• Winners and Losers

  • By: Paul Beck
  • Narrated by: Alec Sand
  • Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
  • 1.8 out of 5 stars (11 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Winners and Losers  By  cover art

Winners and Losers

By: Paul Beck
Narrated by: Alec Sand
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $5.59

Buy for $5.59

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

Originally course notes for a creative writing class, Winners and Losers is a mix of poetry, philosophy, and comedy - a 75-minute reading of the various whimsical things that could make one a loser. Performed with a wry wit by noted audiobook voiceover artist Alec Sand, listeners will find this collection of statements at turns thought-provoking and amusing, whether they agree that "If you live in Hawaii and don't surf, you are a loser" or "If you think that everyone is beautiful, you are a loser."

Publisher's summary

Originally course notes for a university level creative writing class, this book blossomed into something far more profound.

Author’s note: “Our creative writing class was trying to come to some concrete conclusions about the characters we were designing and discussing. We needed a simple and straight forward system to design characters that travelled well on what writers call a character arc. In a story, you want some characters to change. They are called round or dynamic characters. Some characters don’t change and are called flat or static characters. We needed a path for the characters to travel, a code for them to follow. So we decided on a design principle where characters were one of two things, winners or losers. It worked out brilliantly.”

More than just a 724 point list, this book is part philosophy, part poetry and part standup comedy routine. It will change the way you write, change the way you think, and ultimately change the way you live. Winners and Losers is a thought provoking and sometimes controversial examination of the human character. Every page is guaranteed to provoke discussion, dissonance and laughter.

©2009 trout lake media (P)2009 Trout Lake Media

What listeners say about Winners and Losers

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

WHAT. IS. THIS.

This "audiobook" is on sale for $3.91, and for good reason. This is one of the worst pieces of writing I've ever encountered: unoriginal, unimaginative, and certainly far from "thought provoking" and "controversial." HOW this made it to a recording studio, (much less to a publisher) is beyond me. An open mic night would have been more engaging. The Publisher's Summary said: "More than just a 724 point list, this book is part philosophy, part poetry and part standup comedy routine."
Mmm. No. It's just a 724 point list- and a negative point list for that matter. The Publisher's Summary also said: "It will change the way you write, change the way you think, and ultimately change the way you live." Really. (How presumptuous!) It didn't change the way I write, think or live. So... No, no and no. (Sorry for the hostility. It's surprising even to me. Can you imagine what my review would have been if I had paid MORE than $3.91? :-)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

horrible may even be a practical joke

This was not a book. It is not philosophical, educational, or even entertaining. its literally a little over an hour of a guy listing things that make people winners and losers. "If you are X you're a winner". "If you're Y, then you're a loser". Although it was only 4 dollars, I am going to try to get my money back out of principle.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful