Halfway through the introduction I was so sure I'd give this book a 5-star rating. It made me nostalgic, it made me laugh, it made me cry (hard) ... it made me remember how it was when I started writing hardcore (in highschool). In short, I was able to relate to the author's story. My father is not a writer but he introduced me to the wonderful world of literature. I thought this book was gold! A couple of pages into the first chapter I had to take down 2 stars. By the end of the book I had to take down another one. It wasn't bad. It was actually pretty good (and I'm not saying that just because I was able to relate). I get the self-deprecating humor that the author is apparently known for. I, too, have my insecurities growing up and until now. What I didn't like was the part where humor had to be at the expense of other people. There are a number of them throughout. Some are subtle, some are not. But even when they were subtly implied I felt like it was screaming at me. There were chapters that made me forget that I was put off by the supposedly funny and sarcastic remarks but then another one would come and I'd remember how annoying it is.
If I had to be specific I am referring to the examples and descriptions where the author had to use autism, harelip and children of parents with marital issues. The description using autism was the one that really pissed me off. Clearly the author does not know what it means.
If anything, this book reminded me why I rarely read self-help.
Two stars.
How do you write a review of a book that is not your genre? Lol. I was never a big fan of self-help. Especially if it's a personality/social/motivational ... thing. I'm a firm believer that, deep inside, people know what they should do in certain situations. We know what's right and wrong. We're just too stubborn to follow it. At least that's how I am.
Reading The Club Rules makes me prove my point. Most of the rules and tips in here are what you'd call a no-brainer. You don't need anyone to tell you these because anyone with an average IQ should already know that, when meeting people, you should Rule #1: Be Yourself. The thing is, when you go over the stories (examples?) the authors enumerated, you would actually agree that someone HAS to lay down the rules because, surprisingly, there is actually a Greg or a Susan or an Anna or a Michael in your circle of friends ... or one of those people could be you. Unknowingly, you're doing the things you know you shouldn't be doing. So I guess this book would be a good ... reminder? Not to mention each story is sort of a juicy confession that some people (the right audience) might find amusing/entertaining.
Technically ... "Don't be (too much) of a tease" is not a sentence. If you remove the parentheses or if you put "of" inside the parentheses then it is a sentence ... because if we remove parentheses with the phrase in it, it would read: "Don't be of a tease" which doesn't make any sense ... Sorry I just got off work editing documents.
Again, this is not my kind of book but ... yeah, some of the stories made me snigger. Three stars?
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