Nevertheless

I like listening to celebrities narrate their own books. I feel like it really gives you an insight into the REAL person.

When I picked up Nevertheless, I didn't know much about Alec Baldwin. I knew he was in Pearl Harbor. I knew he was on 30 Rock. I knew he portrayed Donald Trump on SNL. I have heard his name everywhere, but I didn't know much about him.

Long story short, Nevertheless isn't a comedic celebrity memoir. It's not simple fluff. I actually don't know how to rank it. When I started the book, I thought “wow, Alec Baldwin sounds like an asshole”. then I thought “I could call him an asshole in my review, he'd never read it, but even if he did I doubt he would even care.” He just gives off this vibe that he doesn't give a F what you think. Then he delved into his childhood. And suddenly it's like the doors were flung wide open. I could see what impacted his personality, and why he has such a gruff personality. I actually felt rather sad for him and his family. I'm thrilled that he escaped it and found such high levels of success, yes it's clear that what happened during his childhood has impacted him for the rest of his life.

The early parts of his career were interesting. I actually never realized that the husband from Beetlejuice was the same guy in Pearl Harbor and 30 Rock (ok I've never actually seen 30 Rock. It's on my list...). To me, they look like two completely different people. Maybe it has to do with the timeframes. The actor in beetlejuice in young and full of hope for an acting career. The Alec Baldwin from the 2000s and 2010s is more mature. His personality is a bit bittersweet. He carries a weight with him wherever he goes. His voice is soothing, yet strong, yet full of opinion. The Beetlejuice Baldwin would have accepted advice. My impression of the current Baldwin is that he just doesn't care what you think.

Maybe I'm judging the man too harshly. I don't think there's anything wrong with his attitude. I think that's what makes him so successful. Listening to him narrate his own story gave me a new appreciation for the man. Is he someone I'd like to have coffee with? not really. but is he someone I enjoy watching on tv? Absolutely. He brings something to his work that other actors can't. He has his niche in the acting community, and I wish him the best success going forward.

Side note summarizing my opinion on the book:
Alec's narration is excellent. It makes this book. If he wasn't narrating it, I'd have stopped rather quickly. The book itself was good, but a one time read. I actually really enjoyed the last 1/4 of the book. It humbled the man. I finally saw past that gruff exterior and saw the human behind him. It wasn't a favorite celebrity book, but it was good for a day's listen.

This was a pretty good read, but not too detailed. If you're looking for a lot of stories about what it was like to make various movies, this is not the book for you. I think Beetlejuice was all of a paragraph. He does talk about roles that held particular meaning to him, but nothing in a lot of depth.

He writes about his childhood, and politics, and a little about 30 Rock, his custody battle, and his assorted scandals. None of that really changed my opinion of him as a person, which is that he is a well-intentioned person with a bad temper that occasionally gets the best of him, and in those moments he's his own worst enemy. While his tone was not angry, anger did bleed through in certain passages.