Pure Innocent Fun: Essays | 
panIn “The Emancipation of Me,” Madison admits he‘s never finished a Franzen book aside from his essay collection, “because who can‘t finish an essay collection?” His self-deprecating response is, “Most of my friends I give my book to probably.” This is obviously meant to be a joke but…WOW, I AGREE.
I shouldn‘t have finished this. I was deeply bored by it. And I‘m exactly his age, which means it should have been a delightful nostalgia trip. 👇🏻
monalyisha 1/3: I was tricked into reading this book by a remarkably cool cover design, a reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the synopsis, and a surface-level similarity to R. Eric Thomas‘ work, which I love. Both writers are gay Black Milennial men writing memoir-style essays, leaning heavily on pop culture references while, ostensibly, offering a deeper societal critique. 13h
monalyisha 2/3: Thomas, though, is a beautiful writer. I can see how Madison might be an entertaining podcast host (and friend) but I do not think the same can be said of him. Madison‘s essays are rambling, repetitive, poorly organized, and self-involved; they don‘t accomplish the task of using self-reflection to comment on grander ideas. Instead, the vibe is “These are the things that made me ME. Ta-da!” 13h
monalyisha 3/3: I‘m glad he‘s found some semblance of self-confidence and I‘m remiss to knock him down but this is the kind of writing perfect for LiveJournal — NOT a formal book. Really, I should have known we wouldn‘t vibe when he proclaimed that “people are mostly just trying to seem cool when they claim [Hercules] is the best animated Disney film. It only has three songs anyone actually remembers.” That soundtrack slaps. 13h
ChaoticMissAdventures I love his podcast. I have listened every week for years (since the beginning I think) but when he said he was putting out this book I had zero interest. It is interesting how the mediums do not cross over for him. He and Louis are a real fun time though if you are looking for a pop culture podcast. 13h
monalyisha @ChaoticMissAdventures I meant it when I said he‘s probably a great host! This format does him no favors. I did appreciate his analysis of “Bring It On,” though. So, at least there‘s that? 13h
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