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Vacationland
- True Stories from Painful Beaches
- Narrated by: John Hodgman
- Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins
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Vacationland
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Summary
John Hodgman - New York Times best-selling author, semifamous personality, deranged millionaire, increasingly elderly husband, father, and human of Earth - has written a memoir about his cursed travels through two wildernesses: from the woods of his home in Massachusetts, birthplace of rage, to his exile on the coast of Maine, so-called Vacationland, home to the most painful beaches on Earth.
Vacationland is also about Hodgman's wandering in the metaphoric wilderness of his 40s, those years when dudes especially must painfully stop pretending to be the children of bright potential they were and settle into the failing bodies of the wiser, weirder dads that they are.
Other subjects covered include the horror of freshwater clams, the evolutionary purpose of the mustache, which animals to keep as pets and which to kill with traps and poison, and advice on how to react when the people of coastal Maine try to sacrifice you to their strange god.
After three best-selling books of fake facts, Hodgman is finally ready to tell the truth - in the same outlandish, audacious, and inimitable style that has won him fans in every medium he has worked: books, stage, social media, television, and movies.
Critic reviews
"t's no surprise that an audiobook by humorist John Hodgman is funny. More surprising, though, are the emotional depths Hodgman reaches in this assortment of essays.... He brings the expected dose of sardonic humor to his narration but is also a gifted storyteller. With expert timing and pacing, he explores the foibles and malaise of middle age... This John Hodgman is more bittersweet than his comedic personas but also more compelling for those who appreciate some hard truths within their comedy." (AudioFile)
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What listeners say about Vacationland
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- John Sharpe
- 20-11-17
Enjoyable Yarn
I didn't abandon this book after a few chapters, promise myself I'd get back to it and eventually return it. I listened from start to finish. I was not familiar with the author but I like him.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca
- 23-10-18
Fantastic. John Hodgman is a marvel
Listening to this book felt like a... vacation. Genuinely delightful to hear this tale. Brilliant.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Suzy Buttress
- 21-11-17
Hodgman’s tales in his own voice - perfect!
Summary: Funny, poignant, candid, and true tales from the life of bestselling author and humourist John Hodgman. I laughed, I wept, and I laughed again. A must-listen!
I’ll admit upfront that I am biased: I admire John Hodgman enormously and enjoy his humour.
His previous immensely popular books of fake facts led the reader on wonderful journeys down rabbit holes of trivia. But times move on and fake facts are no longer the fun diversion they once were.
Vacationland is a stunning change of pace for Hodgman.
Entering his 40s he reached sudden clarity on his own mortality and potential lack of relevance in a youth-driven culture. He does not show any bitterness, however, but accepts that this is the natural order of things. We pave a way for those who come after. But - he is not obsolete yet!
In modest and self-deprecating terms he describes himself as a “strange, white, male monster with bad facial hair”. He shares key moments of his life, and sets them in the context of the locations where he has lived, from The Pioneer Valley in western Massachusetts to the “painful beaches” of Maine where he attests he will someday accept his death. He talks about his teenage years, fatherhood, and life as a ‘minor television celebrity’, and reflects on the events that have made him who he is.
Read by Hodgman himself, the style is conversational with beautifully descriptive passages that really evoke the visual scene. The tales are funny, revealing, and downright heartbreaking at times. He shares himself with us as never before.
John Hodgman is a wonderful storyteller and Vacationland totally satisfies, yet leaves you hoping for sequels. Highly recommended!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 05-11-17
Vacationland
If you know and like John Hodgman, this is a good book. If you don't, then it is still good, but I think at times his attitudes could be misconstrued, his humour is dry and self-deprecating and he has a clear awareness of his own character and the privilege he experiences and talks frankly of them.
Not being American I didn't see their Apple PC Ads (in which John Hodgman played the PC) when they aired and so my first introduction to John Hodgman was through his appearances as a deranged millionaire on the Daily Show. This led me to his first book, which led me to the audiobooks of fake facts and then his podcast. Eventually I saw the ads and enjoyed them too.
Of all of these versions of John Hodgman (all to some degree made-up) this book feels closest to the podcast, which is hardly surprising because, the podcast is his wisdom and thoughts and often includes glimpses into his life, and this book is full of stories from his life, true ones.
I adored the fake facts books but I grew to admire and love John Hodgman through his podcast, this book shares more of the things I love, his honesty and awareness of the unfairness of the world, his often poetic yet realistic descriptions of the world, his love for his family and, possibly most important, his weird dadness.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daniel Smith
- 05-09-23
Brilliant
I really enjoyed this book, It made me laugh and as a man in my 40s also had some very poignant moments that really me think.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with a ‘dry’ sense of humour and men of a certain age.
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