Rating: 
Summary: This is the funniest book in the world .
Review: If you love things that make you laugh this is the book for you . I am thirty-four and i read a new one every day .
Rating: 
Summary: Better than Ever
Review: George Carlin is funnier and more relevant today than he's ever been. People who dislike him because he's moved on from the 7 Words You Can't Say and the Hippy Dippy Weather Man are probably the same people who say they only like Woody Allen's "early, funny movies." George Carlin has gone from being the hilarious hippy to being the only living heir apparent to Lenny Bruce. He's just about the only socially relevant comic working today -- and if you don't understand why that's true, it's no wonder you no longer find him funny. If you think Carlin peaked with a routine about seven dirty words, that old stuff's available on video and CD. If, like me, you think he's better than ever, you'll like this book fine.
Rating: 
Summary: ALERT! BEWARE OF RETREADS
Review: I believe I own every sound recording that George Carlin has had published, and have always enjoyed his particular brand of aggressive iconoclasm. If you are familiar with every line of Carlin's spoken humor, as I am, you'll know that one of his favorite targets (besides organized religion) is the white, greedy, middle-aged capitalist lusting after ever more profits. Which is why it's ironic that in this book, Carlin IS SELLING US STUFF HE'S ALREADY SOLD US ONCE! It's an outrage, pointed out by more than one reviewer: take it from me, upward of 90% of this book--other than the bumper sticker-like "short takes"--is little more than transcripts of his spoken routines. Having heard the routines over and over, it was tremendously irksome to read them while "hearing" them verbatim in my head from the recordings. If you DON'T buy this book, maybe he'll go back to being original. We can only hope.
Rating:
Summary: My, how the mighty have fallen.
Review: I've been a fan of Carlin for over 20 years now and I waited for this book to be released. I went to the bookstore, skimmed through it, and put it back on the shelf. "I'm glad O.J. got off.", he says in one of a few original parts. Did I miss the joke? Carlin once said it is his job to know where the line is, deliberately cross it, but make the audience glad you took them with you. With Napalm And Silly Putty, he's going to be spending a lot of time by himself.
Rating:
Summary: Carlin does it again
Review: WARNING: For those new to Carlin, his sense of humor is pretty f-ed up. Some of the passages you will not want to read out loud in a crowd, unless it's a crowd of people you really know. While Napalm and Silly Putty may be more of the same, that's not really a bad thing. Whether it's asking tough questions ("If the police find it, is it still a clue?"), providing philosophical insight ("I think I am, therefore I am. I think."), to providing ways to improve sports (to make baseball more exciting, he suggests placing random land mines in the outfield), to a list of people he could do without (a funeral director who says "Hope to see you folks real soon!"), to deciding what is and isn't a sport (let's just say that he isn't too fond of golf), to a list of expressions he questions ("in your own words" and "legally drunk", to name a few), to supporting The Miscellaneous Ailments Foundation ("Somewhere, someone feels crappy. You can help.") or the 10 Most Embarrasing Songs Of All Time (My Way, I Write The Songs and I Will Survive make the cut), this is Carlin doing what he does best. The only problem I had was the short takes were kind of weak, and there wren't as many random jokes as there were in Brain Droppings. The nice thing about this book, as with the previous one, is that the whole thing doesn't have to be read at once. It's more meant to be read a few things at a time. It's non-sequential so you can flip to one story and back and not miss anything. Anyone who's read Braindroppings will definately appreciate NSP, as well as anyone with a more open sense of humor will, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't crank out new material, George?
Review: Like many others I bought this book the first day I saw it. I was thrilled to get some new Carlin text. I loved the "Henry VIII" page, as well as much of the NEW stuff. But much of this book is merely a re-hash of material that Carlin devotees have already heard. The old stuff IS in fact still humorous and the book still reads pretty well with old and new mixed together. As for Carlin addressing sensitive topics like race and sexual assault, I just kept in mind that this is not the six o'clock news. I did not buy this book to get a pure account of the world around me. It's humor and Carlin takes some risks.
Rating:
Summary: Old and Cranky, but Still Funny!
Review: I've been a fan of Carlin's since I was in high school in the late 60's. I love his biting cynicism and sarcasm, as well as his keen intellect and sharp perception of the good and bad aspects of the modern human. I, too, do not suffer fools gladly, and love to laugh (better than crying) at the foibles of human nature. However, I have noticed that GC has gotten a bit angrier as he ages. Perhaps the loss of his wife left him wounded, perhaps he's just getting older and less tolerant (I can relate to that!). But I just try to overlook that and laugh at the GC I love best. Therefore, I laughed out loud at almost every page of this book. Sure, some of it is "used" material, and sometimes his rants seem a bit overdone, but I laugh each time I hear him or read him, and so I don't care. Maybe I'm a bit (okay, a lot) cynical and crusty myself, so I can forgive George for it. He still can make me laugh at myself and at all my fellow human beings. If more of us listened to what he was really saying, we might be a bit better off. The classic satirist, GC is least appreciated by those he makes the most fun of -- the "trendy, fruity" ones among us who can't bear to see themselves as they really are! (He must be talking about someone else!)
Rating:
Summary: Laugh out loud humor
Review: Very, very funny as always, even though some of this material is rather old and familiar. Abridged in content from the book, but well worth the purchase. George Carlin puts as much feeling into his reading as he does in live performance. More! More!
Rating: 
Summary: Even when it hits, it misses
Review: First, I love Carlin's work. And I thought that hearing this book would be even better than reading it. Nope. Given, it's important to realize that what you're hearing is Carlin basically reading the text of his book, and not the spontaneous (though calculated) ramblings you'd get if you were listening to one of his stand-up perfromances. Even still, at times it's embarrassingly bad. The bit about the dog and cat might have worked on stage, but it was uncomfortable to listen to in this confined format. And there were bits on the cassettes I'd heard years ago from his other stuff (and I don't even know his body of work all that well.) Basically, I was expecting some well-thought out essays, something poignant, like his NPR recordings. Instead I got something in between spontaneity and something you'd hear on NPR, and it just doesn't work. I did laugh here and there, and it does have its moments, but I think from now on I'll stick to recordings of live performances. That's where Carlin's energy comes through.
Rating:
Summary: Typical Carlin
Review: Sure there is some rehashed stuff in this book. Some things do bare repeating. As a George Carlin fan I found it quite satisfying and enjoyable to read. In fact I saw his act in January at Vegas and it was great. There are plenty of gems in this book along with some classic one liners. A treat for the George Carlin fan. Recommended.
|
