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How to Ruin Everything

Essays

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How to Ruin Everything

By: George Watsky
Narrated by: George Watsky
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About this listen

A New York Times best seller.

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 devoted fans across the globe. 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 Entertainment & Celebrities Essays Celebrity Nonfiction Witty Comedy

Critic Reviews

"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)

“Watsky is a skillful lyricist who has successfully transferred his wit, humor and humility into a smartly written collection of essays. How to Ruin Everything shows off his versatility as a writer and proves that the nerdy guys can also be part of the cool crowd.” (Russell Simmons)

“George Watsky is a lyrical mastermind. Unflinchingly honest, sincere, and gut-wrenchingly funny, How to Ruin Everything is one of the best books I've read this year. Watsky effortlessly translates his razor sharp wit from the stage to the page. This will be the first of many amazing books in the life of a tireless artist.” (Hasan Minhaj, The Daily Show correspondent)
All stars
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His best work to date. An honest and yet thrilling exploration of a blissfully unaware model of humanity.

Watsky

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took me a couple of goes to finish this. I think when the mood wasn't right I just couldn't get into George's reading. but I think it was a great bunch of stories overall and I liked that he read them himself because they are such personal adventures

overall a pretty great listen

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"How to ruin everything" is a short collection of stories from George Watsky's upbringing, early adulthood and beginnings as an artist.

The experience is like that of a good friend sharing his life's adventures at a BBQ. A BBQ being held at a poetry slam session.

Written like a memoir, read like a poem

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The story was well told by the narrator, interesting listen, comically describes the author's life story thus far.

Great Story

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