Loser Goes First: My Thirty-Something Years of Dumb Luck and Minor Humiliation

From page one, I was already laughing out loud. This farcical memoir moves fast, incorporating hilariously imagined sequences along with Kennedy's already amusing life. I actually called friends on the phone so that I could recite some of my favorite parts to them. I recommend this to anyone who like humor, books, and or the written word.

Dan Kennedy has captured my childhood,though with generation's X vocabulary. The hilarity and pain of growing up is delightfully interwoven with irony and honesty. I felt as if Dan Kennedy had been in my life for years and I shared with him again my most embarrasing moments, as well as the funniest. I am looking forward to more of his books with great glee!

This is the kind of book that you read over and over again everytime you need a laugh. I picked it up when I was having a bad day and it still cracked me up. Dan Kennedy has the gift of being very funny and still being able to make a serious point or transport you into a story that offers wisdom or a life lesson. Something tells me he will be making me laugh for a very long time. If you have ever felt like you are the only one whose life is not going perfectly, or at least the only one who saw the humor in all of it...this is a great book to read. Keep it around as a reminder that life is a lot more fun when we have a sense of humor about it all.

Dan Kennedy's memoir-esque look at life is hilarious, if not slightly stolen from the Dave Eggers book of self-analyzation and tone--right down to the customization of page styles (Dan Kennedy's works have repeatedly shown up on McSweeney's, by the way.) But whatever similarities exist, whether you like Dave Eggers or not, should be ignored because this book exists and thrives on its own.The writing is crisp and clear and laugh-out-loud funny, sitting just up a notch from David Sedaris. Kennedy tells stories of youth with a self-deprecating style that never shifts to the excessive or whiny. The only restriction here is the point of reference to the generation of which Kennedy is a member. Baby-boomers will have a hard time with some of the material, but they shouldn't shy away. The quality of writing is strong enough to entertain-and very much so.Well worth the purchase price-you'll get at least three reads out of it. I'm keeping on eye on Kennedy for his next project. Let's hope he turns to fiction.

Follow the author as he travels through a series of short careers, finding himself in the next before he realizes what he likes about each. Dan Kennedy has a remarkable ability to describe his life's catastrophes without being either too glib or too serious. This allows the reader to relate to his problems, but in an enjoyable way. Following his progression from warehouse employee, to firefighter, to working at an espresso stand, and his reasons for choosing and then abandoning each leads to a truly engrossing story. In particular, the description of his performance at an open-mike night in Texas will blow you away. Dan Kennedy's writing moves the story along, and the story itself is great, this one is not to be missed.