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Disquiet, Please!: More Humor Writing from The New Yorker
The New Yorker is, of course, a bastion of superb essays, influential investigative journalism, and insightful arts criticism. But for eighty years, it’s also been a hoot. In fact, when Harold Ross founded the legendary magazine in 1925, he called it “a comic weekly,” and while it has grown into much more , it has also remained true to its original mission. Now an uproarious sampling of its funny writings can be found in a hilarious new collection, one as satirical and witty, misanthropic and menacing, as the first, Fierce Pajamas . From the 1920s onward–but with a special focus on the latest generation–here are the humorists who set the pace and stirred the pot, pulled the leg and pinched the behind of America.
S. J. Perelman unearths the furious letters of a foreign correspondent in India to the laundry he insists on using in Paris (“Who charges six francs to wash a cummerbund?!”). Woody Allen recalls the “Whore of Mensa,” who excites her customers by reading Proust (or, if you want, two girls will explain Noam Chomsky). Steve Martin’s pill bottle warns us of side effects ranging from hair that smells of burning tires to teeth receiving radio broadcasts. Andy Borowitz provides his version of theater-lobby notices (“In Act III, there is full frontal nudity, but not involving the actor you would like to see naked”). David Owen’s rules for dating his ex-wife start out magnanimous and swiftly disintegrate into sarcasm, self-loathing, and rage, and Noah Baumbach unfolds a history of his last relationship in the form of Zagat reviews.
Meanwhile, off in a remote “willage” in Normandy, David Sedaris is drowning a mouse (“This was for the best, whether the mouse realized it or not”).
Plus asides, fancies, rebukes, and musings from Patty Marx, Calvin Trillin, Bruce McCall, Garrison Keillor, Veronica Geng, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., and many others.
If laughter is the best medicine, Disquiet, Please is truly a wonder drug.
S. J. Perelman unearths the furious letters of a foreign correspondent in India to the laundry he insists on using in Paris (“Who charges six francs to wash a cummerbund?!”). Woody Allen recalls the “Whore of Mensa,” who excites her customers by reading Proust (or, if you want, two girls will explain Noam Chomsky). Steve Martin’s pill bottle warns us of side effects ranging from hair that smells of burning tires to teeth receiving radio broadcasts. Andy Borowitz provides his version of theater-lobby notices (“In Act III, there is full frontal nudity, but not involving the actor you would like to see naked”). David Owen’s rules for dating his ex-wife start out magnanimous and swiftly disintegrate into sarcasm, self-loathing, and rage, and Noah Baumbach unfolds a history of his last relationship in the form of Zagat reviews.
Meanwhile, off in a remote “willage” in Normandy, David Sedaris is drowning a mouse (“This was for the best, whether the mouse realized it or not”).
Plus asides, fancies, rebukes, and musings from Patty Marx, Calvin Trillin, Bruce McCall, Garrison Keillor, Veronica Geng, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., and many others.
If laughter is the best medicine, Disquiet, Please is truly a wonder drug.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
142 people are currently reading
421 people want to read
About the author
David Remnick
220 books399 followersDavid Remnick (born October 29, 1958) is an American journalist, writer, and magazine editor. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for his book Lenin s Tomb The Last Days of the Soviet Empire. Remnick has been editor of The New Yorker magazine since 1998. He was named Editor of the Year by Advertising Age in 2000. Before joining The New Yorker, Remnick was a reporter and the Moscow correspondent for The Washington Post. He has also served on the New York Public Library’s board of trustees. In 2010 he published his sixth book, The Bridge The Life and Rise of Barack Obama.
Remnick was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of a dentist, Edward C. Remnick, and an art teacher, Barbara (Seigel). He was raised in Hillsdale, New Jersey, in a secular Jewish home with, he has said, “a lot of books around.” He is also childhood friends with comedian Bill Maher. He graduated from Princeton University in 1981 with an A.B. in comparative literature; there, he met writer John McPhee and helped found The Nassau Weekly. Remnick has implied that after college he wanted to write novels, but due to his parents’ illnesses, he needed a paying job—there was no trust fund to rely on. Remnick wanted to be a writer, so he chose a career in journalism, taking a job at The Washington Post. He is married to reporter Esther Fein of The New York Times and has three children, Alex, Noah, and Natasha. He enjoys jazz music and classic cinema and is fluent in Russian.
He began his reporting career at The Washington Post in 1982 shortly after his graduation from Princeton. His first assignment was to cover the United States Football League. After six years, in 1988, he became the newspaper’s Moscow correspondent, which provided him with the material for Lenin's Tomb. He also received the George Polk Award for excellence in journalism.
Remnick became a staff writer at The New Yorker in September, 1992, after ten years at The Washington Post.
Remnick’s 1997 New Yorker article “Kid Dynamite Blows Up,” about boxer Mike Tyson, was nominated for a National Magazine Award. In 1998 he became editor, succeeding Tina Brown. Remnick promoted Hendrik Hertzberg, a former Jimmy Carter speechwriter and former editor of The New Republic, to write the lead pieces in “Talk of the Town,” the magazine’s opening section. In 2005 Remnick earned $1 million for his work as the magazine’s editor.
In 2003 he wrote an editorial supporting the Iraq war in the days when it started. In 2004, for the first time in its 80-year history, The New Yorker endorsed a presidential candidate, John Kerry.
In May 2009, Remnick was featured in a long-form Twitter account of Dan Baum’s career as a New Yorker staff writer. The tweets, written over the course of a week, described the difficult relationship between Baum and Remnick, his editor.
Remnick’s biography of President Barack Obama, The Bridge, was released on April 6, 2010. It features hundreds of interviews with friends, colleagues, and other witnesses to Obama’s rise to the presidency of the United States. The book has been widely reviewed in journals.
In 2010 Remnick lent his support to the campaign urging the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of ordering the murder of her husband by her lover and adultery.
In 2013 Remnick ’81 was the guest speaker at Princeton University Class Day.
Remnick provided guest commentary and contributed to NBC coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia including the opening ceremony and commentary for NBC News.
Remnick was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of a dentist, Edward C. Remnick, and an art teacher, Barbara (Seigel). He was raised in Hillsdale, New Jersey, in a secular Jewish home with, he has said, “a lot of books around.” He is also childhood friends with comedian Bill Maher. He graduated from Princeton University in 1981 with an A.B. in comparative literature; there, he met writer John McPhee and helped found The Nassau Weekly. Remnick has implied that after college he wanted to write novels, but due to his parents’ illnesses, he needed a paying job—there was no trust fund to rely on. Remnick wanted to be a writer, so he chose a career in journalism, taking a job at The Washington Post. He is married to reporter Esther Fein of The New York Times and has three children, Alex, Noah, and Natasha. He enjoys jazz music and classic cinema and is fluent in Russian.
He began his reporting career at The Washington Post in 1982 shortly after his graduation from Princeton. His first assignment was to cover the United States Football League. After six years, in 1988, he became the newspaper’s Moscow correspondent, which provided him with the material for Lenin's Tomb. He also received the George Polk Award for excellence in journalism.
Remnick became a staff writer at The New Yorker in September, 1992, after ten years at The Washington Post.
Remnick’s 1997 New Yorker article “Kid Dynamite Blows Up,” about boxer Mike Tyson, was nominated for a National Magazine Award. In 1998 he became editor, succeeding Tina Brown. Remnick promoted Hendrik Hertzberg, a former Jimmy Carter speechwriter and former editor of The New Republic, to write the lead pieces in “Talk of the Town,” the magazine’s opening section. In 2005 Remnick earned $1 million for his work as the magazine’s editor.
In 2003 he wrote an editorial supporting the Iraq war in the days when it started. In 2004, for the first time in its 80-year history, The New Yorker endorsed a presidential candidate, John Kerry.
In May 2009, Remnick was featured in a long-form Twitter account of Dan Baum’s career as a New Yorker staff writer. The tweets, written over the course of a week, described the difficult relationship between Baum and Remnick, his editor.
Remnick’s biography of President Barack Obama, The Bridge, was released on April 6, 2010. It features hundreds of interviews with friends, colleagues, and other witnesses to Obama’s rise to the presidency of the United States. The book has been widely reviewed in journals.
In 2010 Remnick lent his support to the campaign urging the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of ordering the murder of her husband by her lover and adultery.
In 2013 Remnick ’81 was the guest speaker at Princeton University Class Day.
Remnick provided guest commentary and contributed to NBC coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia including the opening ceremony and commentary for NBC News.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
November 7, 2019
I found this happy book in the same Little Free Library I had found “Wonderful Town,” the New Yorker’s collection of short fiction (see my review). This is a collection of some 140 articles from the 1920’s through the early 2000s, written by 64 contributors, many of whom are quite well known, such as Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Garrison Keillor, S. J. Perlman, David Sedaris, John Updike, Woody Allen, Jon Stweart, Steve Martin, Calvin Trillin and E. B. White. The pieces are loosely grouped into 14 obliquely-titled sections (Past Imperfect; Explanations and Advisories; Children’s Hours; Animal Crackers, e.g.).
Some of my personal favorites were:
“Complete Guide for Book Reviewers,” by Ruth Suckow, a must-read for us Goodreads types. It is a purported book on reviewing, with a large number of catch phrases for the writer to use. For example, there are chapters on how to begin the review (“There are times when even the most seasoned reviewer”) or end it (“The reader must read for himself to find out”). Some other examples are from chapters on the modern reviewer’s thesaurus (“like the flash of a rapier); novels of the soil (“Epic sweep”); how to hail a new genius ( ” “As a refreshing antidote to ______”) and sophistication (“not meant for morons”; “brilliant subtlety”). Fun.
“The Early Essays,” by Woody Allen, in which he touches on, among other things, death (“The chief problem about death, incidentally, is the fear that there may be no afterlife – a depressing thought, particularly for those who have bothered to shave. Also, there is the fear that there is an afterlife but no one will know where it’s being held.”) and frugality (“Money is not everything, but it is better than having one’s health.”)
“Awake,” by Jenny Allen, in which she describes an insomniac session watching interminable “Law and Order” episodes, and “Girls Gone Wild” (“I have to change the channel right away when I see “Girls Gone Wild,” because I always think about the girls’ mothers,…up in the middle of the night, waking up to ‘Girls Gone Wild.” ‘That one looks just like Melanie – oh my God.’”
“The Envelope, Please: A Viewer’s Guide to the Emmys,” by Jon Stewart, consisting of program notes as to what to expect; spot-on descriptions of generalizations applicable for any host/presenter/honoree.
“The Whore of Mensa,” by Woody Allen. A hardboiled detective story which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Talk dirty to me.”
“A Hard Day at the Office,” by Peter DeVries, in which an office worker implements the inspirational “Think” signs on the walls and proceeds to plague his boss with musings on just about everything but doing his job.
“Space Case,” by Anthony Lane, a well-deserved skewering-with-a-red-hot-poker of the movie, “Star Wars III – The Revenge of the Sith.” I’ll just give you the first paragraph: “Sith. What kind of a word is that? It sounds to me like the noise that emerges when you block one nostril and blow through the other, but to George Lucas, it is a name that trumpets evil.”
“A Purim Story,” by Aden Gopnick. In the longest article in the book, the author is pulled into giving a humorous speech to a large audience on the Purim story of how Esther saved the Jews. While much of the piece involves the author’s struggles on how to accomplish this task, it also is a moving paean to the Jewish comedians of the past and present, including Jackie Mason, Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks, Norm Crosby, Jackie Vernon, the wonderful Henny Youngman, and Jerry Seinfeld.
Most of these pieces brought a chuckle, occasionally a guffaw. But the one that made me laugh through the tears was Ian Frazer’s “Coyote vs. Acme,” in the form of a lawsuit filed by one Wile E. Coyote against the Acme company. In a document filled with legal jargon, “Mr. Coyote states that on eighty-five separate occasions he has purchased of the Acme Company (hereafter, “Defendant”), through that company’s mail-order department, certain products which did cause him bodily injury due to defects in manufacture or improper cautionary labeling.” The paragraph goes on to say that this has prevented him from pursuing his profession of predator. While a number of products are described, the emphases are on the Rocket Sled, Rocket Skates and Spring-powered Shoes. The descriptions, all given in dull, neutral tones, of the use of these items and their consequences bring immediate recognition to anyone who has ever seen a Road Runner cartoon.
I would highly recommend this collection, though it’s gonna take you some time to get through it. I found out upon reading this book’s introduction that this is the second such collection, the first being titled “Fierce Pajamas.” Gonna pick that one up for sure!
Some of my personal favorites were:
“Complete Guide for Book Reviewers,” by Ruth Suckow, a must-read for us Goodreads types. It is a purported book on reviewing, with a large number of catch phrases for the writer to use. For example, there are chapters on how to begin the review (“There are times when even the most seasoned reviewer”) or end it (“The reader must read for himself to find out”). Some other examples are from chapters on the modern reviewer’s thesaurus (“like the flash of a rapier); novels of the soil (“Epic sweep”); how to hail a new genius ( ” “As a refreshing antidote to ______”) and sophistication (“not meant for morons”; “brilliant subtlety”). Fun.
“The Early Essays,” by Woody Allen, in which he touches on, among other things, death (“The chief problem about death, incidentally, is the fear that there may be no afterlife – a depressing thought, particularly for those who have bothered to shave. Also, there is the fear that there is an afterlife but no one will know where it’s being held.”) and frugality (“Money is not everything, but it is better than having one’s health.”)
“Awake,” by Jenny Allen, in which she describes an insomniac session watching interminable “Law and Order” episodes, and “Girls Gone Wild” (“I have to change the channel right away when I see “Girls Gone Wild,” because I always think about the girls’ mothers,…up in the middle of the night, waking up to ‘Girls Gone Wild.” ‘That one looks just like Melanie – oh my God.’”
“The Envelope, Please: A Viewer’s Guide to the Emmys,” by Jon Stewart, consisting of program notes as to what to expect; spot-on descriptions of generalizations applicable for any host/presenter/honoree.
“The Whore of Mensa,” by Woody Allen. A hardboiled detective story which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Talk dirty to me.”
“A Hard Day at the Office,” by Peter DeVries, in which an office worker implements the inspirational “Think” signs on the walls and proceeds to plague his boss with musings on just about everything but doing his job.
“Space Case,” by Anthony Lane, a well-deserved skewering-with-a-red-hot-poker of the movie, “Star Wars III – The Revenge of the Sith.” I’ll just give you the first paragraph: “Sith. What kind of a word is that? It sounds to me like the noise that emerges when you block one nostril and blow through the other, but to George Lucas, it is a name that trumpets evil.”
“A Purim Story,” by Aden Gopnick. In the longest article in the book, the author is pulled into giving a humorous speech to a large audience on the Purim story of how Esther saved the Jews. While much of the piece involves the author’s struggles on how to accomplish this task, it also is a moving paean to the Jewish comedians of the past and present, including Jackie Mason, Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks, Norm Crosby, Jackie Vernon, the wonderful Henny Youngman, and Jerry Seinfeld.
Most of these pieces brought a chuckle, occasionally a guffaw. But the one that made me laugh through the tears was Ian Frazer’s “Coyote vs. Acme,” in the form of a lawsuit filed by one Wile E. Coyote against the Acme company. In a document filled with legal jargon, “Mr. Coyote states that on eighty-five separate occasions he has purchased of the Acme Company (hereafter, “Defendant”), through that company’s mail-order department, certain products which did cause him bodily injury due to defects in manufacture or improper cautionary labeling.” The paragraph goes on to say that this has prevented him from pursuing his profession of predator. While a number of products are described, the emphases are on the Rocket Sled, Rocket Skates and Spring-powered Shoes. The descriptions, all given in dull, neutral tones, of the use of these items and their consequences bring immediate recognition to anyone who has ever seen a Road Runner cartoon.
I would highly recommend this collection, though it’s gonna take you some time to get through it. I found out upon reading this book’s introduction that this is the second such collection, the first being titled “Fierce Pajamas.” Gonna pick that one up for sure!
March 11, 2009
Truthfully, I have read about 3/4 of this book, not the whole thing. Because it's an anthology of essays from the New Yorker magazine, you can kind of skip around.
There are some VERY funny laugh out loud pieces, the two I keep remembering and laughing about at odd times are "The Living Dead" by David Sedaris and a short one called "Ideas for Paintings" by Jack Handey - the "Deep Thoughts" guy from SNL.
Here is one of my favorite ideas for a painting, from Jack Handey:
"Stampede of Nudes"
The trouble with most paintings of nudes is that there isn’t enough nudity. It’s usually just one woman lying there, and you’re looking around going, “Aren’t there any more nudes?” This idea solves that.
What has frightened these nudes? Is it the lightning in the background? Or did one of the nudes just spook? You don’t know, and this creates tension.
Originally I gave this 3 stars, but now I find myself thinking about the essays often or telling someone about them, and I realize that this was a 4-star book for me. I know this is a really gripping topic for whoever reads this. (Hi, Mom).
....aaaannd I just changed my mind. I keep telling people about this book and I re-reading it. It really is a 4-star
There are some VERY funny laugh out loud pieces, the two I keep remembering and laughing about at odd times are "The Living Dead" by David Sedaris and a short one called "Ideas for Paintings" by Jack Handey - the "Deep Thoughts" guy from SNL.
Here is one of my favorite ideas for a painting, from Jack Handey:
"Stampede of Nudes"
The trouble with most paintings of nudes is that there isn’t enough nudity. It’s usually just one woman lying there, and you’re looking around going, “Aren’t there any more nudes?” This idea solves that.
What has frightened these nudes? Is it the lightning in the background? Or did one of the nudes just spook? You don’t know, and this creates tension.
Originally I gave this 3 stars, but now I find myself thinking about the essays often or telling someone about them, and I realize that this was a 4-star book for me. I know this is a really gripping topic for whoever reads this. (Hi, Mom).
....aaaannd I just changed my mind. I keep telling people about this book and I re-reading it. It really is a 4-star
March 9, 2009
This is the second anthology of humor writing from The New Yorker, and humor being subjective, this review should certainly be taken with a grain of salt. Some of the pieces were a bit too wacky for my taste and a few others rambled off-topic, but there are some delicious nuggets to be found.
I loved Paul Simms' "Four Short Crushes" and E.B. White's "How to Tell a Major Poet from a Minor Poet," and Peter de Vries' "Intruder in the Dusk" (in which he relays a child's antics, in Faulkneresque prose) is definitely worth a read. My other top picks are Paul Rudnick's "My Living Will" (okay, that one is a bit wacky), Larry Doyle's "May We tell You Our Specials This Evening" (a rift on foodie pretention), and David Brooks' "Consciencious Consumption" (a must-have guide for the reluctant Yuppie).
T
I loved Paul Simms' "Four Short Crushes" and E.B. White's "How to Tell a Major Poet from a Minor Poet," and Peter de Vries' "Intruder in the Dusk" (in which he relays a child's antics, in Faulkneresque prose) is definitely worth a read. My other top picks are Paul Rudnick's "My Living Will" (okay, that one is a bit wacky), Larry Doyle's "May We tell You Our Specials This Evening" (a rift on foodie pretention), and David Brooks' "Consciencious Consumption" (a must-have guide for the reluctant Yuppie).
T
February 21, 2009
Some very funny selections tempered by some very not funny selections.
September 18, 2009
Some people read the New Yorker for it's commitment to quality journalism, smart reviews and noteworthy literature.
Some people open it, quickly scan it for any and all cartoons, move on to "Shouts and Murmurs" before checking out the movie reviews and calling it day.
Some people are so base as to use the New Yorker as an intellectual guise. Placing it conveniently on the top of their stacks of more smutty magazines (People, US, etc) as they board an airplane.
Let's just say that I fall somewhere in the middle with a more than slight leaning towards the cartoon seekers, which is why Sarah is such a great friend for recognizing (not judging, just recognizing) this and gifting it to me this Christmas.
yay, Sarah!
*Consider that your thank you card, Sarah.
Some people open it, quickly scan it for any and all cartoons, move on to "Shouts and Murmurs" before checking out the movie reviews and calling it day.
Some people are so base as to use the New Yorker as an intellectual guise. Placing it conveniently on the top of their stacks of more smutty magazines (People, US, etc) as they board an airplane.
Let's just say that I fall somewhere in the middle with a more than slight leaning towards the cartoon seekers, which is why Sarah is such a great friend for recognizing (not judging, just recognizing) this and gifting it to me this Christmas.
yay, Sarah!
*Consider that your thank you card, Sarah.
December 3, 2011
It was...meh. It's writing from The New Yorker, so there wasn't a bad story there but there were some uninteresting ones I skipped. It was way too long, so the story selection should have been tighter and there was not one single "laugh out loud" moment in the entire 755 page book. Not one. There were many stories that were amusing or witty (David Sedaris is always worth reading) but there were too many that were self-consciously clever and precious. Again, there's some good writing in many of the pieces but no hilarity -- is that just too gauche for The New Yorker? -- and hilarity is kind of the point, for me at least.
July 24, 2009
I've been having those middle-of-the-night panic attacks where you wake up sweaty and convinced you're dying of something, and can't go back to sleep. No better distraction than reading a short, hilarious New Yorker essay! I preferred the newer authors, especially Paul Rudnick and Ian Frazier, but it was fun to re-visit Thurber and Parker. I've ordered a copy of the first collection to keep by my bedside. I guess when I finish that, I'll have to replace it with a pint of Popov.
Read
May 14, 2009I loved the first collection, Fierce Pajamas, in which I discovered humorist S.J. Perelman (whose pieces I obsessed over and photocopied and forced on people in college), and in this collection I discovered the brilliance of Simon Rich, Jack Handey, and Paul Rudnick while enjoying my old favorites Perelman, Woody Allen, George Saunders and David Sedaris. Don’t miss this one, just for laughs.
May 31, 2024
This is not the type of writing I normally indulge in. It was a very diverse collection of writings, all well done. Several pieces cracked smiles, a few even got some laughs out loud, but for the most part I struggled trying to get through about 2/3 of the book, skipping things that just didnt hold my interest, before just deciding it wasnt for me and it was time to let it go and move on.
May 29, 2009
A mixed bag, with highlights from Steve Martin, Woody Allen, James Thurber and a hilarious review of STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH. A few real yawners, though, like the thoughts of a film producer trying to make a movie of ULYSSES told in Joycean stream of consciousness.
June 8, 2016
I recommend buying the book so that you can keep it by your bed and read a few stories whenever you want a laugh. I borrowed it from my library, tried (in vain) to read it fast, started to view it as a nemesis that I had to best. That's probably why I enjoyed it less than I otherwise would have.
January 30, 2009
I've just started this, but it is literally a laugh-out-loud compendium of the New Yorker's funniest short pieces. I would buy it for all of you if I could. Definitely get it immediately.
February 25, 2009
Dorothy Parker. Robert Benchley. James Thurber. E.B.White. Woody Allen. Steve Martin. George Saunders. And too many more to enumerate. An absolute treat.
October 11, 2009
great! you gotta read this you guys...
July 31, 2010
He he ha ha. keep on laughing.
March 25, 2012
I am so happy I stumbled upon this book at a used bookstore. I so very am.
February 18, 2019
Really, I give this 3.5 stars. There were a large number of pieces in here I didn’t love, a good number I found nice but unmemorable, and a few I absolutely loved. I think my favorite was probably Wile-E-Coyote suing the Acme company.
Good book for picking up here and there - that’s why it took me so long to read. I read one every few days in between other things.
Also unrelated: it’s creepy how many references to the current president of the United States there were and how some of them were predictions that came true. Yikes.
Good book for picking up here and there - that’s why it took me so long to read. I read one every few days in between other things.
Also unrelated: it’s creepy how many references to the current president of the United States there were and how some of them were predictions that came true. Yikes.
October 19, 2022
These must be so amazing to read daily in the morning to get your thinking going. They are quirky, random and cheeky but also clever and so satirical, as is my view of the world and its people at this stage. So this did appeal hugely to me. I stopped after a while, because I couldn't read it as a book, and will keep dipping in for my does of another's view. I do wish there was a way I could have this quirkiness every day to soften my way into the daily trugde.
January 25, 2020
Very disappointing. There were a few humorous pieces in this collection from classic writers such as Dorothy Parker and James Thurber as well well as some more contemporary writers such as Davis Sedaris and Adam Gopnik but I found most of it unfunny and tedious. Many of the pieces do not stand the test of time. I kept hoping it would live up to the comments on the cover but it did not.
June 22, 2022
I have long read before turning out the lights. Sometimes, I have finished a book and don't have a new one to start. So I've kept these essays hand to fill in. They were great to have around. Some very funny ones from excellent writers.
Don't know what I'm going to do now that I have read them all.
Don't know what I'm going to do now that I have read them all.
May 5, 2017
A great prescription if you are finding daily news reports or other ills overwhelming. We all need laughter...... I still love the first piece by Thurber about what inspired a couple's (surprising) divorce......
September 14, 2017
Well categorized and well written (it's The New Yorker, after all), but very few pieces are memorably funny. Now I realize why Jerome, Saki, Wodehouse and Bryson endure the way they do - they have few equals.
Honestly, a bit of a letdown.
Honestly, a bit of a letdown.
February 29, 2020
Interesting satirical writing, mostly exploratory on producing overserious caricatures of light and generally considered "superficial" topics. Some were hit, some were miss. A good coffee-table book, likely meant more to be picked up now and then to read an excerpt than to read all at one time.
February 28, 2021
I found this overall to be hit-or-miss. Some stories are excellent and entertaining...others simply fall flat. But the beauty of it is you can pick and choose; especially since some writers have multiple peices, you can read or avoid those based on who you liked. Give it a try if you want a laugh.
June 17, 2017
Far far too long.
I bought this as a discounted e book. I wish I'd bought an ice cream.
I am 64 now, those lost hours were precious to me.
I bought this as a discounted e book. I wish I'd bought an ice cream.
I am 64 now, those lost hours were precious to me.
November 19, 2017
A mix of some really funny stuff and lots of dated, erudite, not-funny stuff.
May 28, 2020
Really didn’t care much for these short stories.
September 15, 2021
SIX WORD REVIEW: Some funny, some witty, some meh.
January 24, 2023
Some gems but mostly quite dated. My favorites are David Sedalia, Steve Martin, Adam Gropnik, Simon Rich.
January 26, 2024
a chunk of chuckles and a few hoo-haas
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews