The Funny Thing Is...

The funny thing is... that I was very disappointed. Being an Ellen fan it was disappointing to find so little new comic material in this book. If you have seen her two HBO specials and heard her album (circa 1995), there's no need to buy this book. If it was marketed as merely a collection of her material rather than a "new" book, my expectations would have been more in check.

I'm not an Ellen fan at all, but I got a sample of it on my MP3 player, and I listened to it, it was the most hysterical thing i've heard in a long time, I bought the audiobook and it is so much fun to listen to when I need a kick. This book is a great buy, if you have a sense of humor.

I loved this from start to finish, the only problem being my tendency to laugh out loud often while listening. I attracted stares in the library and had to stop listening in the office, people were beginning to guess my attention was not completely on work. If you like Ellen Degeneres's humor, this book is a delight!

This book was funny. If you want some VERY light listening about nothing that will make you laugh, this is for you. If you are looking for insights into the working of the world and politics and religion, look else where. Ellen is her typical rambling self in this book, which is narrated by herself. She does however provide some real "Hmmmm..." moments. But she just talks a lot of funny nothing. Very amising book for the train after a hard day at work.

I found this book very pleasurable to both read and listen to. I read several negative reviews of this book. I found her observations clever and very funny. Many people don't really notice a lot of the things she points out. But the main thing I remember about this book is that I had only a few moments when I did not laugh.

Whatever the reason, I could not get even an honest smile out of this book that she reads herself. The delivery is flat, the timing is off, or something. Even the bit she used on the Ellen show (VERY funny) where she is trying to find silence ("Back to the loving place") is not funny at all--no laugh out loud jokes here at all.

So it must be her delivery in front of audiences which makes her great, because although I love her style and all, this is not present in this book. Tune into her show to see her instead--for free.

Some friends and I tried to listen to this on the way back from a ski trip. We could barely get through 2 chapters and gave it up. Later, on my own, I fast forwarded to other chapters to see if the delivery/content would improve, but it was the same - boring.
She is much better doing standup.

Nothing "new" here. This is nothing more than a replay of the material from her talk show and her HBO specials. A very long 3 hours as I waited for something new to laugh at. Instead I found myself remembering the punch lines.

It think Ellen is GREAT! Her standup, talkshow, and first book are all funny. Unfortunately, I just didn't find this book to be terribly funny. Perhaps it's just me...

This was better than I expected. Ellen performs her own material and I have a much higher opinion of the entertainer now. I recommend this material to anyone who enjoys live comedy.