The most shocking part of comedian Jim Gaffigan's hilarious Dad Is Fat is that he and his wife live in a tiny two-bedroom apartment with five children. As he explains the long, painstaking process of putting the children to bed and recounts the arduous task of applying sunscreen to five extremely pale children, it's comical for the sheer fact that it's not happening to you.
As his acting career has skyrocketed, Gaffigan has also spent the last seven years doing some major baby-making, and in the process provided himself prime material. Constantly sleep-deprived, often used as a human trampoline by his offspring, he nonetheless gives his family his all, even renting a colossal tour bus so he can take them all with him on the road. That's dedication. Or insanity. Gaffigan would argue being a father ensures both.
Although the comedian dislikes being referred to as "family-friendy" (his argument is that anything family friendly generally stinks--think chain restaurants), his writing has a likable vibe to it that conjures up a chat with the funny dad at the playground. While he pokes fun at hipster parents who name their children after spices, the person who gets the most ridicule in Dad Is Fat is Gaffigan himself. The added element that he must navigate the wilds of New York City with his brood makes for good reading, whether his children are peeing in the sandbox of a public park or licking subway poles. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend