Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)?

Some personal highlights:* "Moving and Storage" was short, but my personal favorite of the essays — it really got me right in the feels* J.D. Vance being thoroughly roasted not just once, but twice* My love of Uniqlo stretchy jeans at last being acknowledged by another being (literally wearing them as we speak!)*The term "testicular eclipse" being mentioned a nonzero amount of timesJust one note:While David Foster Wallace gets paid homage in "Consider the Red Lobster", I feel like a cruise-ship themed essay titled "A Supposedly Fun Place I'II Never Screw Again" just seems like it's begging to be writtenAnyway, this is a pretty spectacular first book from one of my favorite comics: he'll reel you in with his earnestness, gut you with his vulnerability, and still manage to be funny enough to make it all seem worth it.

I read a couple of Zimmerman’s essays in the New Yorker and enjoyed them for both the laughs and the thought provoking perspectives. When I saw he had a book out I pre-ordered. I highly recommend it. I especially enjoyed the way he pokes fun at his thoroughly urbanized self just as piercingly as he deflates the peculiarities of his evangelical upbringing. It’s a courageous book because he shows affection for what made him who he is without excusing the insanity.

I could not put it down. My husband kept asking me what I was laughing about as I read, so I’m letting him read it now and he’s giggling nonstop. It’s heartwarming, brutally honest, and just plain funny. Would give it 10 stars if I could! Must read!

I found myself both laughing out loud and tearing up during this brilliant memoir. I finished it in one sitting. If you’re looking for a funny read with heart, this is it!

As someone who grew up in a small southern town desperate to get out, Zach’s story really spoke to me. Plus he’s hilarious. Anyone who likes comedic essays with a heartwarming touch (a la David Sedaris) will love this book.

Including Dunkin cold brew in your acknowledgments for a personal memoir is such a mood.This book touched me in a certain way that all Southern queer folk relate to each other, I suppose. I felt seen in his conversations with his parents about being queer. These essays were delivered in such a beautiful way that the highs were very high, and very funny and the lows really came for the juggular to make you cry in the breakroom at work while you’re just eating your lunch and looking for a happy lil gay book to read.The last 3 essays: Sot Down with Satan, Breadsticks and Questions for God were my favorites.

Zach somehow manages to be insightful, yet funny. Quippy, yet sensitive. Brief, but deep. This set of essays won’t take long for you to read, but will stay with you for quite awhile, and will help you better understand the lived experience of folks who find themselves as adults and struggle to figure out how that identity fits with the culture and family they grew up with.

I love this book which gives such an elegant insight to what makes Zach tic. His funny, insightful and heartwarming memories are a joy to read.