Is This Anything? - Jerry Seinfeld

Is This Anything?

By Jerry Seinfeld

  • Release Date: 2020-10-06
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4
4
From 155 Ratings

Description

The first book in twenty-five years from “one of our great comic minds” (The Washington Post) features Seinfeld’s best work across five decades in comedy.

Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a twenty-one-year-old college student in fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything. “Whenever I came up with a funny bit, whether it happened on a stage, in a conversation, or working it out on my preferred canvas, the big yellow legal pad, I kept it in one of those old school accordion folders,” Seinfeld writes. “So I have everything I thought was worth saving from forty-five years of hacking away at this for all I was worth.”

For this book, Jerry Seinfeld has selected his favorite material, organized decade by decade. In this “trove of laugh-out-loud one-liners” (Associated Press), you will witness the evolution of one of the great comedians of our time and gain new insights into the thrilling but unforgiving art of writing stand-up comedy.

Reviews

  • Is this a compilation?

    5
    By Bab1234567
    Yeah, it is. Jerry walks you through memory lane from past decades to today of his comedy. Familiar favorites and ones you missed the first time around. Worth the read. I thought afterward “Gee, it would have been nice if I could have heard Jerry say all the bits.” Only then did I realize that I could have bought the read-by-the-author audio version.
  • Classic Seinfeld

    5
    By julie8420
    Clever, witty, not filthy like other comedians. Love it!
  • Not great

    1
    By bill091817
    Wasn’t what I expected.
  • Yada Yada Yada the whole book

    1
    By PinstripePride
    As if he doesn’t have enough money, he had to take more of mine to sell me the same jokes he’s been telling for years. Love Jerry! Would have loved some new material even more!
  • Is This Anything?

    1
    By absolutelystinkeroo
    Well, no it is not. This alleged story of comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s life is nothing more than a chronological listing of every bit he has ever written. No insights, no backstory of his rise through the ranks off the comedy world, nothing but a huge list of jokes. I would rather read a cook book than be dragged through the ponderous rehash of jokes. And the worst part, they are not funny because 85% of why they worked in the first place is Jerry’s delivery. But he is not there to deliver them. It’s just the monotonous drone of you own inner voice reciting them. It is impossible to make it through more than an hour. A complete waste of money and Jerry, as one of your biggest fans, I want my money back. If you agent convinced you this was a good idea, I can only guess he is in for a percentage. THE WORST BOOK EVER!
  • No Covers

    5
    By Tylermjay
    You know how some movies are reviewed by high-toned reviewers and described as “hilarious” and there’s only places for laughs, not one god damned real laugh in the whole thing? This isn’t that. This is genuinely funny, laugh out loud from cover to cover and it doesn’t even have covers.
  • Is this Anything?

    3
    By Nana Is the word
    I felt cheated with the purchase of the book. I am a Jerry fan so perhaps I was expecting too much in the way of new material. I was disappointed. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
  • Don’t bother

    1
    By Allrews
    Love Jerry, love the sitcom, but this book really, really, bad. I am a die hard Sienfeld fan where I have viewed most if not all episodes. I enjoy Jerry during his stand up acts as well, his takes are smart, delivery spot on, great! This book I had to put down after about a 1/4 of the way through, most of the jokes I have heard, nothing really new. My hope was more insight into the life of a stand up comic, book form of his Coffee, Cars & Comedians show, not even close. Can’t believe Jerry would put out something like this, he is so detailed oriented, perfectness to a tee, I am really surprised and disappointed. I usually can soldier through a bad book but sorry, not happening here need to move on.