The Joker: A Memoir

I am thankful for the book and looked forward to reading this story. It starts out great in his youth and takes you along for the ride. There's some laugh out loud parts and a few tugs of the heart along the way. Andrew shares his memories with us all in an accessible and easy to read way. I would s I received a copy on the mail a few days ago. I would suggest this book for someone who is looking for a slightly entertaining distraction while Sun bathing or sitting in a waiting room, perhaps even before going to bed. I know I read it in bed myself and I did enjoy it, all in all.

I Give it 3 out of 5 stars with the caveat that a whole lot of people enjoyed it even more than I did. Nov 28, Akeiisa rated it it was ok Shelves: In this memoir, Andrew Hudgins discusses how jokes have been a part of his life and shaped some of his thinking. He goes into great detail of the history of different types of jokes, their origins, and how jokes allowed him to learn about different taboo subjects as he grew up - sex, racism, religion. Many of the jokes and discourses on them made me uncomfortable.

Furthermore, the repeated refrain of "I'm not racist" followed by more racist jokes was off-putting. I found the latter chapters on Hudgins' marriages and the proximity of death the most interesting. Earlier chapters felt verbose and a bit revisionist. Apr 15, David V. Received as an ARC from the publisher. Read it in just a few days. What can I say about The Joker? If you expect a book of terrific jokes, this ain't it!

It's the memoir of a poet who loves telling and hearing jokes. He analyzes his life and the jokes he heard along the way, through his school years, his numerous re-locations as a "military brat," from friends, openly racist relatives, his marriage, his divorce, and his second marriage. I cringed on almost every page as most of the jokes Received as an ARC from the publisher. I cringed on almost every page as most of the jokes are rude, crude and lewd. He discusses both the tellers and the listeners of these jokes, and why people laugh and why some don't.

This is not an easy book to read because as the author analyzes himself, he's also evaluating all of us as humans. The book should be an interesting reading in psychology and sociology classes. Nov 09, Nicki rated it really liked it Shelves: I received a free copy of this book through Good Reads First Reads. After what I felt was a slow start, this book got good. In a memoir that doesn't feel much like a memoir, the author takes jokes that he's encountered throughout his life and dissects them, analyzing why we find them funny.

Instead of avoiding racist, sexist, and religion-based humor, he takes these jokes head-on and tells us why we laugh when we think we shouldn't. He refreshingly admits laughing at jokes we're supposed to find I received a free copy of this book through Good Reads First Reads. He refreshingly admits laughing at jokes we're supposed to find inappropriate and then turns the prejudice back on the joke-teller.

In the context of age, history, and personal experience, it was fun to look at humor in such an informative, interesting, and even sentimental way. Sep 03, Samantha rated it really liked it Shelves: I really liked this book, but it was hard to place it. It really was split down the middle - half memoir, half joke analysis - and I can see how a reader who wanted more of one would be disappointed. However, I thought the memoir aspects that peeked in were touching and thoughtful, the meditations on humor both amusing and insightful, and the interplay between the two balanced and complementary.

I could feel a little bit of Hudgins' joker in myself, too, so the reassurance he offered was nice. Apr 08, Paige rated it it was ok Shelves: I won this book as part of the first reads program. I was so excited when I won my book and thought this book was going to be really great. I was unfortunately let down. I felt the author was too wordy and took way to long to get to the point. I also felt that for the most part there wasn't a lot of jokes in the book.

I did think about humor as a whole in a new light though. I hadn't really thought of what the world would be like if nobody laughed.

Overall, this book was okay. The book isn't eve I won this book as part of the first reads program. The book isn't everyone's cup of tea. This is unlike any book I have ever read. It's an analysis of jokes, who finds them funny and why and also an autobiography. The author grew up in a very conservative household and attended very conservative churches. He was also a military brat who used jokes to break the ice with new people when he arrived in yet another new location.

This is an examination of his life as well as his humor.

I received this book through a giveaway sponsored by Goodreads. May 30, Janet rated it liked it Shelves: This has been getting such great press I wanted to skim it and see what the fuss was about. As a recovering class clown, I certainly identify with that seemingly undeniable need to crack a joke even if you're totally unsure of your audience and outcome. Hudgins cannot NOT joke, and it's led him into hilarity and, at times, less than ideal situations. Good for Father's Day, esp.

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I won this book from Goodreads Thank You I could not make it past page 9. At first I thought maybe the pain medication I was on was making my brain fuzzy and that's why I could not comprehend the introduction so I put the book aside and waited for a week to try again. Tried again starting with chapter one and still no connection to this book or the story. Think I will put this book on my nightstand for those times when I need something to put me to sleep. Jul 11, Nicholle rated it it was ok Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.

To view it, click here. I guess I was expecting something different. More humor, less "jokes. Less of the author telling me which "jokes" are good and which ones are bad, based on whether he thinks they are funny or not. Some good stuff, just not enough for me. Mar 27, Kelly rated it really liked it Shelves: A Memoir from Goodreads' First Reads program. Jokes are everywhere, but there is also analysis behind the jokes and humor as a whole. Coming from a dysfunctional family, reading this book made my day!

Nov 22, Daphne Atkeson rated it liked it.

Kept me interested, however, and I'm not fond of memoirs. Jun 08, Wanda rated it it was ok. This book was a good reads giveaway I would not have bought the book.

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This book was hard to read mainly because most of the jokes were crude and insensitive. Yet, due to his life circumstance, I can understand why he would relate to being a "jokester". May 03, Allison Sweeney rated it really liked it.

Studies in American Humor

I enjoyed this book, I thought it was well written and made me smile. Sep 01, Jenny rated it it was ok. I appreciate that the author is trying to be frank, but racist and sexist jokes will never be funny to me. Jul 02, Meg rated it liked it Shelves: Some off-color jokes that were integral to the storyline were not enjoyable for me to read. This review is based on an ARC provided to me by the publisher.

May 05, Molly rated it it was ok. An occasionally funny, mostly pleasant, sometimes tedious memoir. I guess the take home is: Mar 24, Mr.



A very interesting book, I really enjoyed it. Jul 16, Keith rated it it was amazing. A funny and poignant book by one of the best teachers I ever had. Dave Madden rated it it was amazing Aug 21, He locates his analysis in a rich tradition of scholarship from Aristotle to Koestler, including St.

For Hudgins, the challenge is more than just understanding how that funny guy over there makes people laugh. The question driving his work is the importance to him, to Andrew Hudgins, of making people laugh. He ponders why he takes the risks he does to hear that chuckle, that guffaw, even that gasp of dismay when he has clearly stepped over the line. Understanding how his insecurities and obsessions turned him into a clown structures the story. In a book with hundreds of jokes, Hudgins relies on roughly eleven subgenres: Taboo is central to all these jokes, as Hudgins makes clear: Anything that happened to them could happen to me.

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