Books › Failure is an option
Failure is an option
256 pages
A hilarious, anti-inspirational manifesto that gives you full permission to lower your expectations and embrace your inner slacker.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir feels like sitting at a dimly lit bar with your funniest, most unapologetically underachieving friend. The narrative moves at a brisk, conversational clip, driven by a deadpan cadence that makes it impossible not to hear the author's iconic voice in your head. It is a masterclass in the comedy of errors, wrapping absurd anecdotes and spectacular missteps in a warm, low-stakes atmosphere. Instead of the usual celebrity hustle-culture preaching, the text offers a deeply comforting, anti-inspirational embrace of mediocrity. The prose is wry, digressive, and effortlessly funny, inviting you to laugh at the universal experience of messing up. It is a delightful, pressure-release valve of a book for anyone exhausted by the demand to constantly succeed, offering the sweet, hilarious relief of simply giving up.
- Mood
- low-stakes
- amusing
- relaxed
- slightly chaotic
- Tone
- wry
- self-deprecating
- deadpan
- absurd
- conversational
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- embracing mediocrity · absurdity of ambition · lowering expectations · comedy of errors · anti-hustle culture
- The writing
- Conversational and digressive, heavily infused with the author's signature deadpan cadence and comedic timing.
- The arc
- Moves from a baseline of humorous self-pity to a surprisingly comforting acceptance of one's own limitations.
- Who it's for
- Fans of alternative comedy and anyone exhausted by hustle culture who just wants permission to be gloriously average.
Content notes
- mild profanity
- self-deprecation
About the book
"H. Jon Benjamin--the lead voice behind Archer and Bob's Burgers--helps us all feel a little better about our own failures by sharing his own in a hilarious memoir-ish chronicle of failure. Most people would consider H. Jon Benjamin a comedy show business success. But he'd like to remind everyone that as great as success can be, failure is also an option. And maybe the best option. In this book, he tells stories from his own life, from his early days ("wherein I'm unable to deliver a sizzling fajita") to family ("wherein a trip to P.F. Chang's fractures a family") to career ("how I failed to sell a pilot"). As Jon himself says, breaking down one's natural ability to succeed is not an easy task, but also not an insurmountable one. Society as we know it is, sadly, failure averse. But more acceptance of failure, as Jon sees it, will go a long way to making this world a different place. a kinder, gentler place, where gardens are overgrown and most people stay home with their pets. A vision of failure, but also a vision of freedom. With stories, examples of artistic and literary failure, and a powerful can't-do attitude, Failure Is an Option is the book the world doesn't need right now but will get regardless"--
Description from Open Library.
Books like Failure is an option
See why they match
How to fail at almost everything and still win bigScott AdamsA wry, contrarian playbook for turning a string of embarrassing failures into a personalized system for success.
Paddle your own canoeNick OffermanA hearty, wood-scented manifesto on living deliberately, loving fiercely, and finding joy in the simple things.
FoodJim GaffiganA hilarious, unapologetic love letter to the worst foods in the American diet, delivered with the timing of a master stand-up.
VacationlandJohn HodgmanA hilarious, painfully self-aware stroll through the haunted forest of middle age and the unforgiving beaches of New England.
Yes PleaseAmy PoehlerLike sitting down for a boisterous, wine-fueled dinner with your funniest, wisest friend who isn't afraid to tell you the messy truth.
I might regret thisAbbi JacobsonA funny, vulnerable road trip through the messy realities of relationships and self-discovery.