Is Jerry Seinfeld's New Book 'Is This Anything?' Worth Reading?

Chris Parr: This is a compilation of memorable Seinfeld jokes by decade.

I bought this under the impression (through a third party) that this outlined some general principles in joke writing structure and theory.

It's not that in a straight forward manner, but you can see a pretty interesting pattern in how he structures his jokes.

It's highly entertaining and I have found, though different than anticipated, some good writing take aways.

United States on Dec 09, 2023

Sal: Excellent bite sized sketches and observations by one of the worlds best comedians. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Australia on Nov 06, 2023

Steve Malysz: I loved this book. Its print is large and double spaced. The bits are so funny. I was amazed at how the topics are constructed. If you love to laugh get this book.

United States on Oct 14, 2023

S: This is decades of Seinfeld gold and it’s exciting to read it all in one place

United States on Sep 18, 2023

Yousery Nashed: Good book

Canada on Jan 13, 2023

Jack Lokensky: This book is practically every joke the Jerry Seinfeld has ever told; therefore, when you read it - in your head you will be reading it in his voice anyway. The British woman who reads the chapter titles is distracting and ruins the pace of the routine. The audiobook would be better served without her. If you are a fan of Mr. Seinfeld’s standup, then you will enjoy this book.

United States on Nov 28, 2022

Cathryn Conroy: In this laugh-out-loud book, Jerry Seinfeld has given us his funniest bits from his years as a stand-up comedian. Organized by decade from the '70s to today, this hilarious chronology of the nearly 50 years of jokes he has told on nightclub stages had me not only laughing often, but also reading parts of it to my husband. (When he said he wanted to read the book himself, I forced myself to stop reading it aloud to him.)

And that is exactly the brilliance of this book: Seinfeld's jokes are so universal in nature you want to share them because you know others will find them just as funny as you do.

I think Seinfeld's comedic genius is in his observations about the minutiae of life—from wearing an ill-fitting Halloween mask as a kid to eating tuna sandwiches in airports to the weirdness of doctors' waiting rooms to wondering about the need for high-energy drinks. These are situations we can all appreciate because we have lived them ourselves.

And while this is a delightful book of jokes, it's also a biography of sorts—a journey through Seinfeld's life beginning with his young adult dreams of becoming a comedian and ending as a very happy man well into in his...

United States on May 16, 2021

Mrs. R. G. Hill: Well of course I have words. I read before going to sleep, unfortunately, every few pages there is something so hilarious that, even committed to paper, I was corpsed to the point I could not even get the words out when attempting to relay the joke to my husband. It was like being stoned. As it was 2am, I imagine those the other side of the wall, next door, were utterly puzzled. This book is therefore recommended for people who live in detached houses, not just that, I had to get up and get a tissue. After a while it gets worse, as you start to hear it in Jerry's voice. I'm intrigued that he wrote the thing IN one-liners, either that or somebody hasn't quite grasped Kindle formatting. I want Jerry to plunge into his notes and write ten more books full of every joke he's ever done, as a contribution to fixing the mental health of so many of us in the dismal Lockdown. I've always been a fan anyway, now I think he should get a Nobel for Funny.

United Kingdom on Mar 21, 2021

Cyrano59: Pour les fans francophones bilingues de Jerry Seinfeld (comme moi), ce livre est indispensable, et c'est super qu'il existe. J'ai l'impression d'entendre la voix de Jerry quand je lis ses "bits", mais j'ai toujours pensé qu'il y avait une qualité écrite dans son humour. Ce livre est donc parfait pour moi. Des petites touches observationnelles pertinentes et amusantes sur la vie de tous les jours dans une Amérique passée et récente, toujours précises, ironiques mais pas sans une certaine tendresse sous un humour caustique. On pourrait dire que Jerry Seinfeld est le Norman Rockwell du stand-up. Et la marque d'un grand talent, c'est qu'on peut relire ses blagues (ou les entendre à nouveau) et encore rire, et même les apprécier encore plus. Well done, Jerry!

France on Nov 12, 2020

SamySamy: Jerry Seinfeld's new book, "Is This Anything?" is literally the closest thing I can relate to a, "what if books had expansion packs?" If you've read "SeinLanguage" it is that book with added jokes. Still funny, still thought provoking, and still iconic. It does have autobiography aspect, but it's in the jokes themselves, so if you're expecting a memoir similar to Billy Crystal's Still Foolin' You, then this isn't that at all. The one thing I will say is that I did follow along with the audio book, and I gotta say it's like Jerry is telling you every joke in this book. I think if you want to hear Jerry tell you a few jokes then I suggest the audio book over reading it as I feel our imagination of how we interept how he'll tell his stories does not compare to listening to him. It's those little details that makes jokes funny.

Canada on Oct 10, 2020