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A Load of Hooey
Bob Odenkirk is a legend in the comedy-writing world, winning Emmys and acclaim for his work on Saturday Night Live, Mr. Show with Bob and David, and many other seminal TV shows. This book, his first, is a spleen-bruisingly funny omnibus that ranges from absurdist monologues (“Martin Luther King, Jr’s Worst Speech Ever”) to intentionally bad theater (“Hitler Dinner A Play”); from avant-garde fiction (“Obituary for the Creator of Madlibs”) to free-verse poetry that's funnier and more powerful than the work of Calvin Trillin, Jewel, and Robert Louis Stevenson combined.
Odenkirk's debut resembles nothing so much as a hilarious new sketch comedy show that’s exclusively available as a streaming video for your mind. As Odenkirk himself writes in “The Second Coming of Jesus and Lazarus,” it is a book “to be read aloud to yourself in the voice of Bob Newhart.”
Odenkirk's debut resembles nothing so much as a hilarious new sketch comedy show that’s exclusively available as a streaming video for your mind. As Odenkirk himself writes in “The Second Coming of Jesus and Lazarus,” it is a book “to be read aloud to yourself in the voice of Bob Newhart.”
143 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 2014
About the author
Bob Odenkirk
5 books511 followersRobert John "Bob" Odenkirk (born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. He is best known for being the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David and for his role as criminal lawyer Saul Goodman on the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad and its spin-off series Better Call Saul.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Odenkirk worked as a writer for such television shows as Saturday Night Live, Get a Life, The Ben Stiller Show and The Dennis Miller Show. In the mid-1990s, Odenkirk and David Cross created the Emmy-nominated sketch comedy program Mr. Show with Bob and David, which ran for four seasons and ultimately became a cult success.
He has directed three films: Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003), Let's Go to Prison (2006) and The Brothers Solomon (2007).
In the 1980s and 1990s, Odenkirk worked as a writer for such television shows as Saturday Night Live, Get a Life, The Ben Stiller Show and The Dennis Miller Show. In the mid-1990s, Odenkirk and David Cross created the Emmy-nominated sketch comedy program Mr. Show with Bob and David, which ran for four seasons and ultimately became a cult success.
He has directed three films: Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003), Let's Go to Prison (2006) and The Brothers Solomon (2007).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 365 reviews
February 2, 2015
(in the spirit of "Didn't Work For Me", p.25) First of all, let me say that I'm a HUUUUUUGGEEEE fan of Barb Okiedirk. I've read every one of his books. Literally. This is his one book. So, when everyone in my "book club" said I absolutely "had to" read this "classic", I splurged on a library card and went for it. SPOILER ALERT-IT'S TERRIBLE. Page after page filled with words arranged in sentences then grouped in paragraphs. Each chapter is a different "humorous" (spelling?) story with different characters, and each one only lasts a couple of pages so you never know what's going on or what this "book" is even "about". What was Oden-jerk thinking?? He wasn't! Blah blah blah, a bunch of stuff happens and then there's a comic strip in there somewhere. BIG waste of time. I want my couple of hours back.
PS, I skipped the forward from the Finishing School lady at the beginning of the book the first time, and it turns out you're not supposed to read this book on the toilet, after all. So maybe I need to try again when I'm not on the john and attempt this "recommended" method of reading in a regular chair with good lighting. Yeah, right! The game is on! NO STARS, Odincork.
PS, I skipped the forward from the Finishing School lady at the beginning of the book the first time, and it turns out you're not supposed to read this book on the toilet, after all. So maybe I need to try again when I'm not on the john and attempt this "recommended" method of reading in a regular chair with good lighting. Yeah, right! The game is on! NO STARS, Odincork.
August 4, 2016
My boyfriend and I started listening to this and got halfway through and stopped. It was boring and not funny :( disappointing because we love comedy books.
Read
July 31, 2015A book that insists on telling you it's funny is a bit like a used-car salesman who calls himself Honest John.
December 13, 2019
Fair warning: in order to fully enjoy this work, you should fit in one of the following categories:
1) You're in love with Bob Odenkirk,
2) You're a fan of Bob Odenkirk’s sense of humor,
and/or 3) You don't take things at face value and you appreciate sarcasm and satire.
1) You're in love with Bob Odenkirk,
2) You're a fan of Bob Odenkirk’s sense of humor,
and/or 3) You don't take things at face value and you appreciate sarcasm and satire.
December 9, 2021
Interesting and funny in parts. While I actually laughed on several occasions and like the author as a writer and actor, this may not have been my cup of tea.
March 13, 2015
(originally reviewed at
elphareads.tumblr.com
)
A good book makes you laugh to yourself as you read it. A REALLY good book makes me and my husband stream tears of laughing on the bed as I read it out loud. A LOAD OF HOOEY by Bob Odenkirk is a really good book. So Bob Odenkirk is probably best known for co-creating MR. SHOW WITH BOB AND DAVID with David Cross, and his role as Saul Goodman on BREAKING BAD and BETTER CALL SAUL. All you need to know about him is that he is a very funny guy, and all you need to know about me in relation to him is that I am very much in lust with this guy because of his hilariousness. So imagine how thrilled I was when I found out he had written a book! I
and then put it on request.
A LOAD OF HOOEY is a collection of random musings, skits, poems, and anecdotes from Bob Odenkirk. From a long soliloquy about Christmas to a ‘free speech’ that the reader can use for ‘any occasion’ to supposed unabridged quotes from some of the greatest minds of all time, Odenkirk strings them all together (and more) and puts them in a neat little package.
And that neat little package is, like I said, very funny for the most part. While there were a couple of clunkers (they can’t all be winners), overall I was laughing in varying degrees as I made my way through this book. It’s mostly incredibly absurd, sometimes absolutely biting, and other times downright whimsical. My utter favorites were the ‘free speech’ essay, the obituary for the creator of mad libs (yes, it does get as absurd as you would imagine), and the expanded quotes that were interspersed throughout the book. And like I said, I had to read a few of the parts out loud for my husband, because I knew this humor was right up his alley. I think that it might come off a little odd to people, but honestly as a fan of MONTY PYTHON I found it absolutely delightful and perfectly madcap. Plus it was a very fast read, and it was a pretty good light read after a heavy book like HOW IT WENT DOWN.
Bob Odenkirk. Dig that guy. I also found out that he co-wrote the Matt Foley Motivational Speaker skit for SNL, so HEY, if that doesn’t get the rest of you I don’t know what will. Go read this book.
A good book makes you laugh to yourself as you read it. A REALLY good book makes me and my husband stream tears of laughing on the bed as I read it out loud. A LOAD OF HOOEY by Bob Odenkirk is a really good book. So Bob Odenkirk is probably best known for co-creating MR. SHOW WITH BOB AND DAVID with David Cross, and his role as Saul Goodman on BREAKING BAD and BETTER CALL SAUL. All you need to know about him is that he is a very funny guy, and all you need to know about me in relation to him is that I am very much in lust with this guy because of his hilariousness. So imagine how thrilled I was when I found out he had written a book! I
and then put it on request.
A LOAD OF HOOEY is a collection of random musings, skits, poems, and anecdotes from Bob Odenkirk. From a long soliloquy about Christmas to a ‘free speech’ that the reader can use for ‘any occasion’ to supposed unabridged quotes from some of the greatest minds of all time, Odenkirk strings them all together (and more) and puts them in a neat little package.
And that neat little package is, like I said, very funny for the most part. While there were a couple of clunkers (they can’t all be winners), overall I was laughing in varying degrees as I made my way through this book. It’s mostly incredibly absurd, sometimes absolutely biting, and other times downright whimsical. My utter favorites were the ‘free speech’ essay, the obituary for the creator of mad libs (yes, it does get as absurd as you would imagine), and the expanded quotes that were interspersed throughout the book. And like I said, I had to read a few of the parts out loud for my husband, because I knew this humor was right up his alley. I think that it might come off a little odd to people, but honestly as a fan of MONTY PYTHON I found it absolutely delightful and perfectly madcap. Plus it was a very fast read, and it was a pretty good light read after a heavy book like HOW IT WENT DOWN.
Bob Odenkirk. Dig that guy. I also found out that he co-wrote the Matt Foley Motivational Speaker skit for SNL, so HEY, if that doesn’t get the rest of you I don’t know what will. Go read this book.
June 19, 2017
My Rating: 4 Saul Goodmans (It's all good, man)
Audio sktch comedy. funny stuff.
Audio sktch comedy. funny stuff.
January 17, 2022
This was a very quick read. No, I did not read it on the toilet. The book clearly states not to do that. There are very funny quotes, and sorta funny babbling. There is a speech anyone can and should use.
Anyway I give this tiny book 2 stars as I chuckled a few times.
I suggest waiting until his next book out March 2022 and reading that, unless someone leaves this book in a bathroom and you have nothing else to read.
Anyway I give this tiny book 2 stars as I chuckled a few times.
I suggest waiting until his next book out March 2022 and reading that, unless someone leaves this book in a bathroom and you have nothing else to read.
May 29, 2018
3.5☆ quick read, pretty funny stuff. If you like absurdity there's plenty to enjoy. I laughed out loud at one part about chocolate cake. This book was published in 2014, but I couldn't help thinking of "the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake you've ever seen."
March 31, 2018
Bob Odenkirk was born to write comedy. He is, in my opinion, one of the best comedy writers who ever lived. This book is just more proof of this. The short essays and stories in this book are so silly and outlandish, I was audibly laughing through most of it. However, I must highly highly highly recommend you go with the audiobook on this one. Not only does Bob read this book, but he also gets some of his comedian friends from Mr. Show, like Paul F Tompkins and David Cross, to read as well. It warmed my heart hearing these guys work together again. Read this book! It’s great!
January 9, 2021
All silliness and a well-needed diversion in these difficult times.
“I thought the bush was on fire, but in a moment I heard a rustling, then a bright light pierced the sky above and a soft wind fluttered as though the universe had whiffled a fart right in my face—a gentle poot, pleasant of smell, a waffle of heaven’s intestinal deliverance.”
“I thought the bush was on fire, but in a moment I heard a rustling, then a bright light pierced the sky above and a soft wind fluttered as though the universe had whiffled a fart right in my face—a gentle poot, pleasant of smell, a waffle of heaven’s intestinal deliverance.”
January 28, 2015
Quick, easy book I actually laughed out loud while reading. Which really, hardly ever happens, especially when a book claims to be funny.
February 4, 2021
This book contains an extremely specific style of comedy that isn’t for everyone. It’s maybe the funniest thing I’ve ever read.
April 29, 2022
LAUGH OUT LOUD funny.
November 29, 2022
I want Bob Odenkirk to sleep with my wife.
January 2, 2018
This isn't the sort of book I would typically gravitate to, but I received it as a gift. I found the stories to be somewhat repetitive, but I laughed out loud regularly, which is, I think, the point.
December 7, 2015
"The bottom ab on the left is harder to explain, but I believe that this ab is simply self-aware. It quivers with tension at all times, even more so when I am supposed to be relaxing, and I believe it is searching for a sense of purpose for itself and no answer is forthcoming. Nothing works this ab like a vacation. The aimless uncertainty, the absence of all deadlines, tightens and sculpts like nothing else. After ten days in Hawaii, this ab looks amazing." -111
The Second Meeting of Jesus and Lazarus: "What's that? If I believe in you I will live forever? So, then I won't die?
Oh, so you're saying 'figuratively' I will live...in some heaven somewhere? What's that like? What happens there?
So it's a sort of limbo place where everyone sings your praises all day and night? Hmm...yeah, well, no, I get why YOU think it's a pretty great place. It sounds...
My dead relatives will be there? Are you trying to make it sound LESS attractive?" -125
The Second Meeting of Jesus and Lazarus: "What's that? If I believe in you I will live forever? So, then I won't die?
Oh, so you're saying 'figuratively' I will live...in some heaven somewhere? What's that like? What happens there?
So it's a sort of limbo place where everyone sings your praises all day and night? Hmm...yeah, well, no, I get why YOU think it's a pretty great place. It sounds...
My dead relatives will be there? Are you trying to make it sound LESS attractive?" -125
June 22, 2024
Hilarious "SNL" writer and absolutely brilliant "Better Call Saul" actor writes a collection of very funny pieces, many previously published in the New Yorker. It’s mostly self-effacing humor or that winking style of irony perfected by Colbert, the clueless but confident imbecile (as in the idiot who gives one-star reviews of The Godfather and The White Album). My personal favorites include Paul McCartney nastily feigning humility after performing "Blackbird" for the other Beatles, and Hitler’s dinner guests straining mightily to make small talk as the bombs crash down on the bunker in the last days of the war, trying desperately not to offend an all-too-aware Fuhrer. As with most of these pieces, a brief précis doesn't do the pitch-perfect dialogue justice. If there’s one thing this magnificent character actor knows, it's character.
March 22, 2019
I love it.
I like how short each chapter is. I like that each chapter is entirely independent. I like that it's funny.
Like✖️3 = Love
How funny, you ask?
Well, I'm going to say it's 4/5 on the laugh-o-meter. It was laugh-out-loud funny when I was at home. However, when I was reading part of it on an airplane, I was able to impose my will to hold in laughs with no sign of chuckling. But I was laughing on the inside. So it's "laugh-out-loud funny," but not "uncontrollable-laughter funny." The temperature is just right.
This book is like a constantly funny version of the types of books I write. Mine, occasionally funny and often true. His, constantly funny and likely entirely fiction. I think I just really like extremely short essays.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys being entertained and especially people who don't enjoy reading traditional novels.
I like how short each chapter is. I like that each chapter is entirely independent. I like that it's funny.
Like✖️3 = Love
How funny, you ask?
Well, I'm going to say it's 4/5 on the laugh-o-meter. It was laugh-out-loud funny when I was at home. However, when I was reading part of it on an airplane, I was able to impose my will to hold in laughs with no sign of chuckling. But I was laughing on the inside. So it's "laugh-out-loud funny," but not "uncontrollable-laughter funny." The temperature is just right.
This book is like a constantly funny version of the types of books I write. Mine, occasionally funny and often true. His, constantly funny and likely entirely fiction. I think I just really like extremely short essays.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys being entertained and especially people who don't enjoy reading traditional novels.
November 6, 2014
This quick read is a combination of witty pieces that remind me of the writings of folks like Woody Allen and Groucho Marx, as there is a little Mr. Show edginess but a lot more whimsical, silly and funny writing. Unsurprisingly, some of the pieces are more in a sketch form -- there is a piece about Paul McCartney playing "Blackbird" for his fellow Beatles for the first time that had me laughing out loud many times. Indeed, Odenkirk's batting average is pretty high. There are a few just okay pieces, but more of them are on par with Lazarus's lesser known second meeting with Jesus and obituary for the man who invented Mad Libs (the concept is obvious, but the execution perfect). I'd be curious is Odenkirk could carry off something more long form.
January 26, 2015
I have indicated that I am finished. That is because I read about a hundred pages and this book is so stupid and vacuous I simply can't contemplate going any further. I have read probably a hundred books cover to cover before reaching this impasse so that tells you how bad I believe this book to be. And the hard part is, I really like Bob Odenkirk. He is a brilliant comedian and a terrific actor to watch. I'm looking forward to seeing him in his new show based on Breaking Bad playing that slimy lawyer he inhabits named Saul. But this hasn't elicited a single chuckle out of me. Not so much as a bemused smile. Just a wide frown and a furrowed brow. I can't ever get that time back...
May 19, 2019
Individual tastes being what they are, you're advised to take this with all due incredulity, but I just didn't find these sketchy-vignettey-stories funny. Many, even most, of them had funny premises (e.g., a dinner party in Hitler's bunker, MLK Jr.'s worst speech, Jesus talking to Lazarus after being reanimated) but didn't function on the page. I have a hunch that this is close to what sketch comedy writing looks like, for which the humor derives from the eventual performance of visual, circumstantial, or dramatic irony on the screen. Funny text, though, is a craft that demands different media and different tools and I don't think such craftwork was on display here.
December 23, 2021
Listened to this on a long car ride with my teen. We are both big Odenkirk fans. There were some flashes of brilliance here, but mostly this was just a series of ideas that had not yet been polished or edited. The whole audiobook is less than 3 hours long, and we got a few laughs, but I can't say I am urging anyone to read this.
December 29, 2020
The parts that are funny are very funny and some parts have to be imagined in an extremely clear way because really they are Mr Show sketches.
And also there’s some “wow gay people and trans people aren’t they something else??” that feels a little dated. GenX, you know?
And also there’s some “wow gay people and trans people aren’t they something else??” that feels a little dated. GenX, you know?
August 21, 2021
Winston Churchill-
If you're going through hell, keep going
Bob Odenkirk-
But please stop screaming, it's bad for morale..
This one is odd for sure, but I completely loved every second of it! Odenkirk is a favorite and this one is great for good belly laughs.
If you're going through hell, keep going
Bob Odenkirk-
But please stop screaming, it's bad for morale..
This one is odd for sure, but I completely loved every second of it! Odenkirk is a favorite and this one is great for good belly laughs.
March 30, 2015
A load of hooey indeed.
February 28, 2015
Very funny, entertaining, and short audiobook. My favorite piece is the prisoners voting to perform Shakespeare in the Park.
January 8, 2016
This book is appropriately named.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 365 reviews