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I Hate Myselfie: A Collection of Essays

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The book that more than 12 million YouTube subscribers have been waiting for! Shane Dawson鈥檚 memoir features twenty original essays鈥攗ncensored yet surprisingly sweet.

From his first vlog back in 2008 to his full-length film directorial debut Not Cool, Shane Dawson has been an open book when it comes to documenting his life. But behind the music video spoofs, TMI love life details, and outrageous commentary on everything the celebrity and Internet world has the nerve to dish out is a guy who grew up in a financially challenged but loving home in Long Beach, California, and who suffered all the teasing and social limitations that arise when you鈥檙e a morbidly obese kid with a pretty face, your mom is your best friend, and you can't get a date to save your life.

In I Hate Myselfie, Shane steps away from his larger-than-life Internet persona and takes us deep into the experiences of an eccentric and introverted kid, who by observing the strange world around him developed a talent that would inspire millions of fans. Intelligent, hilarious, heartbreaking, and raw, I Hate Myselfie is a collection of eighteen personal essays about how messy life can get when you鈥檙e growing up and how rewarding it can feel when the clean-up is (pretty much) done.

I hate my selfie: an introduction --
My destinee --
My high school musical --
Two first kisses --
The original catfish --
Between Hollywood and an abortion clinic --
Denny's and death --
My birthday suit --
Internet famous --
How to survive a horror movie --
The mean girl got fat --
My girl (space) friends --
My strange addictions --
YouTube got me fired --
Astral projection --
Just a pretty face --
My leg twin --
Shocktuber --
Prom

228 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2015

708 people are currently reading
13735 people want to read

About the author

Shane Dawson

6books1,245followers
Shane Dawson is a director, actor, comedian, musician, YouTube vlogger, and the New York Times bestselling author of I Hate Myselfie. He lives in Hollywood, California.

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5 stars
6,189 (45%)
4 stars
3,485 (25%)
3 stars
2,188 (16%)
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859 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,317 reviews
Profile Image for Paige  Bookdragon.
938 reviews639 followers
November 5, 2015

EDIT: Check out Nenia's review and you'll know why this fucking shit is disturbing.


Dunno who this guy is, but his jokes are mean and crude.

"One day she came up to me with an idea I knew was bad from the second it left her dick-suckin' lips."

Shane, to the woman cutting his hair, three pages in: "AM I OKAY WITH THAT?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, YOU BARELY GED-ACHIEVING, TACKY-DRESSED SNAGGLE-TOOTHED CUNT? NO! This was NOT ok!"

And did I mention date rape jokes are never funny?

I wasn't the prettiest girl at the prom but I was definitely good enough to get date raped.

description
Profile Image for Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill).
1,381 reviews3,537 followers
August 29, 2022
Shane Dawson was one of the most influential figures on social media until 2020. In 2020 he landed up in many controversies. He is now considered one of the most controversial people on social media.

I was in two minds about picking up this memoir which has a collection of a dozen essays. In this book, he shares his experiences from high school, the internet, youtube, and even astral projection.

This memoir shows us why we should be careful in making social media stars our role models. This also shows us everything wrong with the life of social media celebrities. He actually tried to write it honestly, which unfortunately backfired as this book is filled with many of his unfiltered, troublesome offensive thoughts.

If you are planning to read this book, I must warn you that it has a lot of content warnings.

Fat-shaming and slut-shaming are written in such a way that it is the norm of our society
鈥淲atching obese people go directly from their Weight Watchers meeting to a frozen yogurt shop is like watching all those poor people fall off the sides of the Titanic when it was sinking. If they only knew how that cold water would kill them.鈥�


鈥淚t鈥檚 the same feeling a wicker chair gets when a circa-2006 Kelly Clarkson takes a seat. TENSE.鈥�


He didn鈥檛 even spare his grandmother from fat-shaming
鈥淚 was super close to my paternal grandmother, who had just died. Everyone always said when I grew up I would look just like her, which was disheartening, considering she was a morbidly obese woman who lived in a chair.鈥�


Things get messier and more problematic when we go deeper into the book
鈥淧rom is only for w and for the guys who want to f**** them.鈥�


There are many rape jokes, sexist jokes, and much other offensive stuff in this book. My conscience doesn鈥檛 allow me to share it here.

The author has recently landed up in so many controversies, like blackface, sexually inappropriate behavior towards minors, and abuse of animals.

I have randomly watched a few of his conspiracy theory videos which were somewhat interesting. During the pandemic, I learned about the controversies he was facing. Still, I decided to pick this memoir to read. It was a huge mistake. This is one of the worst memoirs I have read in my life.
Profile Image for Whitney Atkinson.
1,053 reviews13.1k followers
June 19, 2018
I鈥檝e known the name Shane Dawson since I was about 13 and first started watching YouTube, but for a long time, I wasn鈥檛 a fan of him. I didn鈥檛 understand his crude humor, and I found him abrasive rather than funny. In the past few years, however, I started growing more fond of his internet presence. And especially this year with his new video format, he has me laughing at every video, and I find myself unable to wait for his next videos because they鈥檙e some of my favorite content on YouTube at the moment.
Because of my newfound appreciation for Shane, I decided I鈥檇 pick up his two books of essays to learn more about him and see if they鈥檙e just as funny as he is on camera. And wow. If you鈥檙e a fan of 2018 Shane Dawson, do not pick up this book.
It鈥檚 a slap in the face because it reverts right back to that problematic, gross 2011 humor. This book was back to back jokes about rape, bestiality, incest, and other distasteful topics that made me frown in disgust rather than laugh. He also references his history of being fat with very fatphobic hindsight, so much so that it was almost disturbing to read. I thought some of these stories were entertaining, especially because I鈥檝e seen his mom and other people he mentioned in his videos and it鈥檚 interesting to hear more about growing up and his childhood, but he would make self-aggrandizing jokes rather than opening up to the audience, and most of those jokes were just so poorly done.
Even the stories inside the book felt so fake. There are several points where you just know he鈥檚 making up a story or dialogue, and it鈥檚 so obvious. I don鈥檛 know how he got away with writing about a situation that鈥檚 so obviously fake, but I was rolling my eyes at half the dialogue because it was just so clear that he was embellishing his stories for a joke. By the end of the book, I didn鈥檛 trust what was real and what wasn鈥檛 because he made everything hyperbolic in order to deliver a mediocre punchline.
If I were Shane, I would be ashamed that this book exists. He鈥檚 grown so much since this point in his life, especially in the way his humor has evolved, and even though he says he wants to be able to joke around in a way that鈥檚 harmless and say things that other people are afraid to, most of the humor in this book is just plain offensive. I know he鈥檚 learned from his mistakes so I鈥檓 still going to try his second book, but skip this one if you鈥檙e a fan of Shane. It鈥檚 very messy.
Profile Image for Candice.
38 reviews20 followers
March 31, 2015
EDIT: Initially, I gave this book two stars. I retract that. If I could give it negative stars, I would. Book contains: misogyny, fat-shaming, slut-shaming .

I was given an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. If this review seems harsh, I am not sorry at all.

I am not the biggest fan of Shane Dawson. I could never get behind the hype of this "character" that he portrayed. Up until a few months ago, I鈥檇 never seen any of his videos.

When I learned that he was going to have a book published (just like all the other YouTubers were/are, yawn.), I decided I should at least watch one of his videos. So, I watched a collab he had done with Tyler Oakley. I wasn鈥檛 impressed, but I was still interested in seeing who Shane really was.

With an inside look at the "real" person, I am still not entirely sure that I like him. From the misogyny, to the fat-shaming, there was nothing to like about this. If this is who Shane Dawson really is, I am glad that I've never supported him in anyway. I suspect most of the stories to be falsified to a certain degree, despite being labeled "non-fiction."

Honestly, I probably wouldn鈥檛 recommend it.

TRIGGER WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING QUOTES: fat-shaming, slut-shaming, misogyny, date rape.

Misogynistic quotes from his book:

"I wasn't the prettiest girl at the prom but I was definitely good enough to get date raped."

"One day she came up to me with an idea I knew was bad from the second it left her dick-suckin' lips."

Fat-shaming quotes from his book:

"It's the same feeling a wicker chair gets when a circa-2006 Kelly Clarkson takes a seat. TENSE."

Slut-shaming quotes from his book:

"A wise person once said: "Prom is only for whores and for the guys who want to fuck them.""


This book was honestly disgusting.
Profile Image for Thibaut Nicod猫me.
583 reviews135 followers
not-in-a-million-years
March 16, 2015
Not interested in reading what the unfunny guy who does blackface and makes rape jokes has to say about鈥nything, really.
Profile Image for Tamara.
704 reviews216 followers
February 24, 2016
I'm so happy this one didnt win the GR Choice Award but 9,227 votes? REALLY, GOODREADS? REALLY?!




JUST NO.

I thought no book deserved to be burned but this one proved me wrong.

Take a look at this wonderful review from Nenia Campbell. She explains so well why this book should burn but let me summarize it for you.

This book consists of;

- Racist, sexist and offensive jokes

- Fat-shaming, Slut shaming, you name it he shames

- Misogyny (this guy totally hates womans. TOTALLY!!!)

- And one of the worst; A date rape joke
I wasn't the prettiest girl at the prom but I was definitely good enough to get date raped.
WHAT.THE.FUCK.

This stuff supposed to be funny?!

How about;
"A wise person once said: "Prom is only for whores and for the guys who want to fuck them."
or ''dick sucking lips''?

UGH.

And among all of funny books this one was chosen to be in the final round in GR Choice Awards Nominees?' THIS SHITTY BOOK?!


Profile Image for Lyn *GLITTER VIKING*.
345 reviews99 followers
November 4, 2015
I wasn't the prettiest girl at the prom but I was definitely good enough to get date raped.

How the fuck is this sweet?

I Hate Your Book, Shane Dickhead Dawson.
Profile Image for Tan Markovic.
425 reviews152 followers
April 25, 2019
Reviews can be found at:


Shane Dawson has been one of my favourite YouTubers for as long as I can remember.
His videos have got me through a fair few dark times with his weird, relentless sick sense of humour and I'm forever grateful.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and it was well worth it as Shane himself narrates it which definitely adds to the humour in it and I was laughing all the way through.

This book is a collection of his personal stories from his teenage years through to 2013.
He talks openly and frankly about his troubled teens, his weight and addiction issues and how YouTube has allowed him and his mum to have a more fulfilled life than they did when he was growing up.
It was interesting to see some of the person behind the persona he plays online; I think we often feel like entertainers like him have this personality 24/7, but clearly that isn't the case.

Although this book was hilarious and had me in stitches, serious subjects were discussed and the way he hasovercome his struggles is inspiring. There is a big message throughout of bad events in his life turning out to be the biggest blessings in disguise and that's definitely something I needed to read right now.

If you're looking for a light, hilarious pick me up then this is for you.
It's fairly short and sweet and will leave you significantly happier than when you started.
Profile Image for Anne.
183 reviews277 followers
Read
February 3, 2016
I don't know about anyone else, but for me, THIS GUY IS A LEGEND. For someone I've never met to cause such an intense dislike of his person, just because of a book? There's just no two ways about it, it can only mean one thing-he is legendary.

I am not joking when I say that throughout this book I just kept going; That's just racist; That's so sexist; That's just racist; That's so sexist. AND.THAT.IS.JUST.MEAN.
And then there's this:
"Even as a young kid I remember wondering, "Is my mom a whore?"

THAT'S JUST COLD. SLUT SHAMING HIS OWN MOTHER?



That's what happens when you're trying so hard to be cool.


And someone said he was just trying to be funny? Where exactly do I insert my laughter? Funny? Really?

A HELL NO


I can't even say crap like that about my mama to myself, because "funny" is the last thing I'll ever be. She can smell treachery from a mile away. I wouldn't be surprised at all if she even came after me with a cane while I was in bed at night. I'd welcome it. That kind of crap warrants some repentance to be flogged into me.


What more can I say? It's possible people like this book, but as for me-
I WON'T EVEN BOTHER WASTING ANY OF MY STARS




#WHEN WILL I STOP BEING CURIOUS? I SWEAR ONE DAY MY CURIOSITY WILL BLIND ME
Profile Image for Lauren Jude.
60 reviews27 followers
March 18, 2015
This book made me cry, laugh, and feel happy. I went into this book expecting to laugh a lot, and while that did happen, I also felt an abundance of other emotions that I wasn't expecting to feel. This was a great book that explores what it's like to be human, and what it's like to go through emotional and physical a struggle.
16 reviews
March 20, 2017
I wasted 20 bucks on this book.
Shane Dawson can't write professionally, his stories go nowhere, they're cheesy, I'm pretty sure everything is greatly exaggerated, considering it's supposed to be a memoir. It sound like the script of a sit-com. There is nothing emotional about this book. The only way he keeps his readers are the dirty jokes and references to sex every couple pages, and they're not even funny or realistic, they all sound like they came from a bunch of middle school boys. Not impressed.
Profile Image for April (Aprilius Maximus).
1,161 reviews6,422 followers
August 12, 2018
3.5 stars
i LOVE shane and I could listen to him talking shit all day.
Just be warned though that this book contains a lot of his old offensive humour.
Profile Image for Jyanx.
Author听3 books107 followers
your-ignorance-is-showing
November 5, 2015
description
Profile Image for Matthew.
333 reviews54 followers
March 22, 2015
For the people who have no idea who is or does, let me break it down:




That is Shane Dawson: a sweary, offensive YouTuber who most people assume is gay. He's not, by the way. His videos, which feature him in drag being all ghetto:




Or being a stereotypical Jewish woman:




And even a lonely nerd named Ned:


.

rack up millions of views every day; in YouTube land, he's a veteran and one of the biggest successes. What he does for a living (he makes millions every year) doesn't sound that funny so far, but if you're a fan of such raunchy material like American Pie and other things of that nature, you're sure to have a good time, even if Dawson isn't making as much skits as he used to. He even made a film, entitled Not Cool, but nearly everyone it. So now he turns to yet another medium - our favourite, books. But don't worry, Dawson's collection of personal essays doesn't suck. In fact, it's surprisingly good; everything I expected from something with the name Shane Dawson on it, yet containing heart.

The essays in question, from Dawson's d茅but novel , are mostly well-written, but not in the way that Zoella's was, if you catch my drift. You can tell Dawson slaved over a computer typing it up, and his voice resonates around your head when reading it. I don't have Audible. There are some problems however, albeit small. Just things like majorly offensive similes, sequences that make you squirm, nothing too big. Overall, a really good, short read, and yet another victory in Dawson's claim to take over the world.
Profile Image for Aisha Ditta.
347 reviews13 followers
February 25, 2018
I really love Shane on YouTube but not so much in a book. There was too much d**k in this book, like on every page, it was getting boring. It's just not the sort of thing I want to read about.
200 reviews102 followers
March 16, 2015
Sarcastically witty and charmingly funny.
I loved it.
Profile Image for Sleepless Dreamer.
887 reviews370 followers
February 2, 2016
I'm going to skip my rant about how not okay it is that youtube stars get book deals easily when there are talented authors out there that could write better books but don't get a chance because they don't have 12 million subscribers.

I've been a "fan" of Shane's for a few years. I say "fan" because I don't consider myself a fan. I watch his videos when I'm bored. I relate to him sometimes (team awkward with self esteem issues ftw). I even admire him. There's something amazing about the way he looks at life. I can definitely learn from his perspective and attitude.

I suppose I'm not sure what I expected from this book. It's like a really long video. The stories are cute. They strike me a bit unrealistic. The narrative voice is great. It's funny with honestly and bits of truth. Something about how horrible high school was for Shane and how better things are now gave me hope.

I get why people are angry about the racism, misogyny, slut-shaming, and fat shaming. I get it. Noted. I disagree. First of, as a fat person, he can make as many fat jokes as he wants (especially since most of them are about himself).

Secondly, I think what makes something racist or shaming or misogynistic is the intent. Shane clearly cares and loves his mom and the friends he "shames". I don't think he actually believes what he says, he's joking. He wouldn't stand behind those things. As long as it's just an attempt at humor and no one gets offended, I don't see a problem with racist or sexist or what not humor.

Shane strikes me as very self aware. I found myself relating to a lot of what he wrote, which surprised me. I'm tempted to go watch more of his videos and look for the things he wrote.

All in all, if you're a fan of Shane's, you'll probably like this. If you're like me, this is nice entertainment (this reader's block won't go away and I'm getting desperate). If you're a social justice warrior who can't stand anything that's sexist, shaming, or racist, just do yourself a favor and don't read this book. There isn't a point to getting angry about a youtuber who makes bad jokes when there are worst battles out there.
Profile Image for Meags.
60 reviews1 follower
September 24, 2015
Lots of misogyny, fat-shaming and slut-shaming, none of which are things that I find funny or worthy or a book. Would not recommend.
Profile Image for LJ.
1 review
March 14, 2015
I read this in like...less than five hours which means it was so good I couldn't put it down. There was a chapter towards the end that completely freaked me out and I stayed up so late because of my imagination, but overall it was a really fun read. If a book can keep my interest and can make me cry, laugh, feel scared, and a little bit of everything else, i consider it a great read. Good job, Shane!
Profile Image for Laur猫ne Poret.
217 reviews7 followers
July 6, 2015
I really don't know what to make of this book. I knew going in that I didn't like Shane's humour (I'm not a masochist, my best friend recommended the book to me and I always listen to her), and when I read in the introduction that it wasn't "YouTube Shane" but his real self I was quite enthusiastic about what I was going to discover.
Well it felt REALLY "YouTube Shane" to me. Exact same humour and need to make laugh every 5 seconds. I do like funny books, but this isn't a funny book, it's a book purposefully written to make laugh, and it feels forced at least 85% of the time. I maybe chuckled twice. (But then again, it's just not my kind of humour, but it's probably other's!)
I also think most of the stories have been really modified to be funnier, which is not what I was looking for. It felt like every serious thing he said had to be compensed by ten hilarious poop/dick/fat/etc joke. It might be his way to cope with things, and why not if it works out for him! It just doesn't cut it fr me. (And yeah, some jokes were definitely sexist/fat-slut-shaming.)
It got a bit better by the end, but maybe I was just getting used to it by then.
Profile Image for Miriam.
258 reviews206 followers
December 1, 2015
Hey, look! Shane Dawson's new book is out!!

Too bad it turned out to be a pile of shit. I'm sorry, was that too harsh? I can't help the stuff that comes out of my "dick-sucking lips."
Profile Image for 尝耻肠铆补.
115 reviews18 followers
March 15, 2015
5 stars
HILARIOUS! Wasnt expecting anything less from Shane! You HAVE to listen to the audiobook. Audiobooks arent really my thing but when it comes to these funny memoirs read by the author I highly suggest them! Specially Shane's because he does a lot of voices and adds so much more humor to the book that I wouldnt have got if I had read it by myself.
I've been watching Shane since 2009 and I've pretty much watched everything he has uploaded, so I think is safe to say that I know quite a lot about him. Having said that, I was so surprised that this book had so many anecdotes which he had never shared before which made it so much more interesting than what I was expecting it to be.
Not only does Shane share a lot of hilarious memories, but he also wrote about some very deep and sad moments in his life, that we kind of saw through his videos but never this detailed and forward. This book was the perfect balance between funny and emotional memories; even in those sad chapters, like the one when he shares the day in which her grandma died, Shane knew somehow how to bring laughter and a smile to your face. And that I feel is the perfect representation of Shane's personality: when he wants to and when he feels the need to he does get serious about a topic, is not all fun and jokes for him, but he will always try to get a message or a story or whatever across in the most inspiring way with some help from his amazing and hilarious sense of humor.
I'm so so proud of Shane's achievements because he truly deserves it, and the content of this book is a reminder of how much he was meant to be a comedian. This was such a fast-paced, hilarious, touching and interesting read; even if you don't know that much about Shane, BELIEVE ME, you're going to have a great time while reading it, EVEN MORE IF YOU LISTEN TO IT. The effect the book will have on you will be a thousands times better and funnier if you give the audiobook a chance; Shane was made to do these kinds of things.
Profile Image for Miss Faulk.
72 reviews3 followers
September 6, 2016



I have been a fan of Shane Dawson for years now, and in fact I am an owner of his #Epic T-shirt you use to be able to purchase at Hot Topic. I love that he is not afraid to go there with his videos, and his crude humor usually has me rolling in the floor laughing.

Seriously, Shanany is all that life needs to be.



I have to say though I was a little disappointed with this book, as I really wanted to see more into the life of the REAL Shane Dawson. He always speaks about how his online self is a "character" and in real life he is very shy and not as loud. That was the Shane I wanted to hear about.

This book had WAY to many bodily function jokes, and it seemed like every time he needed a laugh that is where he went. Seriously, I wanted to just hear him without the crude humor. I found that in the chapter about loosing his grandmother. Even though he had a lot of "poop" jokes in it, I seriously found myself tearing up.

The book was okay at best. A lot of annoying, and not what I thought it was going to be at all. Most of the stories in the book I already knew because I am an avid watcher of his YouTube channel, and he had already blogged about them.

Save your money. Watch the videos.
Profile Image for Andrea Manzanilla.
550 reviews
August 8, 2016
Reading Challenge 2016: Un libro escrito por un comediante

Shane is my favorite Youtuber so picking up this book I was hoping a funny inside to his private life, and that's what the book gave me but ten million times more funny that I expected. From the dedication which is the first page of the book I was laughing so hard, you can tell he wrote the book because no one can replicate his sense of humor.

The fan art and the little descriptions of the artists show how much he cared about his fans, a really nice touch. A lot of WTF moments, a lot of gruesome moments and a lot of "Did he really just write that" moments too, so basically normal jokes.

Even if you don't know who he is I think you would still enjoy it and get his jokes. But for me, that I see all of his videos, I could imagine him telling me the essays and his expressions doing it.

A super quick and hilarious read, recommended with my eyes closed.

Profile Image for Regis.
981 reviews4 followers
April 3, 2015
It pain me to say this, as I love me some Shane, but this book is awful. Juvenile, mean-spirited humor, a disjointed narrative, and self pity rob it of any potential. Sad.
Profile Image for Errin.
438 reviews59 followers
February 20, 2017
If you dislike his videos, you're probably going to feel the same towards his book. His brand of humor is crude, self deprecating and often offensive. So call me problematic because after all these years, I remain a huge fan of Shane Dawson.

You can tell these essays were his own. I could hear him narrating in my head. In the preface, he mentions that he doesn't hate himself but the way he portrays himself online and this book would be the real Shane. However, I found both his personalities are present in this collection.

For the most part, these read like his internet persona, which I didn't mind. I couldn't always discern which parts of his stories he was exaggerating. I liked when he got real though like the essays about his grandma, Lisa or his self esteem and body dysmorphia because those were most relatable. We could see the true Shane peeking out, the one who uses humor to cover his insecurities.

I already heard some of the stories from his Draw My Life and various other videos. All in all, I still had fun! I Hate Myselfie was a clever, sincere and highly entertaining memoir.
Profile Image for Alex.
383 reviews182 followers
January 24, 2016
This review is on my blog:

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ive seen Shane Dawson on YouTube and saw his book on NetGalley as well so I thought why not give it a read.

How do I talk about this? I mean, I'm guessing that if you're reading this, you probably have an interest in Shane or reading his book. It's not my favourite personally, because I'm not a huge fan but if you like his videos you will probably like his humour.

His stories were interesting, but so much sadness. I mean, to be honest if I knew it would be that sad, I probably wouldn't have read it just because I don't like sad books in general. And, a little side note, the cover is amazing. I love the use of colour and lighting. Just amazing. I also liked that the beginning of each chapter had a fan drawn picture. That's cute.

Unfortunately not all the humour made sense to me because I don't find everything Shane Dawson does as funny, but if you are a fan, you will really enjoy it.
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