast majority of people interested in this title.

There are plenty of pull quotes from well-known actors and creators, including Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Greg Daniels, and Mike Schur. There are insights of what went on behind the scenes and factoids about the life of the cast.

Obviously, this is all told from the perspective of O’Heir, who started on the sidelines and gradually moved towards the center spotlight as his character became more developed and deeper. Unfortunately, O’Heir’s narrative voice is too similar to his character's.

He’s kind and humble, almost to a fault. He hems and haws over details. He stresses and frets about his place in the show. He rambles on, interlacing his distant past with the show’s more recent past. Some passages are interesting and humanizing. Others feel abrupt and out of place.

It’s a little too wandering without a clear focus on the message the book is trying to share. This may work perfectly fine for fans looking to wash themselves in a warm bath of nostalgia. But it’s too thin for readers looking for a deeper assessment of what the show means.

O’Heir himself is a primary benefactor of this nostalgia obsession. Besides this book, he’s also the co-host of a Parks and Rec rewatch podcast, cleverly titled Parks and Recollection. However, he doesn’t mention this fact until over halfway through the book. That podcast title alone is worth the mention. It’s also much-needed credibility that he buries until deep into the work, and even then, just barely mentions.

There’s a mix of valuable pieces scattered throughout this book, but they fail to coalesce into anything more meaningful. It can’t quite decide if it’s the memoir of a lucky character actor or the oral history of one of our generation’s best comedies. Either of those would have been great. Mixed together, the result is too watered down.

I really wanted to like Welcome to Pawnee, and I did like parts of it. But overall, the book doesn’t add much to Parks and Rec’s legacy. Instead, it’s just another drop in the massive bucket that is the nostalgia economy.

I love Parks and Rec. I love it so much I have competed in trivia for it. So yes, this is a fun and easy read and good for Jim O'Heir to have a podcast and a book at the same time. The formatting on this e-arc is straight up terrible, to the point where I couldn't tell who was speaking and it threw me off. But once I got past that (as much as I could) I enjoyed hearing the behind the scenes look at one of my all time favorite shows.

Fans of Parks and Rec will enjoy this insightful, comedic, endearing look back on the show. Take a trip down memory lane to Pawnee. Parks and Rec is one of my favorite shows of all time because all of the characters are not only hilarious but so endearing. Parks and Rec is my comfort show. I can put it on anytime I’m feeling down and without hesitation it has succeeded in cheering me up. O’Heir’s writing was so vivid that I was taken back to every scene that the author was reminiscing on even though it’s been a while since I’ve watched the show.

One of my favorite scenes in this book was the make out scene with Aubrey Plaza. April is one of my favorite characters. Of course, I remember when the infamous make out happened so it was cool to read about it in a behind the scenes way. There is so much magic in this book and the show. I will be needing a rewatch of the show now after reading this book.

As a big fan of Parks & Recreation, I was super excited to read Jim O'Heir's stories of his time on the show. I really enjoyed it. I thought the book would exclusively cover the show, but it also delves into other experiences he has had during his career. I loved the cover design, and the photos throughout. Other main stars, as well as people working behind the scenes, gave interesting commentary as well. This would be a great gift for the Parks & Rec fan in your life!

Thank you to Jim O’Heir, William Morrow, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am a diehard Parks and Recreation fan, it is my ultimate comfort show and I have watched it countless times, so when I saw Jim O'Heir (Jerry/Larry/Gary) wrote a book on his experiences while he was on the show I jumped at the chance to get to read it. What you get is a lovely memoir both of his career and experiences in general combined with recollections of Parks and Rec itself. Jim is joined in his memoir by familiar faces like Chris Pratt and Retta, along with folks who were more behind the scenes like Mike Schur and Allison Jones.

It was really great to get to know Jim better and this book made me want to give him a big old hug. Some of his experiences surrounding the show with being othered really broke me - particularly being left out of the men of Pawnee shoot. Additionally, the fact that both he and Retta weren't in the main credits until the final season was something I'd never noticed before, but I found ridiculous that they weren't included sooner as they were both such important and excellent characters.

Overall though, you get to learn so much about the family like cast and the ups and downs of being a network show that was constantly on the cusp. Seeing the show come together through Jim's eyes was a unique opportunity and I definitely need to check out his podcast to get even more of his lovely insights.

My only regret is that my eARC did not include all of the wonderful photos that will be included in the final book. If you're a fan of Parks and Rec and specifically want to learn more about the loveable Jim O'Heir I definitely recommend it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy.

It's okay. There's not a lot of drama in this - the cast loves each other, it's a big family, etc etc.

It got a few smiles from me as someone who enjoyed the show, but it also was kind of meh. Not any really funny stories, not a ton about O'Heir's life - just a book that goes hand in hand with the podcast he is doing; revisiting every episode (what franchise isn't doing this these days?).

It was okay.

I am a major Parks and Rec fan, so reading this book was a no-brainer! The cover is awesome, there's little memorable icons throughout the book and I loved the photos. It was so fun to read about some iconic moments and how the show came out about. I do wish that there had been more anecdotes about the shows and it would have been great to get some commentary from the biggest stars of the show. Otherwise, it is a great, quick read for any Parks fans!

This should be an auto-buy for any humor section - Jim O'Heir is a delightful storyteller and his "Jerry/Larry/Garry" side really shines through. Parks and Recreation fans will be thrilled over this treat of a book. It made me wish that the show had never ended.

Parks and Rec fans rejoice!!! The show may be over but "Welcome to Pawnee" has so much fun content it's like a new season just dropped and you have to binge it! Hearing about Jim and his "rise" in Parks and Rec was fun as well as all who signed on and made it such an amazing show. The fun background stories made me laugh out loud and I cannot wait to talk to my friends about this one!

I am a HUGE fan of Parks and Recreation so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. Jim O'Heir's character on Parks and Rec was one of my favorites because he was just so genuine and even though everyone dogged on him every single day, he took it in stride and was always a positive force. This book is just like him and I think all Parks and Rec fans should read this!

Horribly formatted for kindle. Barely made it 10% through. Impossible to follow based on current format. Pictures and captions intervene in blocks of text and random other people start talking without notice. Book needs work - at least for kindle. That being said, I love the idea of a behind the scene look at one of my favorite shows from one of the main stars. Hope the formatting gets fixed so I can read it one day.