THAT'S SOME GOOD HUSTLE, Magary! No, but really, I have always enjoyed Drew Magary's sense of humor, and this short memoir entertained the crap out of me. YMMV - I'd try his Dadspin columns first if you are wondering if this will work for you. And as always, I kind of wish his Ryan brother parody columns from KSK could be a book, because those make me cry laughing. ( )

I would change the title of this book to, "How Not To Parent." In short, this man and his wife are awful parents, and their children sound like monsters. ( )

Magary was just as funny here as he is on Deadspin, Gawker, and in GQ. It made parenting seem hilarious, scary, and certainly life-changing. I laughed out loud at least half-a-dozen times per chapter. I consider that my seal of approval. ( )

Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood
Written and Narrated by Drew Magary
Ⓟ 2013, Penguin Audio
4.80 hours

Someone Could Get Hurt is a reality-based book about Drew Magary’s experiences as a father as he struggles with the challenge of being a selfish prick at the same time. There are moments in this memoir of honesty, tenderness and even some humor, but it all comes at a cost. All parents make mistakes and it takes courage to admit them, but even if even a fraction of what Margary wrote is true when he reacted to his little girl in “a particularly difficult incident”*, the listener’s response can only be one of sickening revulsion. While he doesn’t play this section for laughs, there is an implicit tone suggesting, “What parent hasn’t lost their shit and done something heinous to their kids? It’s a horrible thing that happened, but it’s okay! It happens! The kids are resilient!” Hmmm… Let’s just say I vehemently disagree and this one section negates any positive feelings I had for this book altogether.

Technically, there was nothing wrong with the recording itself: The production values were solid. Authors narrating their own memoirs is appropriate and; Margary’s skill in delivering the material was well-paced, clear and genuine in feeling.

* "'Someone Could get Hurt' By Drew Magary: All I Ever Want As A Parent (EXCERPT)" - In this article in The Huffington Post, Magary makes it seem that the only thing he did to his daughter was spank her. It should be noted that in the book, he recounts that he also screamed into her face, hit her and threw her into a cold shower.

OTHER: I dnloaded a digital copy of Someone Could Get Hurt (written and narrated by Drew Margary) from downpour.com. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post. ( )

If you like Drew Magary's columns on Deadspin, Gawker, GQ, etc., and if you have or are about to have children, you'll enjoy this book. He sandwiches several hilarious and sometimes surprisingly heartwarming stories of parenthood between one heartbreaking story of his third child's experience in a NICU. You'll get filthy humor, stories of true idiocy, DESCRIPTIONS IN ALL CAPS, and even a little advice. ( )