Title:
Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our
Culture
Author:
Ken Jennings
Read
by: Ken Jennings
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Length:
Approximately 9 hours and 11 minutes
Source:
Review Copy from Simon & Schuster.
Thank-you!
I
need more humor in my life, and I was very happy to review Planet Funny by Ken
Jennings. In this non-fiction work,
Jennings chronicles the history of humor and how it has changed over time. I found it to be both enlightening and funny.
Ken
Jennings was born in 1974 and is only four years older than me. His path through his love of comedy parallels
my own growing up and he has the same Gen X sensibilities. I knew most of his
references and discussions. I had not realized I really knew so many comedians
before listening to this audiobook, but I do seek out humor every day.
I
enjoyed the entire book, but towards the end of the book, racism and sexism in
humor was discussed and it was very interesting. Especially how jokes like “Polish jokes” were
used to be relatable as Polish people were something we could all laugh at . .
. but there is a line there where you go from humor to racism and it’s hard to
find that line at times. It was
interesting to discuss how minstrel shows were such an important part of
entertainment in the past and were considered quintessential American humor but
are verboten now.
Humor
in politics was discussed through President Obama’s appearance on Between Two Ferns
to how President Trump used humor to become president. Political humor from Will Rogers through Jon
Oliver was discussed as well. I love political humor shows and have since my
college days, so I really enjoyed this section.
Although I was frankly disturbed thinking about how some people don’t
understand the difference between real news and satire and believed the over
the top Stephen Colbert persona on the Colbert report.
Author
Ken Jennings narrated this audiobook and I liked it. It was relatable and very an interesting
listening experience. Jennings own
timing and telling of experiences and jokes worked well together.
Overall
Planet Funny was an interesting look at humor historically and in modern times
that you will find humor in as you read along or listen to the audiobook.
This does sound like an interesting look at humor. I'm glad you found it to be interesting and funny, Laura. Terrific review!
ReplyDeleteThank-you! I really love humor. It's been fun lately trying to find humor books for my 10 year old son. He loves a good laugh.
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