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    Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from Watching '80s Movies
    Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from Watching '80s Movies
    Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from Watching '80s Movies
    Audiobook7 hours

    Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from Watching '80s Movies

    Written by Jason Diamond

    Narrated by Roger Wayne

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    For all fans of John Hughes and his hit films such as National Lampoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, and Home Alone, comes Jason Diamond’s hilarious memoir of growing up obsessed with the iconic filmmaker’s movies—a preoccupation that eventually convinces Diamond he should write Hughes’ biography and travel to New York City on a quest that is as funny as it is hopeless.

    For as long as Jason Diamond can remember, he’s been infatuated with John Hughes’ movies. From the outrageous, raunchy antics in National Lampoon’s Vacation to the teenage angst in The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink to the insanely clever and unforgettable Home Alone, Jason could not get enough of Hughes’ films. And so the seed was planted in his mind that it should fall to him to write a biography of his favorite filmmaker. It didn’t matter to Jason that he had no qualifications, training, background, platform, or direction. Thus went the years-long, delusional, earnest, and assiduous quest to reach his goal. But no book came out of these years, and no book will. What he did get was a story that fills the pages of this unconventional, hilarious memoir.

    In Searching for John Hughes, Jason tells how a Jewish kid from a broken home in a Chicago suburb—sometimes homeless, always restless—found comfort and connection in the likewise broken lives in the suburban Chicago of John Hughes’ oeuvre. He moved to New York to become a writer. He started to write a book he had no business writing. In the meantime, he brewed coffee and guarded cupcake cafes. All the while, he watched John Hughes movies religiously.

    Though his original biography of Hughes has long since been abandoned, Jason has discovered he is a writer through and through. And the adversity of going for broke has now been transformed into wisdom. Or, at least, a really, really good story.

    In other words, this is a memoir of growing up. One part big dream, one part big failure, one part John Hughes movies, one part Chicago, and one part New York. It’s a story of what comes after the “Go for it!” part of the command to young creatives to pursue their dreams—no matter how absurd they might seem at first.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateNov 29, 2016
    ISBN9780062564924
    Author

    Jason Diamond

    Jason Diamond is the sports editor at Rollingstone.com and founder of Vol. 1 Brooklyn. His work has been published by The New York Times, BuzzFeed, Vulture, The New Republic, The Paris Review, Pitchfork, Esquire, Vice and many other outlets. He was born in Skokie, Illinois, but currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife, his two cats and his dog named Max.

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    Reviews for Searching for John Hughes

    3.5/5

    35 ratings11 reviews

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    • 1/5
      I truly don't know what I expected going into this book. I'm one of those readers that sees a book, reads a bit of the back copy, decides on the spot if it's a yes or no read, then it gets shelved for a few months at the end of the TBR pile.

      Which often means, by the time I've come around to read it, I've forgotten the initial spark that grabbed me. Though, as a lover of Hughes' earlier movies, I'd say that was it.

      What I didn't expect was to read about whiny, phony asshole, but that's what I got. Did the author get dealt a bit of a shit hand with his father? Definitely. Guy's a dick. But Diamond also seems to paint his mother in an unsympathetic light--a mother that saved him from an abusive father, obviously sought out what help she could, and finally abandoned her only son when he'd retreated into drugs, robbery, and staying away from home for days on end.

      The author talks of another family that brought him into the fold, and then he was the excuse for an unwanted pregnancy, leaving and never thanking them for their kindness, leaving the father to write a heartbroken apology to him that he received years after the man's death.

      He talks of a kindly teacher "that probably saved my life" that he lived with for a time, then essentially abandoned to go to New York, always meaning to look her up, or visit. But of course, she died unthanked.

      He talks of spending money he doesn't have on food he doesn't like to impress people he doesn't want to be around. He avoids people who have made an effort to reacquaint with him, skipping their weddings, while throwing his lot in with people he knows are assholes.

      And through it all, he tries to get into the head of John Hughes, a man he's never met, and doesn't know. A project he decided to take on after he was backed into a corner and had to drunkenly bluff his way out. Oh, and he wants to title it from the lyric to Don't You Forget About Me instead of, you know, pulling any of the eminently quotable lines that Hughes himself wrote.

      The hubris of this asshole is astounding.

      And through it all, I could only keep asking myself, did he learn nothing from all those viewings of Hughes' movies? Isn't the core message of Ferris Bueller to spend the time with the ones you love, because life moves pretty fast? Isn't the message of Pretty in Pink, and Some Kind of Wonderful, and Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club...most of Hughes' movies, for that matter, to be honest with each other? To embrace the differences? To respect the weird and the unloved?

      This guy basically tells the story of bumbling around for years, writing a book he was unqualified to write, then stumbling into a good relationship, and then, because of that, a good job.

      Yeah, don't care, Diamond.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book, sweet, funny, and an unconventional look at the 1980s. If you have memories of this time, or are simply curious or fascinated by it, you must read this book now. I loved every minute of it.
    • 4/5
      I listened to this on audio. Jason grew up in the 80's from a broken home in Chicago and connects with the characters and settings of classic John Hughes movies (Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, etc). A situation I can relate too (NOT the broken home, but the love of the Hughes-a-verse).He decides that its his goal to meet his idol and write his biography, despite the fact that he doesn't know how to write a biography and has no prospects of meeting Hughes or any of the actors in the films. This book, instead, becomes Diamond's memoirs of the attempt. It is strangely compelling and a good read (or listen, as it was in my case)7/10S: 2/27/17 - 3/12/18 (14 Days)
    • 2/5
      I couldn't finish this book. It just never grabbed me, and I didn't find the author to be very engaging.
    • 3/5
      I’d give this book a firm “Okay.” If you are expecting 80s nostalgia, you will be disappointed. I would imagine that the striking cover will pull in quite a few readers who won’t realize they are about to read a story about a man trying to find his place in the world. Decent memoir though. I found Diamond’s story very relatable and well-written.
    • 3/5
      A special thank you to Edelweiss and William Morrow Paperbacks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

      What a great read! Growing up binging on John Hughes' movies myself, I loved the premise of this book and thought, why didn't I think of this?

      Diamond's childhood is dismal at best, often times his narrative is painful to read as I'm sure it was to recount. He uses Hughes' movies as lenses to filter his life through, as well as an escape/coping mechanism. He is searching for John Hughes, to write an autobiography of sorts, spoiler: but gives up on his search and in doing so, sets himself free and finally sheds his past.
    • 4/5
      A thoughtful insight to the life of author as he struggles to find his way in life all while working on a biography of director, John Hughes. The author knows his Hughes' movies inside and out and shows how they had an impact on his life, which includes a troubled childhood and many struggles through early adulthood. His story has a satisfying end to show how his project led him to a more happier, healthier place in life.I received a free copy of this book through the Early Reviewers Program in exchange for my honest review.
    • 3/5
      I grew up on John Hughes films, liking and relating to some more than others. I vividly remember watching Sixteen Candles on TV (I'd already seen it at the theater so I knew what all the bleeped out language was) and my dad walking into the room, pausing to watch a scene, and then commenting that if I used that kind of language (apparently he didn't have to see it in the theater to know what Molly Ringwald's character said) they'd forget my birthday too. Obviously Hughes was not the voice of my parents' generation. But in many ways, he was of mine. As much as I can still connect many of his movies to specific moments in my life, I would never have thought to write either a memoir about him or a memoir about the impact his movies had on my life as Jason Diamond did. That the book was originally conceived as the first but then became very much the second made it just that much more interesting to this fellow movie watcher.Diamond grew up in the Chicago suburbs that Hughes immortalized in his movies at the very time that Hughes was capturing them. Diamond identified with these movies and the man who made them, using them and music as an escape from his own very unhappy childhood and adolescence. John Hughes excelled at capturing teen angst. It seems it was this feeling above all others that resonated with Diamond, although given his estrangement from his abusive and neglectful parents and his eventual homelessness while still in high school, he wasn't actually facing the sort of angst that Hughes' characters face, instead he was facing true and deep problems. But the movies' generally positive (hard to call them happy in some cases) endings, gave Diamond hope in what was otherwise a rather hopeless situation. Diamond struggled to define himself outside of his parents' negative and brutal definition of him so he uses certain of Hughes' characters to try and make sense of who he is throughout the pages of this memoir.After escaping his unhappy history in Chicago, Diamond moves to New York where he finds a succession of low paying, easily replaceable jobs. He is still adrift and ashamed of his life when discussions with friends and a reading by a medium encourages him to tackle a comprehensive, unauthorized biography of John Hughes. Chasing after his dream of writing a book, researching the pop culture icon, trying unsuccessfully to interview those who worked with Hughes, and making a deep dive into the movies consumed years of Diamond's life. Even immersed in this project, Diamond still struggled but the project allowed him the chance to recount and accept his past on the way to a better and happier life.This memoir is not so much about John Hughes. It is very much about Jason Diamond. It is personal and hard and what he lived through is dark and depressing. Insecurity and self doubt wind through his terrible teen years and on into his twenties. The small hope of Hughes' movie endings seems to be beyond his reach so very often but somehow, even so, those movies pull him through. The memoir is very introspective and some of Diamond's drifting is hard to read. It's tough to stay with an author who is so unhappy and filled with shame and anger but his recounting of his early life certainly explains why he is trapped in this place. I'm not sure how relatable the book would be to someone not of his generation but for those of us who grew up in the John Hughes era as Diamond did, this will strike a chord for sure.
    • 5/5
      Author, Jason Diamond, grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago where many of John Hughes movies are based and where Hughes himself lived. The movies served as a retreat from an incredibly sad childhood and adolescence, reliably providing relatable characters and happy endings. As a young adult attempting to figure out his life in New York, he decides to write a comprehensive, unauthorized biography of John Hughes. While spending years working on this biography, he starts to come to terms with his childhood and slowly work through how he wants to live his life. Instead of a John Hughes biography, he has written a very personal memoir that take the movies of his (and mine) youth and fits them into the biography of his own life. I am about the same age as Diamond and while my life experiences are not at all similar, I related to this book...a lot. I received this book through a LibraryThing giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Searching for John Hughes chronicles Diamond's dream of writing the ultimate biography of the iconic director, even going so far as to move to New York to become a writer. While that dream became deferred, Diamond still found plenty of inspiration from those movies that showcased outsiders and loners which lead him to discover a new dream and an artistic life of his own. It's perfect for that 80's movie fan or just someone who has had to rely on pop culture for emotional relief.The book will be available by November 29 and considering that it's a true story of keeping hope alive during the bad times via film, the release date feels quite timely indeed:
    • 4/5
      First, let me say the cover is fantastic! The bright pink is evocative of the 80's or the neon colors we think the 80's were totally drenched in and the cast of The Breakfast Club sitting there faceless was an apt choice. Hasn't everyone who has seen the movie (and liked it) identified with at least one of it not two of the characters at some point?And that is what Chicagoland native Jason Diamond felt when he first saw a John Hughes movie: characters and themes he identified with as teen or a life he wished he could live. DIamond's childhood was a turbulent one and growing into a teenager and adult did not magically fix his problems. One part of this book is his struggle to write what he hopes will be his masterpiece: a John Hughes biography and the other part is him reflecting and recounting his childhood.I really enjoyed the book. This was an advanced copy so I hope it was given another edit prior to publication. There were some parts that were repetitive or could be tightened to make the narrative stronger.