I’ve Got This Round: More Tales of Debauchery by Mamrie Hart
I was going to assume that those who know of Mamrie Hart know her from her formative YouTube years, such as myself. YDaD or You Deserve a Drink was and is such a great web series that is chalk full of inspirational alcoholic beverages and over the top “Oh my Wow” puns. This is all brought together by the impressive and hilarious Mamrie Hart whom I have now come to realize has done a hell of a lot more so you might know her from other things and to that I say, “Fuck yeah you do.” She is a hoot and while I would love to say I want to be friends with her, I fear I wouldn’t be able to keep up and that just wouldn’t do for the no-time-to-stop-punning Mamrie.
I’ve Got This Round: More Tales of Debauchery is a testament to the wilds (and stamina) that is Mamrie Hart. I was semi-sad to learn that this is actually her second book, as I didn’t read the first, but that will simply have to be rectified. In all honestly I think it worked out better this way. From the sounds of it her first book deals more with her life in the 20s, while this book dives headfirst into her 30s. I felt it was more relatable to my current life, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t get a hilarious treat from reading her first, and so I shall…at some point. (Lots of books in that TBR list)
The focus of this book, though it may be hard to figure out straight away, is Mamrie’s life going from one long chapter into a brand new chapter. What I mean is she is in the midst of ending a decades long relationship and we get to see her answer for herself the question of, “now what?”
While this is a sort of undercurrent to her tales of debauchery, it is by no means the be all of her book. Yes, she left her long term boyfriend and that did impact her life, but the point is it didn’t impede her life. In fact we don’t even start off with the breakup, instead we get a fun story that kind of opens your eyes to the world of Mamrie and what it is to actually know her or be her. The break-up comes after that.
GOOD POINT: I like that she did this if for no other reason to introduce herself as her own person without the need to throw in a detachable man person. She wanted her readers to know who she was before highlighting “who she was” with her old beau.
Not that there is anything wrong with starting your tales a different way, but I just appreciated this. As a woman who also ended a long term relationship on weirdly platonic ground, it was nice to finally see someone go through the same thing. Mamrie showed that it was okay to end a relationship simply because it no longer felt right. You don’t need to let something drag into terrible scream fights and hate before you know it’s the end.
It was also refreshing to see her come out on the other side of that a more fulfilled person who was, most importantly, happy with the choices she had made. This book highlighted the ups and downs one can take after a break up such as this and a lot of her shenanigans rang so true that it was hard not to just shake my head at the comparisons.
GOOD POINT: Relatable! That’s just it, Mamrie is so relatable that even through her audio book I felt like I knew her. I attribute this to her writing style. She wasn’t telling a story, she was telling her. I know that sounds weird, but that is honestly how I felt and I am sticking with it.
That is my round about way of saying the writing was good and I enjoyed it. No, a poet laureate she isn’t, but the girl can spin a fine tale while, I’m assuming, piss drunk. Actually, I don’t know what state she was in while writing it, but one can guess fairly accurately based on the stories in this book.
In the end, I would recommend this book if you have lived through similar experiences or if you simply want to know that your life doesn’t need to get boring after 30. That sometimes traveling to do weird off the beaten path shit is the way to not only live your life, but to come out the other side with some wacky amazing stories and lifelong friendships.
BAD POINT: I wish I had her tolerance to drink the way she does.
4.5 Out of 5 Stars
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