Twitter Wit: Brilliance in 140 Characters or Less

by Nick Douglas

The first authorized Twitter book, Twitter Wit is a collection of the most clever one-liners posted on the massively popular social networking and micro-blogging website. Featuring a foreword by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and tweets from celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Cho, Stephen Fry, Rainn Wilson, Penn Jillette, Diablo Cody, Michael Ian Black, Paula Poundstone, Eugene Mirman, Russell Brand, Aziz Ansari, Lisa Lampanelli, and John Hodgman, this It books paperback original, edited by Nick Douglas, demonstrates that inside every moment is a joke waiting to be written.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Sociology, Science, Reference, Contemporary, Social

176 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[ZJLS]

This isn't edgy or all that witty. There were maybe 5 tweets that made me laugh out loud and a handful that were just funny. But apart from that, there were a lot of cheap shots and jokes at the expense of marginalised groups. So if you enjoy jokes about rape, women, African Americans and disabled people - well you're a terrible person and this book is perfect for you.

No wit, lazy editing, and poor judgement and you TOO can publish a book.

[Elizabeth]

[2.5]

This was totally meh. Some were funny, most didn't make sense and the others were just offensive. I didn't really enjoy this. The only redeemable quality was that there were some good ones in the mix though they weren't the majority.

[Susan]

A best-of compilation of funny Tweets. I'd write more, but am pretty sure it would be more than the allotted 140 characters. 3 stars. Good for distraction reading.

[Katie Johnston]

I can't give a completely unbiased review, because I'm in the book, but I can say that this is a great one to pick up when you just want a quick laugh, and is also really fun to read all of the way through. Some of the funniest people on Twitter don't have millions of followers, or even thousands, and I think if people bothered look for and follow these everyday wits then they wouldn't complain that Twitter is just Ashton and Demi talking about their favorite types of sandwiches. This is a great way to see what's out there and see what people have done with 140 characters.

[Laura]

come ON - @mrpenguino

[David Brzezinski]

Revu in 140 chars or less: Meh!

[Graham]

#amazing

[Sambasivan]

Amazing inspired set of quotes. Taken from multiple sources. A pure joy to read.

[Abbe]

SUMMARY: New York Magazine proclaims, "Twitter is the hot web company right now...the Next Big Thing;" the New York Times calls it "one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet;" Time magazine claims "Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app;" and Newsweek notes that "Suddenly, it seems as though all the world′s a-twitter." Since its creation in March 2006, Twitter has unleashed a torrent of self-expression from its six million members around the world, who send and read each others′ "tweets," messages up to 140 characters in length. Friends use the site to make plans; relatives use it to stay connected; politicians use it to lobby for votes; and humorists use it to perfect their craft. In fact, Twitter users have reinvented the classic medium of the witticism in a site where anyone can be a Dorothy Parker or an Oscar Wilde. Twitter Wit is the first compilation of Twitter aphorisms, with submissions ranging from quotidian vignettes like "I bet in Sweden the Ikea instructions are in English" to bumper sticker-type quips like "I think the bird of love is the dove. My husband thinks it′s the swallow," and contributors ranging from celebrities like Shaquille O′Neal, Jimmy Fallon, Penn Jillette, John Cleese, and Steven Fry to regular people with previously unappreciated sharp tongues. Featuring a foreword by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, this authorized anthology of the thousand most most clever and memorable "tweets" relates the diversity of human experience in hilarious bite-sized pieces.

[Megalion]

I read this on the porch swing on a cool evening when the house got too warm for me. The door was left open so the dogs could come and go.

Halfway through I went back inside and my father immediately asked what I had been laughing at.

The mark of a good humor book for me is if it actually makes me laugh out loud, regardless if there's anyone around to look in askance at me.

As typical of compilations, I didn't get or find every tweet humorous but the majority tickled my funny bone. Thus I easily recommend this as a quick read or a "bathroom" book to read in short spans of time. I would recommend Justin Halpern's "Sh*T My Dad Says" first for twitter fun but this is a good 2nd place.

I read an epub version via library loan in the Overdrive system and the formatting was off which made it a little difficult to read properly. Be forewarned if you obtain this in the same way.

[The Reading Countess]

My oldest son picked this title up for me as a gag when he was shopping at yet another bookstore closing a few months. I lay it aside after thumbing through a few pages, although we chuckled over a few (real) tweets in the book. This is a quick read, and I needed a chuckle today, so I read it in one sitting while nursing my sick youngest son. Since I am on Twitter (too much, according to my family), the book was hilarious. Some tweets would make this a not-for-young-eyes book (lesson learned the hard way...)

Samples:
I'd tell my ex to go fly a kite but he has problems keeping things up.
Well, the good news is that now I know what poison ivy looks like.
I don't trust the Easter Bunny. I think he's been hiding something from me.
When Morgan Freeman reads a book, whose voice is in his head?

You get the drift. Funny. Irreverent. Twitter Wit.

[Hannah]

Obviously this book was very funny, as the tweets featured were the best of the best on offer, or at least, the wittiest of the witty. I liked the fact that after checking some of the profiles featured, not all the tweeters are famous or highly-followed, and the home-grown touch adds afeel of authenticity to the edition.

I wasn't very impressed or even interested in the "tips" for wittier tweeting, and I think these pages could have been left out. The purpose of the book wasn't to parade the best and inspire you to gain superior status in the twitter world, it was and ought to have been simply a showcase for amusing tweets. Still, an enjoyable albeit short read, and one that can be picked up again and again and leafed through for the sake of amusement.

[Steph]

36 pages in and laughing my head off... mostly. There are some decidedly naughty tweets. And some frighteningly bodily-function-related that I don't really find funny. And the cusses. People aren't required to censor their language on twitter, so consider yourselves warned.

Overall, though, quite funny. The only problem is that now I'm ashamed that I don't have anything witty to say on my Facebook updates. Seriously. I need to find a way to train my brain to think in a more twisted, humorous way.

Here is one of my favorites from the book:
by someone called zolora: "Family will be here in two hours. There are not nearly enough spaces to hide things in this apartment. It's like I'm playing Shame Tetris."

[Krista]

I love it when the Internet gives back to literature. Luckily, Douglas and I share the same sense of humor. His list of tweets is witty, dark and at-times controversial--everything I love about Twitter. It's like reading through a list of my favorite tweets list on Twitter. I laughed out loud a lot, and found some new people to follow.

I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who's not already on Twitter or is particularly sensitive. The tweets are San Francisco-centric at times. I loved that because I used to live there, but it may fall flat for some people. The introduction by one of the co-founders of Twitter was particularly interesting.

[Ed Wagemann]

What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains:

http://generation-add.blogspot.com/20...

[Julie]

Let's ne honest, I can't justify giving this more than a 3 star because I feel like that would be unfair to the books that I have given 5 stars. Don't get me wrong, i had a good giggle at a few of the tweets in this book, however, I am the generation that lives on Pinterest and buzz feed so I have seen much funnier tweets.
It was a good book, I flew through it in one night, so project catch up on my reading challenge is back to being on track haha

[Shannon]

I hate myself. This is the last "book" I have completed. I am horrible.

This fucking thing was funny though. Minus the self-important introduction which extolled the virtues of Twitter like it's a revolution in communication rather than just another bullshit social networking site which I have major issues with because I am incapable of being succinct.


THE END.

[dersteppenwolf]

Un compendio con los "mejores" tweets publicados en Twitter.
Un libro tan innecesario como "lo más buscado en las páginas blancas", un dvd conmemorativo con lo mejor de "el minuto de dios" o una obra de teatro basada en el Boletín del consumidor.

[Patricia]

I must have been a Kindle Deal of the Day that I got for 99 cents or something. Definitely worth a buck. There were some witty tweets included and a few that were hilarious. I don't spend a lot of time on Twitter, so it was fun to read a compilation of the better tweets.

[David]

#notworththebother Seriously, there are some interesting, even funny tweets in this book. But you'll find that tweets from your friends and others that you are following will give you more pleasure than reading all the tweets in this book.

[Elliot Richards]

This book gave my eyes a good workout as they rolled upwards on every tweet I read. Clearly "brilliant wit" is subjective where this book is concerned; alas the only impression I got from all this was that Twitter is populated by idiots. I didn't even bother finishing it.

[Ali Juma]

Buzzfeed-style listicle-type book, before Buzzfeed was a 'thing'.

Don't bother - it's junk. Nothing particularly witty or edgy about this collection of tweets. You're more liked to be amused looking at your own feed. Go follow @MedievalReactions or something.

[Claudia]

If it's Twitter wit you want, here's your best option.

Here is a collection of actual clever people with a sense of humor and word dexterity. This is a quick read, silly, ridiculous, and a refreshing respite to help clear your head during your lunch hour at work.

[Simon]

Obviously the greatest book ever, since I'm featured in it.

[Califmom]

I'm particularly fond of page 99.

[Alina Smith]

Brilliant. A work of genius.
Especially pages 24 and 81.

[Kae]

Danke an Shari für das tolle Geburtstagsgeschenk! :)

[Megan]

I needed a good laugh...and I found it here! There are some seriously witty people taking advantage of 140 character usage! Highly recommend for some laugh out loud reading!

[John]

: "laugh out loud funny...some of the best Tweets you will find...good fun and easy read..."

[Amanda]

I actually read through this book in the store one day. It was pretty much like reading a Facebook newsfeed of hilarious status updates.