Books of Adam: The Blunder Years

by Adam Ellis

Adam Ellis knew it was time to leave art school when a fellow student presented her final project to the "I put a condom on the Virgin Mary," she announced, unveiling a cheap figurine sheathed in latex. The professor loved it. Baffled by the praise his classmate receives, and intent on becoming an artist on his own terms, Adam plots his escape to Portland, Oregon to begin his life in the real world--only to realize that adulthood is a lot harder than it looks. Based on the blog of the same name, Book of Adam details Adam's hilarious trials and tribulations in his attempt to become a functioning member of society. From his arrest after shoplifting a bottle of chocolate milk to a misguided attempt to make friends that lands him in a shack with a hippie couple who have just skinned a rabbit and are trying to entice him into a three-some, Adam is an amicable guy who can't seem to keep himself out of trouble. Paired with his signature black and white illustrations, Adam's stories weave together an uproariously funny and ultimately charming narrative about a young man trying to find his place in the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Graphic Novels, Memoir, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Biography

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Adam Ellis is a 25-year old artist, blogger and reluctant hipster who lives in New York. When he isn't illustrating for his site, he does freelance design for comic book publishers. He also hates tomatoes and can't do long division.

Reviews

[Christopher Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I adore Adam's website and I found this book amusing, it wasn't the "laugh out loud" read I was expecting. He closes with a great chapter about what's he's learned in life (Which is awesome) but overall I found the book average. Some great insight into Adam's brain and history - which I think is fun - not a bad read but not a great one either.

[Mery ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

It was easy-read, and each chapter was a blog-like short story about the years when the author moved to Portland. Almost on each page, you got a good laugh, and the final chapters had pretty serious debates about whether humans are capable of doing truly good deeds without thinking themselves. It also did teach me stuff about tea that I didn't know of.

[Chandan Sinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you would have asked me to read just one book this year, just one, I would have chosen this. Yes, this seemingly goofy, weird cartoon cover book that holds a rich treasure of creative writing in its pages. Mind you, I read a lot of wonderful books this year. Yet this takes the cake, simply because it has all the elements I was desperately searching for. It made me chuckle, it made me laugh, it made me ponder, it made me feel awe and go wow! It's a sitcom, it's sort of an autobiography, it's sort of silly and yet it is so mature from the broader perspective, it's a book that teaches few crucial lessons, it's a complete treasure trove.

Through his remarkable wit, articulate writing and humorous illustrations, Adam Ellis has created something that feels so easy to attain yet so hard to master. This book recounts the mischievous adventures, realizations, and revelations of the author from his late college years to mid-twenties. On each page, Adam unpacks some or the other incident that just makes you laugh your heart out. And then he moves to another and then the another and you feel it. You feel for the character because in some or the other way it's all of our struggles. Life outside the college walls is hard (though it wasn't that easy in college either). It takes time, skills and a little bit of luck to establish yourself and Adam knows it perfectly.

Without going into the detail, I could really draw a parallel between the protagonists of this book and Ib's Endless Search for Satisfaction, given I was reading both of them alternatively, albeit with a contrasting end. Unlike the later, Adam ends the book on a hopeful note, with a sense of optimism supported through positive actions and an encouragement for living life gloriously in all its ups and downs. This made me love this novel even more.

P.S - The greatest thing of all, it was a buddy read. Finally!!! Thank you buddy for telling me about this wonderful art piece :)

[Anubha (BooksFullOfLife, LifeFullOfBooks) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Id rate it 1.5 stars
It started out nice, a man finding his own way in Portland, but I don't know, the adventures he went on should have been fun and exciting, rather they were dull and boring. They weren't even miserable but plain boring. The story foregoes character development and so you get a list of Do's and Don'ts in the end pages. Personally nah wont pick this up for a reread again neither would recommend it to anybody

[Joe Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read getting to experience the humorous predicaments Adam gets up to and his insecurities and revelations.

There’s a chapter I skimmed about an actual relationship. Up until that point he seems vaguely asexual, but he talks about his significant other without once referring to gender or saying boyfriend or girlfriend. I don’t know why but this annoyed the heck out of me. He talks about men and women friends throughout the book but avoids it talking about love.

I just wanted a mental image and there was none and I couldn’t read the chapter until I had uncovered the mystery. Which I never was able to do.

Despite that, I enjoyed the book and love his cartoon work. His insecurities humanize him and make him so relatable. Great quick read

[Lori T-m · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is new to my local library and the cover caught my attention. I'm so glad I brought it home, it was extremely relatable in some areas, and I definitely laughed out loud several times (his call of the wild story was my favorite). His animations match his stories perfectly and the whole book is mostly comical from start to finish. I will definitely be checking into anything else he's created.

[Jennifer Ganley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*

I can't really say whether I liked this book or didn't. It was good enough to finish, I actually laughed out loud at a couple parts, but it was a pretty meaningless book. Ha! I'm not sure what the purpose was in writing the book. Maybe it was supposed to be meaningless, but with humor. So then it was perfect! 😂

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, easy read. Would be ideal for anyone in a book mourning phase, or someone who needs a break from reading without actually taking a break from reading. I like that the stories were short and simple, it made even the least funny of them easy to get through. Overall, would give it a 3.5

[Bobby Pelphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could’ve been three stars but...

I felt the pronoun game he plays is a bit dishonest. In every chapter he uses them for both male and female friends. In the chapter where Adam discusses Riley, he forgets to use them. Meh

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard to know how I feel about this book. I really enjoyed some of the essays but really disliked others. His humor didn’t hit me right a lot of the time. I’m interested in checking out his other book, which I think is more comics-heavy than this one.

[Matthias Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the endearing real life story of Adam, who is trying to get his life together. It reads a little bit like a diary.
It is enjoyable, but it isn’t really as fun or exciting as I had expected.

[Kimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Less of a comic book, more of a memoir

Very entertaining moments of the author's life. I was expecting more comics though, so I was a little disappointed, but the stories more than made up for that.

[LisaSunshineGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and want to own it. It's on my Christmas list for this year.

[Randi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read. Not necessarily funny but still enjoyable.

[Nikki Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and easy read. I enjoyed it. :)

[Ruslan Brezov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny little book to brighten up your day.

[Stuart Salmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read and good for a laugh.

[Ethan E Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a big fan of Adam Ellis for a long time. I was glad to read a bit about his early career and time in Portland. It was also cool to see how far his art has come.

[Laurla2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

-2 stars. not for me. i quit reading halfway through.

a collection of essays i did not find humorous. there are illustrations in it, but this is NOT a graphic novel like i expected.

[Erin Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has some really funny moments but quickly lost it's charm. Some of the stories made me feel uncomfortable and just plain bored. I enjoyed the doodles

[Jordan Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

so fun to revisit this one! forgot how different Adam's early stuff is but the nostalgia was welcome

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

It really picks up after page 60 during the Patricia story. I was laughing out loud numerous times.

[Zen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really excited when Adam announced he'd be writing a book; I'm a regular reader of his blog (which he hasn't updated in ages, unfortunately), and have always admired his blogging style.

Books of Adam is a collection of essays/articles detailing & illustrating parts of Adam's life, from his final months at university until his move to Portland (as well as a little trip to Hawaii). Some of the essays have been recycled from his blog - but with additional content - but others are most definitely new.

I love how Adam is so honest and frank about the things that happen in his life... even though some of these things are too bizarre and it's difficult to imagine that they could happen to anyone. He has an easy writing style and I was able to finish this book within a couple of hours.

A definite recommendation!

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blog followers will recognize the grin-while-reading/guffaw-at-illustration format but Ellis takes it a step farther and ties the vignettes together into a thoughtful narrative that is both endearing and LOL-inducing. Through relocation, relationships and self-revelations, Ellis' memoirs are easily relatable even if you've never interrupted scissoring vagrants. There are lots of illustrations and his signature style is consistently creative and expressive. Whether or not you've read the blog (yet), The Blunder Years is perfect as a standalone. It's a great way to spend a lazy afternoon - empathizing with Adam and chuckling at his exploits! NOTE: Reading Books of Adam may cause fits of explosive laughter... and embarrassment if in public.

[Kelly Haskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I follow Adam on Twitter, so was happy to see he had a book coming out. I enjoy his blog postings and accompanying drawings, plus he moved to Portland, Oregon, a city I call my second home. This book is both funny and thoughtful - I laughed out loud more than once - the situations that Adam writes about are full of truth. Silly, hilarious truth. Please make sure you don't have a full bladder when reading about the bagel bites. Fair warning.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like the blog you will LOVE the book. Adam drew a picture of a cat wedding for me once on twitter so I think he is an amazing human being. That's all it takes so endear me to you forever. Buy this book and laugh your butt off. Every single story is hilarious. I like to image myself to be just like Adam even though I'm not even sort of like Adam. He's just that relatable. BONUS it includes a drawing of a cat. Just so you know.

[Kara Prem · Rating 5 out of 5]

've followed Adam Ellis online for a year or so, and even had him turn a photo of mine into an illustration, he's funny and his drawings just make me laugh. The Blunder Years is a series of stories from his life starting with the end of his college years and then looking at young adulthood as someone just trying to get by. He turns the every day into something we can laugh at, and adds the best illustrations. An easy and fun book to read.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you follow the blog you'll love the book, if you haven't seen the blog but you have an appreciation for humorous reflections of life efforts with additional comic(literally) relief, you'll love it. I was excited to pick this one up and enjoyed reading new stories and not very many repeats from his blog. Adam shares a good natured humor as he retells stories of his attempts to succeed at life after college and he did it well.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was everything that I needed it to be. It's a creative and whimsical take on my generation that felt like a good conversation with a friend. While it was laugh-out-loud funny, I also found his pieces appropriately thoughtful. The illustrations, highlighting the more absurd moments of modern life, function as cake topper to this little book and it is all the better for them. Some typos? Sure, but leaving those aside it was pitch perfect.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is in a style familiar to readers of his blog complete with his drawings peppered throughout. But it wasn't the laugh-out-loud read I expected. It was amusing but I think I would've preferred a series of funnier but unrelated essays to this series of "starting my adult life" but less amusing ones.

And I wish he'd update his personal blog more instead of spending all of his effort at a website I avoid as much as possible (Buzz Feed).