{Review} My Status Update Journey by Marcus Matherne

ISBN #: 978-1432789190

Page Count: 168

Copyright: May 8, 2012

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

The author of this book also wrote the next paragraph. I wonder if you'd be able to pick up on that. If not, you might not be qualified and/or prepared to read the inside of this book. Seriously, if you read the next paragraph and you fail to consider that I'm purposely trying to over-hype the book for the potential sale, don't buy the book. Oops, let me rephrase that. Don't buy the book for yourself - buy the book for someone else.

This book is so captivating! You'll be on the edge of your seat from the first word all the way through to the last. You'll be guessing with each turn of a page. What topic will Marcus cover next? Every page is incredible! You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll be touched, moved, and inspired. This book will bring back memories that have long been buried. You'll want to read this one again and again. Or not. How am I supposed to tell? I don't even know you. Maybe you've recently been in an accident. Maybe the act of laughing causes horrible pains and spasms and causes stitches to burst. In which case, you should consider healing fully before embarking on my journey through three years of social networking status updates.

Follow my journey as told by my status updates and the intriguing commentary from the voices in my head. On this trip you find stories of a family man, growing children, delicious cereals, malfunctioning toilets, park benches, awesome soldiers, birthday parties, adorable puppies, on-line games, winter storms, roller coasters, slugs, and a high profile celebrity party. This book contains a topic for everyone! If you can't find a situation or something to relate to in this book, you are either dead or you're that person that no one wants to be around. You owe it to yourself to read this book in order to confirm that you're alive and that you are not "that guy." Seriously, what if you are a loser and you don't know it? Let me help you. Read my book. Help me, help you. Really.

About the Author:

Marcus gets a sharp agonizing sensation in his leg muscles when he attempts to place his foot behind his head. Oh, wait a minute. I guess that's not the kind of thing we're looking for here. Let me try again. Marcus lives with his wonderful wife of over fifteen years and his two awesome boys in Mason, Ohio. Better? Good, now start reading the book.

Kathy's Review:

Say what you will about Facebook; sometimes it gives really funny people an outlet to make other people laugh. Through status updates, we can share how we're feeling, what we're eating, our views on life, or something truly random.

Marcus Matherne, who is a humor blogger, has taken his collection of status updates and turned it into a book. After each status update he provides witty, sometimes self-deprecating commentary about the status. It pokes fun at Facebook, as well, and the things all we FB addicts do online. (Farmville, quizzes, etc.)

I enjoy Matherne's sense of humor and I like the idea of telling a story through Facebook status. I'm not sure this was really a "story" per se, but rather a chronological look back through his life as seen on Facebook. To be honest, I kind of like this idea for myself. I'd like to take some of my funnier FB statuses (because I fancy myself as a bit of a humor writer myself at times) and put them into some kind of more permanent collection. If, for nothing else, for my own benefit. I like to go back and see my own personal history, or chuckle at something I wrote back in 2010.

Reading this is like reading a friend's Facebook wall in a creepy, stalker-like fashion, without the distraction of Bubble Witch Saga requests popping up from time to time. Except Matherne doesn't mind you being creepy or a stalker. I don't think, anyway.

The writing lacks some polish - it seems like Matherne just sat down and wrote some commentary after each of his statuses without going back and editing. It seems very "stream of consciousness" although he does come back to some common themes and tie certain statuses together (e.g. clipping toenails in a hotel room - you'll hear about it more than once!)

I'd recommend this for avid Facebookers with a sarcastic sense of humor.

I'm just sad he's not going to invite Hall and Oates to his party. (I'm a big fan.)



* As a side note, I found Marcus through Wordpress, where he writes funny stuff at: http://voicesinhishead.com. He sent me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review. And a donut. Just kidding about the donut. I'm still waiting for it.