Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
155th out of 1,663 books
—
2,419 voters
Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid
by
Denis Leary
A hilarious blast of scathing irreverence from the award-winning actor and comedian.
"A pissed off Leary is the best Leary," says one critic of the writer and comic. In Why We Suck, Dr. Denis Leary uses his common sense, and his biting and hilarious take on the world, to attack the politically correct, the hypocritical, the obese, the thin--basically everyone who takes them...more
"A pissed off Leary is the best Leary," says one critic of the writer and comic. In Why We Suck, Dr. Denis Leary uses his common sense, and his biting and hilarious take on the world, to attack the politically correct, the hypocritical, the obese, the thin--basically everyone who takes them...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
November 18th 2008
by Viking Adult
(first published November 15th 2008)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Many of my friends were curious about this book and asked me if Leary comes across like an a-hole in it. I assume they’re asking because he generally has a dark, angry style of comedy and his stand up routines contain a lot of yelling and ranting. My answer is no. Providing that is, you keep an open mind, are able to laugh at yourself and check your politically correctness at the door. Leary just states it like it is and tells a little truth about the sucky side in all of us.
I laughed while read...more
I laughed while read...more
21 likes · like · see review
view all 13 comments
Offensive, rude, acid tongued. That’s when he’s in a good mood. And that’s exactly why I love reading this book. I love Dennis’ relentlessly un-pc view of life. His parodies. His exaggerated views. His acerbic, rapier wit. This book showcases his slaying of victimhood and the self-absorbed posers who invade his world by living in it. By un-pc, I mean he tells it exactly the way things are. The truth hurts, and most people can’t handle it. He paints the script with just enough exaggeration and ma...more
Hey, guess what? Denis Leary is angry! Who knew? I usually find his cynicism and his acerbic wit hit-or-miss, anyway, and, I'll admit, much of what he writes here sounds like much of what I think to myself often (or say out loud if I'm drunk). But people don't usually find it funny when I do nothing but bitch, complain, and ridicule people, so it's hard to find it funny when he does it even though he's famous. Still, it has its moments when taken in small doses; Leary proves to be funny for only...more
3 likes · like · see review
I still have 80 pages left, but I can already tell this isn't gonna get any better. I'm not that familiar with Leary, but I'm pretty sure he's more talented than this book. It's a rant-fest, which is fine, except the topics he chooses are all TIRED TIRED TIRED. I'm talking Anna Nicole, Lewinskygate, "A Million Little Pieces," Child Stars Gone Bad, the guy who sued McDonald's when he spilled coffee on himself, etc. PETA wouldn't even have to hire a lawyer to get Leary convicted for the relentless...more
7 likes · like · see review
You know, I usually find Leary's comedy to be pretty humorous and thought that would translate well into his writing. Not so much. I read about 50-60 pages and barely chuckled once. The material was dated and stale, stuff you've undoubtedly heard a million times before (All families are dysfunctional? Really? Get out!). I'm loathe to put down a book I haven't finished, seriously, (see my review of The Meaning of Night if you don't believe me), but this just wasn't worth it. The jacket's pull-out...more
7 likes · like · see review
loved his rants! the parts on parents, nicknames, Oprah and other celebs, colors were my favorites and I laughed aloud. Quick, easy read especially when you start reading it like he's doing his standup.
2 likes · like · see review
I'm sure this is book is offensive to many, but I found it honest and laugh-out-loud hilarious!
8 likes · like · see review
The hubby and I listened to this audiobook on a long car trip. It's not, like, my favorite book ever, but we laughed and it passed the time. Thankfully, it was less harsh than I expected, and had a surprising amount of memoir woven in (his stories about his Irish family, particularly his mother, are hilarious). If you can't tell from the title, the thesis holding these stories and essays together is something along the lines of "America ain't what it used to be, folks." He tackles everything fro...more
The other reviews hit all the high points here--it's more of the same from Leary; it's better spoken than read; it's a lot of rant rant rant without a lot of actual commentary. Still, it was an entertaining enough listen. I don't agree with a lot of what he said, but I can see where he's coming from on most of it.
I was curious about this after I saw him interviewed on The Daily Show, and Jon Stewart asked about the "autism isn't real" debacle. Leary clarified that he wasn't saying "autism is com...more
I was curious about this after I saw him interviewed on The Daily Show, and Jon Stewart asked about the "autism isn't real" debacle. Leary clarified that he wasn't saying "autism is com...more
Jan 26, 2009
Eric
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Hardcore Denis Leary fans
Recommended to Eric by:
Laurie Nester
Shelves:
humor
I was fairly disappointed in "Why We Suck", more than likely as a result of how much I loved Denis Leary's previous stuff growing up than due to this book's shortcomings. No matter what Leary does for the rest of his career, to me, nothing will ever top his "No Cure for Cancer" tape that I played to death when I was in Junior High.
My biggest gripe specific to this book was that it is titled "Why We Suck..." and for long periods of the book he digresses away from said thesis, which in the prologu...more
My biggest gripe specific to this book was that it is titled "Why We Suck..." and for long periods of the book he digresses away from said thesis, which in the prologu...more
Let me start off by saying that I find Denis Leary amusing (usually) in his comedy. Sometimes, though, it seems he is trying to hard, and that definitely translates in this book. He may not be fat, lazy or stupid, but he is definitely LOUD. Some of his points were funny, while others were redundant & stereotypical. I would have given it maybe a 3 or 3.5, but his chapter on Autism is absolutely appalling! I am not someone who is easily offended at all, and I will even find topics totally oppo...more
1 like · like · see review
The two words that came to me after reading this book were, irreverent and funny. Leary takes on just about everybody and everything in this book: this includes, race, religion, youth, parents, and politics.
There is a little of something for everyone, whether you agree with him or not.
Leary does use his book t take aim at two personal items; political (the Bush Adminisration) and religion (the Catholic Church). He is very biased and some readers will find that his commentaries to be disturbing a...more
There is a little of something for everyone, whether you agree with him or not.
Leary does use his book t take aim at two personal items; political (the Bush Adminisration) and religion (the Catholic Church). He is very biased and some readers will find that his commentaries to be disturbing a...more
Why We Suck by Denis Leary (pp. 240)
I’m a fan of Leary’s comedy and writing. I’ve seen him in concert and know many of his comedy album tracks by heart, so I had high hopes for this. I had to push myself to finish the book. There were some laugh put loud moments, but they’re few and far between and don’t make up for the rambling, extended retread of solid bits that he’s done in the past or as Tommy Ryan on ‘Rescue Me’.
You can hear Leary’s voice come through the chapters, ranging from obesity, ov...more
I’m a fan of Leary’s comedy and writing. I’ve seen him in concert and know many of his comedy album tracks by heart, so I had high hopes for this. I had to push myself to finish the book. There were some laugh put loud moments, but they’re few and far between and don’t make up for the rambling, extended retread of solid bits that he’s done in the past or as Tommy Ryan on ‘Rescue Me’.
You can hear Leary’s voice come through the chapters, ranging from obesity, ov...more
After telling a friend that I'd just finished reading two books with heavy, emotional subjects, she suggested I read this. The book claims to be offensive to everyone at some point. That alone made me laugh. Life is serious but we've all gotten way too easily offended and need to see ourselves in a totally different way.....even those parts of us that aren't so great and especially those parts that we think are the absolute best. Why? Because they aren't.
Leary manages to simply write things tha...more
Leary manages to simply write things tha...more
Some of it was funny, and some of it was actually about "why we suck", but a large chunk of it was just not that funny, and a good bit of it had nothing to do with the "why we suck" theme.
A lot of the jokes were repeated, and they got tiresome by the end of the book. Also, much of comedy is based on the balance of pointing out the inconsistencies of life along with the warm familiarity and wry love of ourselves for doing such inane things, and the combination here in this book fell flat. The mi...more
A lot of the jokes were repeated, and they got tiresome by the end of the book. Also, much of comedy is based on the balance of pointing out the inconsistencies of life along with the warm familiarity and wry love of ourselves for doing such inane things, and the combination here in this book fell flat. The mi...more
This book was hysterical! I actually met Denis Leary and he wrote a really funny note in the books I purchased- we had a good laugh on it-
One of the chapters of the book is called autism schmautism and Denis had the national brigade running after him for a select passage that was intended to attack " FAT, LOUD, LAZY, STUPID.........parents" that just don't give two ballons about their kids and label them as to avoid personal responsibility. He was criticized and called out by Autism Speaks for s...more
One of the chapters of the book is called autism schmautism and Denis had the national brigade running after him for a select passage that was intended to attack " FAT, LOUD, LAZY, STUPID.........parents" that just don't give two ballons about their kids and label them as to avoid personal responsibility. He was criticized and called out by Autism Speaks for s...more
Eh. I'm not sure who his audience is; he's famous and rich, but I think he thinks of his peers as "guys from the neighborhood" and thus he goes to some lengths to gently explain the relative importance of both the Atlantic Monthly and Ploughshares, as well as the significance of John Ashbery, clearly assuming his assumed "peers" know nothing of them. Yet he also toots his own horn about being one of the youngest writers ever to appear in Ploughshares and refers to his own television program as c...more
2 likes · like · see review
I was on the way home to visit my folks for Christmas and found myself with an unexpected and unwelcome four and a half hour layover in Seattle. Good grief. I figured I’d finish my Vonnegut book before my trip was through and went into Hudson News to find a book.
Not an easy task. I’d like to talk to their buyer about what they keep in stock. Anyway, I saw Dr. Denis Leary’s Why We Suck and pretty much immediately decided I was gonna’ read it. I like Denis Leary. I like “I’m An Asshole”. I’ve foun...more
Not an easy task. I’d like to talk to their buyer about what they keep in stock. Anyway, I saw Dr. Denis Leary’s Why We Suck and pretty much immediately decided I was gonna’ read it. I like Denis Leary. I like “I’m An Asshole”. I’ve foun...more
I began reading this book knowing that Leary has a pretty rough, maybe a tad acidic, view on things. On the other hand I also knew he's usually pretty hilarious. This book isn't all bad, but it's by no means a shining example of why I find him funny. In all honesty after the first 90 or 100 pages I skimmed and read a few page chunks here and there for the last 2/3-s.
Here Leary casts a REALLY wide net. If you have ever in your life found any sort of topical humor remotely funny, he'll mention it...more
Here Leary casts a REALLY wide net. If you have ever in your life found any sort of topical humor remotely funny, he'll mention it...more
Mr. Leary’s—excuse me, Dr. Leary’s—angry rants on his CDs are rather funny. On paper, a little less so. Perhaps because constant anger can seem a bit, well, whiny and tiresome. But it’s what they pay the man for so it’s too late to expect emotional sensitivity from him now. The unsympathetic and non-pc insults fly thick and fast and, if you don’t like the storm, get indoors or buy an umbrella.
However, in between the railing and ranting at American politics, the out-of-control children and their...more
However, in between the railing and ranting at American politics, the out-of-control children and their...more
This book by Comedian Denis Leary is one of his most controversial books i have ever read. The content itself may e quite over-whelming for some people. An example of this is his perception of kids with autism, as he presents the disease as being an excuse for bad parents to give a reason for their child's behaviour.
As for the rest of the book, it's a lot of standard angry-comic stuff. Americans are too fat. Americans are too soft and sensitive. Men and women are different. The Catholic Church h...more
As for the rest of the book, it's a lot of standard angry-comic stuff. Americans are too fat. Americans are too soft and sensitive. Men and women are different. The Catholic Church h...more
Aug 11, 2011
Roxie
is currently reading it
"If you are a woman, you will soon be livid.
If you are a man, you are going to be filled with burning rage.
If you are a kid-meaning under the age of eighteen- you will soon be filled with shock and awe.
Scratch that.
If you are under the age of twenty-fice you will soon be filled with shock and awe.
If you are a fan of Oprah--good luck.
If you hate Oprah or Oprah tends to drive you insane--you too will need some assistance.
This is not a book for the faint of heart or the politically correct or the w...more
If you are a man, you are going to be filled with burning rage.
If you are a kid-meaning under the age of eighteen- you will soon be filled with shock and awe.
Scratch that.
If you are under the age of twenty-fice you will soon be filled with shock and awe.
If you are a fan of Oprah--good luck.
If you hate Oprah or Oprah tends to drive you insane--you too will need some assistance.
This is not a book for the faint of heart or the politically correct or the w...more
“Why We Suck” is an apt title for a book that really truly sucks. I was a fan of Denis Leary's comedy when he first became popular in the early to mid-nineties, so I expected this to be a fun read filled with his trademark humour, sarcasm, and offensive observations. Not only is it not funny, but it doesn't even deliver the promised offensiveness or anything remotely witty. Unfortunately this book is undeniable proof that he has completely and totally jumped the shark.
In the early chapters of “W...more
In the early chapters of “W...more
Предполагам, че книгата ще е доста безинтересна, ако не я чете автора, с характерната си интонация и изказ (аз я слушах), затова и ниската оценка. "Доста по-безинтересна" имах пред вид, щото тя не е особено интересна даже когато Лиъри крещи, шепне и се нервира.
Лиъри ми е един от любимите комици, но принципно има склонността прекалено много да разправя за семейството си и преживяванията в детството си, а тука му е отпуснал края и е доста скучно, вервайте.
Книгата е накъсана, без обединяващ замисъл...more
Лиъри ми е един от любимите комици, но принципно има склонността прекалено много да разправя за семейството си и преживяванията в детството си, а тука му е отпуснал края и е доста скучно, вервайте.
Книгата е накъсана, без обединяващ замисъл...more
This book devoted only about 25% of itself to the topic suggested in the title (mainly how North Americans are obsessed with celebrity, food, and are, in large part, stupid). He also does his own take on the weary subject of how the male and female brains operate differently. I've seen and heard comedians tackle that exact subject so many times I was a little disappointed to see it trotted out again. The other 75% was really a memoir of Leary's life as a child of Irish immigrants in Boston. Lear...more
1 like · like · see review
Denis Leary’s expletive-ridden rants have always made me laugh.
I just wanted to get that out there before I discuss how awful the book is. It’s bad. Really bad. Stand-up comedy does not translate well into writing (I think that is the reason for my dissatisfaction with Colbert’s book, too). The difference between oral comedy and comedy in the written form is that an author needs to be able to write. Leary’s title alone mocks the “stupid”; ironically he doesn’t craft a grammatically correct para...more
I just wanted to get that out there before I discuss how awful the book is. It’s bad. Really bad. Stand-up comedy does not translate well into writing (I think that is the reason for my dissatisfaction with Colbert’s book, too). The difference between oral comedy and comedy in the written form is that an author needs to be able to write. Leary’s title alone mocks the “stupid”; ironically he doesn’t craft a grammatically correct para...more
This was a hard book to rate because half of it was excellent and half of it was lame. I give Leary a lot of credit, though, because books written by sand-up comedians hardly ever pan out very well (the only exception that immediately comes to mind is Steve Martin's PURE DRIVEL). Jokes just don't go over as well on paper without the physical aspects of the comedian's delivery. Also, I usually don't care for very coarse, vulgar comedians, but Leary's material thankfully doesn't rely on shock valu...more
Warning, if you read this book you will be offended. Dr. Leary (yes, he does explain how he became a doctor in the book) makes a point to offend anyone reading the book and even goes as far as warning the reader that they will be offended. But as in the comical way of Don Rickles he does it in such a way where he can get away with his opinions. Keep in mind that's what they are, opinions. Don't read this book as a book of facts, you will be angered if you do.
I felt that the title is a bit mislea...more
I felt that the title is a bit mislea...more
When stand-up comics write non-fiction, they generally fall into one of two categories. One, they could be writing memoirs (Bossypants, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life). Or, they could write a series of extended blog entries, often ranting about the world.
Leary's book falls squarely into the second camp. If you have ever seen a Denis Leary routine, then you know exactly what to expect. Think of the "Coffee-flavored Coffee" bit extended to 240 pages. I agree with a lot that he has to say, and I...more
Leary's book falls squarely into the second camp. If you have ever seen a Denis Leary routine, then you know exactly what to expect. Think of the "Coffee-flavored Coffee" bit extended to 240 pages. I agree with a lot that he has to say, and I...more
I have been a big fan of Denis Leary for a long time now. His two comedy albums are priceless. I think my favorite bit is about "coffee-flavored coffee", which he reviews again in this book. His stand-up act is high-energy, loud and hysterically funny.
Leary's comedy has always been a commentary on the absurdity of what goes on all around us. There is an honesty to what Leary has to say because he is not afraid to lampoon himself and his family to help throw light on just what he is trying to say...more
Leary's comedy has always been a commentary on the absurdity of what goes on all around us. There is an honesty to what Leary has to say because he is not afraid to lampoon himself and his family to help throw light on just what he is trying to say...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MP3 | 1 | 11 | Jul 16, 2012 02:01pm |
Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-nominated American actor, comedian, writer and director. He is known for his often angry comedic style, and his chain smoking. Leary is currently the star and co-creator of the television show Rescue Me.
More about Denis Leary...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Every job has parts of it that are a giant pain in the ass - whether you carry a penis or a purse.”
—
16 people liked it
“Loud, stupid and overeating will suffice as long as we also have the funny, the fierce and the intellectual”
—
11 people liked it
More quotes…
