My eldest brother gave me the gift of laughter for my birthday this year when he sent me Jim Gaffigan’s Dad Is Fat  book. 

I immensely enjoyed reading this. It was as enjoyable as eating a delicious sugar-filled delicacy, each chapter like a new cream-filled pastry to inhale leaving me only craving more. Why am I comparing a book to dessert? Why did this book make me feel so hungry for pizza? I don’t know the answers to such important questions or why I can’t stop thinking about my bed all the time now. I do know that Jim Gaffigan is an incredibly talented human being and, from what I can tell, a much better father than he’ll have you believe.

I opened this book hoping to laugh, and I did. I only wish I’d worn diapers and that I didn’t read it while trying to put the baby to sleep so I didn’t startle him with my outbursts of insane laughter.
However, there is something else I wasn’t expecting in Jim’s entertaining memoir – profound thoughts that cut to the heart of parenthood and reveal a hint of the soft tissue inside. Jim is a genius and his book is as inspiring and encouraging for parents as it is entertaining, maybe even more so.

I highlighted mostly the entire book. I think my favorite chapter of all, at this stage in my life, was the “Are you Done?” one. 

Here is a short excerpt from that:

I understand “Are you done yet?” seems like an innocent question. There is curiosity. If we have five children now, how far will we go? I’d be curious, too, but there is a lack of boundaries in the “Are you done yet?” line of questioning. Obviously this is a sensitive subject and not really anyone else’s business. People would never even ask a friend, let alone a stranger, when they plan to get their hair cut, for fear of offending, yet for some reason the “How many children are you going to have” question is fair game. This also goes for people without children. We are close with a couple who has struggled with infertility for years, and I have witnessed strangers asking how long they’d been married immediately followed by “Why don’t you have any children?” Total disregard for what they might be going through. Why is this? I don’t mean to get up on a diaper box, but individual liberties are all-important in this country … except when it comes to the number of kids you have or don’t have…So, no kids, one kid, five kids, or sixteen kids, I say we just live and let live. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave enough to have five kids. Judging other people says more about you than about the person you’re judging.

If you haven’t read Dad Is Fat , I’d highly recommend it. I gave it 5 stars and would love to bake and send him some cookies if I could. Hmm, maybe I could con my brother into delivering them for me…

Anyway, this is a great gift idea for any mom or dad or even just for yourself. There’s a regular book version  and a Kindle version. I think if you click on either one you can view a decent-sized sample that is enough in and of itself to start you laughing for the rest of the day.

I was introduced to Jim by some good friends first with his Mr. Universe  skit and I we’ve also watched Beyond the Pale , both ROLFing hilarious. 

Here are a few other books/movies by or with Jim Gaffigan that I haven’t seen yet but I imagine are most likely pretty funny also. (Don’t blame me if they are not since I just told you I haven’t seen them yet.):

Jim Gaffigan: King Baby

No Sleep ’til Madison  – I had no idea he was in a movie…

Pale Force – Jim Gaffigan AND Conan?? What could be better?

The Last Supper – ok this looks potentially sacrilegious…but it must be that good for the low-low price of $75.00!!!

Jim Gaffigan Canvas Print  – and if you think that’s a good deal, check out how much this Canvas print of him is. Yeah. I agree. He’s not pale enough.

Hot Pockets  – and if you’re really bored, you can even listen to his “Hot Pockets” bit over and over again. 

And if you just can’t get enough of the Hot Pockets guy, you can join Amazon Prime with a free 30 day trial this month  and watch Mr. Universe instantly with Amazon Prime  and Beyond The Pale on Amazon prime . 

Ok, I’ll stop now before you think I’m a lunatic Jim Gaffigan fan or something crazy like that. 

Hot Pockets….

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