What’s That Growing in My Sour Cream? – 4 Star Book Review

It’s September 17th and that means it’s my turn to feature What’s That Growing in my Sour Cream? on the AudioBookworm Promotions tour. Be sure to follow the whole tour for different featured content and other reviews.

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About the Book

What’s That Growing in my Sour Cream?
Written by Brad Graber
Narrated by Derek Neumann
Publisher: Dark Victory Press (2020)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Humour
Audio Length: 3 hours 35 minutes
Page Count: 252

Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

Why is a fly circling the deli? What can you learn from your dog about aging? Is Mahjong the real game of champions?

If you’re a fan of David Sedaris, Erma Bombeck, or Andy Rooney, you’ll love Brad Graber’s new release What’s That Growing in My Sour Cream? – a compilation of over 70 humorous essays on the joys, challenges, and absurdities of life in America. Drawn from Graber’s blog “There, I Said It!” Graber introduces listeners to his sharp observations on everyday subjects such as Facebook friends, the odd messages stuffed into fortune cookies, and awkward man hugs. A bold new voice, Graber’s humor and wit are on full display in What’s that Growing in My Sour Cream?.

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Audible

My Review

What’s That Growing in My Sour Cream? is a collection of mostly humorous shower thoughts from author Brad Graber presented as a collection of blog posts or social media entries. The format is similar to Wil Wheaton’s Just a Geek, and flows well together. I enjoyed the mixture of comical hot takes on modern life interspersed with more sombre and heartfelt thoughts on death, loss, and the importance of loving the ones you’ve got while they’re here.

I didn’t connect with every story, but that’s not surprising. Brad is a gay man who’s lived a lot of life, born and raised in another generation and in another country (USA), while I’m a Canadian woman in my early thirties, raised in a time of quickly evolving digital technology and (at least in British Columbia where I grew up) a rapidly declining acceptance of homophobia. Musings on American health care and general health worries in older years, in particular, are things I have no personal touchstones for, and while mini rants about technology and modern customer service are funny, I don’t think I probably found it funny for different reasons than the author did. I also wanted to point out that there are two separate blog post entries wherein Brad complains that his husband is sick and potentially spreading it to him, and advises the audience on how to come out of such situations unscathed. While these were funny, and naturally this situation would come up more than once in the timeframe these posts were pulled from, the repetition definition stood out in such a short work, especially when listening to the audiobook version which is only 3.5 hours.

I was excited to experience this as an audiobook, hoping it would be presented more like a stand-up set. The fact that it wasn’t was not the fault of the narrator, and if I had checked reviews first and discovered this was written in blog post format I wouldn’t have expected that, but it was still disappointing. The narrator’s performance is spot-on for what the project is, 5 stars. The experience of listening to this particular format, however, falls a bit short. I do think I would have enjoyed this in print form better.

Overall I rate this 4 stars, with 5 stars given to the narrator’s efforts. I would like to thank the author Brad Graber for the free review copy, which was given to me through participation in the blog tour for this title through Audiobookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Audio Preview

Top Ten Reasons to Love What’s That Growing in my Sour Cream?

1. You see humor in everyday happenings
2. You enjoy Seinfeld, David Sedaris, Erma Bombeck, and the Chicken Soup Series
3. You think Mahjong is the true game of champions
4. You’re curious about what your dog can teach you about aging 
5. You’re perplexed by the odd messages in fortune cookies
6. You keep walking into your spouse
7. You laugh at awkward man hugs
8. You’ve gone to the theatre and experienced the big head show
9. You’ve noticed that the medicine cabinet is now in the kitchen
10. You enjoy pedicures

About the Author

Brad Graber writes novels because he grew up in a family where no one ever listened to him – so he made up stories about them.

Born and raised in New York City, Brad obtained a B.A. in Biology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an M.H.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. A former healthcare executive, Brad has held a number of management positions and been a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Certified Medical Executive through Medical Group Management Association. Though he no longer works in healthcare, he continues to volunteer with local non-profits.

After the Fall is Brad’s second novel. His debut novel, The Intersect, released in 2016, has won multiple awards and garnered rave reviews.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram

About the Narrator

Derek Neumann is an actor and voice professional in the recording arts and sciences who has studied at both the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the British Academy’s Midsummer at Oxford’s Shakespeare program.

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