Lose Well audiobook

It’s honestly probably just a 3-star book, but I find Gethard just so damn charming that it earns the book another star. This books teeters between self-help and autobiographical humor. Unfortunately, the chapters seem to focus on just one or the other genres, making the book seem disjointed and unrelated at some points. Don’t get me wrong, the self-help portions are genuinely helpful and inspiring and the autobiographical chapters are funny and engaging, but it’s just trying to do a little too much. You can really see the skeleton of a more cohesive book here. Also Gethard does need to rely a little less on the antiquated and disproven, neoliberal tenet that hard work will get anything done at any time by any one. We all know and understand the value of hard work, but putting so much emphasis on grinding tends to devalue the impact that other, uncontrollable factors have on folks’ lives. Whatever. It’s still a solid book, easy read, and truly fun! Definitely recommend to people who need an extra push to do something good and stupid.

Loved it. Outright funny and frank. I didn’t know Chris Gethard before this. His show isn’t available here, but I’m definitely going to listen to his podcast.

“I don’t think you can change the world. But I do think you can change your world, in subtle ways, small ways, ways that remain internal and known only to you.”so many incredible pieces of advice in this book, i loved it 🥺 Chris Gethard is so gentle and kind and his focus on the creative process & mental health made me more open to being gentle with myself. a must-read for creatives.

An excellent read for fans of Gethard's comedy, his popular Beautiful Anonymous podcast, and writers/creative-types of all stripes. As far as entertainers go, Gethard is as genuine as they come. His advice is also sound; he has a gift for inspiring and motivating others without ever being preachy. Empathy is the word I always tend to think of when I describe his work to other people, and I think 'Lose Well,' particularly the audiobook version, encapsulates this, and so many of the other things that people love about him.

*Listened to the audio book*Full disclosure - when I downloaded this audio book I had no idea who Chris Gethard was. I actually thought this book had something to do with weight loss because of the title and the white specks falling down that look like salt if you're in a food/weight loss frame of mind. I can see why people like listening to this guy (I gleaned that he has his own podcast) because he has an interesting in a good way voice, and he's a great story teller. He also seems to be a very likable person and I respect his attitude toward life, which made me want to take his advice. And the advice is objectively good! I'm a tough love person, and he gives tough love advice, so it landed well with me on a number of points. I give it a solid 4 stars, not five because it wasn't about weight loss.

When I learned that Geth narrated his own book, the audiobook version was the only option for me. To hear his words in his own voice with candor and inflection, felt more like a conversation with a trusted old friend. I’ve read a few “self help” books, but in all honesty, this one beats them all for me. Geth is a real person with flaws. He’s nearly 40 & still trying to make his mark. He’s failed more times than he can count, but he uses those failures as stepping blocks. He doesn’t try to sugar coat anything. All of his stories felt familiar & relatable & I felt inspired each time I listened to a chapter. If you only have time for one self help book in your life, make it be this one.

I had never heard of Chris Gethard before this book came across my radar (I think as a library suggestion?). Also, I absolutely should have listened to this instead, because hearing him read it would be SO good. I loved this book. It was ridiculously entertaining, and his many failures that took so much effort and energy and commitment blew me away and inspired me. His desire to create regardless of the audience (or lack thereof) is awesome. Definitely a great book for a hesitant or unmotivated creative.

I went into this book feeling skeptical, but it's one of the best books on productivity and creativity I've ever read. Not only does Gethard have an interesting life and funny stories to tell, but he also has wonderful insight into the creative process. He's a standup comic, and as a result knows a lot about taking risks and processing failure. But most importantly he's get a clear sense of WHY you should be doing anything worth doing, and it has to do with creating opportunities for other people.

I'm a fan of a lot of what Chris Gethard does, and his spirit behind doing it, and this book is no exception. I really enjoyed the audio especially, and his interviews afterwards.

Chris Gethard is probably one of the coolest and most original human beings alive. This book, while being a “self help” book is also part memoir, and made me laugh SO hard numerous times. I listened to the audiobook, but plan on purchasing a hardcover as well. No spoilers- but the audiobook extra content is the absolute BEST. So glad I downloaded it. Thanks Chris for several hours of a good time.

While I am probably not the target audience, which I suspect is under 50, I still found this book entertaining and inspirational.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast, funny, and genuine. For fans of Chris Gethard and Beautiful anonymous, it’s a must read.

Uniquely real and heartfelt account of Chris's experience with the world of comedy and failing gracefully in the entertainment industry. Chris takes a raw approach in this book to kick you in the ass and get going on that project you have been putting off because you are afraid to fail. Lose Well is encouraging, funny and well written.

I received a complimentary advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. While Gethard is known for The Chris Gethard Show and the Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People podcast, I’m only familiar with him as musical-guest-Jeff-Rosenstock-host and author of the consistently funny A Bad Thing I’m About To Do. My stomach dipped a little upon quick realization that Lose Well would not be following the humorous essay format, but was a “self-help narrative.” I had just read Failing Up, which shared the same crux and I found a little lackluster – in short, I was burnt out on the theme of learning from your failures. At times more self-help than narrative, and other times vice versa, overall Gethard maintains a palatable mix of the two (especially to a reader who was only interested the narrative). Gethard knows his audience well (at one point suggesting the reader might be thinking, “I’m going to skip to the funny parts”). The encouragement is a bit on the . . . not jaded side, but tempered? Gethard is no Pollyanna, but recognizes the extent that attitude and motivation (and learning from failure) play in moving ahead. This is no “Keep trying and you’ll eventually get there!” This is “It’s statistically unlikely that you’ll, but even if you don’t, wouldn’t you rather faceplant in a blaze of glory?” For those who feel out of place in their small town / backwards community / dead end job, Gethard intersperses plenty of inspiring non-Gethard example figures into the text. From the Shaggs to street artists to friends who launched their dream careers late in life, Gethard gives plenty of counterexamples to the self-limiting ideas that you’re too old / too weird / too x to make a creative change in your life. While the book is as funny as A Bad Idea…, the stories are (unsurprisingly) spread out a bit and used to support the self-help advice. Gethard’s anecdotes are great – which can make it a little maddening when you have to read an extra two or three pages to get to them (…again, coming from someone not really receptive or interested in advice at the moment). Gethard’s fluid writing style makes it easy to find oneself immersed in the tales, whether it’s a long, winding journey to a great twist, or just a few simple paragraphs. (High points include Gethard’s early foray into theatre via Bye, Bye, Birdie; his investigations while employed by Weird New Jersey; and a family road trip interrupted by a nose-diving falcon.) Even though you already know that Gethard has found himself a degree of success, you still find yourself rooting for his character. He underscores the importance of hard work (as told through one of the funniest turns in the book, his pre-Y2k line job amid factory workers cum survivalists). It’s refreshing to write a book review where, when it gets to the shortcomings, you really need to dig deep. Somewhere in my psyche I feel I’m not writing a “balanced” review if I don’t include some shortcomings, so here’s my best attempt: *Was expecting a larger coup de grace in the Dusty story. Dusty seemed inept and inconsiderate, but didn’t quite come across as the complete “fuck scum” Gethard described him as. *Should include an activity sheet with a connect-the-dots or maze page. TLDR: Gethard’s humorous stories give an enjoyable arc to a self-help book that speaks to reluctant creatives and the atypical.

winning by losing what you don't want (or need)A sort of self-help love letter to weirdos with nascent creative ambitions, this book is a blend of advice, anecdote, and a philosophy of productive failure. For those of you who don’t know Gethard, a primer: he’s a comedian-improviser known for his call-in podcast Beautiful/Anonymous, a HBO comedy special called Career Suicide, and one of the zaniest variety shows to ever be produced, the recently canceled Chris Gethard Show. Perhaps the best way to crystalize this book is to focus on the latter of the three—a beloved cult show that went from public access to small channel cable to national cable only to get canceled by the suits. You see, Gethard reps the underground unapologetically. He’s had some mainstream success, landed his own sitcom, been the number one podcast in the country, performed before crowds of thousands. But he’s not a household name. Not an A-List Celebrity. Maybe not even B-List. In fact, he proudly identifies as a loser. So what advice does he have to offer to anyone when he hasn’t rocketed to fame and fortune himself? Frankly, a lot. Gethard’s career is about integrity and hard work. And those things, along with a lot of luck, are the difference between success and failure. No one can teach you about being lucky. But if anyone can teach you about hard work and resilience, it’s Gethard. The first part of this book focuses on breaking down the stigma of failure. It’s not unlike some of the things you’ll read from serial entrepreneurs—failure is a way of finding out what doesn’t succeed. Those who can stomach failure can find the recipe for success, so long as they have the time and energy to do it. In this regard, the book doesn’t tread new ground, though its familiar platitudes are offered in the language of DIY outsiders. Where it really delivers is on Gethard’s frank recounting of his own personal failures and how they reoriented him to his current success, as well as his confrontation of the paralyzing fear that stemmed from an inability to honestly commit to his dreams. This advice for creators is from someone who’s lived the life, in the trenches, toiling in obscurity, making his break instead of waiting for the impossible. And that’s where Lose Well resonates, particularly for me and this channel where I review things for single digit views with my cat as a prop for an audience of ten subscribers. If you were to ask me honestly why I do this, I don’t think I could articulate it well. It probably boils down to some version of I have some things to say, my cat is cute, and this is an outlet for those two things. It’s not done for a zillion views or ad monetization or to propel me to some career as a book reviewer. I make these videos because I think they should exist their its own right. And this book is a love letter for folks who do what they do for the same reason, whether they have found success or not. It provides solace for when we inevitably fail, because failure is part and parcel of success. It provides support for the weird things, because weird things are signal, not noise. It encourages us to do what we dream, because while stalling protects us from the vulnerability of trying, it is also succumbing to failure without any risk of success. Most importantly, this book is permission to not apologize for having dreams. Rated 4 stars and 9 rubs.