"Steven Barker writes beautifully and hilariously and I can't decide whether I love him or hate him for it. More importantly, he is a hero to me and everyone else who refuses go along with the plan. I am trying to figure out a way to end this blurb by making it more about me than him, but I can't even bring myself to do it because Now for the Disappointing Part is so damn good I just want everyone to buy it, read it, and force everyone they know to do the same." —Dave Hill, author of Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore
"A charming page-turner of a memoir, Now for the Disappointing Part winningly anatomizes the lifestyle of the late bloomer. But its essays amount to more than just a tale of boxed Mac 'n' Cheese, failed romantic relationships, and miserable short-term jobs. Throughout, Barker crafts a sensitive and principled argument in defense of an undervalued and disposable workforce. The result is an honest, self-aware, and funny tale of millennial malaise." —Suzanne Morrison, author of Yoga Bitch: One Woman's Quest to Conquer Skepticism, Cynicism, and Cigarettes on the Path to Enlightenment
"Before our so-called share/freelance economy emerged as necessity, some of us never fit in to the 9-to-5 grind. Barker's visceral struggle to find the color of his parachute shows he paid his dues and earned his right to claim the title 'writer.'" —Shawna Kenney, author of I Was a Teenage Dominatrix
"For those unfamiliar with the culture of temp work, Barker's book is a good, funny introduction. He repeatedly finds himself in absurd situations that are a curious blend of banal and mortifying. . . . Those moments in Disappointing Part when he acknowledges that his employers make billions of dollars a year yet they claim that they can't afford to hire full-time content writers are when the book really comes alive." —Paul Constant, Seattle Review of Books
"Now for the Disappointing Part is full of lessons, but it ain't your father's HR book." —Journal Record
"Now for the Disappointing Part is timely. . . . Barker's essays are honest, and many offer humorous insights. The witty lines were so sudden that I found myself laughing out loud—sometimes in public." —Hippocampus magazine
"Although it has a Beverly Hills tour-of-the-stars'-homes briskness to it, Barker's is a competent book that benefits from a direct and conversational approach. One of his strengths as a first-time memoirist is his ability to sufficiently distance himself from the emotional core of the content and remain cool, detached, and objective." —At the Inkwell
"Steven Barker writes beautifully and hilariously and I can't decide whether I love him or hate him for it. More importantly, he is a hero to me and everyone else who refuses go along with the plan. I am trying to figure out a way to end this blurb by making it more about me than him, but I can't even bring myself to do it because Now for the Disappointing Part is so damn good I just want everyone to buy it, read it, and force everyone they know to do the same." —Dave Hill, author of Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore
"A charming page-turner of a memoir, Now for the Disappointing Part winningly anatomizes the lifestyle of the late bloomer. But its essays amount to more than just a tale of boxed Mac 'n' Cheese, failed romantic relationships, and miserable short-term jobs. Throughout, Barker crafts a sensitive and principled argument in defense of an undervalued and disposable workforce. The result is an honest, self-aware, and funny tale of millennial malaise." —Suzanne Morrison, author of Yoga Bitch: One Woman's Quest to Conquer Skepticism, Cynicism, and Cigarettes on the Path to Enlightenment
"Before our so-called share/freelance economy emerged as necessity, some of us never fit in to the 9-to-5 grind. Barker's visceral struggle to find the color of his parachute shows he paid his dues and earned his right to claim the title 'writer.'" —Shawna Kenney, author of I Was a Teenage Dominatrix
"For those unfamiliar with the culture of temp work, Barker's book is a good, funny introduction. He repeatedly finds himself in absurd situations that are a curious blend of banal and mortifying. . . . Those moments in Disappointing Part when he acknowledges that his employers make billions of dollars a year yet they claim that they can't afford to hire full-time content writers are when the book really comes alive." —Paul Constant, Seattle Review of Books
"Now for the Disappointing Part is full of lessons, but it ain't your father's HR book." —Journal Record
"Now for the Disappointing Part is timely. . . . Barker's essays are honest, and many offer humorous insights. The witty lines were so sudden that I found myself laughing out loud—sometimes in public." —Hippocampus magazine
"Although it has a Beverly Hills tour-of-the-stars'-homes briskness to it, Barker's is a competent book that benefits from a direct and conversational approach. One of his strengths as a first-time memoirist is his ability to sufficiently distance himself from the emotional core of the content and remain cool, detached, and objective." —At the Inkwell
