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jenmangler's review against another edition
2.0
There were parts of this book that I very much enjoyed, but overall, my reaction is "meh." I enjoyed the stories about her childhood and her father quite a lot, but overall the random organization of the book got to me and lessened my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
Not awful but not beyond just middling either. I learned two things reading this book. One: I don't care all that much about Sarah Silverman's childhood. Two: I don't think Sarah Silverman is all that funny nor are her anecdotes particularly entertaining.
cinchona's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure why I picked this book up. I'm not a Sarah Silverman fan--not a hater either, just someone who is ambivalent. Also, the books I read this year by comedians I adore were something of a let-down. So I was predisposed to dislike, if not outright hate, this book.
I was pretty shocked to find myself adoring it. From the first page of the foreword, where she correctly ascertained my physical location (on the toilet) through all the funny, sincere self-exposure, this book was great. The chapters were short, the prose was simple, and the stories were punctuated by adorable and funny pictures.
It was cool to learn some background on Sarah Silverman, the comedian (family encouragement of her humor, palling around with comics, that sort of thing), but this book really shines as an ode to the art of the showbiz memoir. It is deeply revealing and funny, self-deprecating but lighthearted. It tells a story of a human being with wit, brevity and a comic's close attention to the absurd. Also, there are dick jokes.
I would have liked this book even if I'd never before or since heard of her. Even if the few chapters devoted to other famous people she knows were excised. Hey Sarah Silverman, this neurotic dick-joke-lover thinks you're pretty cool.
I was pretty shocked to find myself adoring it. From the first page of the foreword, where she correctly ascertained my physical location (on the toilet) through all the funny, sincere self-exposure, this book was great. The chapters were short, the prose was simple, and the stories were punctuated by adorable and funny pictures.
It was cool to learn some background on Sarah Silverman, the comedian (family encouragement of her humor, palling around with comics, that sort of thing), but this book really shines as an ode to the art of the showbiz memoir. It is deeply revealing and funny, self-deprecating but lighthearted. It tells a story of a human being with wit, brevity and a comic's close attention to the absurd. Also, there are dick jokes.
I would have liked this book even if I'd never before or since heard of her. Even if the few chapters devoted to other famous people she knows were excised. Hey Sarah Silverman, this neurotic dick-joke-lover thinks you're pretty cool.
cr4nkyp4nts's review against another edition
3.0
It was good. Nothing earth shattering, of course, but some good laughs and a bit of insight into who she is. If you've enjoyed anything she's done, you'll probably enjoy this, too.
protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
This is exactly the book that you would expect from Silverman. I enjoyed the insight into her childhood and her chronic bedwetting. She tells it not just for shock value, but because it shaped who she is today. The rest of the story tells of her early career and follows some of her ups and downs as a comedian and TV creator/star.
Silverman has a strong voice and since I had the pleasure of listening to her narrate her own audiobook, I was able to hear her deliver her lines just the way she intended.
I have a feeling that many people would have no interest in this book, but that's ok, this book wasn't written for them. I enjoyed it and it made me want to check out her show. I appreciate a woman who doesn't worry too much about fitting in with gender norms.
Silverman has a strong voice and since I had the pleasure of listening to her narrate her own audiobook, I was able to hear her deliver her lines just the way she intended.
I have a feeling that many people would have no interest in this book, but that's ok, this book wasn't written for them. I enjoyed it and it made me want to check out her show. I appreciate a woman who doesn't worry too much about fitting in with gender norms.
deanna_rigney's review against another edition
4.0
Sarah Silverman kills me with her "nothing is sacred" brand of humor, making jokes about sex, race, and the Holocaust. My first taste of such humor happened when I first glimpsed Nazis dancing and singing in a Mel Brooks film, and I've been hooked ever since. Silverman relays her childhood and the struggle to do comedy as a career. The book is written probably much in the way the woman thinks, with choppy organization and stories that pop up here and there on a whim, but she seems straightforward and honest throughout, and she doesn't tone anything down. Funny, interesting, and a pretty quick and easy read.