Rating: 
Summary: snap! snap! snap!
Review:
i read this book when it first came out in hardcover via 'hill street press' way back. it is deliciously funny! i didn't grow up in the america south but kirk read made me want to learn how to snap!
you don't have to be queer. you don't have to be southerner. you don't even have to know what snapping is all about. this book appeals to anyone and everyone who has any kind of sense of humor. enjoy
Rating: 
Summary: how i learned to love this book
Review: How I Learned to Snap is the story of a boy growing up in the South, gay and out. Instead of a rigid chonological body structure, the story is split up into dozens of shorter vignettes which are interesting to read. Kirk Read writes with a wry sense of humor that makes you smile at times, but not laugh out loud at. It is more of a smiling type of book than anything. My friend got the book and read it in one single sitting. I read it but I wouldn't call it a "one-sitting" book - it's more like a two or three sitting book. It was inspiring as a story however, and pretty well written. If you like good writing, this book will satisfy that, but it sort of leaves you unsatisfied at the end. However, I still highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Less Than Expected
Review: I became a fan of Kirk's from his syndicated columns, and saw him at a local reading of this book. His readings are entertaining, with lots of energy, but the book itself disappointed me. It's not really his fault, but his potentially funniest chapter, an episode exploring the Southern rite of passage of tipping cows with drunken rednecks, reads as an awkward dying giggle in the long shadow of the Matthew Shepherd hate murder. The grown-ups in this book are distressingly childish. I think this material would have worked better as one or two magazine articles, or a single performance art piece, as there are countless indulgent details about characters who never reappear and seem to exist in the book for no other reason than Kirk happens to remember them. How could the decade since these events have left him with so little insight? Kirk's response to challenge is invariably to act more queer. In an increasingly post-gay world, Kirk Read comes across as just a brat.
Rating:
Summary: Good read for a mainstream audience-not just for gay readers
Review: I grew up near where Read did around the same time. There were probably times we crossed paths at area malls or movie theatres. This canvas gave me motivation to read the book.
Apart from that, our lives are incredibly different -- I am the straight mother of a toddler living in the suburbs. Yet Read's conversational tone and personable writing style made this accessible and enjoyable. Reading the book gave me the sense of having had a conversation into the wee hours of the night with a new friend, where incidents from the past become valuable character insight and cause for endearment.
I am not always a fan of memoir/autobiography, and found this more entertaining and freshly original than most in its class.
Rating:
Summary: How I learned to snap
Review: I really liked this book, I read it in two sittings and it has a lot in it that any gay person can identify with growing up in a homophobic environment. I got the impression that he's just a nice normal guy with a story to tell. And it's nice to know that everyone has a dysfunctional family.
Rating:
Summary: Snapalicious!
Review: If you enjoy some of Kirk Read's syndicated columns in the gay press, prepare for an equally insightful and amusing voice, but with a sweet anecdotal and utterly Southern charm. Read recounts his teenhood as an ongoing process of learning, suffering and coming out bit by bit, yet he dispenses with self-tortured misery, and offers an uplifting and often hilarious take on the horrors of high school. Read provides an updated version of the teen coming out memoir, with modern updates. It made me wonder how many other new queer kids cut out pictures of Sir Ian McKellan and put them on their lockers. Read recounts his personal activism in rural Virginia. Diet Coke, Casey Donovan, gym teachers, Judas Priest, drama club; "Child," this is a fun and uplifting account with all the style and richness of the best young adult fiction. But it's all true!
Rating: 
Summary: Teens will like it.....Adults..should read David Sedaris
Review: Kirk is no doubt an entertaining writer, and his experiences are interesting enough to intirgue a reader. However, as funny and entertaining as the book can be, the writing style can prove quite tiresome. It is written at a high school level, which perhaps is the purpose? Once I got to the fifth chapter I had to put it down becuase it became nagging and annoying. The writing is mediocre, I don't recommend this for anyone who wants to read a serious novel with serious ambitions. But it won't harm you to read, some will be able to read it in one sitting, others will only beable to take it in small doses, but however you read it it's worth reading if you're interested in coming out stories. The only other factor that turned me off was he seemed really stuck up, shooving it in the readers faces (at points) that he knew how to handle life better than you, was smarter than you, and has proved by writing a book about it.
Rating:
Summary: Kirk Read Kicks [kaboos]
Review: Kirk Read's book, "How I Learned To Snap" was seriously the only book that i have enjoyed in the last few years of reading. it made me laugh, it made me cry. All these emotions into one. Kirk is an awesome reader, and a fabulous person to meet. I recommend everyone to read this book, and if and when you get the chance to meet him, you will understand what a great person he is :) There is word out that he is working on another book, i will also read and own this book! I cant wait!
Rating:
Summary: Child, If You Grew Up Gay In The 80's... READ THIS!
Review: Kirk Read's first book is one of the most refreshing, entertaining books to come down the gay pipeline in quite some time. Most people will find something that they can relate to, even if they aren't gay. Part David Sedaris (the "not in-your-face" gay humor) and part Judy Blume (the coming of age part...although I don't think Judy's ever written about gay teens!), Kirk's words read like a gentle, Southern, summer breeze. He is very matter-of-fact and really does not make much of an issue out of being gay. Some of the things that Kirk writes about might be a bit shocking for some (sex with an older guy at such a young age, for instance) but the writing is so warm and honest, that I really didn't think about how serious some of the situations were. I don't want to imply that the book makes light of these situations, because it doesn't at all. The other thing that I loved about this book is that each chapter is quite short. It's the exact opposite of "wordy"- Kirk gets right to the heart of each story he tells. This book would be perfect for someone who likes to read a little before going to bed. I was able to read the entire book in a day. Don't miss out on this great book! It has a permanent place on my bookshelf!
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious... but somewhat over-hyped
Review: Many of the people I know who read this book before me kept telling me it was one of the best books they've ever read. I was somewhat skeptical, but was quickly won-over by Read's wonderful sense of humer. Upon reflection, the book itself is a great read, but has been overhyped among the LGBT Youth websites and magazines. Overall, Read has a very fluid way of writing that seamlessly brings the story of his movement from childhood to adulthood in this funny and beautifully written memoir.
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