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You can't be serious / Kal Penn.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2021Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First Gallery Books hardcover editionDescription: viii, 367 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781982171384
  • 1982171383
Other title:
  • You cannot be serious
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
There is no excuse for you... -- What happened to the other thirteen points? (and other questions that don't have answers) -- You can't have your cake and eat it too -- Why do you do these weird things? -- The panoch -- How (not) to produce movies -- Auditioning to be Latino -- On fire -- Of Salinger and strip clubs -- Living the dream -- No prior experience -- Utopia (The underdog, part one) -- Two mini hacks if you ever move into the Quality Inn in downtown Des Moines -- Respect, empower, include (The underdog, part two) -- I applied for my White House job online -- A letter to a thirty-one-year-old me -- You down with OPE? -- NASCAR and chill -- Have a heart -- #SexyFace -- How to do business with gangstaz -- (pea) Cock blocked -- You can't be serious.
Summary: "Kal Penn's unlikely career arc has taken him from nerdy American kid from an immigrant family in the New York suburb of Montclair, New Jersey, to world-famous actor, to White House staffer under President Obama, and back to actor again. Now, in You Can't Be Serious, he reflects on the most ridiculous, offensive, and rewarding moments that have stood out during his journey. With intelligence, humor, and charm on every page, Penn explores what it means to be the embodiment of the American Dream, as the child of immigrant parents who came to this country with very little, and who never expected to see their son get his big break by sliding off an oiled-up naked woman in a raunchy Ryan Reynolds movie. He also pulls back the curtain on racism in Hollywood and the constant reminders that he would never fit in. And of course, he reveals how, after twenty-five years fighting for success in Hollywood, he made the terrifying but rewarding decision to walk away from it all for a career in politics. Above all, You Can't Be Serious shows that everyone can have more than one life story. Penn bravely demonstrates by example that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have many more choices than those presented to you. It's a story about struggle, triumph, and learning how to keep your head up. And okay, yes, it's also about whether Kal really smoked weed in the White House with the former First Lady-because let's be honest, that's what you really want to know"-- Provided by publisher.
List(s) this item appears in: LGBTQIA+ Reads for Adults | Recent Rainbow Reads for Adults | LGBTQ+ History Month | Celebrity Written Books
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library Biography PENN, K. P412 Available 33111010599864
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography PENN, K. P412 Available 33111010747554
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library Biography PENN, K. P412 Available 33111009860210
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

The star of the Harold and Kumar franchise, House, and Designated Survivor recounts why he rejected the advice of his aunties and guidance counselors and, instead of becoming a doctor or "something practical," embarked on a surprising journey that has included confronting racism in Hollywood, meeting his future husband, and working in the Obama administration, in this entertaining and refreshingly candid memoir.

You Can't Be Serious is a series of funny, consequential, awkward, and ridiculous stories from Kal Penn's idiosyncratic life. It's about being the grandson of Gandhian freedom fighters, and the son of immigrant parents: people who came to this country with very little and went very far--and whose vision of the American dream probably never included their son sliding off an oiled-up naked woman in the raunchy Ryan Reynolds movie Van Wilder ...or getting a phone call from Air Force One as Kal flew with the country's first Black president.

With intelligence, humor, and charm on every page, Kal reflects on the most exasperating and rewarding moments from his journey so far. He pulls back the curtain on the nuances of opportunity and racism in the entertainment industry and recounts how he built allies, found encouragement, and dealt with early reminders that he might never fit in. He describes his initially unpromising first date with his now-fiancé Josh, involving an 18-pack of Coors Light and an afternoon of watching NASCAR. And of course, he reveals how, after a decade and a half of fighting for and enjoying successes in Hollywood, he made the terrifying but rewarding decision to take a sabbatical from a fulfilling acting career for an opportunity to serve his country as an Obama White House aide.

Above all, You Can't Be Serious shows that everyone can have more than one life story. Kal demonstrates by example that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have many more choices than those presented to you. It's a story about struggle, triumph, and learning how to keep your head up. And okay, yes, it's also about how he accidentally (and very stupidly) accepted an invitation to take the entire White House Office of Public Engagement to a strip club--because, let's be honest, that's the kind of stuff you really want to hear about.

There is no excuse for you... -- What happened to the other thirteen points? (and other questions that don't have answers) -- You can't have your cake and eat it too -- Why do you do these weird things? -- The panoch -- How (not) to produce movies -- Auditioning to be Latino -- On fire -- Of Salinger and strip clubs -- Living the dream -- No prior experience -- Utopia (The underdog, part one) -- Two mini hacks if you ever move into the Quality Inn in downtown Des Moines -- Respect, empower, include (The underdog, part two) -- I applied for my White House job online -- A letter to a thirty-one-year-old me -- You down with OPE? -- NASCAR and chill -- Have a heart -- #SexyFace -- How to do business with gangstaz -- (pea) Cock blocked -- You can't be serious.

"Kal Penn's unlikely career arc has taken him from nerdy American kid from an immigrant family in the New York suburb of Montclair, New Jersey, to world-famous actor, to White House staffer under President Obama, and back to actor again. Now, in You Can't Be Serious, he reflects on the most ridiculous, offensive, and rewarding moments that have stood out during his journey. With intelligence, humor, and charm on every page, Penn explores what it means to be the embodiment of the American Dream, as the child of immigrant parents who came to this country with very little, and who never expected to see their son get his big break by sliding off an oiled-up naked woman in a raunchy Ryan Reynolds movie. He also pulls back the curtain on racism in Hollywood and the constant reminders that he would never fit in. And of course, he reveals how, after twenty-five years fighting for success in Hollywood, he made the terrifying but rewarding decision to walk away from it all for a career in politics. Above all, You Can't Be Serious shows that everyone can have more than one life story. Penn bravely demonstrates by example that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have many more choices than those presented to you. It's a story about struggle, triumph, and learning how to keep your head up. And okay, yes, it's also about whether Kal really smoked weed in the White House with the former First Lady-because let's be honest, that's what you really want to know"-- Provided by publisher.

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