# Anyone read Ed Zotti's "The Barn House" - If so, what did you think of it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813 "2010-03-01T03:18:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/1 "2010-03-01T03:18:43Z")
Anyone here read “[The Barn House: Confessions of an Urban Rehabber](http://edzotti.blogspot.com/)”. Did you like it? Recommended buy or not? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/2 "2010-03-01T17:30:03Z")
No one? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/3 "2010-03-01T17:33:02Z")
We’re all cowering in fear. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/4 "2010-03-01T17:36:51Z")
Doesn’t this thread belong in the other forum that no one reads? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/5 "2010-03-01T18:59:50Z")
I read it, enjoyed it thoroughly, and have recommended it to a few people. . ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/6 "2010-03-02T01:05:07Z")
I read it (of course, I got an autographed free copy…) but after reading it I would have bought it. The Barn House is very interesting from a few different angles. First and foremost, you get to know an awful lot about Ed Zotti and the type of person that he is, and I mean that in a positive light. He reminds me of myself in one manner, in that when faced with a seemingly intractable obstacle - spending years and hundreds of thousands of dollars and untold thousands of man-hours to fix up a house - he keeps at it and keeps at it and doggedly pursues it until it’s done. He even spent time sifting his yard - the soil - for debris, just to make sure the job was really done. The book is also a bit personal; there’s a couple of things I’m surprised that he put in there. The Barn House also is about an enormous amount of DIY home rehabilitation. Anyone who has tackled a huge DIY task and got in over their heads will identify with the part where Ed is trying to assemble pipes through innumerable joists, soldering them piece-by-piece. Or dealing with the home inspectors, recalcitrant contractors, and last-minute changes. The Barn House also contains a moderate amount of Chicago history, and probably folks in Chicago will appreciate this. It was an easy read overall - I took it on an overseas business trip and read half the book on the flight out. If I had a criticism, it would be that the wrap-up at the end of the book seems a little rushed - it seems the house progress goes from 75% to 95% complete very suddenly - but that may have been due to length considerations. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/7 "2010-03-02T01:20:11Z")
I read it and found it to be very entertaining and enjoyable. Pretty light and easy reading. I do think that living in the Chicago area and having a little background in construction helped me enjoy it more than someone from Phoenix who also never encountered lien waivers or called to get crane rental pricing. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/8 "2010-03-02T02:23:01Z")
I’ve read about 2/3 of my autographed copy. Not bad stuff. He writes well, for an editor. 🙂 It’s a pretty good read, as others have recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/9 "2010-03-02T04:22:58Z")
> [@](#): > > It was an easy read overall - I took it on an overseas business trip and read half the book on the flight out. Clarification: I did read the whole book, of course, I was stating that it was so easy I could read half of it on one long 10-hour flight. ---
**Author:** ![ShermanAter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ShermanAter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShermanAter)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/10 "2010-03-02T04:50:51Z")
> [@astro](#): > > No one? Are you kidding right now? The Barn House is almost as popular as " Straight Dope Chicago" Blockbuster is a word that comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/11 "2010-03-02T17:42:55Z")
Oh give it a rest already. ---
**Author:** ![ShermanAter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ShermanAter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShermanAter)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/12 "2010-03-04T06:52:03Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Oh give it a rest already. Give your boot licking a rest. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-ed-zottis-the-barn-house-if-so-what-did-you-think-of-it/530813/13 "2010-03-04T12:33:51Z")
> [@ShermanAter](#): > > Give your boot licking a rest. Give your snide comments about the other posters in this thread a rest. twickster, Cafe Society moderator