Emergency Questions: 1001 conversation-savers for any situation, from the British comedian

by Richard Herring

THE FUNNIEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. GUARANTEED TO TURN AN AWKWARD SILENCE INTO AN AWKWARD CONVERSATION.Now updated with new answers David Mitchell, Sara Pascoe, Charlie Brooker and Stephen Fry, among others!'Ridiculously funny and (unexpectedly) genuinely useful' ADAM KAY'A perfect way to pretend you're interested in people you're not that interested in' KATHY BURKE'Most of this book is pointless filth, all of it is hilarious, and my answer to question 715(a) is "Yes thank you and it was very tasty"' DAWN FRENCHIf you had to wear somebody's guts for garters - if you had to - who would you disembowel in order to facilitate your socks staying up?What do you consider your median achievement?Would you rather have pubic hair made of unremovable barbed wire or to be attacked by a rabid badger in your sleep once a week?We've all been there. Stuck at a boring family party, on an awkward date, in a below-par job interview, or any number of other situations in which conversation has become more of a trickle than a flow. Well, fear the excruciation no more, as Richard Herring's EMERGENCY QUESTIONS is about to change your life. Containing 1,001 conversation starters from one of our most cherished comedians, along with plenty of answers from the many household names who've appeared on his podcast, this book is virtually guaranteed to remove any social anxiety from your life, and will raise your repartee-game to new heights.'Of all the clever people I know, Richard is the stupidest. And of all the stupid people I know, Richard is the cleverest. That's why this is such a brilliant book for everyone' RICHARD OSMAN'Perhaps if Michael Parkinson had asked Mohammad Ali if he'd ever seen a Bigfoot he might be remembered as a great interviewer. Instead it is Richard Herring who has perfected the art of creating funny, interesting and offensive questions that will supercharge even the dullest encounter' ADAM BUXTON'Richard Herring bullied me into claiming this book, which I haven't yet read, is brilliant' CHARLIE BROOKER

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Comedy

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2018

Reviews

[Laura Naysmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book. Not one to sit and read from cover to cover, definitely a pick up occasionally book. Questions were fun and sometimes a bit rude so best read over before reading aloud. I enjoyed the celebrity questions sections.

[Colin Murtagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've got a habit of having a book sitting that I dip in and out to. Sometimes it's something like a QI book, sometimes it's a book of poetry. Just something that I can read for a couple of minutes and put down. This popped up, and as a fan of the Richard Herring Podcast, I had to pick it up.
For years Herring has been doing a podcast from the Leicester Square Theatre. Hence RHLSTP. His interviews range from comedians to authors to sports folk. As part of the interview set up, he's always had emergency questions ready in case an interview is flagging. These however are not your normal questions. Some of he's used in the show include, what would you rather have, a hand made of ham, or an armpit that dispenses sun cream. Or if you had to be in the middle of a human centipede, who would be in front and behind you.
This therefore is a collection of 1001 questions. Some have been used on the show, the majority haven't. The questions themselves range from the ones above through to the deeper, such as what do you think happens when you die, to the just plain silly.
These would be great for a fun night in the pub, sat around with some mates at night, or just as a game at a family gathering. Just to be on safe side there's even a collection designed just for kids. But please make sure you read the questions before you through them out. Will admit there's a couple of them I'm thinking of using the next time I'm doing interviews.
Great book for dipping in and out of.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun (I’m terrible at required headlines)

But seriously, it is a fun book. Doubtful that every question will be intriguing, or suitable, for most people but there is enough variety that I feel confident that everyone will connect with and enjoy many of them. I’ve successfully used several of Mr. Herring’s emergency questions from his RHLSP show IRL and they’ve actually led to interesting conversations so this book promises to be useful too. (Especially when spending time with people you haven’t got much in common with like the upcoming obligatory holiday family stuff.)

Recommended. Also good price, especially the kindle edition.

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only paid £1.50 for this. Had I paid full price (RRP £8.99) I would have been very disappointed. It's an interesting quirky idea to fill a book with strange and sometimes thought-provoking questions to fill an awkward silence and provoke conversation, but in truth this made for a rather flimsy book - especially when many of the questions were just word-play on the previous question, were very niche, or were just silly not funny. A bit of a coffee-table or toilet book perhaps, maybe the sort of thing you get as a gift. I wonder if the same book written by someone more serious would be better (more genuinely stimulating) or worse (dull, unfunny, missing the point).

[David Meiklejohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining collection of the sort of questions Richard asks his guests in his podcast interviews, originally devised to avoid asking the same old questions folk get asked all the time. Often rude so if you decide to try asking your granny some of them, make sure you read them before starting to talk.

Dumbledore and Doris Day.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

An antidote to QI

An incredible insight into the mind of a man who is, surprisingly, free to mingle unfettered with the rest of humanity. Very funny and possibly profound. From what I can gather he is a very nice man and I would gladly spend time in his company. As I have reading this book.

[Joel Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Some of these questions were really thought provoking but most were silly or crass. I would not use most of these questions in an emergency situation but they were fun to ask my wife. Entertaining fodder for cleaning my teeth too.

#passedthebrushtest

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty perfect example of what it is. If at least some of your family don't take themselves too seriously then take this to your next dull do.

[Ineke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of NSFW and inappropriate questions, but found maybe one in seven were useable and made for great material for work team chats during lockdown!

[Neil Denham · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Herring you will love this. If you think I am referring to a fish then you will hate it.

[Swayamtrupta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Came out offensive at times. Some parts are funny but overall had to struggle through to the finish line.

[Richard Nye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't find a question I'd like to ask

[Matthew Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some funny moments, but loses one point for not quite carrying off the crude elements and the other one for saying Love Actually is shit.

[Rick Bach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what you'd expect from the hilarious Richard Herring.

[Zakaria Moussaoui · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaaaa

[Neil Seymour · Rating 5 out of 5]

For, what in my head, was a simple easy read there was a lot to this and really got me thinking!

[Don Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not writing a full review of this as it barely counts as reading. The questions that actually have answers are worth a few laughs but there isn't really much more to this than 1001 funny questions. Mainly for fans of the podcast

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy toilet humour, then this is likely to curl the sides of your mouth up and perhaps cause a few chortles. I found it to be amusing throughout. I especially love its entertainment potential when in the company of children; a few well-chosen questions can heighten creativity and educate even. I rate it a solid 3.5.

[SJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wouldn't read it again but it got a paperback off my 'to read' list at least!

[Stacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Think I picked this up thinking it would be something else and it wasn’t, hence I don’t feel comfortable rating it.

Was amusing in places. I did genuinely laugh out loud in places. In others I felt incredibly old and boring and way too sensible.