This Is a Book

This is a very silly and funny book. I loved it. This is the kind of book I'm always looking for but so rarely find--one chock-a-block full of smart silliness and intellectual goofiness. (It gave me the same joy as reading Woody Allen's Without Feathers or Side Effects.) It was love at first browse. I first saw the book at an airport book store. I thought to myself "Demetri Martin. Is that the guy from The Daily Show?" I picked up the book to see if it was (it was) and started paging through. From the very first page of the introduction called "How To Read This Book," I was hooked: If you're reading this sentence then you've pretty much got it. Good job. Just keep going the way you are. Flipping to the next page, I started reading the first essay called "Announcements." Thank you for coming to the show. Before tonight's performance begins there are a few announcements. Please pay attention. Flash photography is not permitted at any time during the show. Also, there is no recording of any kind allowed during the show. This includes both audio and video recording, as well as sketching, journaling, documenting, making mental notes, reminiscing, reviewing, or remembering anything at all with your mind. Any recording devices that we find will be taken away from you and juggled recklessly by the clown you see standing near the left exit. Too well trained by Mr. Jenners to buy the book for full price from an airport bookstore (sorry, Mr. Martin), I waited until I got home and ordered it from Amazon. It was fun from beginning to end. This is the kind of book that will either grab your funny bone or it won't. So, to give you a better idea of the kind things you'll find inside, here are a few excerpts. From "Palindroms For Specific Occasions" (Seriously, how can you not love a book that includes five full pages of palindromes?) GENTLY INFORMING A DJ THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE SOUND SYSTEM: No music is, um, on. THE HEAD BAKER AT A BAKERY INSTRUCTING A NEW EMPLOYEE ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH CUSTOMERS AND THEN SUDDENLY NOTICING WHAT THE NEW BAKER HAS MADE: Snub no man. Nice cinnamon buns! A GUY EXPLAINING TO HIS FRIEND HOW HE FEELS ABOUT OPERAS AS HE ACCIDENTALLY RUNS INTO A BEEHIVE: See, bro, operas are poor--Bees! From Honors & Awards (for Which I Would Qualify) National Champion at being the ex-boyfriend who is most consistently awkward around his ex-girlfriend and/or anyone who is even a casual acquaintance of hers. A scholarship awards to Greek Americans who have done very little for the Greek American community but definitely look Greek American, no matter what outfit they are wearing. Top 40 people under 40 who live in my apartment building Award for Perfect Attendance on Earth for Whole Life So Far Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Very Cute Women Who Turn Out To Already Have Boyfriends I could sit here and type excerpts that cracked me up all night long but that would be silly. Hopefully, you've gotten a feel for the book. (You could also watch him on The Daily Show or his stand-up comedy act.) But let me just share a few of the essay titles with you: Optimist, Pessimist, Contortionist; Frustrating Uses of Etc.; A Capella Group Freak Accidents; Confessions of a White Guy with Dreadlocks; Excerpts from My Often-True Autobiography. Plus there are funny drawings and charts included. So, to sum up, this is a very funny book and you should read it.

This is one of the most brilliant, intelligent, and hilarious books I've read in a while. It shows Demetri's myriad creative talents. This is not something to read if you're just looking for a quick, cheap laugh. This makes you think and put the pieces together at times. The palindromes along with the massive poem were astounding. His art and drawings made me laugh each time. Fans may be caught off guard by some material in here. Don't think of it like a comedy standup; it's a book of creative writing and comic musings of different ideas spanning a myriad of eras from the past to future. Some of them are only one line, others are stories that take several pages. Some may even take the form of a short play! It's uplifting, funny, even dramatic and thought-provoking. It's not your standard comedy book. It's something fresh and different, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

If you've ever watched "Comedy Central" or a segment of it, "Important Things with Demetri Martin", you already have a hint of the zany humor you'll enjoy if you read this book. It's very name gives a clue of the witty, clever, creative character of its author. Who could envision a 1995 Yale graduate who, while attending law school, served as an intern at Domestic Policy Council during the Clinton administration, would drop out following completion of his second year, to become a comedian extraordinaire? Politics does have some aspects that beg to be incorporated into a comedy routine. Martin's work is unique, unexpected and laugh-out-loud funny. The book is a compilation of two or three sentence ditties: " We were seeing less of each other... we were in quick sand!" to longer, more thought provoking and philosophically challenging ones. I attempted to analyze what it was that made the myriad of selections so extraordinarily funny. After all, I don't usually wipe my eyes because I've been laughing so hard. Written humor is particularly difficult. Visual and audible comedy utilizes voice tone, silences, timing, even facial expressions that are subliminal factors in comedy routines. In the end I scrapped that idea and just enjoyed the book. If you're wondering if Martin made use of his time in DC and included some of the antics that frequent that geographical area in the book, the answer is yes and no. Everyday occurrences that can happen anywhere are fodder for this actor, artist, musician and humorist. Perhaps one my favorite vignettes in the book is a completed crossword puzzle comprised of one letter of the alphabet. Subsequent pages follow with across and down clues. What could possibly be funny about finished crossword puzzle? I guess you'll need to read the book to find out! Be sure to have a box of tissues nearby! I do hope Martin has many other books waiting to be hatched. He's one of a kind! If you're looking for some light, fast and delightfully clever reading, pick up a copy of This is a Book.

I love Demetri Martin's stand up and tv show, so when I heard about this book I had to get it. It was kinda weird to read at first, because it started like reading a show, but you get use to it quickly. It has stories (some like skits from the show), pictures, and shorter jokes. While most of it I found funny, some where a bit of a miss. I wish it had more pictures, since they are quick and funny. Some stories were good but others were just a bit lacking. Also, some of other jokes, like the crossword, kinda lost the humor halfway through it for me. However, this book is great just like his show. It isn't always the type of humor that makes you bust up laughing but the kind that you just find funny and can smirk at. If you liked his stand up or show, you'll like this book.

This is one amazing book

Bought it has a gift for my boyfriend. My boyfriend never reads but he absolutely loves demetri Martin and my boyfriend read the whole thing.

Amazingly hilarious book! The way he plays with the English language is absolutely side splitting!

（これで分かる人がどれだけいるか。。。）ボキャ天のジャンルで言えば、『インパク知』のジャンルに入る笑いです。 ディミートリー•マーティンは、アメリカの若手コメディアンで、数年前にアメリカ人の友人から教えてもらい、動画サイトで観たり、ネットで引用を読んだりして、好きになりました。結構ハンサム（私の個人的な感想で言えば、背の高いトムクルーズという感じ）で、知的で、ペン画（これがかなり上手い）を書いたりと、かなりマルチタレントだけど、どこかオタクっぽくて、マッチョではなく、ハイテンションにはほど遠いけれども、いつもくすくす笑わせてくれる感じです。そのDemetri Martinのジョーク本１冊目です。発売を待つことなく予約注文し、彼の存在を教えてくれた友人には誕生日プレゼントとして贈りましたが、３分の２くらい読んだところで本棚に寝かせてありました。最近、イギリス人の友人に２冊目のPoint Your Face At This（こっちはほとんど文字がありません）を借りて読んで楽しかったので、再び本書を引っ張りだして読み終えたので、レビューを書くことにしました。何より、こんなところで再びDemetri Maritinを話題にできるかと思ったらともかくうれしかった。 えっと、ネイティブでない限り、辞書が必要です。しかも、あまり日常では使わない言葉をたくさん覚えられます。だからあまり学習用には不必要な言葉まで覚えてしまうので、要注意です。（笑）字ばかりのページが数ページ続いたかと思ったら、次は絵や図表だらけの章があったりするので、全部読むことができなくてもそれなりに楽しむことができます。時にはシュールで、時には野暮ったくて、ときにはよく分からないこともありますが、何やら憎めない感じがとても気に入っています。

the book is funny,like Demetri Martin. i got it as an anniversary present, i loved it so much i vomited.