Tim Anderson (4)Besprekingen

I bought this on a whim when it was on sale via one of Amazon's Kindle Daily Deals. I'm very happy with the book.

The story is about an aimless young man who decides to teach English in Japan and certainly has some preconceptions about the country. Each chapter tends to have a theme and you can see his opinions change over time. It's quite funny at times and it's interesting to read how he's perceived and his perceptions of the culture.

What happens when a candy addict is diagnosed with diabetes? This is what happened to Tim Anderson, diagnosed as a child with type 1 diabetes. The memoir is his story of growing up as a sugar-obsessed, gay, alternative music fan in conservative North Carolina. Anderson does an excellent job writing about his teenage awkwardness, but there is also far more discussion about the indie music scene than I really cared about. I found the parts about music to be a rough slog. I was also not as taken with the stream-of-consciousness sections which are renditions of the author's blood sugar spiraling out of control. I guess I wanted more traditional memoir than I got. This book was interesting enough for me to read, but it's probably not something I would go out of the way to recommend.

Story: 9
First MC: 9
Second MC: N/A
Secondary characters: 8
Mystery: 3
Sexual tension: 3
Humor: 8
Hotness: 2
Product placement: 6
Ridiculousness: 1
Annoying: 0
Audio: 10 (10h 6min)
To re-read: 10

Even though its a memoir (which I never read) I really enjoyed it. And even though I don't like YA I like this, mainly because of the heavy dose of humor (only way I could finish a YA book)
Starts when Tim is 15, gay boy with a very sweet tooth. It progresses to his life as a diabetic gay man.
There are periods when he is lonely failing to find a boyfriend or someone to take for, but its never sad he takes it on stride (maybe for the sake of a book?) We don't get the impression that his life was sad; just hard. I laughed as his inner monologues, I wonder if he is like this in real life. Never knew the struggle diabetics face on daily basis.

No sex scenes here. All off camera, we just know he has sex. finally!

The audio was amazing! Authors: this is how to get the right narrator for your book.

Sweet Tooth is Tim Anderson's candid memoir. He shares his story not only openly, but with humor as well. He takes us through his young teenage years beginning in the 1980's, when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes through his college years and into adulthood.

There are the usual teenage crushes, the embarrassing moments at parties and all the awkwardness teens go through as they find themselves and struggle to fit in. Added to all of that, Tim has diabetes and his condition and all that it entails is a serious one. Changes in his diet and insulin shots are part of his daily life.

I love that there are 80's and 90's references throughout as Tim channels Molly Ringwald and drinks Boone's Farm, the latter which I had not thought of in many years.

Tim is a talented writer and he cleverly tells his story. He seems like a down to earth type of person and I enjoyed reading his memoir. I laughed out loud a few times and cringed some others and I liked Tim's voice right from the start. He shares about a trip to D.C. he took with classmates, one where his diabetes finally sent him to the E.R., and he made it funny. As serious as his condition is, he infuses humor while telling it.

I recommend this one to anyone looking to read a good memoir and one that is not too depressing. This memoir is not for shy folk, as there is no sugar coating anything here, no pun intended.

disclaimer:
TLC Book Tours provided me with a free e-copy of this book. This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any type of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers and authors, such as this one, I am under no obligation to write a positive review.½

Positively loved this book. it had me laughing at the times i should not have been... Although some of the parts were sad the way the story was told was a good way for the story to be told. Very well written. Comedy at its best. It was great to see that he found his husband in then end. Even the credits were funny to read.

Tim Anderson had me in tears, not sad tears (though his life could have been sad with what he had to deal with), but tears of pure mirth. This memoir, primarily a coming of age story from a closeted homosexual, diabetic, awkward boy into a openly homosexual, severely diabetic, awkward man kept me reading.
His honest portrayal of raging hormones,the discovery of his sexuality and the terrifying truth of it was expertly crafted to make his reader extremely uncomfortable, but also hysterical.
I pictured him shoving stolen porn down the front of his pants, dripping sweat, guilt hanging his shoulders, fantasizing increasingly unlikely love scenarios with incredibly straight dudes.It was painful to read, in the sense that it reminded of my wild teenage imagination and the heartbreak that often accompanied it, as I was inevitably let down.
Anderson bares all in this memoir, which is sure to endear him to readers of many persuasions and tastes. If you like funny, you will like this book. His crazy diabetic episodes have got to be the most embarrassing, gripping tidbits I've ever read. Thank you, Tim, for sharing your awkwardness honestly. It really made this equally awkward reviewer's week to experience your life, which must have been a lot harder than you let on in this comedic portrayal.

Truly a gaijin's story. Too much altered states for my taste. Not as much of traditional Japan as I had hoped. He seems to spend most of his time with other ex pats. Some interesting stuff like how the Japanese create addresses for homes and businesses.

As a travel narrative, this book’s success or failure depends on the likability of its narrator. I’m on the fence about Tim, and so I’m on the fence about this book.

My first impression of Tim was very negative. You know that gay guy who is too loud, too flamboyant, and just SO gay it’s obnoxious? At the very beginning, that was Tim. The first few chapters dragged because he was irritatingly dramatic and seemed to equate swearing with humor. Though he improved as the book went on, there were times I hated him because he was the gaijin that gives us all of us a bad name—the loud American who can’t speak any Japanese, the one who gets high every weekend, the one stumbling drunk through the subway. These were the times when the book just skimmed the surface of Tokyo and didn’t attempt to dip below it. Tim could have been in any city anywhere in the world and the story would have been the same.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the whole book. Tim was not afraid to make fun of himself, which kept the narrative from being too high-and-mighty. There were times that he was genuinely, laugh-out-loud funny, due largely in part to the fact that his swearing began to complement the humor rather than trying to act as a substitute for it. I was relieved when Tim eventually DID make some Japanese friends and make an effort at learning the language, and I found these parts of the book drew me in the most. For what it’s worth, Tim also seemed like a decent teacher who put effort into his classes, not one who just skimmed by so he could keep his visa.

All in all, this is quick, fairly humorous read that is worth picking up for the chapter about the crazy roommate ALONE. However, it often doesn’t take full advantage of its fascinating setting.
I’d recommend Hokkaido Highway Blues for those looking for a more substantial cultural chronicle of a gaijin’s experience in Japan.

The entire time I read Tune in Tokyo, I was wondering why I wasn't enjoying it more. It would have made a good blog, probably, and I can see it working as a series of email updates to friends, but as a book it's disjointed and feels repetitive.

Really, I think the main problem here is that I don't click with Anderson's style. He makes sweeping generalizations and uses strange turns of phrase ("Yasuko's eyelids dim") and talks about drinking and recreational drug use but somehow makes both boring. It just all made me want to roll my eyes a lot! And then I felt mean because he seems like a decent enough dude underneath it all, but comes off as self-involved and spoiled in Tune in Tokyo. That's probably a hazard that comes with publishing something that IS essentially a diary, after all.

If you enjoy Anderson's sense of humor and voice (maybe try the Kindle sample first?), you'll probably enjoy this book, as long as you don't into it expecting a travel memoir: this is a book about Anderson, not about Japan.


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TOTALLY IRRELEVANT FAVORITE TYPO: "Stationary" instead of "stationery," more than once. This is always one of my favorite typos, but it made me giggle more than usual when Anderson discussed a washi paper store . . . "For me, it's a big pile of 'meh,' but those who are into stationary had better fasten their seatbelts."