Uncle of the Year, Andrew Rannells
Uncle of the Year, Andrew Rannells
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.40
Club: $10.00

Uncle of the Year
& Other Debatable Triumphs

Author: Andrew Rannells

Narrator: Andrew Rannells

Unabridged: 5 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/16/2023


Synopsis

From the star of Broadway’s The Book of Mormon and Tony–nominated Gutenberg! The Musical!, candid, hilarious essays on anxiety, ambition, and the uncertain path to adulthood that ask: How will we know when we get there?

“This is the funny, honest, cozy hang with Andrew Rannells that you’ve been creepily dreaming of. . . . A delight.”—Tina Fey

In Uncle of the Year, Andrew Rannells wonders: If he, now in his forties, has everything he’s supposed to need to be an adult—a career, property, a well-tailored suit—why does he still feel like an anxious twenty-year-old climbing his way toward solid ground? Is it because he hasn’t won a Tony, or found a husband, or had a child? And what if he doesn’t want those things? (A husband and a child, that is. He wants a Tony.)
 
In deeply personal essays drawn from his life as well as his career on Broadway and in Hollywood, Rannells argues that we all pretend—for friends, partners, parents, and others—that we are constantly succeeding in the process known as “adulting.” But if this acting is leaving us unfulfilled, then we need new markers of time, new milestones, new expectations of what adulthood is and can be.
 
Along the way, Rannells navigates dating, aging, mental health, bad jobs, and much more. In his essay “Uncle of the Year,” he explores the role that children play in his life, as a man who never thought having kids was necessary or even possible—until his siblings have kids and he falls in love with a man with two of his own. In “Always Sit Next to Mark Ruffalo,” he reveals the thrills and absurdities of the awards circuit, and the desire to be recognized for one’s work. And in “Horses, Not Zebras,” he shares the piece of wisdom that helped him finally come to terms with his anxiety and perfectionism.
 
Filled with honest insights and a sharp wit, Uncle of the Year challenges us to take a long look at who we’re pretending to be, who we know we are, and who we want to become.

Reviews

I read quite a few celebrity memoirs, and I have to say, they are rarely as funny or as entertaining as I hope they will be. However, Andrew Rannells really managed to make Uncle of the Year: And Other Debatable Triumphs an extremely engaging read. I was planning on this book being my "filler book"......more

Goodreads review by Nev

I hope Andrew Rannells keeps writing books. His voice and his stories are so funny. His first didn’t cover the period of his career after he got to debut on Broadway, so this one finally talks about Hairspray, The Book of Mormon, and more. There’s a great mix of wildly funny stories and also more in......more

Goodreads review by Doug

Having finished Rannells' first volume of memoirs back in 2019, I complained that the only thing lacking was that it ended right before he attained fame and fortune via a little Broadway show called 'The Book of Mormon', and we needed a second volume ASAP. Well, lucky for us, the pandemic gave the a......more

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2, rounded up. Uncle of the Year: & Other Debatable Triumphs is stage, screen, and voice actor Andrew Rannells’ second memoir. I feel the need to preface my review of this book with an admission that before reading it, I knew very little of his personal life and personality. I hadn’t pick......more


Quotes

“This is the funny, honest, cozy hang with Andrew Rannells that you’ve been creepily dreaming of. . . . A delight.”—Tina Fey

“If Andrew Rannells has not already won you over on the stage and screen, then he certainly will with Uncle of the Year: It’s like sitting beside a charmer who keeps filling your glass with champagne. Rannells is a raconteur extraordinaire. Funny, moving, insightful, the memories and commentary keep sparkling long after you’ve closed the book. It’s just what we all need right now.”—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Less Is Lost

“With Uncle of the Year, Andrew Rannells continues his hot streak as one of the wisest, most tender, and funniest writers of our generation. With the unsparing eye of David Sedaris and the social wisdom of Nora Ephron, he tackles the most foundational questions of growing up (and up and up) with a sweetness that also makes you laugh (literally) out loud.”—Lena Dunham, author of Not That Kind of Girl

“Reading Andrew Rannells’s beautiful, hilarious, and touching essay collection, Uncle of the Year, is like hanging out with the best friend of your dreams without ever having to take off your sweatpants and leave the house.”—Casey Wilson, author of The Wreckage of My Presence

“Rannells’s writing is sharp, funny, and honest; he offers tremendous insight into how our biggest failures not only make for the best stories but are also invaluable to who we are. This is a book for anyone who has ever stared at the ceiling and wondered how—and when and if—they managed to become an adult.”—Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding

“Someone as talented as Andrew Rannells has no right to be such a good writer. But then you read his witty, poignant, and honest essays in Uncle of the Year, and it is clear why Rannells is not only beloved as an actor, writer, and singer but also as a human being.”—Nick Kroll

“These essays . . . hilariously and endearingly explore what it means to be an adult when you don’t always feel like one. . . . A perfect blend of humor and heart.”Book Riot

“Witty and relatable . . . With a deft touch at describing tricky or stressful situations, Rannells’s essays hit all the right notes of humor, self-deprecation, and quiet insight. . . . A candid and thoroughly enjoyable read.”Library Journal (starred review)

“In conversational prose, Rannells successfully welcomes readers into his world with humor, grace, and wisdom. Theatergoers and comedy fans alike will find much to love.”Publishers Weekly

“Rannells is frank and funny, drops the right amount of names, and displays enough self-reflection to reckon with his own worst tendencies. . . . His openness feels like connecting with a good friend to talk about old times.”Booklist

“Rannells has a gift for writing genuinely funny prose, and he has a way with self-deprecation. . . . Winningly snarky, well-written essays on life, love, and celebrity.”Kirkus Reviews