I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max vs. Having a Few and Getting Some

Tucker Max is a nice looking guy. You have to be a nice looking guy to put yourself on the covers of your books when your books are about getting drunk and getting chicks. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Writing a book about getting drunk and chasing women is kind of risky.  If (you’re a guy and) you’re successful seducing women in every story, then you come across as a cad or (at the very least) an unsympathetic protagonist.  If you fail at picking up chicks, then you’re a loser, and nobody wants to read an entire book about a loser who’s no good at picking up women. 

The Tucker Max trilogy (I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, @ssholes Finish First, Hilarity Ensues) and Having a Few and Getting Some by Dysfunctional Literacy’s Jimmy Norman (that’s me)are all books about getting drunk and chasing women, but there are two different approaches to this high level concept.  Tucker Max is almost always successful at what he does (getting drunk and getting women).  His three books are a collection of tales where he gets what he wants while others play the parts of the buffoon or the manipulated.  Tucker Max’s fans think he’s funny.  His critics complain that his stories are stale (and perhaps misogynistic). 

Having a Few and Getting Some  is an e-book about the stories I used to tell about getting drunk and chasing women when I was single.  I’ve always been a quiet guy, and most people don’t pay attention to me when I talk, but I learned to tell stories about having a few and getting some to get people’s attention.  Some of the stories are true, and some aren’t, but it’s easy to figure out which ones are which if you really want to. 

Now that I’m married with kids, I don’t tell stories about having a few and getting some anymore.  My wife listens to me most of the time (and she really doesn’t want to hear these stories), and my kids are either too young or would be grossed out if they ever heard me talking about this kind of thing.  They don’t know about the book and hopefully won’t until they’re about 35. 

ARE THE STORIES TRUE? 

One of the complaints about the Tucker Max trilogy is that his stories are either made up or recycled.  I don’t know if those accusations are true, and I really don’t care.  The point of telling a story about having a few and/or getting some is not to be truthful; the purpose in telling such a story is to entertain.  If readers are entertained by Tucker Max’s stories (or even mine), then it doesn’t matter if the stories are true. 

CONSEQUENCES OF DRINKING AND CAROUSING 

Another problem some readers have with the Tucker Max books is that nothing really bad seems to happen to him.  However, when I (or others around me) got drunk, something bad almost always happened, often to me (even when I wasn’t the one drinking). 

Maybe something horrible did happen to Tucker in one of his books (I read one of his books and skimmed through the two others), but I didn’t see anything really bad happen to Tucker Max.  I’d love to read about Tucker Max maybe getting punched out .  I got conked on the head once by an evil stripper (my fault, I put myself in a bad situation, and it’s explained in Having a Few and Getting Some), and I’m a much nicer person than Tucker Max seems to be. 

If anybody deserved to get conked on the head, it should have been Tucker Max.  Maybe it will be in his next book. 

CAN A GUY GET TOO MUCH? 

Tucker Max’s getting drunk trilogy has way too many stories for them to be interesting if you read all three books within a short period of time.  When there are that many books with that many stories, some of the anecdotes in the books can seem like filler. 

Having a Few and Getting Some is just under 30,000 words.  If it were an actual book (maybe one day it will be), it would be pretty thin.  At one point, it was almost 90,000 words, and I decided to chop everything that could be interpreted as filler.  I figured that if I were going to write an e-book, I’d make it short and to the point rather than too long and too fillerized.

CADS AND THE WOMEN WHO LAUGH AT THEM

I’m surprised at the women I know who have read at least one Tucker Max book and think it’s funny.  These are strong, independent women who like being around men and understand the b.s. that a man can say when he’s bragging, and they find humor in that kind of attitude.  There’s very little bragging in Having a Few and Getting Some because for long periods of my life (the time period that this book is about), I usually wasn’t the one having a few and getting some . 

WHICH BOOK(S) SHOULD YOU READ? 

If you don’t mind a guy bragging (when he should probably be ashamed of himself) about having a few and getting some, then read the Tucker Max trilogy. 

If you want to read about a quiet guy who tells stories about having a few and getting some (or getting assaulted and knocked out by a stripper), then you might like Having a Few and Getting Some.