Joe RandazzoRecensioni

hilarious satire encyclopaedia. Right up my ally. "Chinese food: a popular type of American cuisine"
read abridged audiobook but would love to get hardcover.

I received an Early Reviewer copy of Joe Randazzo's Funny on Purpose from LibraryThing, and I'm glad I did because it's a very helpful book that's full of great advice for anyone who's interested in a comedy career. No matter what medium of comedy you want to go into, there's probably a chapter about it in this book...Randazzo covers writing (for TV, books, sketch comedy, movies, and the internet) , performing (standup, improv, music, etc.), illustration and animation, YouTube, podcasts, and social networks. Since I write comedy, I found the comedy-writing section the most interesting...especially the "Writing for the Web," "Writing for TV, and "Writing Books" chapters.

I really enjoyed Funny on Purpose. Randazzo explains everything in a way that's interesting and easy to understand, and the book includes interviews with several funny people, like "Weird Al" Yankovic, Pete Holmes, Paul F. Tompkins, and Judd Apatow. If you're like me and want to spend your life making people laugh, Funny on Purpose will give you lots of great information about how to do it for a living.

A hilariously funny audio book that never failed to make me chortle with glee.

A hilariously funny audio book that never failed to make me chortle with glee.

A hilariously funny audio book that never failed to make me chortle with glee.

A hilariously funny audio book that never failed to make me chortle with glee.

An enlightening "behind-the-scenes" view of the stand-up comedian's world; which explores many aspects of the "funny side" of the entertainment world. Whether you are interested in becoming a successful performer or a writer of comedy, this book will help you understand the processes involved. Besides talent, you will need stamina to face the rigors of exploring this career field. One of the many pithy bits of advice offered: "make your bed every day" [so that you can start the day on a positive note, and end your day with a neat & inviting place to rest---at least this is how I interpreted this piece of advice!] Anyway, this is a good book even if you just enjoy comedy and never intend to enter the field.

I received Funny on Purpose thru Library Thing's Early Reviewers program - for a newbie from Newark or an amateur from Akron, this seems like it would be a great book to begin with for someone considering a career in comedy. It skims the surface of many different facets of the comedy world from old school comic strips to the latest trends in Vine videos. It's also got short interviews with lots of impressive subjects, from the late Joan Rivers to many folks who will not be immediately recognizable to those outside the industry. The one weakness of this book is that its' broad reach means that once one figures out which aspects of comedy to pursue, more research and reading via other sources will definitely be necessary. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, and for comedy, this is a great road map for those first few steps.

I just finished reading “Funny on purpose: The definitive guide to an unpredictable career in comedy” by Joe Randazzo. This book is a great read, even for those outside comedy. As I hoped, the book exposed me to all aspects of comedy from concept development to the business side. In the process I took away many things that can be applied to my writing and teaching. Particularly beneficial were the sections about working with a partner and how new technology is opening up new opportunities. Scattered throughout the book were some insightful interviews with many people involved in the creation and delivery of comedy. Like much of the book, recommendations embedded in these interviews have many applications outside the comedy industry. This book also confirmed what I have long believed – quality entertainment is more dependent on good writing than good acting.

Very, very interesting - this is a comprehensive handbook on modern comedy practice. Five sections (Writing, Performing, Visual Arts, Digital Realm, and Business) and 23 chapters, almost all of which contain an interview with at least one accomplished professional in that field. You might think this would result in a fairly superficial treatment, but the author (a former writer for the Onion, of all places) packs in a surprising amount of useful, practical information: principles, pro tips, defined professional terms, and "what not to do" as well as what to concentrate on/what to expect. I was really only interested initially because I wanted to add some humor to my fiction writing, but I learned about some outlets I might actually be able to contribute to / practice at.

Very well written and highly recommended.

Ah, The Onion. When things get too serious, The Onion is always there to provide a chuckle and remind us to lighten up a bit. In the midst of a period of serious reading, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge offered a brief respite of brain candy. Presented alphabetically (with commentary on each letter of the alphabet), the book touches on a variety of subjects ranging from religion to Star Wars to Michael Jordan. I found the book to often be amusing, occasionally getting a laugh -- reminiscent of a similar book (two actually) by John Hodgeman. This book won't enrich your life in any meaningful way -- but if you brain needs a break between reading books on ancient Rome, tribal societies, and the War of 1812; then it makes for a nice diversion.