Vacationland

True Stories from Painful Beaches

By: John Hodgman

Narrated by: John Hodgman

Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's 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.

©2017 John Hodgman (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Subtle and profound ... A strange and very funny book - one that makes comedy out of the anxieties and indignities of middle age.” (The Atlantic)

“Achingly funny ... Sharp, silly, and sensitive, Vacationland is a literary selfie of a concerned citizen storyteller - one in which the oldest slice of the United States does a little inelegant photobombing.” (NPR)

“An ambitious departure from Hodgman’s previous authorial endeavors. It’s funny, but it’s no joke. The book is a cleverly composed meditation on one privileged American’s life - and, glancingly, on America - at a crucial moment for both.” (Chicago Tribune)

Funny, a bit uneven, a bit TMI

There are some very funny moments in this memoir, and John’s narration is excellent. It is interesting to hear about his childhood as an only, rather indulged kid, who went on to Yale, and became a literary agent, before becoming a writer as well a comedic actor.

The book goes into the time spent in his summer homes in Massachusetts and Maine with his family. The house in Massachusetts left to him by his parents. At times he is genuinely funny, at times he tells stories that will make you cringe a bit as they are deeply personal and not terribly flattering.

I appreciated that he recognized his privilege as a wealthy white male moving through the the world, and he shares his perspective on our world with insight, humor, and the ever present self deprecation. If you like John Hodgman, I think you will like his book.

Fantastic

John Hodgman is a fantastic narrator, very funny and touching book. I cannot recommend this book enough. I only regret that I am not as witty as John Hodgman, and therefore cannot write a better review.

Enjoyable, but not as funny as I thought it'd be

I wanted to listen to this because it was EVERYWHERE when I went on vacation to Maine. Definitely dry humor, and some parts were funnier than others, but overall an enjoyable way to pass a few hours of driving.

Great storytelling

What a wonderful ride along side one of the greatest storytellers of our time. -Puddin Wogoman

Very Funny!

If you have any familiarity with New England small towns, especially Maine, you will fully appreciate the author’s observations and interactions. Laugh out loud!

witty and funny

if you like witty observational comedy about how weird New Englanders are, then you must read this.

brilliant...as one would expect from Mr. Hodgeman

It was different yet familiar. This book had me laughing out loud by myself. Loved it!

Worth it even if you weren't a single child.

I hope John knows how dreadful and shamefull it feels to have to hold back actual laughter while on a busy street listening to something that no one else can hear. He did that to me.

Enjoyable and heartfelt

This is a great piece by Hodgman. He has a great talent for sharing the joy of such a wide variety of simple, yet extremely weird things.

Honest and beautifully humorous prose

A rather stark departure from his earlier works about fake facts, I really enjoyed this somewhat indulgent, yet self-aware memoir. Hodgman always reliably makes me laugh, and his honesty in this, dare I call it a missive, to his readers, is humbling and full of insight. It’s not a laugh a minute, but it’s not a stand up comedy routine. It’s a book. It’s him, recalling life, doing his best to relate experience in a humorous and thoughtful way. His narration, as always, is essential to hearing the words in the way he wants to express them. I am grateful for his earnest nature, his ability to reach to his core insecurities for a punchline while also addressing that which bothers him. Thanks, John.