I’ve read a number of books by comedians before, and they tend to be hit-and-miss. I loved Jim Gaffigan’s books on food and fatherhood, Dad is Fat (2013) and Food: a Love Story (2014). I was less enthused with Demetri Martin’s This Is a Book (2011) though Point Your Face at This (2012) was all right. I’ve enjoyed two other books by Seinfeld in the past (though he’s written several), his original his SeinLanguage (1993) and his kids’ book Halloween (2002).
This book, Is This Anything?, comes at a time when COVID had prevented the stand-up comedian from performing in front of live audiences. Luckily, he’s got time on his hands as well as his accordion-style file-folder filled with fifty years of yellow legal-pad notes on jokes and humorous situations. Here’s an opportunity for Jerry Seinfeld to rehash some of his favorites, classics by now though they may be.
He breaks the book down into decades, briefly introducing each with a snapshot of where he was and how he got there. It was interesting to watch his growth from a boy watching comics on TV to performing on Johnny Carson to having his own show and then “retiring,” before getting back on the horse professionally and getting married and having a family.
Many of the jokes from the 70s-90s are ones you’ve heard before, if you’ve ever watched his nine-season sitcom, yet they still curry a chuckle now and then. His material from the ’00s and ’10s seem new to me, though sadly it also seems like he’s taken a turn towards the expletive’s. He favors two in particular, which is odd, cuz I thought he was an atheist.
Religion aside, Seinfeld’s humor has always centered on the mundane. He brings a fresh perspective to everything we deem normal, which is a skill that shouldn’t be ignored. His stand-up routines are rarely dirty, though there’s enough occasionally off-color humor that his material isn’t for (my) kids.
I listened to this book on audio while driving this past week, which was good, because I don’t think the jokes could have landed as well in print and without Seinfeld’s whiny/angry-voiced delivery. Even though he merely read these jokes for the sake of the recording, there are times throughout the book when you can tell he’s really hit his groove. It’s almost as if you’re there, present in the crowd of a comedy club. Each bit is introduced by a title, which on the audio version is read by a British woman, which makes no sense to me.
Overall, this was a pleasant stroll down memory lane with the humor of Jerry Seinfeld. I enjoyed the audio version well enough. If you’re on a road trip and aren’t in the mood for a regular novel on audio, this might be a good alternative for you.
©2021 E.T.
Check Out These Other Books by Comedians:
- Fatherhood by Bill Cosby (1986)
- Why Geese Fly Farther Than Eagles by Bob Stromberg (1992)
- This is a Book by Demetri Martin (2011)
- Point Your Face at This by Demetri Martin (2012)
- Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan (2013)
- Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan (2014)
- I Must Say by Martin Short (2014)
- Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld (2020)