I listened to Jim Gaffigan read his own book, “Dad is Fat.”

I really like Jim Gaffigan’s stand-up routines. I bought his Mr. Universe special during the spate of $5 stand-up comics doing that sort of thing.

But this book… this book.

It’s not as sharp as his stand-up, and a lot of it isn’t particularly funny or new. There are a lot of parents vs. kids jokes, seeing as he has five he’s probably earned them. But the stories and observations are just so… flat that it’s a wonder that it’s the same guy who sparkles on stage (in a literal sense, in that his skin tone reflects the bright spotlights to blinding effect and in a figurative sense).

If you’re looking for Jim Gaffigan at his best, I would spend the $5 at his site and download Mr. Universe over going for this book, which will someday be a nice keepsake for his kids, and that’s what this book boils down to: it feels like a vanity-published/iPhoto published book cobbled together from funny (to his family, perhaps) stories about their life.