Intimacy Idiot

By: Isaac Oliver

Narrated by: Isaac Oliver

This big-hearted, laugh-until-you-can't-breathe collection of personal essays, stories, and riffs on finding love and intimacy in New York City announces the arrival of a "a monstrous new talent" (New York magazine) in the vein of David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs, and Tina Fey.

In this uproariously funny debut collection, award-winning writer and performer Isaac Oliver serves up a comedic cornucopia of sketches, vignettes, lists, and diaries from his life as a young, fanciful, and extremely single gay man in New York City. Whether he's hooking up with a man who dresses as a dolphin, suffering on airplanes and buses next to people with Food from Home, or hovering around an impenetrable circle of attractive people at a cocktail party, Oliver captures the messy, moving, and absurd moments of urban life as we live it today.

Since moving to New York a decade ago, Oliver has pined for countless strangers on the subway, slept with half the people in his Washington Heights neighborhood, and observed the best and worst of humanity from behind the glass of a Times Square theater box office. He also rode the subway during Breastfeeding Awareness Week and lived to tell the tale. Culled from years of heartbreak, hook-ups, and more awkwardness than a virgin at prom and a whore in church (and he should know because he's been both), Intimacy Idiot chronicles Oliver's encounters with love, infatuation, resilience, and self-acceptance that echo our universal desire for intimacy of all kinds.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2015 Isaac Oliver. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

So much fun, so full of heart

A thoroughly charming memoir of how to have a sex life while still being a person in post-millennial New York

So funny!

Nothing, except Tina Fey's "Bossy Pants," has made me laugh so hard I had to pull the car over because I couldn't see the road thru the tears of laughter. Well done, Mr Oliver.

Hilarious! I needed this book!

Would you listen to Intimacy Idiot again? Why?

I will listen to it again - anytime I really need to laugh. He is hysterical. I loved his prose, his honesty, his story of coming out and dating. I can relate (even though I'm a straight-chick). I feel your pain buddy. Really great book.

Total triumph

If David Sedaris can be proud of anything in his life it is that he paved the path for extreme talents like Mr. Isaac Oliver. This book is so funny it should come with a warning to not attempt reading (or listening) in public. All the while reserving just enough moments for honesty, sincerity and dare I say sadness. It is difficult to believe that this is Mr. Oliver's debut effort and easy to believe that it will not be his last.

Fun

This was such a fun book. It kept me entertained all throughout. Isaac has a wicked sense of humor. This book allowed me to laugh constantly and even get teary eyed from time to time. I loved it.

Great book that had me laughing throughout

Isaac Oliver has had a very interesting life. While choppy in some places, this book was a good lighthearted memoir that had me laughing on my rides to and from work.

Funny

Very funny. It brings me to joy and happy. I like it very much to read this book

His voice makes me smile

And his writing makes me laugh. Isaac is so endearing. You are instantly on his team cheering for him to find love. A wonderful storyteller and a kind person make for a delightful listen.

Endlessly Narcissistic

What did you like best about Intimacy Idiot? What did you like least?

There were times when certain turns of phrases felt too contrived to be real. Self deprecation not based in sincerity has the exact opposite desired effect. This is but one more product of the Millennial overshare trend (I write this as very much a Millennial).

What was most disappointing about Isaac Oliver’s story?

The most disappointing part was that much of the book was one note. When it didn't feature ridiculous stories about his sexcapades, it featured lifted conversations overheard on the subway. Basically, I feltl as though Isaac copy and pasted his most popular Facebook statuses and some publisher/editor - probably one of many mentioned guys he hooked up with in the book - did him a favor and published it. But why? - Beyond comedic effect where was the insight and the heart? I felt empty after I finished listening.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It is probably best he read his own work. However, he had moments that made me cringe and want to scream from being so annoyed.

Did Intimacy Idiot inspire you to do anything?

It actually inspired me to approach publishers/editors with my own writing. I kept thinking - if he can string along this self-deprecating self obsession into a book deal then there is definitely hope.

So good!

I couldn't get enough of this book. I didn't want it to end. Funny and raunchy and poignant and sensitive. He has a knack for perfectly expressing the things we often think but don't say or even think would be interesting. And his performance is awesome. Im so glad the publisher didn't push the author into another reader, it would have ruined everything. I can't wait for his next book!