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Summary
Summary
Standup comic, actor and fan favorite from HBO's Silicon Valley and the film Crazy Rich Asians shares his memoir of growing up as a Chinese immigrant in California and making it in Hollywood.
"I turned down a job in finance to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. My dad thought I was crazy. But I figured it was better to disappoint my parents for a few years than to disappoint myself for the rest of my life. I had to disappoint them in order to pursue what I loved. That was the only way to have my Chinese turnip cake and eat an American apple pie too."
Jimmy O. Yang is a standup comedian, film and TV actor and fan favorite as the character Jian Yang from the popular HBO series Silicon Valley. In How to American, he shares his story of growing up as a Chinese immigrant who pursued a Hollywood career against the wishes of his parents: Yang arrived in Los Angeles from Hong Kong at age 13, learned English by watching BET RapCity for three hours a day, and worked as a strip club DJ while pursuing his comedy career. He chronicles a near deportation episode during a college trip Tijuana to finally becoming a proud US citizen ten years later. Featuring those and many other hilarious stories, while sharing some hard-earned lessons, How to American mocks stereotypes while offering tongue in cheek advice on pursuing the American dreams of fame, fortune, and strippers.
Author Notes
Multi-faceted actor, stand-up comedian, and writer Jimmy O. Yang is best known for his portrayal of hilarious intern Jian Yang on HBO's Emmy-nominated comedy series Silicon Valley . Born in Hong Kong, Yang made his television debut on the CBS series 2 Broke Girls and his first late-night stand-up appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show , where he received a rare standing ovation.
Other television credits include DirecTV's Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight ,CBS' Battle Creek and Criminal Minds , FXX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , and ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He is currently recurring on TruTV's half hour comedy series, Those Who Can't . Yang is based in Los Angeles.
Reviews (2)
Booklist Review
Comedian and actor Yang, a Chinese American Hong Kong-born immigrant who learned English from BET, grew up hearing from his dad that following his dreams would be the fastest way to end up homeless. And yet he'd later turn down a job in finance, his college major, after realizing he'd rather take a shot at a creative career and fail than never try at all. Yang's funny and breezy memoir details years spent paying his dues at open mics and fumbling through auditions (he includes a list of all 101 that preceded his breakthrough role as Jian Yang, on Silicon Valley). He considers how portraying immigrants Jian, or real-life hero Danny Meng, in Patriots Day connected Yang more deeply to his own experience, while acting as a member of the fully Asian cast of Crazy Rich Asians lifted the weight of otherness to a freeing effect. Embracing his multifaceted heritage while believing in America's boundless opportunities, Yang inspires with his hard work and assertion that the American dream is real, and he's a product of it.--Bostrom, Annie Copyright 2018 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
HOPE NATION. Edited by Rose Brock. Read by a full cast of contributors, including Angie Thomas, AUDIO David Levithan and Jason Reynolds. (Listening Library.) A collection of essays and intimate recollections by some of today's most celebrated young adult authors dedicated to emboldening teenage audiences through the power of optimism, heart talk. By Cleo Wade. Read by the author. (Simon & Schuster Audio.) Her inspiring microlife-lessons have become a hit on Instagram, but the artist, poet and social media phenomenon's own idiosyncratic voice makes her spiritual and practical wisdom even more forceful, how to AMERICAN: AN IMMIGRANT'S GUIDE TO DISAPPOINTING YOUR PARENTS. By Jimmy O. Yang. Read by the author. (Hachette Audio.) The "Silicon Valley" star blends humor and pathos in his coming-ofage memoir, revealing the intricacies of life as a Chinese immigrant growing up in California, from cultural assimilation to interracial dating, the escape artist. By Brad Meitzer. Read by Scott Brick and January LaVoy. (Hachette Audio.) The veteran audiobook narrators bring to life the best-selling author's latest military thriller, about a soldier who was once presumed dead but is now discovered to be on the run. raw. By Lamont "U-God" Hawkins. Read by the author. (Macmillan Audio.) A gritty and uplifting account of the author's path from a singleparent childhood on the rough streets of Brooklyn to becoming a hip-hop legend as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. & Noteworthy "I've never been drawn to 'Game of Thrones' - too many grim characters in leather chest plates and furry capes for me. But David Benioff, a showrunner and co-creator of the series, is a masterful storyteller, and I have been absolutely mesmerized by his novel, city of thieves. He tells the story of Lev Beniov, a self-conscious 17-year-old Jewish boy during the siege of Leningrad. He survives, even as German bombs rain down on the city, destroying Lev's apartment building, sending most of his family to the countryside and killing neighbors and friends. The city feels eerily hollowed out and menacing, and nobody has anything to eat. But the story contains moments that are surprisingly human, loving and beautiful, after Lev and an unlikely companion, an utterly charming and overconfident young Cossack named Kolya, set out on an impossible journey, during which they discuss love, poetry, hunger, sex, chickens, elephants and of course whether the Nazis will win the war. A scene in which Lev savors a baked potato - with butter! - after months near starvation is so delicately and deliciously told, I could feel my stomach start to growl." - CAROLYN RYAN, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, ON WHAT SHE'S READING.
Table of Contents
| Foreword | p. vii |
| Prologue | p. xi |
| 1 How to Asian | p. 1 |
| 2 How to Immigrant | p. 23 |
| 3 How to Thuglife | p. 41 |
| 4 How to Get High | p. 65 |
| 5 How to Stand Up | p. 85 |
| 6 How to Strip Club DJ | p. 111 |
| 7 How to Make It | p. 131 |
| 8 How to Silicon Valley | p. 153 |
| 9 How to Hollywood | p. 181 |
| 10 How to American | p. 205 |
| Epilogue | p. 221 |
