George Carlin Reads to You

An Audio Collection Including Grammy Winners 'Braindroppings' and 'Napalm & Silly Putty'

By: George Carlin

Narrated by: George Carlin

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

If one George Carlin audio is funny, then two are funnier and three must be funniest, right? That's our thinking behind this new collection. It's a HighBridge library of laugh-out-loud, award-winning recordings featuring George himself performing many of his best bits. The set includes:

Brain Droppings
Acerbic observations, manic musings, in-your-face questions, witty word play, and more "droppings" from Carlin's singular brain. "I put a dollar in a change machine. Nothing changed." "Why are there no recreational drugs taken in suppository form?" The first Carlin book on audio and a 2001 Grammy winner.

Napalm & Silly Putty
Carlin invents Past-Tense TV (Got Smart, Father Knew Best, It Was Left to Beaver); crusades for the Center for Research into the Heebie Jeebies; founds the George Carlin Book Club (recommended reading: Fill Your Life with Croutons); and suggests that "If the shoe fits, get another just like it." A 2002 Grammy winner.

More Napalm & Silly Putty
Everything that wouldn't fit on the first Napalm recording - like "A Day in the Life of Henry VIII", "Sports Should Be Fixed", compelling confessions ("I couldn't commit suicide if my life depended on it"), and candid takes on life's little moments ("I'm beyond the nice day"), all delivered with wicked glee.

©1997, 2000 Comedy Concepts, Inc. (P)2000-2002 HighBridge Company

Classic Carlin

It seems this was a couple books thrown together in One audio book. Still funny. Classic Carlin..

Funny

Carlin is as smart as he is funny😬😬I enjoyed this book.laughter out loud in some parts.

Brilliant

Absolutely loved it! I rewound it several times to hear some parts over again. R.I.P. George.

Carlin fan or not - you'll love it

I couldn't stop laughing or listening. fantastic. just fantastic! the first audiobook that absolutely locked my attention. very highly recommended. please

For the George Carlin Fan

Some of the readings in this book came right from George's stand-up but that is perfectly fine with me! Full of short stories, thoughtful sentences, and vulgar comments, this audiobook is definitely for the George Carlin Fan.

Just a collection

I love George Carlin and I listened, watched and followed practically every appearance he made before. So, I didn't like this book!
The book is just an un-coherent collection of lots of his performance using even the same phrases he used on stage so nothing new here.

What can you say. The man'swas a genius.

Would you listen to George Carlin Reads to You again? Why?

Yes, he always had a vibrant and fresh take on things. he did seem to be a bit bitter near the end, but his humor more than compensated for it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of George Carlin Reads to You?

Just listening to the stories. he was an artist at manipulating the English language to effect.

What about George Carlin’s performance did you like?

Everything.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

You'll laugh a lot during this book.

Any additional comments?

George Carlin was one of the greatest in stand-up comedy. you can't go wrong with this one.

Classic Carlin.

Things that make you go hmmmm. Had to listen, enjoyed his stories but stopped after too much swearing and dirty talk. I am no prude, just hate to hear such things over and over and over again. Listen, you will enjoy it but be warned.

I love George Carlin, but prefer smaller dosages

I've been a George Carlin fan since my teens and have enjoyed both his stand up and his occasional movie appearances (especially with Keanu Reaves). This book is classic Carlin, but it reminded me that too much of a good thing is, well, sometimes too much. Listen in small doses and it's brilliant. Go for a half an hour, and it's ok. Go for an hour, and the pieces of the book(s) which are dated really become obvious and annoying, and his with is less effective.

The best part of the book, though, is George's narration--given the way he wrote, it is hard to imagine anyone else doing an even adequate job. I would buy this book again, but I'd be a little hesitant to recommend it to a friend--too many other good things out there.

More Precisely, George Carlin Reads AT You

In the preface to Brain Droppings, the first of three short books of humor performed here by the late great master comedian himself, George Carlin identifies three of his main sources of humor -- the English language, aspects of everyday life (like driving and pets), and larger social and political issues plaguing the human condition.

His dissection of the way we use language will make you change the way you speak, will make you think twice before using common words and phrases, even the way you say goodbye or tell someone what time it is. It should be taught in high school and college, especially the redundancies, oxymorons, and incorrect usages. It really takes the cake -- or why the cake, why not pie? That would be as easy as pie. Piece of cake. That kind of stuff.

His riffs on what he calls the "small things" of life will likewise crack you up as it makes you think twice about things you take for granted. Like, did you ever notice that everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot, but everyone who drives faster is a maniac? And do you really want to take a non-stop flight? Wouldn't you rather they make at least one stop?

Priceless stuff, much of it familiar if you've already seen his stand-up routines or heard his recordings. Having it in this form is the best of both worlds -- the original published print books allowed Carlin and his editors to hone the material down to its most perfect verbiage, and then having him perform it in audio format in his inimitable style, reflecting his years of doing this material on stage, is simply hilarious. You'll be quoting him for quite some time (I've been quoting him for decades -- like, did you ever notice when you wear a hat for a while, it starts to feel like it's not there, then you take it off, and it feels like it's still there!).

Now, the bigger stuff, the political and social criticism, that's more hit and miss, depending on your personal views. He takes great pains in his preface to make it clear that he has no agenda other than being an acerbic observer of our larger foibles, but it may definitely rub one the wrong way when his omnicritcal take on our world mercilessly skewers your own opinions. His pre-9/11 jokes about terrorism are especially anachronistic. Just remember, it's all meant to be humorous.

Likewise his vulgarity, Although his most famous routine, Seven Dirty Words, is not part of this collection, he uses a lot more than seven dirty words here. Many of his punch lines are not really punch lines, they're just flat out in your face cussing. You probably knew that before considering whether to listen to him, but better to be prepared for it -- and remember, it's all a joke. (Bonus points for anyone who can pick out the phrases used in this review that Carlin would eviscerate.)