Thank You Notes

by Jimmy Fallon, the Writers of Late Night

Thank you, slow walking family walking in front of me on the sidewalk. No, please, take your time. And definitely spread out, too, so you create a barricade of idiots. I am so thankful that you forced me to walk on the street and risk getting hit by a car in order to pass you so I could resume walking at a normal human pace.Jimmy Fallon has a few people and a few things to thank. In this brand-new book, the very first to come from his show, he addresses some 200 subjects in need of his undying "gratitude." Each page will feature one note and a photograph of its recipient. But why read any more about formatting when you could just read a few more samples;Thank you, guy whose chair made a farting noise, for prompting him to spend the next 20 minutes awkwardly shifting around trying to re-create the noise, so people would know it was just the chair. Thank you, Miley Cyrus, for being 16 and acting like a stripper at the Teen Choice Awards. If you REALLY wanna piss off your dad, why not just cut off his allowance? From Hilary Clinton to a light bulb he is too lazy to replace, these are the moments and memories that make Jimmy's life a little bit fuller.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Adult, Contemporary, Tv, Pop Culture

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2011

About the author

James Thomas Fallon, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, and musician known for his work on Saturday Night Live. He is also scheduled to become the host of Late Night in 2009.

Reviews

[Rossy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not funny :(
I didn't laugh, but I liked soooome ~Thankyous~


Thank you paper clips, for being like staples for people who can’t commit.

Thank you onion rings, for being my favorite food, until I bite into you and I’m left with a cold, wet onion in my mouth and a tiny deep-fried steering wheel cover in my hand.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look out Jack Handey, there’s a new thinker in town. Or more appropriately, a new thanker. Jimmy Fallon, (or his writers, at least) have dished out some Handey-esque gratitude that I haven’t seen in years. (Granted, I haven’t read Handey’s latest, What I’d Say To the Martians: And Other Veiled Threats so, maybe I should read that before dethroning the man…)

Fallon’s faux thanks read like deep thoughts, with parallel humor. “Thank you... pen I just put in my mouth and started chewing on, for already having bite marks on you to remind me that, Oh yeah, you’re not my pen.”

I’ve never watched his show, but if this is what I can expect, count me in. It’s hilarious. “Thank you... NBC for having a late night feud or twothat could bring us Jimmy Fallon.”

Also, “Thank you... Fox, for picking up Conan. I still love that guy.”

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I felt guilty for counting this "book" on my reading challenge (100 books = 2012 goal). I mean, really... it's not a "real" book, is it? It's just a bunch of little thank you notes, each getting its own page, and it took all of a half-hour tops to read. So why count it? And why count it "legally"?

Well, I'll tell ya. I thought about it after I got thru the guilt, and I realized that yes, this is a book. It's short, true, but it's funny. And believe it or not, it even made me think a time or two. It brought joy to my life, and isn't that what any book should do?

So thank you, Jimmy Fallon, for helping me inch ever closer to my 2012 reading goal.

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only watch talk shows over breakfast or lunch these days but Jimmy Fallon has my kind of humour. He has a loveable best friend approach, musical creativity that I relish, and is a very warm person. I guess I can pick out winners. I loved the “Thank You Notes” segment immediately: pretending to handwrite odes to common quibbles and cultural observations.

When Jimmy announced in 2011 that he had published this featurette as a book, I eagerly set out to find the best price of anyone I know. I scored it at Book Depository for $5.00 CDN, including their free international shipping! Even a deal-finder cell phone app that my sister-in-law had, could not locate a price as low as this. I must have paged through it but I usually savour the pleasure of obtaining books I wanted, well before reading them. I remember knowing most of the jokes from the television show. I have paged through the whole compilation from cover to cover and give it four stars. I attribute this to a few jokes that don’t tickle my funny bone and some that are too familiar to have a titillating reaction; perhaps due to postponing my perusal until the year 2020.

I wish my favourite joke had jumped out as a surprise, instead of supplying the book’s synopsis but it highlights an annoyance I share, that still has me giggling in solidarity.

“Thank you, slow walking family walking in front of me on the sidewalk. No, please, take your time. And definitely spread out, too, so you create a barricade of idiots. I am so thankful that you forced me to walk on the street and risk getting hit by a car in order to pass you, so I could resume walking at a normal human pace.”.

[Thomas Andrikus · Rating 5 out of 5]

p.95:
Thank you urinals that inexplicably have ice in them. You know exactly what I'm looking for–a nice pee on the rocks. Next time, can I get a twist of lime in there, too? Maybe a salted rim? Thanks.

p.96:
Thank you leaf blowers, for making me look like the world's lamest Ghostbuster. I ain't afraid of no leaves

p.98:
Thank you people who insist on showing off ultrasound pictures of your unborn children. Just so you know, all those pictures look exactly the same: like charcoal drawings of an alien. For all you know, doctors just give the exact same picture to everyone and say, "There it is! There's your fetus!" And no one can ever tell the difference

p.137:
Thank you smoothies, for being fat people's way of saying, "I'm drinking a milkshake, but I don't want to call it that."

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light and funny book. Got a few LOLs outta me 😆

[Orsolya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I personally find Jimmy Fallon to be a comedic talent, sweet, and not terrible on the eyes. Basically, I would describe myself as a fan. I was therefore naturally drawn to “Thank You Notes” based on the segment by the same name from Late Night. Did I get the same thrill from the book?

Sadly, the answer to that is ‘no’. Although “Thank You Notes” is based on a humorous premise, the execution fails. Not only are the one-liners not even written by Fallon but they are literally just that: one-liners. The “book” can be completed in about 20 minutes and doesn’t provide the deep-stomach guffaws as one would hope. Yes, I had a chuckle at some of the thank you’s and “Thank You Notes” even resulted in some thought-provoking leads; but it simply was not what I expected.

The flow of “Thank You Notes” makes sense in terms of like-subjects following suit (toilet humor, holiday jokes, etc) and the random liners within each subject do possess creativity. However, some of the notes are bluntly not funny and even rather dumb. It does help to read each page with Fallon’s tone and delivery in mind which makes “Thank You Notes” much more enjoyable. Therefore, the work is best for a Fallon fan but would be rather bland for an average reader.

Not much more can be said about a book with one sentence per page which takes as long to read as a pizza delivery to arrive. “Thank You Notes” disappoints although I still attest to being a Fallon fan. I would much rather read a memoir or portrait of his career.

[Emy · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was looking for a funny book,something to make me laugh, when i saw Jimmy Fallon's name i was sooo excited !!, i love him, alas this book,or let's say these thank you notes weren't so funny :( , i prefer The Thank You Note segment of his show

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life's little annoyances, from leaf blowers to families who monopolize entire sidewalks, are name-checked here, in the format of thank-you notes. The humor reminded me quite a bit of that of "someecards."

The creators of this book (who were not just Fallon, but a group of writers) had me rolling my eyes, though, when they put down vegan food as being tasteless and gross. Really, guys? "Vegan food" encompasses everything from an apple to this gorgeous three-tired wedding cake; you're willing to say all of it tastes like "paper towels"? "Omni food" includes things ranging from suckling pig to Twinkies, and I'm sure as hell not arguing that it all tastes the same.

So, thank you, writes of THANK YOU NOTES, for showing that at least with the subject of food, you are not smarter than a fifth-grader.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sly humor that I really liked.

[Marie Corbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hillarious!! Some of my favorite thank you notes:

"Thank you slow-walking family walking in front of me on the sidewalk. No, please, take your time. And definitely spread out, too, so you create a barricade of idiots. I am so thankful that you forced me to walk into the street and risk getting hit by a car in order to pass you so I could resume walking at a normal human pace."

"Thank you leaf blowers, for making me look like the world's lamest Ghostbuster. I ain't afraid of no leaves."

"Thank you Lifetime Achievement Awards, for being a nice way of saying, 'We think you're about to die.'"

"Thank you oscillating fans, for being soooo good, then not so good, then soooo good, then not so good, then soooo good."

Read this book if you want to laugh :)

[Patty Marvel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book, but it's kinda sparse - it IS a collection of faux thank you notes with some stock photos, after all. Get it from the library rather than pay for it, but certainly get it. Here are three of my favorites.

THANK YOU...stuffing, for always being delicious, even though you were cooked in a turkey's butt.

THANK YOU...certain days when I can see the sun and the moon in the sky at the same time. You make me feel like I'm Luke Skywalker on his home planet of Tatooine, concerned about his aunt and uncle and restless for adventure.

THANK YOU...summer barbecues, for always featuring fun family games like horseshoes, croquet, and "Let's see how many daiquiris Grandma can drink before she gets racist."

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best ones:

(Bronze) Thank you, tai chi, for being the perfect way to defend myself against an army of invisible slow-motion ninjas. (p.76)

(Silver) Thank you, guy whose chair made a farting noise, for spending the next 20 minutes awkwardly shifting around trying to re-create the noise so people would know it was just the chair. (p.62)

(Gold) Thank you, graduations, for being a time when we come together and celebrate a bunch of kids who spent four long years getting at least a C-. (p.121)

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank You... Jimmy Fallon, for being opportunistic, rehashingcompiling 164 of the very best from Late Night's genius Friday staple segment,"Thank You Notes," into a postcard of a book and selling it for the current price of just under three gallons of gas. Like my comedy crush on you needed cementing. Or that I enjoyed almost spewing Root Beer out my nose due to the absurdly relatable toilet paper joke. Thanks.

[Mayda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe humor, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Some of these notes were genuinely funny. Some seemed to target the male middle school mind set. That being said, it made me think about the things I was thankful for, mostly that I picked up this book to read in the first place, that it only took me 10 minutes to read, and that I borrowed it from my local library and didn't spend $12 on it.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously read this book in one sitting, but is a cool book for the coffee table or bathroom as well. Probably one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. One of my personal favorites: "Thank you person I am walking behind who happens to be going in the exact same direction, for making me feel like I'm following you. And thank you, my decision to joke, "I'm not following you," for somehow not putting that person at ease.

[Reina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jimmy Fallon is so hilarious. I didn't even mind when he laughed through every skit on SNL and he's adorable. You may have noticed I'm a bit biased in this review. This is simply a collection of his thank you notes from the show. They're most often sarcastic and always funny. It's not a long book. I don't know how much it costs for a regular book because I read my books on the Nook but don't pay too much since it is short and there's literally two or three sentences per page.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny read! I remembered some of these "thank you notes" from the show, but others were new. I laughed quite a few times and really enjoyed reading it. :)

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offered me a few laughs. It has an ironic list of notes with pictures, illustrating frustrating people & situations.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!!!!

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't watch the show, so I didn't know this was a bit.
Probably a lot funnier in person?

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

When reading this, I'll admit I read all of the quotes in Jimmy Fallon's voice with the signature mood music playing in the background. I don't know if that says anything about the book or the way my memory kicks in for things, but I will say that I enjoyed reading it for the most part.

It's the kind of book you can read in less than half an hour, and it does have funny quips and quirks that are likely to make one chuckle if you really like the segment on the show. But I'll also admit that some of the lines...just weren't funny to me. It's hit and miss. I understand that they were written by various writers who work on the Late Night show, so that accounts for some of the varied quality and punch of the lines. I didn't mind some of them because they genuinely made me laugh, while others just made me say "meh". I can take toilet humor fine, but there's only so many times that fart jokes can be funny.

Some of the ones I liked are as follows:

Thank you...to the radiator next to my bed. The noises you make resound in my head. The gurgling, the knocking, the hissing, the clanging. The whistling, chortling, ringing and banging - they wake me and plague me, such is the norm. But this ancient device keeps me toasty and warm.

(Rhyme scheme, FTW.)

Thank you...hotel minibar, for charging $7 for a mini Toblerone. And thank you, Me, for eating three of them.

Thank you...PEZ dispensers, for being little creatures that vomit candy out of their necks. You're awesome.

Thank you...snow angels, for being horizontal jumping jacks.

Thank you...pizza box, for being impossible to dispose of. Thank you for not fitting inside any trash bag or trash chute ever built by humans, and thank you for popping open and spilling half-eaten crust on me whenever I try to throw you away.

Thank you..."Yes, I Agree to the Terms and Conditions" box I have to click in order to install software. You know full well I didn't actually read the terms and conditions. For all I know, I just agreed to become the new face of herpes, but I'm still gonna click you."

(What?! I feel terrible for laughing at that, but the agreements thing is so true. People don't read them and just click the button to keep going half the time. And...I do too sometimes...*hangs head in shame*)

If you get the full book version - it's a thin book with the phrases on one part and the full color pictures on the other - kind of a collectible item. I have the Kindle edition, which had decent formatting, but I think it was a bit too expensive for the price. I would've thought it'd bee a full fledged novel/collection of quotes. Some people will likely say the same thing for the book version as well given how quick a read it is. Still, I'd say check this out before you buy it and see how it strikes you. Like the humor, it could be hit or miss, but I enjoyed it well enough. Just wish that there were more to it, maybe in the same way that "S--t my Dad Says" was.

Overall score: 3/5

[Erika B. (SOS BOOKS) · Rating 4 out of 5]

O my gosh I'm dying from laughter! I was looking for a really funny book and saw this at the library and thought 'o what the heck! Why not!' Sometimes you just really need a laugh ya know! :D And Jimmy Fallon is always a goodie to supply that! Why not spread the love! Here are some of my favs!
"Thank you...guy at the dry cleaners, for charging me $11 to clean a dress shirt. It clearly doesn't cost that much, but you know I'll pay it anyway because I'm not really sure what you do and how much it should cost. In fact, I'm 99 percent sure that all you did was iron it and put a plastic sheet over it."

"Thank you...haters, for giving rappers so much to talk about."

"Thank you...NASA, for firing that missile at the moon. I think that sent a clear message to other lifeless rocks in the solar system that their constant orbiting will no longer be tolerated."

"Thank you...molars. If my teeth were a class picture, you'd be the fat kids in the back row."

"Thank you...the name Lloyd, for starting with two Ls. I'm glad both those Ls were there, because otherwise, I would have called you "Loyd."

"Thank you...Christmas decorations, for going up right after Halloween. Nothing says "holidays" like seeing my neighbor replace his plastic Dracula with a plastic baby Jesus."

"Thank you...flour, for keeping the paper sack container business alive. Don't want to change your packaging, huh? Whenever I buy you I feel like I'm Charles Ingalls buying something from Oleson's store on credit."

"Thank you...the light bulb that's been burned out in my house for the past two months, for reminding me how lazy I am. And when I finally do replace you, it won't be with a light bulb I've bought-it will be with a light bulb from the least important light in the house."

"Thank you..."Yes, I Agree to the Terms and Conditions" box I have to click in order to install software. You know full well I didn't actually read the terms and conditions. For all I know, I just agreed to become the new face of herpes. But I'm still gonna click you."

"Thank you...people who show off their high school spanish when pronouncing their order at a Mexican restaurant. That way you just said "fajita" made me feel like I was wandering the rustic streets of Guadalajara. But I'm not. I'm in a Taco Bell and you're holding up the line, amigo."

"Thank you...lasers, for being spelled with an s even though you'd be totally more badass if you were spelled with a z. Just sayin'."

"Thank you...driver's license photo, for reminding me that there was at least one moment in my life when I looked exactly like a homeless serial killer."

[Davi Kladakis · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay

[Jessica-Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jimmy Fallon is one of the talk show hosts I actually occasionally watch, but I feel like this book was mistreated. The Thank You Note segment is such a great, simple concept that you can do pretty much anything with it. So the notes themselves were all to the standard you could expect with varying quality and varying effectiveness. If you're a really die-hard fan of Jimmy, you'll probably enjoy it no matter what.

However, I saw this was an opportunity to do something visually interesting with the physical design of the book. All it would have taken is one artistic person! Each page has a Thank You note next to a full colour photograph. The quality of the majority of photos is pretty poor, so needless to say I was annoyed when I got to the end of the book only see that most of the photographs were taken from various stock image websites. Which lead me to the second thing that annoyed me, the attribution. There's two full pages at the end of the book to credit the photographers of the shock images used. The writers however were attributed as "Jimmy Fallon with the Writers of Late Night." I think that the quality of the jokes may have been more consistent if the actual writers weren't boiled down to a nameless, faceless entity. I know that the people who contributed may not care, but giving credit to the Google image searches you did and not to the people who work for you is just a dick move no matter what.

So yes, I was disappointed with this. I was hoping for something more. But if you are a fan of the show this book only takes an hour to flip through and might give you a good chuckle. It's worth checking out, but not necessarily worth spending $13 on.

[Patrice Sartor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not something I think that most people need to own, but this is the best per-second total laugh ratio I think I've ever had for a book, and it only takes about 15 minutes to read.

I laughed til I cried, til my lungs hurt from the effort, until my kids thought I lost it and my husband thought maybe I was pregnant again. I didn't care. I read a bunch of these "thank yous" out loud, and didn't care if anyone else laughed. I don't even care if you laugh, but I kinda hope you do.

Note--I do not watch Jimmy Fallon's Late Night show. I did not watch him on SNL. I've only seen him for about 10 minutes, doing something I cannot recall (a skit? as a guest on The Daily Show?). It doesn't matter, these little blurbs him just the right way at the right time. Oh wait, I am a HUGE fan of his Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, Late Night Snack. So Jimmy, if you had anything to do with that flavor, thank you. And thank YOU for this incredibly entertaining little book.

[Morgan Vank · Rating 4 out of 5]

{Sited from my website TeenageBookaholic }

Thank You...
Jimmy Fallon, for creating a book that wasn't as funny to me because of my age, but still had good key points. I see you, man in front of me in a revolving door that is making me do all the work, or you, boy with large headphones letting one rip. Yes, you can't hear it but the people in Europe can! Anyway, maybe when I'm older, I will die laughing with this book.

In this book, Jimmy Fallon publishes notes from his hilarious sketch on his Late Night show on Fridays, the Thank You Notes. From annoying people, to stupid items, everything in our daily lives is up for grabs in his book. I enjoyed some parts of his books, but others went over my head, because it was for adults. While I love his sketch, nothing can compare to that cheezy Thank-You-Note writing music and Fallon trying to not crack up. Recommended for Fallon lovers and those who need a good laugh.

[Josh McConnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Move aside The Book Of Awesome, there's another book of hilarious antidotes in town. Jimmy Fallon and the Writers of Late Night have capitalized on the popularity of their Thank You Notes segment from their late night television show by releasing a small collection of them to retail. Accompanied by pictures to go with each thank you note, the book is the perfect side-table to strike up laughs with friends. With no sequential importance, one can pick up the book and start reading at random to gain some laughs.

A very easy and quick read (I did it in one sitting), Thank You Notes will be enjoyed by all. Pick one up.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

HAHAHAHA!! I love Jimmy Fallon.

My favourites from this collection:



Thank you...horseradish, for being neither a radish nor of a horse. What you are is a liar food. (I'm looking at you, Grape Nuts).

Thank you...fun size candy, for calling yourself "fun" to distract me from the fact that you're smaller than regular candy. Nice try. They should call you "disappointment-size candy".

Thank you...people who show off their high school Spanish when pronouncing their order at a Mexican restaurant. The way you just said "fajita" made me feel like I was wandering the rustic streets of Guadalajara. But I'm not. I'm in a Taco Bell and you're holding up the line, amigo.

L O L O L !

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Thank you . . . Mother's Day, for being exactly like Father's Day, except with people actually giving a crap." "Thank you . . .raisins, for decades of faithful service as the Halloween treat of choice for hippies, cheapskates, and assholes." "Thank you . . .the name Lloyd, for starting with two Ls. I'm glad both those Ls were there, because otherwise I would have called you 'Loyd'."

You get the picture: utterly adorable book for people who want to take a break from real reading and laugh for about 20 minutes.