I'm going through the books I requested pre-2018 when I stopped blogging to clean up my NetGalley TBR and this was on the list. I don't think it's a book for me anymore and will not be reviewing at this time, but if I do read it, I will update this review. Thank you for the opportunity.

While I really enjoyed the BTS stories of Penn in Vegas and performing on different reality TV shows, that was not the purpose of this book. This was to discuss how he went about losing over 100 pounds, while reminding us all to not take any advice from him. The information reads just how I imagine a conversation with Penn would go - a lot of digressions, a lot of repeating himself and the story jumping all over the place and you wonder what the initial story was meant to be.

Unfortunately, the back and forth of the stories does not make for the best of reads. If you're a P&T fan, then give this one a try.

I also was overweight. Though I didn't follow Penn's program - I found the book really helpful to motivate my 75+ pound weight loss. A great writer he mixes good research with outrageous stories and hysterical insights. I do recommend this book

The bigger half of the famous magic duo tells you how, among other things, he lost over 100 pounds in what is genuinely a small amount of time. Even after reading this it’s still hard to believe it happened, but at least he’s not claiming it was magic.
There’s a lot of repetition; he tried to make it funny, but I found myself skipping quite a bit. Same with his really long list of stuff he’s eaten. And in case you ever wondered if you would see recipes in a book written by Penn Jillette, here they are.
This was a tougher read than expected; there’s plenty that’s lighthearted, but even more that’s not. It’s no surprise to note that the humor is the main attraction here, despite the topic. But what really surprised me was that I didn’t read it in my head in his distinctive voice.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Problem was, I had some tablet issues, but once they were resolved I couldn't find the book anywhere. I did manage to find it and here is my review of Presto!

If you're looking for a how to book on dieting you're going to be disappointed by Jillette's book. What we have is the story of a fat fuck (his words not mine) suddenly losing over a hundred pounds, and not a book telling you how to do it because the way in which he did it is batshit insane! I wasn't looking to lose weight anyway, so that part doesn't bother me, but I wanted to see how he lost the weight, so I got what I wanted out of the book. The book is an amusing, vulgar journey so if you're aren't familiar with Penn's style he sometimes comes off crude, but it's funny. Who knew dieting could be so much fun? There are times I felt as if I was reading the ramblings of a lunatic who would have renounced the majority of this on his own show called Bullshit, but it's all real. The new Penn is lean, mean, and could have an unhealthy addiction to Tobasco sauce.


Penn tells you not to follow any diet, including this one without consulting a doctor first and there's a reason for that. This was a fat man losing a great amount of weight in a pretty short time which means that all the medication he was once on to keep him alive were now killing him. He also began to get lightheaded and he started losing his hair, and let's go ahead and talk about the two weeks he only ate potatoes because it seems insane, but Penn lost the weight, so we know for him it worked. As you read it you feel as if he's sitting in the same room talking to you. He's honest and tries to scientifically explain how this all works but he ends up fucking it up.


As a book about one man's journey from fat fuck to skinny it was a great book. I wasn't looking for dieting tips, or a book on dieting so I wasn't pissed off, nor was I offended by Penn's vulgarity or atheism. He doesn't treat you like an idiot. He wants you to read his story, but it's his story so he's presented the only way he knows how. Will I read more books written by Jillete? Hell yeah, he's entertaining as hell even if he eats weird food.