Life, Death and the Universe

An entertaining exploration of what it is to be human told from a stand ups perspective. If you enjoy live comedy there will be a quote or story told by a comedian you've seen, either live or on TV. Robin's experience as a presenter comes through in his relaxed but clear speaking.

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Phenominal

A great book about comedy, comedians and the human mind in general. I will cerrainly give this a 2nd listen over the coming months.

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Thought provoking and entertaining

Lots of moments of recognition. Interesting and balanced reflections on the mind. Really worth a listen.

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Super narrating, thoughtful, hilarious in parts

Entertaing, great if you are curious about the world of stand up comedians. Ponders the psychology and motivation of on stage entertainers, using anecdotes and Robin's conversations with his peers. Entertaining throughout and hilarious in parts - particularly the bit about sinister 1970s public information films. I would have liked more of that, but it wasn't that kind of book.

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3 people found this helpful

Top notch

Like all good AB's it finished way too soon. Robin ince is a humanitarian and a very funny one.

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Simultaneous front row seat and backstage pass

I've a PhD in psychology. I spent years researching laughter. I much prefer this book to my thesis. If this book had existed back then, I wouldn't have bothered and I would have researched reaction times to vanishing and reappearing dots on a screen instead. Having said that, like the author, I suffer from imposter syndrome and the chances are that I would have found a book about reaction times to dots that made me question my existence.

Save yourself years of research and find your answers to such questions as: Are all comedians dealing with a trauma? Is the stand up comedian's night life glamorous, or is it spent staring at the ceiling of budget hotel rooms? How might one write and perform a bit about suicide? Why do some comedians open with 'Is there anyone here tonight from Manchester? or, 'Is that your girlfriend?', whilst others ask 'Has anyone here ever looked at the rear end of an Alsatian and thought...?

Robin Ince does an excellent job of narrating in the style of Robin Ince. He also does an excellent job of exploring many fascinating aspects of comedy and how they apply to so many aspects of human behaviour. Thank you Robin Ince for this heart warming and educational journey. I was hooked for every minute of it.

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Beautiful

I read this book when it was released last year and enjoyed it immenselyy, but listening to Robin read it, added another layer to that

i can't recommend this enough

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1 person found this helpful

Insightful and observational explanation of comedy

I found this to be a fascinating listen. Ince delivers his theories and musings in an erudite and intelligent way. It is so much more than a humorous book about the delivery jokes.

Ince uses other comedians' perspectives and viewpoints as well as his own to ponder and demonstrate the different approaches and attitudes to comedy and humour.

Well worth a listen, I'd definitely recommend this.

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great listen

if you like Robin Ince and like comedic psychology then this is the book for you. will liaten to this more than once.

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1 person found this helpful

far more than I expected

A really interesting discussion about mental health in the context of comedy. And the genius of Alan Moore too! Full of win. Robin is special, we need more like him.

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