New Rules

Polite Musings from a Timid Observer

By: Bill Maher

Narrated by: Bill Maher

Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Bill Maher first came to national attention as the host of the hit Comedy Central and ABC-TV program Politically Incorrect, where he offered a combustible mixture of irreverence and acerbic humor that helped him to garner a loyal following, as well as a reputation for being a hilarious provocateur.

Now, his popular new HBO television show, Real Time with Bill Maher, has put him more front and center than ever. In particular, one of the show's segments entitled "New Rules" has struck a chord with viewers. It's within his rules that Maher takes serious aim, bringing all his incisiveness, wit, and his signature exasperation to bear on topics ranging from cell phones ("I don't need my cell phone to take pictures or access the Internet. I just need to make a phone call. From everywhere! Not just the places it likes!") to fast food ("New Rule: No more McDonald's in hospitals. I'm not kidding!") to the conservative agenda ("Stop claiming it's an agenda. It's not an agenda. It's a random collection of laws that your corporate donors paid you to pass."), Maher brings these brilliantly conceived riffs to audio for the first time, along with some singularly Maher-ian "editorials", editorials nothing like the standard fare found on the pages of the local newspaper!

©2005 Bill Maher (P)2005 Phoenix Audio

Critic reviews

• Grammy Award Nominee, Best Spoken Word Album, 2006

A hilarious book for fans only

I have been a fan of Maher since Politically Incorrect, which by its very name was enough to draw me in. All his wit and sarcasm is here. Some segments had me laughing for minutes afterward, although I didn't like the format. Saying "new rule" before every segment got a little annoying, especially since some were only a sentence or two long.

As usual with our polarized society, anyone who doesn't agree with him won't take the time to listen, so mark this one for fans only. Right wing nuts will stick with Coulter, where facts are rare because they interfere with her rhetoric. Maher takes real news and puts his own spin on it, and ends up bashing everyone about equally -- except for Dubya. If you are a Dubya lover you definitely won't like this book.

New Rule Old School

Book is good to listen to in small chunks. If you try to listen to more than 30 minutes at a time I found it to be monotonous. Yes Bill tends to be more liberal than conservative but he actually classifies himself as a Libertarian. If you are sensitive politically I would avoid.

Ho-Hum

I am a big Bill Maher fan and I'm glad that I read this book. Yet - when someone is just doing their stand up act on paper - it that a book? While I love watching him on Real Time, he doesn't pack the same punch in this format. He's still funny and smart, but his comments somehow seem out of context without hte back drop of hte show. PS. don't his writers create "New Rules" anyway? Why doens't his writing staff get a credit here?

laugh-out-loud funny

This compilation of Maher's New Rule edicts is clever and entertaining. After a while, I caught on to the word-plays in the chapter titles, which are awfully fun ("Entertainment Weakly: No more celebrity gambling shows..." or "Have it Yaweh").
The Religious Right is not the only target of Maher's biting wit. Paris Hilton and the people fascinated by her, jerks with cellphones, predictably mediocre Hollywood films, and spineless Democrats are all candidates for new rules.
Maher's take on the Blue state/ Red state divide is not as simplistic as some critics might suggest. Both sides take plenty of well-deserved hits.
He's got a great delivery and cadence. His rant bounces around from entertainment, politics, social gaffes and hypocrisy of all kinds.
This may be a more telling mirror of our current state of affairs than anyone wants to admit.

great, but short, and some "new rules" filler

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The tape is great, all the jokes are good, but, it's a little short in the first place, plus it has a lot of filler where he continually repeats "New Rule" throughout the tape.

Loved it

It did seem short, but in that time period I was cultivated to be satisfied. Thank you Bill and have a good day.

Bill Rules

This is 99% hilarious and the 1% had references I didn't get. This guy just makes me laugh with his own dry sense of political humor. He unmasks the pointless laws and the hypocracies of our time.

This is not the audio from the TV show, and you don't need a laugh track anyway. If you like Bill Maher, you'll be laughing out loud. If you don't like Bill Maher, you'll be trying to keep from laughing out loud.

Funny and true but also Annoying

Most segments start off with Maher saying "New Rule" and then launching into a socio-political diatribe with a humourous edge. Some of this book is funny and imaginative but it often falls flat as over-obvious and contrived. The "New Rule" shtick got old for me but I do like Maher and his "rock the world" attitude. I think he could do better.

Bill Maher Has Done It Again

With his usual wry wit and unapologetic opinions, Bill Maher has done it again with a piece that holds a very similar overall tone to his stand-up comedy, HBO talk show, and former books (WHEN YOU RIDE ALONE, YOU RIDE WITH BIN LADEN). Maher narrates this himself, which lends an element of comedic timing not possible with the print edition. Unfortunately, fans of HBO?s ?Real Time with Bill Maher? are bound to find much of this material repetitive. After all, it?s really a re-hashing of the ?New Rules? segment featured regularly in his talk show. However, overall, it?s still funny, with the dry, acerbic wit fans have come to expect from Bill. Well worth the read.

An admitted Bill Maher fan

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes as most of my friends share my political views. I would recommend to those on the opposite side of the political spectrum but they chose not to listen to facts

What other book might you compare New Rules to and why?

Something by Al Franken such as

Which character – as performed by Bill Maher – was your favorite?

As this is not a story book there are no characters to chose from but his points about George W. Bush stand out.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes - but as I was listening on an airplane from Bangkok to Istanbul, I had no choice.

Any additional comments?

none