book data
276 ratings, 3.58 average rating, 63 reviews
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published
April 11th 2006
by Simon & Schuster
binding
Paperback, 256 pages
isbn
0743270584
(isbn13: 9780743270588)
description
<p align="left">
Everyone says they would like to retire early, but Rodney Rothman actually did it -- forty years early. Burnt out, ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 375)
Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
People who are wearing nothing but their socks while watching Jeopardy in the middle of the day
“Where’s your coat?”
“It’s not that cold.”
“You’re going to catch a cold if you don’t wear a coat.”
“It’s 82 degrees outside.”
“I know. Where’s your coat? Put on your coat!”
“Yes ma’am.”
Rodney Rothman, I wish I were you. I wish I were a former head writer for The Late Show with David Letterman. I wish I had gotten to work on the Judd Apatow television show Undeclared. I’ve read some of your McSweeney’s articles, and I laughed at them.
I...more
“It’s not that cold.”
“You’re going to catch a cold if you don’t wear a coat.”
“It’s 82 degrees outside.”
“I know. Where’s your coat? Put on your coat!”
“Yes ma’am.”
Rodney Rothman, I wish I were you. I wish I were a former head writer for The Late Show with David Letterman. I wish I had gotten to work on the Judd Apatow television show Undeclared. I’ve read some of your McSweeney’s articles, and I laughed at them.
I...more
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I thought "Early Bird" was interesting but too staged. You’ve got this successful Jewish writer who won’t stop talking about how Jewish he is parlaying his success into a book deal through which he moves to Florida for “spontaneous” interactions with retirees. I don’t know. Rather than experience retirement then writing the book, the book was clearly in the forefront of his mind throughout the experience. “Let’s go to Florida and write a funny book about old people!” He...more
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Read in November, 2008
recommended to Jeannie by:
merecommends it for: anyone interested in this subject, looking for a light read or a laugh.
I really enjoyed this book and found myself relating to a lot of what he wrote about. Florida is my favorite state and when I stay there (usually twice a year) I stay with an older friend who lives in one of these retirement communities and I HAVE met the pool ladies! I have felt how he felt many times with trying to fit in when you stick out like a sore thumb! I found myself rolling more than once. Yes he does talk about being Jewish quite a bit but hey! he IS Jewish..so what? Doesn't take awa...more
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recommends it for:
young folks considering couch surfing and those not quite ready for retirement.
I decided to read this at a time when I was between jobs - thinking maybe I might find some kind of solace from the guilt I was having from being unemployed. Far from it, not only was the book written while "retired" but the residents don't just sit around either.
The book is about Rodney, a comedy writer who gets laid off and decides to start his retirement early - about 30 years early. He moves to Florida and has a dry run of his real retirement, checking out retirement communitie...more
The book is about Rodney, a comedy writer who gets laid off and decides to start his retirement early - about 30 years early. He moves to Florida and has a dry run of his real retirement, checking out retirement communitie...more
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Read in March, 2008
I loved Early Bird. Rodney Rothman takes you on a dysfunctional vacation to Florida, amongst floral-print couches, guffawing retirees, silly grandmas, and four-dollar buffets. These things themselves aren't very interesting, but Rothman synthesizes a broad array of ridiculous Floridians and their quirky habits, all the while using a fantastic observational voice.
It is contemplative at times, usually gut-busting, and mostly light-hearted. Although this book didn't challenge me or screw with my...more
It is contemplative at times, usually gut-busting, and mostly light-hearted. Although this book didn't challenge me or screw with my...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2007
the david sedaris comparisons (in the cover flap reviews as well as by the author himself throughout the book) are something i just don't see. this book was funny enough to make me crack some semblence of a smile 2 or 3 times in reading this book, but i never laughed out loud, and more than anything, i felt a little depressed reading it. i don't know why i thought this book would be funny. even after reading this book (especially after?) retiring and aging are not things i look forward to.
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This is another favorite that I've loved each time I've read it. The author is a comedy writer for Letterman who found himself between jobs and decided that, since he was eventually going to end up in a retirement community in Florida, he might as well go ahead and move there now...at 27. This is narrative nonfiction at its most entertaining as Rodney takes us through his real-life experiences with his elderly female roommate and her contraband cats, the poolside canasta game he can't seem to ...more
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Read in January, 2006
I like memoirs and if you can make them relatable and funny I'm all in. I had several chuckles with this book. Rodney decides to become a retiree in his late 20's and lead the life of a retiree in Florida, including relocating to a retirement village. My favorite event: the baseball game which is a big eye opener for Rothman. I think he discovers that although we may grow older, we still feel like we are in our 20's (and often still act like it). This book is also in my top recommendation list a...more
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Read in June, 2005
After being laid off from his stressful TV writing job, Rothman decides to test out early retirement…literally. At the age of 28 he moves into a retirement community in Florida for six months. He nudges his way into the various senior clubs and organizations within the community and lives the life of a retiree. I found Rothman's self-deprecating humor very amusing and enjoyable to read. I came away with a clearer picture of what I could someday, a long time from now, look forward to should...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
those who spend a lot of time with old people
I don't have grandparents that packed up and moved to warmer climates in their retirement-- I guess Texas was warm enough-- but I do have grandparents that own a 40 foot motorhome that they take to a specially designed for old people motorhome park / vacation ranch in Colorado every summer. About a man who retires in his twenties to a Florida retirement home, this book explores the intimate details of retirement life, the early eating, shuffleboard and bingo, and confirmed my own suspicion that...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Fans of Sedaris, Floridians, Retirees
The book was good. Not great, but good. I intended it to be a lighthearted book to slip in between 2 much more ambitious reads and it fulfilled it's purpose exquisitely.
The author of the book goes down to Florida to "retire early" but more correctly to see what retirement was all about and take a break. Throughout his 6 months in a retirement village in southeast Florida he gambles with the Red Hat Society, plays golf with a 60 year old former heroin dealer and more tragically ha...more
The author of the book goes down to Florida to "retire early" but more correctly to see what retirement was all about and take a break. Throughout his 6 months in a retirement village in southeast Florida he gambles with the Red Hat Society, plays golf with a 60 year old former heroin dealer and more tragically ha...more
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Read in June, 2008
Ahhh, now that it's summer I have time to read again. The author is a 28 year old who is sick of the working world. He moves from CA to a retirement community in Florida and lives with elderly people. While he at first is mocking the ways of the retirees (early to rise, gossip by the pool, early to dinner, early to bed) he eventually gets to know many of them on a deeper level and learns that some of them have lead fascinating lives. Some stories are sad, some are touching, and some are funny.
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Read in May, 2007
this book was. . .ok. i was excited about it. i thought, this is an easy book that will fit in to my schedule. this is a book that will be lighthearted and not remind me of the pharmacology that i should be studying. and it did, but i kept waiting for something to happen. the author is a little whiny, and it depressed me that he had so much free time. plus when one is trying to read to escape pharamcology, a book that takes place in a retirement community is not a good start!
Read in January, 2008
I lived with my best friend Jeremy for three years. In the entire time that we lived together, this was the only book that I saw him with and the only book I ever heard of him reading.
When I moved to Arizona and got a job, this was one of the books I heard my boss talking about. I got to it before her. It's wonderful in a number of ways. What it makes me think of, what it made me feel, and what it makes me yearn for.
I can't wait to retire.
When I moved to Arizona and got a job, this was one of the books I heard my boss talking about. I got to it before her. It's wonderful in a number of ways. What it makes me think of, what it made me feel, and what it makes me yearn for.
I can't wait to retire.
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Read in November, 2007
A comedy writer gets laid off and decides to start his retirement early - about 30 some years early. He moves to Florida and has a dry run of his real retirement, checking out retirement communities, trying to navigate the cliques of pool ladies in his community, all while trying to find a date for his sister's wedding. it's a quick and enjoyable read, his experiences with J Date will ring true with anyone who's ever tried online dating!
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Read in April, 2007
What a fun read of a 28 year old man who decides to retire and move into a retirement community in Florida. Adjusting to waking up before noon, crazy cat ladies, dirty old men at the shuffleboard game and getting accepted by the in crowd at the pool are just some of the highlights in this light read. In addition to being funny, the book is about aging and about the elderly which I found sad at some points and touching at others.
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my mom and grandmother recommended this book to me (go figure). however, it turned out to be really funny and interesting. a young professional in his 20's is fed up with life as a writer in LA and decides to take an early retirement in florida. he quickly realizes that all of the same annoyances of life don't go away once you're older - the "popular" social groups, dating, lack of money - and in fact may seem even worse.
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Read in January, 2008
This book is far more serious and heartfelt than I expected. The stories that Rodney tells are witty and well-told. I found myself really identifying with him and his cronies. I'd like to give it another .5 star. The whole thing strikes me as a very genuine look at retirement communities from the perspective of an aware and thoughtful 28-year old. I almost wish I had written this book.
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Read in February, 2008
The TV writer/author stages a "fake" retirement, moving to Florida for the obvious purpose of writing this book. This was mostly an uninteresting and predictable story spiced with few humourous anecdotes about old people eating early bird dinners, gossiping around the pool and playing canasta. No shit. What the hell else did you think happened there?
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Read in February, 2008
funny stuff here, from a former writer from letterman and apatow stuff, retiring to florida in classic style, and spending all his time with old people- funny enough premise, but well written and not too cloying, and makes some pointed comments on the tuesdays-with-morrie type of old people that really don't exist...
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