Is It Hot in Here? Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth?

by Zach Zimmerman

In this debut collection of essays, lists, musings, and quips, New York-based comedian Zach Zimmerman delicately walks the fine line between tear-jerking and knee-slapping, and does so with aplomb.

In this laugh-and-cry-out-loud, memoir-esque exploration of selfhood, Zimmerman dives into the pros and cons of retiring a Bible-Belt-dwelling, meat-eating, God-fearing identity in exchange for a new, metropolitan lease on life—one of vegetarianism, atheism, queerness, and humor. Whether learning to absolve instilled religious guilt or reminiscing over Tinder dates gone horribly wrong, this book is a candid and hysterical look at one person's journey toward making peace with the past and seeking hope in the future.

HILARIOUS WRITING: The stories featured in this collection are an uproarious read with a strong and established tone of voice. Featuring pieces that were originally published in the New Yorker , Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? is a literary gem.

 
RELEVANT AND INCLUSIVE: Zimmerman navigates obstacles in the queer community with essays that are not only humorous and heartfelt, but also act as guiding anecdotes for young, queer community members.
 
ESTABLISHED AUTHOR AND COMEDIAN: Zimmerman has written dozens of New Yorker humor pieces and essays, a Billboard Top Ten comedy album that debuted at #1, and has been featured in New York Magazine , The New York Times , TimeOut , Vulture , and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Memoir, Humor, Audiobook, LGBT, Queer

132 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 18, 2023

About the author

Zach Zimmerman is a comedian and writer whose work has been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney's, and The Washington Post. As a stand-up, Zach was named a TimeOut NY Comic to Watch, NY Funniest Finalist, and Zach's first comedy album “Clean Comedy” debuted on the Billboard Top 10. "Is It Hot in Here? (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)" is Zach's first book.

Reviews

[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

TW// homophobia, cheating, underage drinking, mention of anxiety, mention of depression, mention of parental death, mention of alcoholism, mention of physical abuse (domestic and child), mentions of anxiety, school shooting, murder, mention of pet death

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I was hoping to love it. The title was super funny and from taking a fun writing class recently, I’ve discovered that I like reading creative non-fiction essays. However, this collection of essays fell really flat for me.

Is It Hot in Here? lacks depth. Most of the essays are very surface level and it didn’t feel like there was any purpose to writing these stories. Some were entertaining, but most of them were simply forgettable and bland. The only one that truly impacted me was “#2.” It was a really complex essay shoved between the dozens of meaningless essays. “#2” deals with the realities of gun violence. It nearly made me cry from seeing how the death of Zimmerman’s classmate effected him.

Besides “#2” though, there wasn’t much else that I liked in this book. Most of the essays were random and unconnected. The only thin strand connecting the essays was Zimmerman. I wish there was more connecting these essays to help me understand why someone should care about this collection. It would have also helped with marketing to have some sort of overarching theme for this collection. It’s hard at the moment to say who would like this essay collection since the essays range from talking about Zimmerman’s mom’s sex life to gun violence to Zimmerman’s personal meditation journey to drag queens.

I also found I wasn’t fond of any of the people in this story. I feel bad for saying that since I know this whole collection is based off of real people, but there were some people in the book who got on my nerves so much that I wanted to quit reading this book.

There was one moment in this book where Zimmerman took things too far. I don’t want to go on too much of a religious side tangent here, but Zimmerman discusses why he fell out with religion in this collection. I totally understand why and religion definitely isn’t for everyone, but Zimmerman goes so far as to say that his dad’s experience with hearing from God is just an auditory hallucination. That’s an extremely disrespectful thing to say about anyone’s experience with religion. Zimmerman should’ve simply said he thought his dad was making it up because the way that he worded it will be offensive to any religious person.

I can’t really recommend this book overall since there’s nothing super memorable about it. Zimmerman might be a funny comedian to see in person, but his writing is one that can be skipped.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How did I get this gig exactly?"
"We wanted someone gay," she said, "not too fabulous."

Here's an enjoyable passel of humorous essays by a funny, but not too fabulous comedian. I most liked the ones that dealt with the travails of a gay, vegetarian, atheist's attempts to connect with his meat-and-potatoes, bible-banging parents.

A fun collection for humor fans.


Zach Zimmerman

Some essays were originally published in The New Yorker.

Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for sharing.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was... fine, I guess? I really don't know how to rate or review this. I feel bad giving it less than 3 stars because I think it was very much a "me" issue (comedy memoirs and essays are VERY hit-and-miss for me), but I was just honestly bored throughout a lot of this and found myself skim-reading more often than not.

I didn't laugh or even crack a legitimate smile at any of the comedy bits, and I think the most impactful part of the entire thing was the segment about how isolated the author felt as a rare queer person who isn't/wasn't into Drag Race (which I fully relate to, as someone who has, on multiple occasions, sat quietly in the corner playing on my phone while all of the other people in my friendship group chatted animatedly about the latest episode). Oh, and I did enjoy some of the bits about growing up queer in a strict religious home, because that's an eternal mood.

But... yeah. This was just fine. I'll probably never really think about it again, but a lot of people will definitely love it more than I did and if you're into comedy essays about queer culture, you should still give it a try!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Zach Zimmerman is gay, multiple people mentioned are queer

✨ Content warnings for: mentions of homophobia, transphobia/trans erasure, religious bigotry, body-shaming, infidelity, break-ups

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[Sheena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay and all, I just wanted to collect the cover and I liked the title. I’ll probably forget about this within the hour

[Stay Fetters · Rating 3 out of 5]

"As God was escorted out, he looked upon his replacement. Jesus said to God, Father, please forgive me. And God called his son a scab. And God was dragged out of the factory and cast into the Lake of Fired."

This was ok and not as funny as I thought it was going to be. Sadly, the cover and the title were better than what was between the pages.

[Juniper Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Including Dunkin cold brew in your acknowledgments for a personal memoir is such a mood.
This book touched me in a certain way that all Southern queer folk relate to each other, I suppose. I felt seen in his conversations with his parents about being queer. These essays were delivered in such a beautiful way that the highs were very high, and very funny and the lows really came for the juggular to make you cry in the breakroom at work while you’re just eating your lunch and looking for a happy lil gay book to read.
The last 3 essays: Sot Down with Satan, Breadsticks and Questions for God were my favorites. I want to buy this book

[Tara Ryan-Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zach Zimmerman’s essays are full of enough humor and amusement to get you comfortable and, when you’re unsuspecting, a poignant truth sneaks up on you. These stories feel incredibly close to home, like they could be about you or someone you know. With hilarious descriptive prose and a pen dipped in truth, Zimmerman delivers anecdotes and stories that grapple with identity, family, love and growing up gay in a Southern, religious household. This is a book I’ll be sharing with all my friends. * 4.5 stars

[Blythe Roberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zach's collection made me laugh so hard. In the months since reading it I have thought often about Zach's stories about his mom, and about his journey to become comfortable with who he is. I only wish the book had been longer! Can't wait to read whatever Zach writes next.

[*JEN the booknerd* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in the goodreads giveaway!

Zach Zimmerman is a very funny (I would hope so, since he is a comedian!) individual. In this book of essays he holds absolutely nothing back. I love the progression of growing up in a religious household to where he is now! Very entertaining book! #lgbtq+

[Felix Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good bits, but I am funnier and gayer. I AM HALFWAY IN MY READING CHALLENGE!!

[Paul Kushi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comedic stories from the life of a southern raised gay man, navigating family, religion, relations, and life

[Jp Colasacco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this memoir!

Memoirs are not usually my cup of tea, and I rarely choose them. However, Zach Zimmerman was hilarious, compassionate, and emotionally insightful in this book. I appreciated the blend of comedy with the challenges of being a queer person in a religion-focused world. This memoir covers a variety of subjects, and I enjoyed every part of it!

[blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why I still judge books by their covers. I added this solely because of its incredible title, and I loved reading all the words that followed.

———————————————————————————

“Is identity a thing we construct or that we uncover? Is who I am a skyscraper I build or treasure I find by digging a whole to the center of the earth? Maybe both?”

[Niko Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this, it makes me feel more comfortable growing up close to NYC. Hilarious and eyeopening. It was like hanging out with one of my good pals. Thoroughly amusing, would love to see him perform live one day. Bravo, Zach Zimmerman

[Hannah Jarmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not the most prolific set of personal/humor essays I've ever read, but it did have some merit. I most enjoyed reading Zach's thoughts breaking generational curses and how for his Dad, not being an alcoholic that beats your kids is a step in the right direction. For Zach, not pedalling harmful christian beliefs to his future kids will be the next generational curse broken. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but also not a total snooze-fest. At times I felt the essays to jump around in a way that was hard to follow, and disrupted the flow of the writing. I think sometimes comedians who are used to performing stand-up learn to rely so heavily on the tone and delivery of their jokes, that when they attempt to write a memoir such as this one the delivery gets a bit lost in translation.

[Yem · Rating 4 out of 5]

*As God was escorted out, He looked upon His replacement. Jesus said to God, “Father, please forgive Me.” And God called His Son a scab.*

[britt_brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn’t heard of this book, but grabbed it discounted from my local indie as it sadly just closed. 😭 The owner moved out of state, and no one stepped in to take it over. Wish I could have, but I digress. I really enjoyed this personal essay collection! Zimmerman is a funny, fantastic storyteller, and I often found him relatable. Loved his clever lists, too. Just wish this had been longer!

[David Holtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zach somehow manages to be insightful, yet funny. Quippy, yet sensitive. Brief, but deep. This set of essays won’t take long for you to read, but will stay with you for quite awhile, and will help you better understand the lived experience of folks who find themselves as adults and struggle to figure out how that identity fits with the culture and family they grew up with.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew 0 about Zach Zimmerman before requesting this title. Turns out he is a comedian, and his memoir is humourous! This is a collection of essays/lists/stories about his life experience. I related to some of it, some of it I didn't connect with/love as much as others. Overall, this is a quick, and at times funny collection. I wouldn't say that it is life changing, but I am interesting in seeing some of this author's stand up.

Thank you to the publisher for an e-arc.

[Juliana Callahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the early copy of this memoir! I carry a lot of mixed feelings towards it, it was very fast and amusing to read, however I did feel it often skipped around to different stories that had very little connection. While I really enjoyed reading this, it didn't fill me with any passion or motivation to look into the author more to find more of their words. I appreciated the dry sense of humor peppered throughout but I just wish it had been a bit more cohesive overall. Definitely recommend picking it up if you're even remotely interested though!

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the perspective of an alternate life experience, and feel that generally when a person writes an autobiography, they have something to say, something to share, something that needs to be released into the world. However, I fail to see what that is in this book. I generally did not find it funny, nor was I able to glean the correlation between the stories contained within and the very flamboyant title. What was contained within seem like life experiences that are barely worth noting, and certainly not sins of the kind being indicated by the book's title. I found it boring and waste of a good title.

[Daniel B · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 - Reading this collection of essays felt like stumbling upon a chatty party guest whose stories were intriguing at first but eventually you found yourself discreetly plotting your escape from the conversational trap. If it wasn’t short, I may have taken a while to get through it as half of this very short book was pretty “been there, heard that”. Also, I may be biased because the author and myself have a lot of overlap in our lives and thought processes to the point others might like this more than me.

[Claire Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book not knowing what it was about, only liking that it seemed a quick read. But there is so much more here than just the quick stories and quicker wit. One of my favorites so far this year.

[Kiera LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, quick read wit some laugh out loud moments. Great book to read if you are looking for something easy to fly through.

[Kate Causey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, captivating, relatable. Really enjoyed this book of essays/memoir by a queer comedian raiser in southern evangelicalism

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was funny, and i enjoyed the commentary on queerness and religion, but ultimately i wanted more and the essays felt v surface level

[Manisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook.

Not bad! Def made me chuckle a few times.

[gab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, not fantastic. Thought it was an accurate portrayal of the hellscape we all live in, and I liked the quick read!

[L]

I laughed many times and think the author is funny and observant. Reading this was like watching a stand-up comedy special.

[Kevin Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the hyperbolic title to Zach Zimmerman’s Is it Hot in Here (Or Am I suffering for all Eternity for the sins I committed on Earth)? I expected the stories to be far more caustic and mean-spirited. If anything Zimmerman comes across as earnest and lovable and the self-reproach from his minor transgressions is mostly amplified by Christian guilt.

In “Salad” Zimmerman returns home for thanksgiving and engages his mother in a proxy battle over a salad. A truce is only reached when the family becomes preoccupied with eating thanksgiving dinner. In “French Kiss” the author and his partner take a sojourn abroad and a too-small dish towel comes to embody the Paris Syndrome they experience. In both stories, ordinary objects are cleverly employed as extended metaphors for the author’s psyche and his unresolved tensions with his loved ones. These nonfiction pieces are what I enjoyed most in this collection.

Other entries are more like avant-garde vignettes. There is a kafkaesque horror to “The seven days of creation under capitalism” where God must create the heavens and the earth while hamstrung by the bureaucracies of middle management. These satirical entries, while entertaining, are less substantive and (for me at least) less satisfying than the biographical stories.

Humor is subjective and though I seldom laughed out loud I did chuckle, guffaw, and snicker my way through IIHIH. There are two exceptional essays at the midpoint of this collection; #2, and Consider the Red Lobster. I found both of these stories deeply affecting and they display a deftness of skill and clarity of thought that makes me think that Zimmerman should tackle these heavier, headier subjects more often.

I expected more venom and vinegar from this collection of stories but was pleasantly surprised to discover how sweetly melancholic it was. I received an ARC as part of a Goodreads Giveaway.