Not Funny Not Funny

Not Funny

Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Et Cetera

    • 4.7 • 6 Ratings
    • $14.99
    • $14.99

Publisher Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“In fact very funny.” —Cosmopolitan
“[A] hilarious and much-needed book.” —Samantha Bee, Emmy Award–winning comedian, author, and host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

For fans of the perceptive comedy of Hannah Gadsby, Lindy West, and Sarah Silverman, Academy Award–nominated and acclaimed stand-up comedian Jena Friedman presents a witty and insightful collection of essays on the cultural flashpoints of today.

Growing up, Jena Friedman didn’t care about being likable. And she never wanted to be a comedian, either. A child of the 90s, she wouldn’t discover her knack for the funny business until research for her college thesis led her to take an improv class in Chicago.

That anthropology paper, written on race, class, and gender in the city’s comedy scene, was, in Jena’s own words, “just as funny as it sounds.” But it did lay the groundwork for a career that has seen her write and produce for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Late Show with David Letterman, and the Oscar nominated Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

Friedman’s debut collection, Not Funny, takes on the third rails of modern life in Jena’s bold and subversive style, with essays that explore cancel culture, sexism, work, celebrity worship, and…dead baby jokes.

In a moment where women’s rights are being rolled back, fascism is on the rise, and so many of us could use a breather as we struggle to get by, Jena applies her unique gifts to pull a laugh from things deemed too raw, too precious, and too scary to joke about. She shares her stories of taking on those who told her she was too brash, too edgy, and too “unlikable” to make it. She deftly dissects how we get coerced into silence on the issues that matter most, until they’ve gone too far afield to be turned back around again. And she shares her struggles to make it (-ish) in a world that, more often than not, would rather tune out than listen to a woman confronting the indignities we’ve been told to bear.

GENRE
Humor
RELEASED
2023
April 18
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
256
Pages
PUBLISHER
Atria/One Signal Publishers
SELLER
Simon & Schuster Digital Sales LLC
SIZE
10.7
MB

Customer Reviews

Djg79 ,

Dark humor?! SIGN. ME. UP.

WARNING: YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN

To be honest, I’ve never heard of Jena Friedman before in my life. I only got the book because what I read in the sample was absolutely hilarious!!! I’d give her EVERY star in the universe for how much I loved this book!!! Unfortunately, I’m only limited to five (sooo uhhh… who should I talk to about that? Jena deserves at least a 10-star minimum).

More Books Like This

Bossypants Bossypants
2011
How I Escaped My Certain Fate How I Escaped My Certain Fate
2010
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
2011
Why Not Me? Why Not Me?
2015
I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are
2020
The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell
2017

Customers Also Bought

Quietly Hostile Quietly Hostile
2023
Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama
2022
Starry Messenger Starry Messenger
2022
The Wreckage of My Presence The Wreckage of My Presence
2021
A Carnival of Snackery A Carnival of Snackery
2021
Hello, Molly! Hello, Molly!
2022