Sh*t My Dad Says
Justin Halpern
This is the predecessor to 'More Shit My Dad Says' and features humorous quotes and anecdotes from the author's father.
More Shit My Dad Says
Humor
A fast, profane, self-deprecating follow-up that turns Justin Halpern's dad's blunt one-liners into looser stories about dating, sex and early love, best for readers who enjoyed the first book's voice.
What It's About
More Shit My Dad Says is the follow-up to Justin Halpern's bestselling book built from the blunt, profane things his father, Sam, said to him. This sequel moves past the one-liner format into longer stories, mostly about Justin's own romantic life: his early relationships, the awkward business of dating, and the fumbling process of working out sex and love. Sam remains the wry anchor, handing out advice that is short, sideways and often more useful than it sounds.
The structure is looser than a conventional memoir. Halpern alternates short anecdotes with bits of his father's sayings, so the pace is quick and the chapters are easy to dip into. The tone is self-deprecating rather than polished. He tends to make himself the target of the joke, which keeps the book from feeling like a parade of lucky breaks and gives the family banter its warmth.
Reading it feels like sitting next to a funny friend who has had a few beers and is recounting the worst decisions of his twenties. It is a light, quick book, and most of its pleasure comes from the rhythm of the voice rather than from any argument or larger idea. Expect frequent profanity and frank talk about sex throughout.
Read this if you…
- enjoy blunt, profane humor and the rhythm of a family's back-and-forth
- want a light, fast memoir about dating and early adulthood
- liked the first book and want more of Sam's sayings and Justin's voice
Skip it if you…
- want a serious reflection on relationships, fatherhood or masculinity
- are put off by frequent swearing and frank talk about sex
Key Ideas
- 1
Advice delivered without sentiment
Sam's guidance rarely arrives as a lesson. It comes as a blunt jab, a joke, or a dismissive shrug, and the comedy depends on the gap between how little he says and how much it lands. Readers who find his bluntness charming will find the book's core pleasure in that gap, and it is often a useful reminder that plain talk can be kinder than it sounds.
- 2
Dating as a series of small humiliations
Much of the book's material is about the clumsy early stages of romance, where bad judgment, misread signals and embarrassing moments pile up. Halpern presents these as things everyone goes through, not as cautionary tales with neat morals. The result is relatable, though it works more as shared experience than as a guide to relationships.
- 3
Self-mockery as the book's engine
Halpern rarely casts himself as the wise or admirable one. He tends to be the foolish party in his own stories, and that willingness to be the butt of the joke is what keeps the sincerity from tipping into sentimentality. It also means the humor depends on his self-awareness, which some readers will find winning and others will find thin.
- 4
A loose, episodic format for easy reading
Rather than building one sustained narrative, the book moves between short scenes and fragments of family talk. This makes it easy to read in short sessions, but it also means there is little long-term arc to carry the reader through. The structure suits casual reading more than a book that rewards sustained attention.
Limitations
The book leans heavily on a single comic voice, and the humor depends on Halpern's self-deprecation, which can start to feel repetitive over a full book. Its focus on early romance means it offers little on long-term partnership, parenting or the deeper emotional questions that a memoir might explore. Readers looking for insight into the father-son relationship beyond the jokes may find it thinner than the premise suggests. Some of the material also reads as very much of its moment, from its Twitter-era origins.
Questions Readers Ask
- Do I need to read Sh*t My Dad Says first?
- It is not strictly required, since this book stands on its own, but it helps. The first book established Sam's voice and the family dynamic, and this sequel assumes you already enjoy that rhythm. Readers who come in cold may find the jokes land less, because much of the pleasure is in recognizing a familiar character and his habits.
- Is it similar to other comic memoirs about family?
- It shares a lot with comic memoirs that mine family banter for laughs, with a casual, conversational style. Compared with more reflective family memoirs, it is much lighter and less interested in analysis. If you want something with more emotional depth on similar territory, you might look at memoirs that combine humor with a more searching look at family life.
- Published
- 2013
- ISBN
- 9781447248958
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Category
- Humor
Book details and cover from Google Books.
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