Life and Laughing

By: Michael McIntyre

Narrated by: Michael McIntyre

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

Michael McIntyre has become Britain’s biggest comedy star. His debut stand-up DVD, Live & Laughing, was the fastest selling of all time, only to be eclipsed by his second, Hello Wembley, which sold over 1.4 million copies and was the 2009 Christmas number one. He hosts his own BAFTA nominated BBC1 series, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, and won the British Comedy Award for Best Live Stand-up in 2009 following his record breaking 54-date Arena tour.

But how did he get there? Michael reveals all and gives a hilarious performance in this audio edition of his remarkably honest autobiography. His showbiz roots, his appalling attempts to attract the opposite sex, his fish-out-of-water move from public to state school, and his astonishing journey from selling just one ticket at the Edinburgh Festival to selling half a million tickets on his last tour - all are revealed. Michael’s story is riveting, poignant, romantic, and above all, very, very funny.

©2010 Michael McIntyre (P)2010 Penguin Books Ltd

Entertaining and engaging

I expected an interesting story with some funny bits. I think this is better than reading the book yourself as you get to listen to Micheal himself. While the book covers some sad and hard times in his life it is not depressing but very funny. He is also able to convey his feelings and emotions for both the sad and happy times to give you an idea of how he felt and what he was going through. The book had me in tears frequently, some tears off sadness but mostly tears of laughter. Fortunately I was home alone listening so no problem for the times when I just couldn't hold the laughter in.
He also gives the rest of us an idea of how hard it is to become a success in comedy, you don't just walk into a club and start telling jokes and bingo your famous. I've often thought that people in showbiz must all have big egos just to get up on stage and assume people want to see / hear them. I've never considered that they want to make us happy by performing or that their disapointment at lack of success might not be purely financially motivated.
I hope Micheal has many more years of entertaining ahead of him and that he has plans for further books.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

hilarious

He is a very funny man and if you have seen him on tv and like him then you will love his autobiography. His narration is brilliant.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Some laughs and some tears, a good listen

I loved this audiobook. Have become a fan of Michael McIntyres comedy and found it a really interesting story of how he got to where he is today. It is not a book of all laughs, I had tears at times, but was an inspirational story by someone who has faced a lot to get his success. Read brilliantly by Michael himself. Would recommend.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great fun

What did you love best about Life and Laughing?

Was great fun. I found his experiences to be very interesting and found his outlook to life refreshing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Life and Laughing?

His teenage years and his start in the standup circuit....

Have you listened to any of Michael McIntyre’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I started following Michael Mcintyre after this performance.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Laugh out loud !!

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

BEST Narration of any audiobook...ever!

Would you listen to Life and Laughing again? Why?

Absolutely would listen to this again. The author/narrator has such a wonderful outlook on life, he can find humor even in hard times.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Life and Laughing?

I love how McIntyre opens the first few chapters by chiding the listener for being "too lazy" to read the book for themselves; there are other comments that he makes while reading that seem to be spontaneous as well. The delivery is so natural, so fresh and authentic.

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

I listened to almost half in one sitting, then the rest the following day.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

If you like Michael McIntyre you'll love this book

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

Anyone who likes Michael McIntyre will enjoy his wry view of growing up and the starting of his career. It's told with with warmth, truth and humour.

What about Michael McIntyre’s performance did you like?

He told the story with humour and the same sort of observations which make his shows so funny.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

You'll leave laughing and uplifted.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I laughed out loud!! several times!!!

Would you listen to Life and Laughing again? Why?

Yes, ive already listened to it twice. you always pick up funny parts you may have missed the first time!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

His grandmother

Which scene was your favorite?

so many....when his grandmother was telling his wife he takes massive sh**

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Such a great listen!

I know he says in the beginning of the book that he wishes people read it instead of listening to it, but Michael McIntyre needs to be HEARD. I highly recommend this book. I loved getting to hear about where he came from and see the struggles that he faced and eventually overcame. Hard work = success. Love it.

FIVE STARS IS NOT ENOUGH !!!!

O
M
G
It's Ackle Ackingcackel!
Upon completion of the book in one day, the very NEXT DAY, I began it AGAIN. I highly suggest that if you appreciate Michael's unique brand, you purchase this book immediately.

No other time in my Audible experience have I begun and ended a book in one day. You simply CANNOT STOP LISTENING. Michael had me in stitches, my co-workers wondering what in the world was wrong with me all day as I listened via Bluetooth while working in my little accounting office.

And his description of the sad things. I was so sad, so floored. I was especially saddened by his grandmother, her loss indeed, so hard to reconcile why she would do this.. I kept hoping for a happy ending...

Anyway, he had the highest highs & lowest lows & a honeymoon that put him in debt. The issues with car crashes -- this is indeed an accident prone family! Gosh darn it, they don't even need to DRIVE the car to crash it. How does that happen??

I loved the beginning where he rails at us for being lazy asses and forcing him to read the book to us.!! I loved the end where he attempted to tie up all. Thank heavens he exists on Earth!
And if I ever meet him, I would have to comment that he has fabulous hair, simply wonderful.
Un-be-weave-able!
Wait - is that a weave Michael? Are you cheating? Giggles. Tons of Giggles.

Check out his DVD'S too.
Last night I was watching one, and he exits the stage GIGGLING! He says, things that are funny to him, he adds. so he's always smiling and giggling. (except when he is serious, when he's wearing glasses..)

Find and see everything he has done. You must!

Hilarious and motivational!

I’m a huge fan of Michael McIntyre, who’s probably seen every clip of him that exist on YouTube. Therefore I had high expectations- and this book preceded them. I listen to audiobooks as I walk to and from university, and if you do the same, be prepared to be that seemingly crazy person who laughs alone in public. I had no idea of how much Michael has been through in his life, but he manages to make even the sad parts funny. I’ll probably listen to this book again in a year just because the stories are so good.

A perfect performer of a life - I loved it!

Having seen this guy a couple of times on the TV I was expecting a few giggles in this book. I got chortles, gaffaws and down right pant wetting moments! Some people read audiobooks very well. Some people are very funny, but it doesn't come over in this format. This book is a hilarious exeption. Michael McIntyre performs his book so well that I have to give him 5 stars. This is one of the best performances of his life - he should be very proud :)

23 of 23 people found this review helpful

An absolute pleasure from start to finish

Listening to Michael MacIntyre's autobiography as an audio book is by far and away the best way to enjoy his life story. His voice is so wonderfully engaging that I found myself smiling just listening to the subtle laughter in his speech, and he has the most wonderful ability to mimic the various voices from his past, which he uses to the full. Everytime I heard the grandmother's 'Hello Darling' in her Hungarian accent I started to smile, and his version of a pseudo-Jackie Mason when he was doing his Jewish accent is worthy of a BAFTA.
This is the sort of book that can embarrass the reader if listening on a train or bus as explosions of laughter will erupt without warning. I had a quiet spot at work and listened to the chapter about his mother adopting other people's accents and had to pretend I had a choking fit when his mother went into the shop run by a Rasterfarian.
It is also deeply touching, and the section about his father's death had me in tears. Altogether a masterpiece of comedic writing and as in the title, an absolute pleasure from start to finish.

35 of 36 people found this review helpful

Funny man

Very funny and insightful book which will have you smirking trying not to laugh in public when you listen to it. Read in a similar manner to his stand up performances, his cheerful enjoyment in telling the stories is apparent throughout. I listened to number of passages twice as they amused me so much and may come back and listen to the whole thing again.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Michael McIntyre at his very best

Loved it! From holidays in Hungary with an eccentric Grandmother to trying every ploy invented to win the girls over, this book is fabulous, laugh out loud fun. I recommend it to anyone looking for a thoroughly enjoyable listen, and all Michael McIntyre fans should have a copy! He makes a great narrator - listen out for the fabulous Jackie Mason impression.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Life and Laughing

Fantastic.... Buy it! It made me laugh in hospital while waiting for some pretty serious test results enjoyed every minute.... of the book , not the waiting.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

Warning: do not listen to in the car!!!!!!

This is so hilarious that if you listen to it in the car you will definately have a crash because you will be crying from laughter and will not be able to see where you are going!
I can't recommend this enough. I have actually read the book but listening to the king of comedy read it to me made me laugh all over again.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Hilarious, Authentic and Inspirational!

I have bought and listed to over 80 Audio books from Audible and this is the first time I have been compelled to write a review. Michael McIntyre is hilarious. I was already hooked having seen him live in Cork last year, however one cannot help being touched by his self affacing description of his shortcomings, his unabashed adoration of his wife and kids and his love for what he does. His telling of the story is funny in itself but his impressions of his family members and other characters really add to the impact.
This guy is an inspiration. He has found what he loves and overcome lots of obstacles to make a living from it. It took him almost 10 years of persistence and hard work to become an overnight success!
I listened to the book in the car and nearly choked on many occasions as I tried to stifle the compulsion to laugh out loud trying to avoid the other depressed Dublin commuters thinking that I had lost it.
This book should be compulsory listening for everyone tired of hearing about economic doom and gloom in the media. It is funny and inspriational. Highly recommended

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

Fantastically entertaining

Whilst not being a devoted McIntyre fan, I've always found him entertaining, if a little mainstream. And whilst he's not had the most tumultuous of lives, the story of how hard he worked to make it as a comic is both entertaining and inspiring.

As an audio product this really works, definately superior to the print version in that it's his story brilliantly narrated by himself, and where he's added extra chapter introductions specifically to this audio product. Little touches like that make this product very special.

Hugely entertaining, I think I finished this on a return trip to Cornwall. Highly recommended.

20 of 22 people found this review helpful

Sorry, but was very disappointed

I came to Life and Laughing after listening to Michael's "Hello Wembley" and another autobiography (Rob Lowe's). I found "Hello Wembley" genuinely hilarious but even a glimmer of a smile hardly passed my face when listening to Life and Laughing. It's odd how the different genres produced totally different responses from me, but Michael McIntyre's material in his "memoir" is no way near as funny, in fact or in delivery, as his stage shows. Whilst I do not want to undermine how Michael is, without doubt, my favourite stand-up comedian, it goes to show how being a master of one spoken word does not necessarily make you master of another. Plus, I'm afraid to say that there was not very much interesting in Michael's life nor does Michael share many personal insights, certainly not when compared to the kind of material presented by Rob Lowe in his autobiography.

I was also disappointed by the way in which Michael read the book. At the beginning he is actually breaking his teeth over some of the words and most of the time he sounds like he is reading a book, unfamiliar to him, for the first time, rather than telling his own story. Other than some humorous impressions his stumbling over the words is embarrassing at times and I'm not sure what the audio editor was doing at times - perhaps he had difficulty keeping awake like I did?

Overall I'm afraid to say that I found the book, surprisingly, very disappointed, Give this one a miss.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Delightfully delicious!

I came late to Michael having moved to Australia some years ago but from the first time I saw him on Top Gear I have loved his work.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, sometimes an autobiography from someone under 40 can be a little thin on content but I was delighted and enchanted by his story.

In particular I was struck by just what it took to become the 'overnight sensation' he has, it must take a special kind of dedication (or crazy) to keep plugging away year after year on the comedy circuit.

Every word of this is pure Michael and I loved it.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful