How to American: An Immigrant’s Guide to Disappointing Your Parents by Jimmy O. Yang (PDF)

Description

Standup comic, actor and fan favorite from HBO’s Silicon Valley and the film Crazy Rich Asians shares his memoir of growing up as a Chinese immigrant in California and making it in Hollywood. “I turned down a job in finance to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. My dad thought I was crazy. But I figured it was better to disappoint my parents for a few years than to disappoint myself for the rest of my life. I had to disappoint them in order to pursue what I loved. That was the only way to have my Chinese turnip cake and eat an American apple pie too.” Jimmy O. Yang is a standup comedian, film and TV actor and fan favorite as the character Jian Yang from the popular HBO series Silicon Valley. In How to American, he shares his story of growing up as a Chinese immigrant who pursued a Hollywood career against the wishes of his parents: Yang arrived in Los Angeles from Hong Kong at age 13, learned English by watching BET RapCity for three hours a day, and worked as a strip club DJ while pursuing his comedy career. He chronicles a near deportation episode during a college trip Tijuana to finally becoming a proud US citizen ten years later. Featuring those and many other hilarious stories, while sharing some hard-earned lessons, How to American mocks stereotypes while offering tongue in cheek advice on pursuing the American dreams of fame, fortune, and strippers.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Hilarious, heartfelt, and inspiring, How to American captures the Asian-American experience. A must-read for everyone.” ―Ken Jeong, comedian, actor, The Hangover”It’s difficult to imagine how excruciatingly uncomfortable it must be for many immigrants. Jimmy O. Yang hilariously chronicles his very personal experience from frightened youth to cultural virtuoso.”―Dr. Drew Pinsky, media personality, author, board-certified physician”HILARIOUS! Reading this book is like sitting at lunch with your funniest friend whose stories make you laugh until milk comes shooting out your nose. Jimmy O. Yang will teach you how to American like a pro!”―Kevin Kwan, international bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians”Jimmy is not funny.” ―Jimmy’s dad”[A] funny and breezy memoir…Yang inspires with his hard work and assertion that the American dream is real.”―Booklist”The ‘Silicon Valley’ star blends humor and pathos in his coming-of-age memoir, revealing the intricacies of life as a Chinese immigrant.”―New York Times Book Review “The stand-up comedian and actor, best known for playing the prank-call-loving Jian-Yang on the HBO tech comedy, brings his storytelling abilities from the screen to the page with his debut book. Subtitled An Immigrant’s Guide to Disappointing Your Parents, the book documents Yang’s journey from Chinese immigrant to television star.”―Entertainment Weekly undefined―Entertainment Weekly, ?This Week?s Must List?”Telling Yang’s full story, from his upbringing in Hong Kong, to assimilating into California living as a teenager, to making it in Hollywood against all odds, How to American is an easy read. It will make you laugh, but it will also make you think.”―Pure Grain Audio”As the political debate over immigration policy roars on under the Trump administration, Yang says his book attempts to ‘humanize’ the immigrant experience. It’s the good, the bad, and the awkward moments of a new American that every human being can relate to.”―Huffington Post “Immigrants to the US will find much to relate to…The book is not your conventional rags-to-riches, pull-oneself-up-by-one’s-bootstraps immigrant story…The memoir has plenty of funny anecdotes…But the heart of Yang’s story lies in the dilemma of being caught between the traditions of his Chinese parents and the opportunities and independence offered by America…It’s not new advice: Find a path that allows you to be who you are, not what others want you to be. But framing that message within an Asian immigrant narrative, even today, feels like a breakthrough.”―Quartz”A fascinating peep into the life of a rising Hollywood star…Many immigrants and naturalized Americans would relate to his experience. How to American is as beautifully written as it is funny and enjoyable.”―Washington Book Review”The book chronicles his history as a hip-hop-loving teen in a crew called Yellow Panthers-with photos of Yang throwing up gang signs in high school-and follows his plunge into the comedy world.”―Fast Company”On the show, Jian-Yang ruthlessly mocks his start-up incubator roomies, sparing no elaborate scheme to make them look and feel stupid. But the real Yang is a warm, tender guy, as evidenced by his new book…Riffing on the comic misadventures he amassed while evolving from young Chinese immigrant to stand-up comedian to strip club DJ to television star, Yang writes with an empathetic tone about his parents, his struggles with the opposite sex, and, of course, the lessons he picked up watching rap videos on BET.”―Flood Magazine”Being a comedian, [Jimmy O. Yang] naturally tells his story in a hilarious way, with self-deprecating humor being the norm of the book.”―Tulsa Book Review”[A] hilarious but heartfelt memoir.”―The Wrap About the Author Multi-faceted actor, stand-up comedian, and writer Jimmy O. Yang is best known for his portrayal of hilarious intern Jian Yang on HBO’s Emmy-nominated comedy series Silicon Valley. Born in Hong Kong, Yang made his television debut on the CBS series 2 Broke Girls and his first late-night stand-up appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show, where he received a rare standing ovation. Other television credits include DirecTV’s Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight,CBS’ Battle Creek and Criminal Minds, FXX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He is currently recurring on TruTV’s half hour comedy series, Those Who Can’t. Yang is based in Los Angeles.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Absolutely loved it! Fair to say that I can relate to many situations even though I’m not Asian and moved to the US at the age of 32.Pursue your dream and take it east — my key takeaway

⭐I purchased this as a gift without even reading it. My person enjoyed it very much and called me to say so. Said the book was funny, interesting, and very relatable. I think young people, even if they are not familiar with Jimmy O Yang’s comedy will find this funny. If they are immigrants they’ll relate to the immigrant aspect and if they are not, they might learn something in a gentle way.

⭐The book makes one go thru their own personal immigrant experience in the US. Excellent read, made me nostalgic of my time here.

⭐This book was awesome! Reading about Jimmy’s experiences moving to America, and pursuing the American Dream was truly inspirational. He conveyed an important aspect of America that I’ve taken for granted, which is that, beyond just our system of government, freedom to do what you love is ingrained into our culture. I finished the book feeling, grateful and proud to be an American. The book was also really funny. There were too many scenes I broke out laughing to mention in this review, but my favorite was when he found out that you can get free soda at the soda machine, and his mind was blown. This was one of, if not my favorite autobiography I’ve ever read. 10/10

⭐Like:Jimmy Yang is one of my favorite comedians, and I was really excited to see that he was coming out with this book. I love the way he takes Asian-American experiences and adds humor to it. This is the kind of book I wish I had growing up. I think I would have found my parents funnier and maybe appreciated some of their quirks. I’m very selective with which books I add to my shelf, and this has made the list. :)Dislike:If you’ve seen some of Jimmy’s standup, then you’ll find the book to be quite repetitive. Sometimes it felt like I was reading his scripts for his standup, but I’m a writer and didn’t mind it very much.Would I buy it again? Yes, several copies to hand out to my siblings and other Asian friends.

⭐Book is truly about Jimmy’s maturity and growth in America. Book can be easily finished in one day. There are some funny moments. But the hardships Jimmy Yang endured to be successful at what he wants to do gives hope that if you don’t risk in failing by doing the things you love, then you are always second guessing the what ifs in your life.Jimmy is living the American dream to its fullest as the book profiled his rough journey at a younger age to become a successful comedian.

⭐This is a powerful book, and I found it deeply moving as well as entertaining and funny. My husband emigrated to the USA, New York City, when he was only 12, so I was already intrigued by Jimmy’s story. Then I saw Jimmy perform at Gotham Comedy Club, and he was amazing – incredibly funny on stage, and super-real in a way that grabbed my attention. So I bought the book. The first few chapters left me in tears, and prompted me to ask my hubby about his early years in grade school, and his experiences as the new kid, and I think, despite our being together for almost 17 years, that talk drew us together to a new degree – we got “real” in a way I guess we never had before somehow. I think I realized I’d always been scared to go there, to plumb the depths of how hard the immigrant experience can be, how isolating and scary and hurtful. I was wondering how interested I’d be in the later chapters, following Jimmy’s career as a comedian and actor, but he comes through with honesty and some amazing stories. I was gripped, and moved, and left really admiring this guy, who against the odds has built a career in Hollywood and hopefully contributed to this country being a little less racist and a little more open to someone with a different story, a different background and a different point of view. Jimmy, your book is dope, brother. Keep on doing what you do, cause you just won one more fan (a gweilo!) Daw jeh sigh, pong yao!

⭐Humorous and an easy, entertaining read, giving a perspective of being American from a Chinese teenage immigrant. Of note, however, moving from China to Hollywood would result in a somewhat distorted perception of America.

⭐A thoughtful memoir peppered with Jimmy’s comedic style. I didn’t want this book to end! You don’t have to be Chinese or American to get behind Jimmy’s story, at the base of it, it’s a feel-good story about finding your way and finding your feet. You really end up rooting for this guy to succeed and he absolutely does!

⭐The book itself is fantastic, great insight into Jimmy’s life.Sadly the book wasn’t in perfect condition though as it was loosely packaged resulting in ft he book becoming damaged

⭐its funny and i can relate to this so much,

⭐Funny and easy to read

⭐Man mag es kaum glauben, dass ein Buch eines Stand-Up-Comedian lustig ist? Ist es, sehr sogar.Ich als Deutsch-Asiate konnte mich an vielen Stellen mich genau in seine Situation hinein versetzen. Leicht zu lesen und sehr unterhaltsam. Kann ich nur jedem weiterempfehlen!

⭐

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