The Way I Heard It
Author: Mike Rowe
Genre: Nonfiction
Publication Date: October 15, 2019
Number of Pages: 272
Publisher: Gallery Books
Subject Headings: History, Humor, Facts, Anecdotes, Memories, Podcast
Summary: Mike Rowe takes his readers through his favorite shows from his podcast, The Way I Heard It. He reminisces about Dirty Jobs and middle America. He also gives us stories from his childhood and sheds light on how he heard stories and learned from them over the years. Sometimes crude but always humorous, Mike Rowe takes readers along with him while he reminisces about his past work, history, and how he ties it to his own life. He gives us anecdotes of history and allows us to see how these humorous, partially factual events in history helped shape him as a young boy, teenager, and adult. The stories are sometimes funny and other times they are enlightening. Follow Mike Rowe as he tells us about the Titanic, how he became an opera singer, and learn about his parents, also famous in their own right.
Nonfiction Elements:
The tone is light and humorous throughout the book. When Mike Rowe is giving us insight to his own life he not only tells us how he felt but we can laugh along with him and see the humor of the situations.
The intent of the author is to entertain his readers through anecdotes and biographical stories.
The book is a memoir that is filled with chapters that are cut in half between facts and historical stories and end with Rowe telling us about his own memories of his life.
This book is fast paced with short chapters that can be read quickly but you learn plenty in a short time about history, how Mike Rowe saw things, and about how he became who he is today.
3 Terms to Describe the Book:
- Humorous
- Relatable
- Personal accounts
Read-Alikes:
- About Your Father and Other Celebrities I Have Known: Ruminations and Revelations from a Mother to Her Dirty Son by Peggy Rowe
- Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
- Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living by Nick Offerman
- Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It by Adam Savage
*I highly recommend this book as an audiobook if you enjoy watching or listening to any of Mike Rowe's TV shows, documentaries, or his podcast. It brings the book to a whole new level.
I love and adore Mike Rowe. He was one of my favorite celebrities when I was younger. I remember seeing him on the set of "Dirty Jobs" and how wonderful he was, no matter how gross the situation. I'm glad to hear his humor comes through in the writing and I think I'll add the audiobook to me "listen later" list. It's been years since I've heard his voice. Thank you so much for reminding me that he's not just a one trick pony! Great annotation.
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteI hope you like it. I saw it as a suggestion and it brought me back to my childhood. Like you, I watched the show growing up and loved it. His humor is great. I was talking to one of my friends about the book and he got excited and started telling me about how great the podcast is.
Abby
He does have a great voice! It sounds like the audiobook would be the way to go.
ReplyDeleteHello,
DeleteHe really does! I preferred the audiobook but I read some of the ebook to get a feel for the writing without his voice. It was great but not the same as listening to him tell the story.
Abby
Oh I am adding this to my audiobook list! Thank you for sharing about this one. I have always loved Mike Rowe's work and am so glad to see more of what he is doing.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it! I laughed a lot and it helped me get through some of the rainy days the past couple week.
DeleteAbby
Well... after reading your annotation and all the comments that followed, I definitely need to figure out who Mike Rowe is, and why he is so loved. I will probably be listening to his audiobook as it seems that not only he is funny and engaging, but also has a great voice. Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteHe is most known for the show Dirty Jobs and he narrates quite a few documentaries for the Discovery channel. He's also just a funny guy. I will say if you are not a fan of crude humor some of the chapters might be a bit much. If you listen to it I hope you end up finding someone new to watch or read!
Abby
Fantastic annotation! Great job adapting the format to non-fiction. This sounds like a great book. Full points!
ReplyDelete