Disclaimer: I received a complimentary review copy of this book. I’d like to think it didn’t influence my review, but who knows. (If you’d like me to review something comedy related on my site, contact me.)
Aaron Karo’s third book, “I’m Having More Fun Than You” spends 241 pages arguing that “being single is more fun and fulfilling than being in a relationship, and that getting married in your twenties is akin to signing fun’s death sentence.” And while I’d agree with that sentiment, if you’ve read the previous quote, you’ve practically read the book. “I’m Having More Fun Than You” felt like a standup comedy act that was written out and not fully tightened. I wanted more actual stories and less generalizing of experiences. However, if you like the Todd Barry / George Carlin type books, you’ll probably like this book too.
In fairness, I was entertained enough to finish the book and I laughed out loud at lines like “Some of us worry about dying alone. The rest of us fret about going home alone” and “A best friend is someone you’ve known for more than a decade, but if you had never met him before, and then hung out with him today for the very first time, you’d remark, “Wow. What a dick.”
I also shook my head in full agreement about Karo’s statements like “The true benefits of bachelorhood are just as much about what you don’t have as what you do have – one cannot truly live the dream without both the presence of options and the absence of annoying obligations to a significant other” and “Taking a girl to dinner is just about the most mature thing I’ve ever done. When I’m in the middle of a date I can’t help but think I’m still eighteen and soon everyone is going to expose me as a fraud.” Basically, if you can’t articulate the benefits of being a bachelor, this is the treatise for you. Then again, if you don’t yet know the benefits, you’re probably already married.
Overall: This is an average but entertaining book that makes a good souvenir if you like Karo’s standup and a better gift to give a groom at his bachelor party. If you’re not yet a fan, go see him perform instead of reading this book.
