Sh-t My Dad Says

By: Justin Halpern

Narrated by: Sean Schemmel

The worldwide Twitter sensation: a brilliant new comic voice, and a 100% real father-son relationship that makes Steptoe and Son look healthy....

'At 28 years old, I found myself living at home, with my 73-year-old father. As a child, my father never minced words, and when I screwed up, he had a way of cutting right through the bullshit and pointing out exactly why I was being an idiot. When I moved back in I was still, for the most part, an idiot. But this time, I was smart enough to write down all the things he said to me….'

Meet Justin Halpern and his dad. Almost one million people follow Mr Halpern’s philosophical musings every day on Twitter, and in this book, his son weaves a brilliantly funny, touching coming-of-age memoir around the best of his sayings. What emerges is a chaotic, hilarious, true portrait of a father and son relationship from a major new comic voice. As Justin says at one point, his dad is ‘like Socrates, but angrier, and with worse hair’; and 'this is the sort of shit he says':

'You know, sometimes it’s nice having you around. But now ain’t one of those times. Now gimmie the remote, we’re not watching this bullshit.'

‘Happy Birthday, I didn’t get you a present… Oh, mom got you one? Well, that’s from me then, too – unless it’s shitty.’

‘Your brother brought his baby over this morning. He told me it could stand. It couldn’t stand for shit. Just sat there. Big let down.’

‘The worst thing you can be is a liar....Okay, fine, yes, the worst thing you can be is a Nazi, but THEN, number two is liar. Nazi 1, Liar 2.’

‘Why the f**k would I want to live to 100? I’m 73 and shit’s starting to get boring. By the way, there’s no money left when I go, just fyi.’

©2010 Justin Halpern (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers US

Critic reviews

'SMDS shows Justin inherited his father's comedy genes and, as well as being very funny, also paints a great story of regular American family life -- albeit with added swearing.' ( Guardian Guide)

'Justin's dad says a lot of funny things, and when he decided to update Twitter with some of his old man's pearls of wisdom he became of an overnight sensation. This book includes some of the best quotes from Mr Halpern senior. You will roar with laughter.' ( The Sun)

'With a million-plus followers, Justin became a Twitter sensation by posting his grumpy 73-year-old dad's 'wisdom'. Now he's produced a book about their relationship. Is it wrong to kind of wish his dad was our dad too?' ( Cosmopolitan)

'A chaotic, real-life portrait of a father/son relationship.' ( TNT Magazine)

A hilarious book that deserves multiple listenings

What made the experience of listening to Sh-t My Dad Says the most enjoyable?

Everything! The stories from Justin's childhood feel real and are written to just the right length and detail to allow the reader to immerse themselves in his world for those hilarious moments. The narrator was excellent. His voice for Justin's father really brought across the no-nonsense and manly yet funny character that was his dad.

What other book might you compare Sh-t My Dad Says to and why?

Not sure.

What about Sean Schemmel’s performance did you like?

It was a great performance. His voicing if a young Justin and his dad, as well as other characters were very convincing and made the audiobook so funny!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were many. I especially found the part where Justin's dad is coaching baseball a more 'serious' and nurturing insight into his father - someone who seemed to believe in a fair go for all in children's sports, loved baseball, and thought that all the children regardless of their ability should have the right to play baseball.

Any additional comments?

None.