Rating: 
Summary: One of the funniest & heartfelt books you'll ever read......
Review: I cannot recommend this book enough! Bob Smith is an author with a comedic touch to his writing that I have never found before. I laughed out loud. I cried. I read it again. You too, will laugh out loud. You too, will recommend this book to others (gay or straight). You too, will be glad you purchased this book. Trust me folks, this one is not to be missed....
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest & heartfelt books you'll ever read......
Review: I cannot recommend this book enough! Bob Smith is an author with a comedic touch to his writing that I have never found before. I laughed out loud. I cried. I read it again. You too, will laugh out loud. You too, will recommend this book to others (gay or straight). You too, will be glad you purchased this book. Trust me folks, this one is not to be missed....
Rating:
Summary: Bob Smith paints a work of art with words. Hilarious!
Review: I hate to make broad generalizations about people, but as a gay man, I've noticed that we are a very competitive breed. I like to imagine that, throughout the ages, gay (or alledgedly gay) male artists have always maintained an "I could have done that better" attitude with their peers. For example: Michaelangelo to daVinci: You know, Leo, Mona's hair is just WRONG! I would have put her in an up-do! Liberace about Van Cliburn: Oh sure, she can play well, but where's the presentation? Edward Albee to Tennesee Williams: Sexually oppresed Southern women......yawn. Spousal verbal abuse during a dinner party makes for a much more interesting plot. With this in mind, you have to understand my eagerness in reading Bob Smith's new book, OPENLY BOB. As a fellow gay comic and friend, Bob and I have shared many venues together and have laughed at each other's jokes. On more than one occassion, Bob has blurted out one of those lines that makes me think, "I wish I'd written that!" We both find humor and material in our own childhoods and idiosyncractic families. I, too, have a desire to pen my own book someday, perhaps about growing up in the Southern Baptist Church in Texas. Nonetheless, I felt certain that, while I would enjoy Bob's book, I would be finding ways that I could have written a better tome. I was wrong. Whether you know him as a part of the groundbreaking Funny Gay Males; as the first and only openly gay male comic to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; from his very own HBO special; or as co-author of the book, GROWING UP GAY, Bob Smith is no stranger to gay and lesbian audiences. Say what you will about Bob's dry, monotone delivery onstage, but the man's got a gift with words that is virtually unparalleled among authors, gay OR straight. OPENLY BOB is a collection of essays on a variety of life experiences which flow from Bob's mind like paint to a canvas. He's not so much of an author as he is a "word painter". My favorite line in the whole book is in Bob's essay on auditioning for roles in L.A. After one of these many auditions, Bob recounts trying to figure out if the casting director liked what he had done. "Her smile was like a Samuel Beckett play--easy to read but difficult to interpret." His mere description of the woman and her office is a perfect example of Bob's ability to create a mental image that's both vivid and clever. "(She) was a woman.......who wore a pair of thick black eyeglasses that were so stylish they affected my vision more than hers. Her desk groaned under the piles of headshots and resumes, which was understandable---I'd complain too if I had to support that many lies." Interestingly enough, the essays (chapters) in the book are so diverse, that each reader will identify with different parts of the book. As I have been single for many years, and Bob and his partner, Tom, have been together for many years now, I didn't get as much out of the essay on couples counseling as some of my "married" friends have. By the same token, as I have spent several summers performing in Provincetown, Bob's musings on that subject had me roaring with laughter at things which may not be as identifiable to someone who's never been to the "pink tip of Cape Cod." And while Bob has changed the names of several "characters" in the story, anyone who's spent any time in P-Town will quickly know about exactly to whom Bob is referring. Change the names and you can say whatever you want about somebody! Which leads me to my only real criticism of the book. While many characters throughout the essays are compilations of different people rolled into one, there are a few places where Bob's pen turns a bit vicious towards "pseudo-named" performers who, although they may not be everyone's "cup of tea", they are beloved by a great number of people, and are actually wonderful people themselves. Nonetheless, this is a minor flaw on an incredibly brilliant literary jewel. While I don't want to give away every chapter topic in the book, Bob's final essay on going home for his father's funeral exemplifies Bob's ability to take a seemingly grim occasion and turn it into not only a celebration of family ties and quirks, but also a poignant tale of love and acceptance in the midst of life's continuing dynamics. Like Maxwell House coffee, OPENLY BOB is "good to the last drop".
Rating:
Summary: I'd Give It Six Stars If I Could....
Review: I'd Give it six Stars if I could, but five stars is the highest rating. At any rate, this is the funniest and most touching book written by and about a gay man. At the risk of sounding trite, it IS a must read and it's enjoyable for anyone, not just gay men. Whenever I need a really good laugh, I turn to the chapter entitled, "Hurricane Bob". If you are looking for a really good book and can't make a decision, then get this one. You just can't miss.
Rating:
Summary: I'd Give It Six Stars If I Could....
Review: I'd Give it six Stars if I could, but five stars is the highest rating. At any rate, this is the funniest and most touching book written by and about a gay man. At the risk of sounding trite, it IS a must read and it's enjoyable for anyone, not just gay men. Whenever I need a really good laugh, I turn to the chapter entitled, "Hurricane Bob". If you are looking for a really good book and can't make a decision, then get this one. You just can't miss.
Rating: 
Summary: Laugh out Loud Funny
Review: If you have heard or read David Sedaris and liked him, my guess is you will really fall for Bob Smith. Funny and engrossing, this is a book to buy!
Rating:
Summary: Laugh out Loud Funny
Review: If you have heard or read David Sedaris and liked him, my guess is you will really fall for Bob Smith. Funny and engrossing, this is a book to buy!
Rating:
Summary: Price of book is on me if u're not happy with it!
Review: Know what? I thought this would be another typically boring biography of a gay man's life -- the in's & out's of mundane everyday living, vexing moments grappling with a emotional tumults being gay, etc. However, I was only to be proven wrong. His 'breezy' style of writing makes u wanna hold on to it till u're done with it. In fact, u'd wanna start reading it before u can plop down firmly in ur favorite couch! A GOOD READ -- A *MUST* READ!
Rating:
Summary: Laughing out loud in the privacy of your home.
Review: No matter what, no matter when, no matter how often I read this book, I laugh every time. I've read each book from Bob Smith at least 5 times, and I am enlightened, humored and tickled every time I (re)read them. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes reading autobiographical humor, especially if you've ever thought your life was funny enough to publish.
Rating:
Summary: Way to Go, Smith!
Review: One of my favorites. Unfortunately, I -lent- my copy to a man I was not quite seeing, & he decided that I had "given" the book to him. Anyhow, the book is thoroughly entertaining, honest, straightforward & LOL hilarious! Read it!!
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