A review by asteroidbuckle
SeinLanguage by Jerry Seinfeld

4.0

So, yeah. My reading tastes are varied. I just finished reading a book about astrophysics and then went right into reading this collection of Jerry Seinfeld anecdotes. It only took me two hours to read the whole book, but it was time well spent.

First of all, I ♥ Jerry Seinfeld. He never fails to make me laugh. There is no one on this planet who, for me, can make the mundane more hilarious than he can.

This book is basically a collection of the stand-up excerpts that used to appear in his sitcom. And while the delivery a lot of the time is what makes it funny, this book still made me laugh until my sides hurt, because I could hear him saying it inside my head. And a few of the jokes were ones he performed at his show I went to back in February 2009. Still funny 16 years later (the book was published in 1993).

What Jerry does best is point out the absurdity of everyday things. That's why it's so easy to laugh; because we say to ourselves, "Oh, my God! I've done that!" or "That's it exactly!" Not to mention, he always uses examples of his own life, so he's not just making fun of us, he's making fun of himself, too. And we feel like we're all in this silly game of life together.

Here's one of my favorite jokes in the book:

TV has so much power. I know it does. Because I bought the Ginsu knife. I did. The Ginsu 2000, actually. I can't believe I did it.

I can't believe I wrote the number down.

I can't believe I called it.

I can't believe I gave them my credit card number.

It was late at night, I was watching the commercial and it started making sense to me. The guy cuts through the can, cuts through the shoe. I'm thinking, "That looks pretty good."

I don't think I can cut through a shoe with any of my knives. What if I get a knot in the laces and I can't get out of my shoe?

How am I going to get out?

I'll have to cut my way out.

I need that knife.

So I called up and incredible as it may seem, I actually spoke these words. I said, "I would like to order the Ginsu knife." Yes, I said it. And the lady on the phone just went, "Really?"

Even the Ginsu people can't believe anybody would actually want this thing.

So now I have it, my shoes are all cut in half and I don't watch TV late at night anymore.


Love it. And this book is full of gems like that. No, this book won't change your life. It's not profound or enlightening. But it may just lighten your mood.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go saw a few bricks. With my Ginsu knife. While re-attaching a limb with my Mighty Putty. And cleaning up the blood with my tub of OxiClean.