I was just past the age for MTV when Dave Holmes became part of the VJ team, so I kind of knew who he was, but he wasn't a huge part of my growing up as he was for many teens. I have also read many celebrity memoirs which focused on a particular career highlight while giving some growing up stories. So, when I got Party of One by Dave Holmes from Blogging for Books*, I thought it would be a typical celebrity memoir about his time at MTV. I was in for a very pleasant surprise.

The major focus of the book is about how Holmes grew up in an all Catholic boys school and college as a gay person. He talks about his struggles, his worries about coming out, how he hid, and even made fun of gay people to protect his identity.

He tells his story using song titles as chapter headings to create a playlist of sorts. Every now and then he also has Interludes where he creates song lists and tells a little bit more of his story in short bits.

We, of course, also read about his time at MTV as a gay man and has to once again hide his identity to the viewing public. He winds up as a writer for Esquire with a very successful career.

Holmes tells a very heartwarming story and does it with a lot of humor and a love of music of the late 80s and early 90s. Part of the book is a love letter to those times as he mentions some of more popular items of the time. It was fun reminiscing about those times.

Holmes' main story though is really powerful and I am sure he is sharing a story that quite a few other gay men had as they struggled with who they were in conditions that were not kind to them. I thought this would be a book that would be great for those youth who are struggling with who they are as it is honest and truthful.

I was glad I read this one. I gave it 4 stars.

* I wish to thank Blogging for Books and Crown Archetype for the free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Man, is this book funny. It's also sweet, swift and brilliantly written. A memoir about a gay kid in Catholic St. Louis growing up in the 1980s does not exactly break a whole lot of new ground but in Dave Holmes's hand, he's has a clever yet honest way around al the stations of the cross of this story. Which means that even though you see them all coming (out), you're surprised, you're delighted, you're just plain happy for the guy, who is incredibly likeable, good hearted and you want good things to happen to.

Holmes you may remember as the frequent host of programs on MTV in the mid 1990s. So if you're childhood afternoons were TRL and N'Sync videos, there's a lot of that too.

Enjoy. You can't, not. ( )

Do you remember MTV in the late 90s? I think many of my friends are in the States and of the right age to at least have a passing familiarity. Myself, I was obsessed for just about all of ages 12 to 17, and as such I remember all of their gimmicks, high and low. Dave Holmes was a central participant in one of those: the reality show-like contest to become one of their on-air VJs. But he starts this story well before that, as a closeted gay kid in a Catholic household (and later college) that took to popular music as a refuge and became an encyclopedia of 20th century rock. The style is original, with an era-appropriate song assigned to each of the parts of his life, of which my favorite was being a 20-something with a degree and smarts but no real idea how to navigate a heartless corporate world (song: "The Man Who Sold the World"). Even if you didn't grow up with MTV, it's witty and not too clever. ( )

This memoir by Dave Holmes is an entertaining collection of amusing, bite-sized stories. Traveling in roughly chronological order, he tells stories about growing up "different" in St. Louis. He is a nerd with athletically competitive brothers. He is gay and attends catholic school. He does not know where he fits. And that theme carries him forward to NYC and his first jobs. And even follows him to MTV and beyond.

All that said, the really special thing about this book is HOW he tells the stories. He looks at the events in his life through his own unique lens, which includes a fascinating understanding of pop culture. Not many memoirs reflect on themselves with regard to how popsugar will cover them. Dave is only a couple of years younger than I am, but I had no idea about any of this. An eye-opening and enjoyable read. ( )

4.35. I'm not a huge music person and I don't remember much about MTV, but he pulled me along and that's saying something. Much giggling and not a few tears. ( )