Customer Reviews

Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had tons of expectations about this book. I was wrong to think I would gain great insight into Pennywise after reading it. I was pretty sure Fletcher puked on people already. What I DID learn though was much more interesting. As different as we all think we may be, having a kid pretty much evens everything up. When Jim realizes he's not all that different from the South Bay millionaire in dockers on a play date, the message really takes hold. The advice he offers on child rearing is honest and straight forward and devoid of new age thought crime. He takes his miss steps with a grain of salt, is humble when he manages to apparently do the right thing, and keeps it real. There are a lot of confusing messages in the child rearing advice world. Jim gets you back to common sense. Some day we'll all work for Daughter #1!

This is a great book for us 30 or 40-somethings who secretly (or not so secretly) rage against fitting into the PTA/suburbia parenting mold but still end up there by accident and happenstance. If you wonder some days what happened to your mohawk and "screw the establishment" values as you scramble around like an idiot looking for your 7-year-olds fluffy, pink hair bows, you will totally get this book. Laugh out loud funny and honest, I would recommend this book to any punker, ex-punker or closet rebel.

I bought this book about a month ago, and read it in no time. It was the funniest, most honest book about parenting, growing up (or not wanting to), life in general, etc...i've read in a long time, and also very touching.
From mosh pits, to bottles, breast pumps, diapers, mini van, and Warped tour and PTA meetings...It's got something for everyone.
Jim Lindberg is very good at describing situations, and you can picture him going through all the drama, ups and downs of life and yet feel the inconditional love he has for his family.
All the incertainty of being a So-Cal Punk Rock guy, staying true to your beliefs, while raising 3 daughters...it's all in there.
I hope he writes another book, i truly enjoyed his writing.

I got this for my husband's birthday when we found out we were 6 weeks pregnant. I was looking for a parenting book that was not all caveman-ish and more enlightened dad and I glanced at this book and bought it and LOVED it! He read it in one weekend and then gave it to me, and then I read it in one weekend. We read it again when we found out we were having twins, as he talks about jealousy between sibs and balancing kids' personalities. Now that we're closer to the end and suspect we're having girls, we just re-read it again! I've never been a punk-rocker, and never heard of Pennywise, but my husband loves that type of music. I do think that if you're not a punk rocker kind of person you'll still enjoy the stories. It's all warm stories about learning he's going to be a dad, the pregnancy freakout, the birth from the guy's side, and then the stories about infanthood through kindergarden. It's not preachy at all and more of "this is what I did, learn from my mistakes" kind of book, which I really love. (Particularly his first night home alone with his daughter, and the time he had to change the baby out and didn't have any baby wipes!)

I will say however, if you are giving this as a gift, it's not for the right-wing conservative, NRA card carrying, or redneck husband/father. He will absolutely not appreciate it, and I suspect the bad reviews are from those kind of guys who are more of a hands-off type of dad. However, if your hubby is a left-leaning or mainstream kind of guy who is concerned about not becoming his father, taking an active role in his kids' lives and wanting the world to be a better place for the next generation, this is your book.

I really really hope he comes out with another book in a few years time when the girls are older. I'm so curious to see how he handles the school-aged years, especially middle school and high school. I would buy that book in a second!!!

My Fiance bought me this book for Christmas and I just finished it. The first thing I would note about it - is that it made me feel old. I thought I was still cool listening to Bad Religion - NOFX - and yes - Pennywise. But as Jim points out - these are groups of a now older generation (which is something I was already feeling from going to last years Warped Tour, I felt ancient with all those kids running around and the fact that my Fiance and I would seek shade in-between sets and left it to the kiddies after BR played). However (as already noted by others), it was a great read for us older punkers. I have a son from a previous marriage and he is now five. I too have felt that I was doing wrong by laying a ton of rules on him - but they are needed - like it or not. I also wondered if I was a bad parent for putting a Ramones-T on him and playing punk in the car when we travel. Is Blitzkrieg Bop a better alternative to Kid's Bop? God I hoped so. But it was good to hear another parent state that they do the same thing. It made me even prouder to know that my son will walk through a mall singing, "Hey, little girl I wanna be your boyfriend." (and Jim if you check these opinions, he also is known to belt out the 'whoa-whoa-whoa' part of Bro Hymn). All in all - I enjoyed the book. I only gave it a four stars because the writing could have been a little better - but as far as content - WONDERFUL! It is a book I would recommend to all graying punkers with children. In fact, I am sending my copy on to my nephew whose wife is expecting soon...

OK, take a punk rock guy ... Are you with me? OK ... He's like father to three kids ... I know, this is SOOOO CRAZY, but stay with me ... Are you sure you're still with me? ... And he LOVES AND ... get this ... TAKES CARE OF HIS KIDS!!!! ... Can you believe this? I'm SOOOOO not making this up. This is PURE HILARIOUS INSANITY! It's like those great movies Touchstone Pictures used to make in the 1980s, like "Three Men and a Baby" or "Sister Act" (remember how WACKY that was? Whoopi Goldberg ... as a NUN? Oooooh, are we in TROUBLE now!). I hope Touchstone has snapped up the rights to this book with Dane Cook or to play the lead. Green Day could even do a new version of the Huey Lewis classic "Hip to Be Square" for the theme ... only this time they could do it with loud, fast guitars.

Sorry, back to the book. This is the most original book on parenting I've ever read. It's so different than those other books about parenting written back in the 1980s by former hippies (you remember, the ones where the authors tried to reconcile their WILD pasts with being a responsible adult) ... BECAUSE IT'S WRITTEN BY A GUY WHO PLAYS IN A PUNK ROCK BAND! Can you believe it? This is so NUTTY I CAN'T WRITE ANOTHER WORD! ... OK, I lied ... Just read it. Crazy, crazy, CRAZY stuff!

We picked this book up at Borders when we were looking for other baby books one night. My husband and I both really enjoyed this book. It was a lot of fun to read, we laughed out loud several times while reading this book. Jim Lindberg really helped us to see ourselves as future parents. Maybe being a huge Pennywise fan didn't hurt either, but you don't have to be a punk rocker to enjoy and learn from this book.

One of the hardest things for me to figure out during my pregnancy is that I don't have to magically become this perfect Mom person. All I have to do is be myself, that's who my husband wants to be with and who my child should get to know. Becoming a parent doesn't have to change who I am at my core, I just will have a new role as a parent as well. This book prepared me for that role.

Jim writes like he speaks. It's just like sitting there hanging out and listening to him tell you the tales of his life. You really feel like you are in his shoes when you are reading this book and the language is soothing and makes you feel right at home. He is witty, clever and doesn't write outside of his ability or use words that normal people do not understand. It's funny how the more you read this book, the more you realize Jim is just like everyone else. This is a great Sunday morning read that you won't put down all day.

Great book! Easy to read and gives a good insight on how to perceive life as a parent. I highly recommend. Jim is more normal than you would think of a singer of a band that happens to be a dad. I think HE doesn't realize he isn't any different than most other dads out there that aren't from a surf punk band.

This book is absolutely fantastic for both parents or just music fans. It is a fun and creative way of telling/discussing parenting issues. It's realistic and shows no pretense of giving miracle solutions to problems. It is also a great read for those who are punk rock fans or those who like to know more about being in the music scene and negotiating that lifestyle with that of being a father. I gave this book to my husband for father's day and we both laughed a lot while reading it, not only because the book IS funny, but because we can relate to a lot of the experiences the author went through.