Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness, the - Hardcover

Poundstone, Paula

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1616204168 ISBN 13: 9781616204167

Publisher: Algonquin Books, 2017

Synopsis

The results are irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny, and pointedly relevant to our times. The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness is both a a hilarious story of jumping into new experiences with both feet and a surprisingly poignant tale of a working mother raising three kids. Paula is a master of her craft. Her comedic brilliance, served up in abundance in this book, has been compared to that of George Carlin, Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin, and David Sedaris.

About this title

Review

"A pure romp . . . A deeply revealing memoir in which the pathos doesn't kill the humor--delivers more than it promises."
--Kirkus Reviews

"For readers who want a break from the current madness in the world and a good dose of Poudstone humor, this book will certainly provide."
--NY Journal of Books

"Smart, sweet, and laugh-out-loud funny balm for exceedingly stressful times."
--Booklist

"The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness is a remarkable journey. I laughed. I cried. I got another cat."
--Lily Tomlin

"The bravest and best improv comic of our time has now done the impossible and created a Work of Literature that has the wild hairy spirit of performance about it. Sort of like Emmy Dickinson & Her Sensational Cat Circus. Or Hermie Melville & His Singing Whale. The whole family comes in for the price of one ticket and there is not a bad seat in the house."
--Garrison Keillor

"Reading Paula Poundstone's The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness, I laughed until I got fit, wired, earthy, organized, you-name-it. I'm happy now. I've discovered that the secret to happiness is to let Paula do all these things while I read her hilarious book about it."
--P.J. O'Rourke

"If you haven't met Paula Poundstone, I highly recommend that you get to know her now. I flew through her book and laughed at every page."
--Dick Van Dyke

"Paula Poundstone is hilarious. She says that deep-rooted happiness requires a sense of purpose. I started reading this book because I knew it would make me laugh, and it did. I finished this book with hope, my own sense of purpose, and a renewed faith in people."
--Trisha Yearwood

"Paula Poundstone deserves to be happy. Nobody deserves to be this funny."
--Roy Blount Jr.

"Paula Poundstone never disappoints with her stand-up, and now she has written an informative and highly entertaining book which deserves to be read and discussed...and I highly recommend that it is."
--Carl Reiner

"Did someone finally do it? Did Paula Poundstone discover the secret to human happiness? I don't want to give away the ending, but she did make me laugh a LOT, and even shed some tears. Read this book!"
--Pete Docter, screenwriter and director, Inside Out, Up and Monsters, Inc.

"My God, this is a funny book! Bright shafts of the incomparable Poundstone wit come at you from every page.
--Dick Cavett, New York Times columnist and author of Brief Encounters

"Paula Poundstone is the funniest human being I have ever known. Everything she does, thinks, or says is hilarious. She is made of funny. If you chopped her into bits, each piece would be hilarious. (But don't.) Air becomes funny having been breathed by her. So, thus and naturally, this book is hilarious. Even the punctuation is a scream. Buy it."
--Peter Sagal, host, "Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me!" and author of The Book of Vice

From the Back Cover

"Paula Poundstone is the funniest human being I have ever known."*

"My God, this is a funny book!" --Dick Cavett

"Everything she does, thinks, or says is hilarious. If you chopped her into bits, each piece would be hilarious. (But don't.) So, thus and naturally, this book is hilarious. Even the punctuation is a scream. Buy it." --*Peter Sagal, host of Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me! and author of The Book of Vice

"Paula Poundstone never disappoints with her stand-up, and now she has written an informative and highly entertaining book that deserves to be read and discussed." --Carl Reiner

"Highly recommended!" --Dick Van Dyke

"Did someone finally do it? Did Paula Poundstone discover the secret to human happiness? I don't want to give away the ending, but she did make
me laugh a lot, and even shed some tears. Read this book!" --Pete Docter, screenwriter and director, Inside Out, Up, and Monsters, Inc.

"Hilarious."--P. J. O'Rourke

"The bravest and best improv comic of our time has now done the impossible and created a Work of Literature that has the wild, hairy spirit of performance about it. The whole family comes in for the price of one ticket and there is not a bad seat in the house."--Garrison Keillor

"Paula Poundstone says that deep-rooted happiness requires a sense of purpose. I started reading this book because I knew it would make me laugh, and it did. I finished this book with hope, my own sense of purpose, and a renewed faith in people." --Trisha Yearwood

Edition details

• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1616204168
• ISBN 13: 9781616204167
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288