You're doing great! : and other reasons to stay alive

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Title:

You're doing great! : and other reasons to stay alive

Author:

Papa, Tom, author.

Uniform Title:

Essays. Selections

ISBN:

9781250240392

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

xi, 290 pages ; 25 cm.

Contents:

You don't have to live your best life -- We are fan people -- You work too hard -- Shut up and eat -- A very funny nose -- Nancy and Emily -- Fun things that aren't -- It takes two -- It's bad for you and that's okay -- Here comes some bad news -- You're rich! -- Don't go tubing -- A lot has changed -- A simple cup of coffee -- Stay inside where you're safe -- Someone to love -- The good old days that weren't -- Massages are for sissies -- Primo DNA -- I love your love handles -- It's date night -- I'm going to mars!-If my wife will let me -- Play by the rules -- I'm so baked -- A couple bad days -- Be a good guy -- Do you ever wish you were smarter? Not me -- Let's go back -- 7-eleven heaven -- Safe travels -- Please lower your volume -- More than just a game -- Time -- for dinner -- Don't open the mail -- There's a ghost in your house -- Staying positive -- The greatest show on earth -- Follow the herd -- Home alone -- Play ball! -- Get a dog -- And now a word from our sponsor.

Subject Term:

American wit and humor.

Conduct of life -- Humor.

Families -- Humor.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Civilization -- 21st century -- Humor.

Genre:

Humor.

Summary:

Comedian and "Live from Here" head writer Tom Papa, author of Your Dad Stole My Rake, tackles the modern condition in a warm (and clean) group of short essays. Exploring his favorite topics-how people really live in modern America and what's truly good and wonderful about our lives-You're Doing Great features 75 quick-take essays, including: You Don't Have to Live Your Best Life Don't Open the Mail I'm So Baked I'm Going to Mars-If My Wife Will Let Me Don't Go Tubing Shut Up and Eat From You're Doing Great: Life isn't perfect. As these pages will show, my life is far from perfect. There have always been problems and there always will be. You can engage politically, you can fight for the things you believe in, you can work really, really hard, but you shouldn't lose track of the fact that while we're doing all that, life is flying by at lightning fast speed. We live in an amazing time filled with airplanes, scooters, and peanut butter cups. We have air conditioning, blenders, and martini shakers. It's time to refocus, enjoy it all, and realize that you're doing great. --

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	818.602 PAP	Searching... Unknown

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On Order

Summary

Comedian and Live from Here head writer Tom Papa, author of Your Dad Stole My Rake , tackles the modern condition in a heartwarming group of short essays.

Tom Papa is a little worried about you. You seem stressed, overworked and, frankly, a little mixed up.

Everyone is fighting an overwhelming feeling that things are getting worse, that we should be doing more, that we're not good enough. Well, life isn't perfect. There have always been problems and there always will be. You can fight for the things you believe in, you can work really, really hard, but you shouldn't lose track of the fact that while you're doing all that, life is flying by at lightning-fast speed. If you actually take a breath and look around you'll realize you're actually doing great.

Here's the thing: We live in an amazing time filled with airplanes, scooters, and peanut butter cups. We have air conditioning, blenders, and martini shakers. It's time to refocus, enjoy it all, and stop waiting for something better! Relax with comedian and Live from Here writer and performer Tom Papa as he explores his favorite subjects in 75 essays, including:

You Don't Have to Live Your Best Life
Don't Open the Mail
I'm So Baked
I Love Your Love Handles
Don't Go Tubing
Shut Up and Eat

Recalibrate, turn off your device, and open your eyes to a better reality: You're doing great!

Author Notes

TOM PAPA is a comedian known for his live performances as well as his work in film, television, radio and on streaming services. Papa is a frequent panelist on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me , a writer and performer on the public radio variety show Live from Here (the latest incarnation of the legendary A Prairie Home Companion ), host of a daily SiriusXM show, What a Joke with Papa and Fortune, and the podcast Come to Papa , and the star of four streaming stand-up specials. His Netflix special, You're Doing Great , premiered in early 2020. Papa is also the author of Your Dad Stole My Rake . When not on tour, Tom lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two daughters, cat, and somewhat loyal dog, and bakes bread.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Comedian Papa (Your Dad Stole My Rake) offers a delightful set of upbeat and candidly humorous essays on the challenges of modern living. Society is "inundated, twenty-four hours a day, with news, images, and ideas of all kinds... and it's messing with our heads," he writes. His antidote: be grateful, relax, and stop trying to be perfect ("No one is happy all the time.... Whenever I see couples posting about how in love they are, I know they're in trouble"). Papa, a Gen Xer who had a common-sense New Jersey Italian-American upbringing, is unapologetic about his passion for eating: "There's too much happiness and history to put an end to it... who cares if you're a little fat?" In "Let's Go Back," a touching departure from his straight-up humor, Papa writes to a deceased college friend about their shabby house share ("It's hard when you outgrow something you love. It's even harder when you lose the people that came with it"). In other essays, Papa recalls a river tubing accident ("It wasn't awesome. Breaking a couple ribs on a rock at the bottom of a waterfall is stupid"), as well as the joys of living in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood in the 1990s. This collection is a clever respite for readers looking for lighthearted escape from their daily lives. (May)

Kirkus Review

A comedian muses on life, love, and simple pleasures. Host of a daily SiriusXM show as well as a podcast, Papa gives ample evidence of his "ability to live on the happy side of the street" in a collection of funny, warmhearted essays whose overarching messages are, "we should be grateful for what we have" and "shouldn't take life all that seriously." The author is thankful for many things, including coffee (at the first sip each morning, he writes, "my entire being knows the day is about to improve"); baking bread, which he does with unabashed pleasure; a weekly date night, which he claims keeps a marriage happy; gathering for dinner with his wife and two daughters ("I just want to look up and see them and have them see me and realize we're family. That's why we eat together"); and indulging his desires at 7-Eleven stores, "crammed with everything you could ever need or want, just waiting for your arrival like delicious outposts on the modern-day prairie." Papa encourages everyone to find someone to love, which, with 7 billion people in the world, should not be difficult. Love, he writes, is "finding someone whose flaws you can put up with." Certainly, a few things annoy the author: loud, rude people, for example, who invade places that should be quiet and soothing, like breakfast rooms of motels. But if a few essays display irritation, most are generously encouraging. "Our minds are our worst critics," he writes. "We do it to ourselves." To keep thinking positively, Papa advises, "you need to avoid anything that can bring you down." The most delightful essay is a nostalgic paean, reminiscent of E.B. White, to the funky, close-knit Manhattan neighborhood where he and his wife first lived: "we loved it, we loved each other, and even if we wanted to leave, our roots were growing deeper." Entertaining essays from a genial guide. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Introduction	p. vii
You Don't Have to Live Your Best Life	p. 3
We Are Fan People	p. 11
You Work Too Hard	p. 23
Shut Up and Eat	p. 31
A Very Funny Nose	p. 39
Nancy and Emily	p. 45
Fun Things That Aren't	p. 51
It Takes Two	p. 57
It's Bad for You and That's Okay	p. 65
Here Comes Some Bad News	p. 73
You're Rich!	p. 79
Don't Go Tubing	p. 87
A Lot Has Changed	p. 94
A Simple Cup of Coffee	p. 101
Stay Inside Where You're Safe	p. 109
Someone to Love	p. 116
The Good Old Days That Weren't	p. 123
Massages Are for Sissies	p. 127
Primo DNA	p. 137
I Love Your Love Handles	p. 143
It's Date Night	p. 147
I'm Going to Mars!-if My Wife Will Let Me	p. 153
Play by the Rules	p. 161
I'm So Baked	p. 169
A Couple of Really Bad Days	p. 175
Be a Good Guy	p. 184
Do You Ever Wish You Were Smarter? Not Me!	p. 185
Let's Go Back	p. 190
7-Eleven Heaven	p. 197
Safe Travels	p. 201
Please Lower Your Volume	p. 209
More Than Just a Game	p. 215
Time for Dinner	p. 222
Don't Open the Mail	p. 226
There's a Ghost in Your House	p. 233
Staying Positive	p. 240
The Greatest Show on Earth	p. 244
Follow the Herd	p. 251
Home Alone	p. 259
Play Ball!	p. 267
Get a Dog	p. 275
And Now a Word from Our Sponsor	p. 283
Acknowledgments	p. 293

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

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