Hits and Misses

Stories

De: Simon Rich

Narrado por: Simon Rich

A hilarious collection inspired by a former Saturday Night Live writer's real experiences in Hollywood, chronicling the absurdity of fame and the humanity of failure in a world dominated by social media influencers and reality TV stars.

Simon Rich is "one of the funniest writers in America" (Daily Beast) -- a humorist who draws comparisons to Douglas Adams (New York Times Book Review), James Thurber, and P.G. Wodehouse (The Guardian). With Hits and Misses, he's back with a hilarious new collection of stories about dreaming big and falling flat, about ordinary people desperate for stardom and the stars who are bored by having it all.

Inspired by Rich's real experiences in Hollywood, Hits and Misses chronicles all the absurdity of fame and success alongside the heartbreaking humanity of failure. From a bitter tell-all by the horse Paul Revere rode to greatness to a gushing magazine profile of everyone's favorite World War II dictator, these stories roam across time and space to skewer our obsession with making it big -- from the days of ancient Babylon to the age of TMZ.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Rich's special genius is his ability to nest an absurd premise in an otherwise ordinary situation... A perfect example of Rich's ability to mix humor and poignancy."—Ron Charles, Washington Post

"Welcome to the sweet but twisted world of Simon Rich... Rich has proved he has a boundless imagination and a sharp sense of humor, and Hits and Misses continues that streak--it's a bizarre and hilarious collection from one of the funniest writers in America... He's endlessly clever but not impressed by his own wit; gentle, but not afraid to test boundaries. It's a kind of humor that recalls early 20th-century writers like James Thurber and E.B. White, but Rich's comic genius is really all his own. He spent years being regarded as a kind of precocious wunderkind, but with this book, Rich has come into his own as one of the most talented writers of comedic fiction working today."—Michael Schaub, NPR

"Great writers tend to arrive when we need them most, and at this moment Simon Rich is a comedic godsend. Hits and Misses is a motherlode of silly, inventive, absurd brilliance. My admiration for Rich is rivaled only by my jealousy."—Conan O'Brien

"Simon Rich is the Stephen King of comedy writing. From the first lines, he pulls you into a world of hilarious, simple, kind, determined, dumb, and bizarrely proud characters who, like all of us, are terrified of being embarrassed. He is the funniest writer I have ever met and Hits and Misses is his best collection of stories."—John Mulaney

"Simon Rich is the Serena Williams of humor writing... Rich has sharpened his satire over the years, and he now wields it with skill... Rich is at the height of his craft when he is writing on the border between comedy and tragedy."—New York Times Book Review

Simon Rich "writes funny, short, inventive, breathtakingly precise pieces... Rich's insistence on hope, love, and that people (other than himself) are basically good is refreshing."—The Millions

"Rich's special genius is his ability to nest an absurd premise in an otherwise ordinary situation... the tale of an actual dinosaur being laid off as a comedy writer is a perfect example of Rich's ability to mix humor and poignancy."—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

"Flights of fancy from preternaturally gifted humorist Rich... Shades of Christopher Moore's slapstick... [and] Python-esque medieval farce... He has a sweet spot between mockery and respect for old Hollywood... lovingly crafted comedies from a writer beginning to match wit with wisdom."—Kirkus

"Hits and Misses is full of the kinds of snappy writing and short, well-crafted situations that make perfect sense."—BookReporter

Funny stories

I love compilations of stories, and even better when they're funny. I can alsonlosten to this one with my kids and laugh with them. Highly recommend!

Enjoyable set of comedic and sometimes thought-provoking short stories

If you enjoy fiction as something to amuse yourself and pass the time while you hurtle toward the grave, and you are (or have ever been) a thoughtful young adult working through intellectual status issues, you should certainly listen to this book.

If you’re looking for something deeper from fiction — new perspectives and heuristics on the world — there are even a few pretty valuable ideas here that will stick with you for a bit. The author’s worldview is consistent throughout, and even if it doesn’t have any particularly profound overall message, it is intelligent and self-aware and explores story premises to worthwhile effect.

I think that authorial worldview may be something like: “Might as well amuse yourself as you hurtle toward the grave, and isn’t it interesting to combine things in unexpected ways? Also social status and celebrity gossip are as essential as food and sleep, and I was born to Jewish American royalty of some sort or another in the 1980s.”

That last part might be relevant if you read fiction to develop empathy for others, although if that’s the case I’m guessing — and the author seems to be guessing too — that it’s a perspective you may already be familiar with. It’s the kind of worldview and writing you’d train an AI on if you wanted it to publish fiction in the New Yorker.

But the stories also contain a hint of the rising relative importance of family, parenthood, and relationships. Given my own stage of life, I’m quite interested to see how the author’s work evolved, and am on my way to check out his more recent work as soon as I finish this review. I expect it will be enjoyable, and I hope it will contain more insights about life that might change my own worldview for the better.

Re: the narration, it is the author reading and there are no issues with his voice or delivery. He doesn’t entirely go for it on a couple voices — e.g. the court jester’s comic voice — but that was probably the prudent choice.

funny

funny funny funny. need to write 15 words to be posted. hilarious enjoyable and lol

why?

why narrate ur own book with a voice like that? just get a professional for God's sake

Loved it

So funny. You will wish it never ended. He could go on and on telling stories, and I would sit and listen.