How to Ruin Everything

By: George Watsky

Narrated by: George Watsky

Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Funny, subversive, and able to excavate such brutally honest sentences that you find yourself nodding your head in wonder and recognition." (Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer and lyricist of In the Heights and Hamilton: An American Musical)

Are you a sensible, universally competent individual? Are you tired of the crushing monotony of leaping gracefully from one lily pad of success to the next? Are you sick of doing everything right?

In this brutally honest and humorous debut, musician and artist George Watsky chronicles the small triumphs over humiliation that make life bearable and how he has come to accept defeat as necessary to personal progress. The essays in How to Ruin Everything range from the absurd (how he became an international ivory smuggler) to the comical (his middle-school rap battle dominance) to the revelatory (his experiences with epilepsy), yet all are delivered with the type of linguistic dexterity and self-awareness that has won Watsky more than 765,000 YouTube subscribers. Alternately ribald and emotionally resonant, How to Ruin Everything announces a versatile writer with a promising career ahead.

©2016 George Watsky (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Poetic writings of personal experiences

If you could sum up How to Ruin Everything in three words, what would they be?

Genuine, poetic, personal

What does George Watsky bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Hearing the book in the author's own words really brought the stories to life and made it feel more personal

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It inspired me. It made me have more faith in myself that one day I could write out retellings of my own life experiences in a similar format.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

He's lying...

This book is far from ruined. In the days since making the purchase of this book, I've only put it down when I was absolutely required. Watsky's writes in a way that feels intimate and honest. And he reads as though he's telling a story to a friend. I was looking forward to a new album some day, now I'm hoping for more books.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

George Watsky delivers

The book itself was great, a very enjoyable combination if essays about watsky's life.

the audiobook cements my idea that all authors should offer an audiobook read by them. his enthusiasm as he reads his memories is perfect.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

great

Watsky is an amazing poet and author! I love this book, I enjoy his rap and was very excited to listen to this!!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Pretty good

Humorous collection of autobiographical essays. The “pale kid raps fast” guy is a clever writer who clearly crafts his sentences for maximum impact, and he’s got some good stories. It was interesting how similar his experiences were to my and my friends’ experiences in our 20s. Anyway, I enjoyed it but if you don’t know who he is, you can probably skip it. Grade: B

Great narration by the author.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I dig it

the book is great on its own but also gives great background on a lot of his songs. I dig it

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

From College Slam Poet to National Rap Star

This book gives incredible insight to the life of George Watsky. There's a palpable rhythm to each essay. Thijs would make for a great Spring Book. It's a light read and worth the extra few bucks to hear the autthor read it to you.

Solid book for fans of Watsky

Where does How to Ruin Everything rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

for me it ranks #1 that't only because this is the only book i have heard.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well Watsky hes an awesome story teller.

What does George Watsky bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The way he reads it. He is a master at alliteration and at expression

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

i have laughed a bit because some of the stories are from some of his songs. and they are awesome to hear from from the man that did these things.

Loved it

Always enjoyed George's music. This book feels distant but somehow relatable. Amazingly descriptive and entertaining.

Great artist and even better writer!

I absolutely loved this book! Watsky makes you think about how life should be lived and helps you see the fun and sadness in it.

Fun never boring

great stories never wanted to stop listening. if only there are more or where more

I will light the world with this tiny glowing screen

I have been a fan of the author for many years now. Listening to as much of the music he has created as possible. Hunting for work with Anderson Paak, Kate Nash and Kush Mody. Plus anything else I could/can get my hands on, that I have not yet heard before.

Ever since I heard Watsky on Table Talk, the YouTube show done by the SourceFed team. I have found his story's amazing and to hear some of them in more detail was great. Also the chance to see where some of his lyrics. I only wish there were more. I remember when this book was announced and I was hopping there would be an audio version (reading not being my strongest skill) so that I to could share in his tales, this audiobook has delivered.

On finishing it for the first time I wanted to just start and listen to it again. It was really that good. So maybe Watsky's right. "When the sun burns out we'll light the world with tiny glowing screens" and on my screen will be this audiobook. 10/10

Extended Watsky Spoken Word

I'm a big fan of Watsky so when I saw this book I snapped it up. Like my title suggests; it was like an extended spoken word piece by the man himself. It had me chuckling at the tropes of his life and also left me with a sense that I was with him in all his adventure but a longing to have those adventures myself.

Every minute was a lesson

How to ruin everything is an outstanding lesson in lifes learning curve. I would highly recommend this book