This is the story of rapper/entrepreneur/comedian Jesse Itzler's stay with "the monks." It's not as hilarious as his first book about living with a Navy Seal, but it was pretty funny and I enjoyed it. Like Jesse, I thought his monks were going to be Buddhist but they turned out to be Catholic. And neither of us thought about how they made their money but these monks make theirs by breeding and training dogs. So Jesse not only got an introduction to monk life, but also to dog raising. The monastery is in upstate New York. He's a city guy and it showed. That just added to the humor though.

People who don't take life too seriously, people who want to hear about an unusual person's experience living with some Catholic monks who raise dogs. People who want a laugh.

I loved Jesse's paranoia about his neighbor because it was so hilarious. I loved the plot twist when he found out what was really going on there. I loved how he warmed up to the dogs. I loved how he found a way to exercise every day despite many challenges. I loved his imitations of the monks and how he was game to do whatever they asked of him. I like how the book read, as if he was talking to me, and just sharing his stories.

It took quite a while to get to the actual monk part. I love all of his stories so it was fine for me but someone who just wanted to hear about the monks might have been really frustrated. It would have been nice if it were as funny as Living with a Seal but that might not even be possible. Seal is hilarious on his own. In a respectfully scary way, of course.

Ask Jesse to go on some other adventure and write another book about it. I subscribed to his YouTube channel after reading his first book (if I haven't reviewed it by the time you read this, feel free to message me. I do intend to review it. In the meantime, know that I loved it!).

Entertained, surprised, shocked, amused, and at points I laughed out loud. Also I learned a few things, which makes me feel happy.

"Jesse Itzler eats only fruit 'til noon, loves Run-D.M.C., and enjoys living life out of the box. In fact, he doesn't even have a box. The author of the bestseller Living with a SEAL cofounded Marquis Jet, the world's largest private jet-card company, which he and his partner sold to Berkshire Hathaway/NetJets. He then partnered with Zico coconut water, which he and his partner sold to the Coca-Cola Company. A former rapper on MTV, he wrote and performed the NBA's Emmy Award-winning I Love This Game music campaign and the popular New York Knicks anthem Go NY Go. When not running ultra-marathons, eating vegan food, or being a dad to his four kids, he can be found at the NBA's Atlanta Hawks games, where he's an owner of the team."

It was a nice listen / read.

There is some swearing. If that turns you off, this is a skip. I prefer no swearing generally, but Jesse is so funny I make an exception.

I actually purchased this book (vs my normal borrow from the library method) because I knew it'd be funny and I'd want to listen to it again in the future. Also, I take a lot longer than most people to "read" an audiobook so I didn't think I'd finish it in my library loan time.

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Created Jul 16, 2022 at 7:54pm • Submit your own review...