Before & Laughter
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-21 08:51:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Jimmy Carr
- ISBN：1529413117
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
*A memoir and self-help manual by one of the country's most treasured comedians*
In his mid-twenties， Jimmy was bored， boring， unfulfilled and underachieving。 He wasn't exactly depressed， but he was very sad。 Think of a baby owl whose mum has recently died in a windmill accident。 He was that sad。 This book tells the story of how Jimmy turned it around and got happy， through the redemptive power of dick jokes。
Written to take advantage of the brief window between the end of lockdown and Jimmy getting cancelled for saying something unforgivable to Lorraine Kelly， this book is as timely as it is unnecessary。
Because you might be interested in Jimmy's life but he's damn sure you're a lot more interested in your own， Before & Laughter is about both of you。 But mainly him。 It tells the story of Jimmy's life - the transformation from white-collar corporate drone to fake-toothed donkey-laugh plastic-haired comedy mannequin - while also explaining how to turn your own life around and become the you you've always dreamt of being。 At just 20， it's cheaper than Scientology， quicker than therapy， and significantly less boring than church。
Before & Laughter contains the answers to all the big questions in life， questions like:
What's the secret to happiness？
Is Jimmy wearing a wig？
What happened with that tax thing？
What's the meaning of life？
Is Jimmy's laugh real？
Can those teeth bite through vibranium？
And for readers in the West Country: yes， there are pictures （actually， sorry， there are no pictures， but there's a book about a hungry caterpillar you'll love）。
Because it's Jimmy Carr - recently scientifically proved to be the funniest comedian in the UK - there are jokes， jokes and more jokes throughout。 If laughter really was the best medicine， the NHS would be handing out this book in Nightingale Hospitals。
Fascinating， thoughtful and insightful - are all words that appear in the book。
In his mid-twenties， Jimmy was bored， boring， unfulfilled and underachieving。 He wasn't exactly depressed， but he was very sad。 Think of a baby owl whose mum has recently died in a windmill accident。 He was that sad。 This book tells the story of how Jimmy turned it around and got happy， through the redemptive power of dick jokes。
Written to take advantage of the brief window between the end of lockdown and Jimmy getting cancelled for saying something unforgivable to Lorraine Kelly， this book is as timely as it is unnecessary。
Because you might be interested in Jimmy's life but he's damn sure you're a lot more interested in your own， Before & Laughter is about both of you。 But mainly him。 It tells the story of Jimmy's life - the transformation from white-collar corporate drone to fake-toothed donkey-laugh plastic-haired comedy mannequin - while also explaining how to turn your own life around and become the you you've always dreamt of being。 At just 20， it's cheaper than Scientology， quicker than therapy， and significantly less boring than church。
Before & Laughter contains the answers to all the big questions in life， questions like:
What's the secret to happiness？
Is Jimmy wearing a wig？
What happened with that tax thing？
What's the meaning of life？
Is Jimmy's laugh real？
Can those teeth bite through vibranium？
And for readers in the West Country: yes， there are pictures （actually， sorry， there are no pictures， but there's a book about a hungry caterpillar you'll love）。
Because it's Jimmy Carr - recently scientifically proved to be the funniest comedian in the UK - there are jokes， jokes and more jokes throughout。 If laughter really was the best medicine， the NHS would be handing out this book in Nightingale Hospitals。
Fascinating， thoughtful and insightful - are all words that appear in the book。
Reviews
Nathan Chadwick
，
Jimmy gave the rat race a go and decided he hated chasing cheese with the other rats。 Don't we all。 He found his passion and worked relentlessly to make it pay the bills。 Cleverly written and obviously hilarious。 No bs， just straight thoughts to paper。 Will likely read again whem I have my next stress overload at work。 Jimmy gave the rat race a go and decided he hated chasing cheese with the other rats。 Don't we all。 He found his passion and worked relentlessly to make it pay the bills。 Cleverly written and obviously hilarious。 No bs， just straight thoughts to paper。 Will likely read again whem I have my next stress overload at work。 。。。more
Matthew Vandermeer
，
I enjoyed this much more than I expected - thank you kindle daily book deal！
Ndr
，
The audio book is read by the author himself， and I think it's the true way to consume this。It is full of sensational quotes， and even more ways of mocking them。I particularly enjoyed strange anecdotes， like the time the author brought Stephen Hawking to see the Book of Mormon in west end， and ended up having a curry together at home after the show。All things considered it's more self-helpy than what I expected， but still a funny and mostly light read。 The audio book is read by the author himself， and I think it's the true way to consume this。It is full of sensational quotes， and even more ways of mocking them。I particularly enjoyed strange anecdotes， like the time the author brought Stephen Hawking to see the Book of Mormon in west end， and ended up having a curry together at home after the show。All things considered it's more self-helpy than what I expected， but still a funny and mostly light read。 。。。more
Amberly
，
This book was okay and enjoyed but I didn't like the mixture between memoir and self help book in this book。 both the writing and paced of plot was okay also I found this book very funny。 I think the cover of book was okay。 This book was okay and enjoyed but I didn't like the mixture between memoir and self help book in this book。 both the writing and paced of plot was okay also I found this book very funny。 I think the cover of book was okay。 。。。more
Courtney-Jade
，
I really enjoyed this
Albert Genower
，
A self-help book mixed with autobiography - but here’s the kicker - Carr is actually funny。 Most self-help authors trying to be funny just come across as annoying， but Carr doesn’t and his celebrity status make the intermittent stories actually interesting。
Cem
，
I think that Jimmy Carr is honest with what he wrote in this book。 He didn't come across as a didactic， self-aggrandising life-hack guru。 He tells his life story and the lessons he took。 I enjoyed his style of writing which introduces serious matters with a touch of levity。 What I missed in this book is depth in his stories and his lessons。 It seemed to me that each time he fast-forwarded to the lesson that we should take from the story。 He gives the hint that he has the intellect and knowledge I think that Jimmy Carr is honest with what he wrote in this book。 He didn't come across as a didactic， self-aggrandising life-hack guru。 He tells his life story and the lessons he took。 I enjoyed his style of writing which introduces serious matters with a touch of levity。 What I missed in this book is depth in his stories and his lessons。 It seemed to me that each time he fast-forwarded to the lesson that we should take from the story。 He gives the hint that he has the intellect and knowledge to articulate the matters in depth。 It would have been interesting to see him elaborate more on these life lessons。 。。。more
Robert Cullen
，
I thoroughly enjoy Jimmy Carr's other creative works， but found this one a little on the lower end of the spectrum。It's great that he's trying to offer an alternate perspective of himself - that I would imagine most people are surprised that they've offered - but I'm not sure there's much substance here。I don't want to necessarily condemn "celebrity" culture - as I sincerely appreciate and cherish the transformative benefits of comedy - but I will have to consider the somewhat embarrassing possi I thoroughly enjoy Jimmy Carr's other creative works， but found this one a little on the lower end of the spectrum。It's great that he's trying to offer an alternate perspective of himself - that I would imagine most people are surprised that they've offered - but I'm not sure there's much substance here。I don't want to necessarily condemn "celebrity" culture - as I sincerely appreciate and cherish the transformative benefits of comedy - but I will have to consider the somewhat embarrassing possibility that I fell victim to said culture in this instance。I wrote this review approximately a month or so after reading it and unfortunately I can't really put my finger on anything that has "changed my life"。Fancy a bit of a laugh and some gentle， tongue in cheek life advice that may offend the delicate？ Add this to the shelf when you've exhausted your reading list。 。。。more
John
，
good advice with a good laugh。 A few kneeslappers here。
Frances Gilman
，
The audio book is superb。 More “thoughtful life tips” than laugh out loud funny （although I did spit my coffee out a few times！） - brilliant。 Recommended。
Aaron Gillie
，
Something of a padded-out book of quotations。 I don’t necessarily mean that in a negative way。 There is nothing to hate in this book， and Jimmy’s narration on the audio version is perfectly charming。 There are interesting and sometimes moving insights into his life and his journey， but they seem overshadowed by the well-meaning triteness of a lot of the prose。 I hope whoever reads/listens to this book will be able to take something positive from it。 I had no quarrels with the content， but the le Something of a padded-out book of quotations。 I don’t necessarily mean that in a negative way。 There is nothing to hate in this book， and Jimmy’s narration on the audio version is perfectly charming。 There are interesting and sometimes moving insights into his life and his journey， but they seem overshadowed by the well-meaning triteness of a lot of the prose。 I hope whoever reads/listens to this book will be able to take something positive from it。 I had no quarrels with the content， but the lessons found within can be gained by reading the likes of Sam Harris， Mark Manson， or even Yuval Noah Harari。 。。。more
georgiatheG
，
A good perk up and boost。 I have a greater respect for Jimmy Carr， his commitment to his craft is no joke。 The podcast he did with Steven Bartlett is amazing， specifically for people paving their way to a creative career https://youtu。be/roROKlZhZyo A good perk up and boost。 I have a greater respect for Jimmy Carr， his commitment to his craft is no joke。 The podcast he did with Steven Bartlett is amazing， specifically for people paving their way to a creative career https://youtu。be/roROKlZhZyo 。。。more
Tom Edwards
，
Wow This was actually way better than I was expecting it to be。 Very few books that I've come across move you as skilfully between happy and sad as this book does。 As you would expect there are a lot of jokes and funny moments in this book， but it also touches on some very horrible times in Carr's life， and also gets in a few philosophic points as well。 Would certainly recommend。 Wow This was actually way better than I was expecting it to be。 Very few books that I've come across move you as skilfully between happy and sad as this book does。 As you would expect there are a lot of jokes and funny moments in this book， but it also touches on some very horrible times in Carr's life， and also gets in a few philosophic points as well。 Would certainly recommend。 。。。more
Medziplanetarna
，
Taka polo motivacna kniha s par vtipmi。 Cakal som sice nieco ine ale v pohode
Dave B
，
Very average with only occasional funny parts。
Lou
，
If you aren’t a fan this probably won’t land but I loved it
Sarah Jane Carpenter
，
Absolutely loved this - I would highly recommend reading！ It a mixture of life sessions， insights & of course Jimmy Carr’s humour。
Marles Henry
，
Sometimes you need to laugh， or else you'll cry at some of the things that happen in life。 Jimmy Carr may not be everyone's cup of tea （and he is a teetotaller） but I know I am always thoroughly entertained。 This is the second of his books I've read， and I thought I'd highlight some of the pearls of wisdom that spoke to me。 "If you don't think about what you want， how will you know when you get it？""Humour doesn't make light of serious situations， it enables us to move forward in spite of how se Sometimes you need to laugh， or else you'll cry at some of the things that happen in life。 Jimmy Carr may not be everyone's cup of tea （and he is a teetotaller） but I know I am always thoroughly entertained。 This is the second of his books I've read， and I thought I'd highlight some of the pearls of wisdom that spoke to me。 "If you don't think about what you want， how will you know when you get it？""Humour doesn't make light of serious situations， it enables us to move forward in spite of how serious things are。""Never mind your 'Who's going let you？' thinking， ask yourself 'Who's going stop you？'"Life is full of shit - but there's a reward for getting through it。 Sometimes it's just the lesson。"This book was a cross between self-help and a critique of self-help。 It's a bit weird and reflective and funny all at once。 It's not groundbreaking; it is punctuated with laughs， eyerolls and smirks。 You might be too busy laughing to take the advice seriously， but it makes sense。 And it made me smile， ha haaa！ 。。。more
Aaron Webb
，
Great insight into Jimmys life。 Listened to the audio book & found it surprisingly down to earth。 Top stuff
Kerry Henderson
，
Jimmy Carr talks about his life and the lessons he's learned from it。 This was a fun read and actually imparts some valid logic and suggestions。 It wasn't quite as funny as I'd hoped it would be but at times I was laughing out loud。 Gives the reader a good insight into things that have affected him。 Makes him more relatable and worth a read for any fan of his。 Jimmy Carr talks about his life and the lessons he's learned from it。 This was a fun read and actually imparts some valid logic and suggestions。 It wasn't quite as funny as I'd hoped it would be but at times I was laughing out loud。 Gives the reader a good insight into things that have affected him。 Makes him more relatable and worth a read for any fan of his。 。。。more
Harvey Bradley
，
Great book， well structured and a good flow。
Susan Steed
，
I really enjoyed this book， I love how he talks about comedy， and the way he described how comics come up with 'sticky phrases' that describe something in a way that captures it like you couldn't before。 I think he put it better than that。 Anyway， it's an excellent joke。 I think he described it as something like Eckhart Tolle with dick jokes。 If you Eckhart Tolle， and you like Dick jokes， this is the motivational self help book for you。 I really enjoyed this book， I love how he talks about comedy， and the way he described how comics come up with 'sticky phrases' that describe something in a way that captures it like you couldn't before。 I think he put it better than that。 Anyway， it's an excellent joke。 I think he described it as something like Eckhart Tolle with dick jokes。 If you Eckhart Tolle， and you like Dick jokes， this is the motivational self help book for you。 。。。more
آرزو مقدس
，
So Mr。 Carr wrote a self-help book。 I didn't know this was a self-help book， or I wouldn't have read it。 I loathe self-help books， I judge people who read them to find solutions to their problems and I find them boring and utterly stupid， not that I have read many， or any。But predictably this book is funny and the fact that it's based on a real person's experiences and not just bullshitty abstract dos and don'ts makes it sound normal and readable。Naturally， I absolutely enjoyed the nonstop flow So Mr。 Carr wrote a self-help book。 I didn't know this was a self-help book， or I wouldn't have read it。 I loathe self-help books， I judge people who read them to find solutions to their problems and I find them boring and utterly stupid， not that I have read many， or any。But predictably this book is funny and the fact that it's based on a real person's experiences and not just bullshitty abstract dos and don'ts makes it sound normal and readable。Naturally， I absolutely enjoyed the nonstop flow of profanity。I loved the fact that he mentions these are mostly first world problems， in the third world people would burn this book either to keep warm or so that the thought-police wouldn't catch them reading it。 （or something to that effect。 As much as I'd like to think otherwise， technically it's almost true。）This is not a politically correct book because the writer isn't a politically correct person， so if you're into that kind of stuff or get easily offended， it's not for you。I can't believe I'm giving 4 stars to a self-help book。 。。。more
Huw Williams
，
Some interesting insights into Jimmy's life and career， although I was expecting more。 Interesting view on life， especially considering where he came from， although it does feel a bit rushed and tends to jump all over the place at points。 Some interesting insights into Jimmy's life and career， although I was expecting more。 Interesting view on life， especially considering where he came from， although it does feel a bit rushed and tends to jump all over the place at points。 。。。more
Ciarán Murray
，
Absolutely brilliant。 This book is a great mix of Jimmy Carr's humour & insights dip into the self-help genre。 If you want to get into self-help but without the cosmic bs seen in some book I would recommend it！ Absolutely brilliant。 This book is a great mix of Jimmy Carr's humour & insights dip into the self-help genre。 If you want to get into self-help but without the cosmic bs seen in some book I would recommend it！ 。。。more
Gianluca Truda
，
tldr; If you have 4-6 hours to spend， you’ll learn a lot and laugh a lot from this audiobook。 I find Jimmy’s standup and hosting really engaging — lots of double-twist punchlines and superb use of dark humour。 After I listened to his conversation with Jordan Peterson， I became more intrigued by his approach to life and work， so I checked out his new book。I was expecting to find it reasonably good， but ended up immensely enjoying it。 Listening to the self-narrated audiobook version is essential — tldr; If you have 4-6 hours to spend， you’ll learn a lot and laugh a lot from this audiobook。 I find Jimmy’s standup and hosting really engaging — lots of double-twist punchlines and superb use of dark humour。 After I listened to his conversation with Jordan Peterson， I became more intrigued by his approach to life and work， so I checked out his new book。I was expecting to find it reasonably good， but ended up immensely enjoying it。 Listening to the self-narrated audiobook version is essential — you get his real delivery of each line。 I frequently laughed out loud。It’s not the most profound piece of literature ever produced， but the 40% of it that’s self-help-ish was actually deeply insightful， and the 50% that’s autobiographical was mostly interesting showbiz anecdotes — especially if you follow British panel shows。 The remaining 10% is a sprinkling of one-line zingers that brought a levity and energy to the audiobook and made it impossible to quit listening to。 If you don’t like Jimmy and his humour， this might not be your thing。 But his life journey has had a lot more to it than I expected and his approach to handling the highs and lows was refreshing to me。 For instance， he spent a lot of time exploring the differences between “sadness” and “depression” in a very helpful way， before pointing out that suicide doesn’t make the pain go away， it just spreads it out over the surviving loved ones。 I’d never seen the topic explored from that angle before and it resonated with me。 He also has some great perspectives on making radical life pivots later in the game。 That was quite helpful as I go through my “quarter-life crisis” years。 Carr has great dichotomies- Decide if you’re charismatic or charming （Trump vs Obama， Jolie vs Anniston， McConaughey vs Harrelson） and then focus on that。 - Fame vs celebrity （famous for what you’ve done， celebrity for who you are）。- Fair-weather friends vs foul-weather friends。 Who calls you when you get cancelled for tax avoidance？ - Jealousy makes you bitter， but envy makes you motivated。Jimmy succumbs to the trope of using extensive quotes between subchapters。 In this case， it totally works for two reasons。 Firstly， he picks absolute zingers！ Secondly， he does little additional comments when reading them which broke me out in laughter several times。 One section in particular challenged me — a high-performing dilettante — to question my whole philosophy on skill development。 Jimmy encourages the listener to identify their edge and then specialise ferociously。 Generalists almost never make it to the big leagues。 （Your edge is the thing other people are jealous/envious of。 When you’re young， add energy and optimism to that。） 。。。more
Lucas
，
The best part of the book is when Jimmy Carr gives personal anecdotes like in a traditional autobiography。 But this isn’t really an autobiography and more of a self help book。 As a self help book it didn’t really grab me。 It was funny and well read by Carr， but I hope he writes a more traditional autobiography。
Beau Stucki
，
Open enough in some aspects to make up for being closed in others。 Irreverent & crass， also sincere & quotable。 Both funny & practical， making it revisitable。
Tim Armitage
，
An unorthodox take on the memoir format。 I thought this was a great tale of Carr leaving a safe， secure albeit largely unsatisfying corporate job to pursue comedy full-time。 It doesn’t sugar coat the process but makes an argument that investing in your future happiness is the ultimate use of one’s time。 Pretty difficult to argue against。
Ash Alex
，
I read this after listening to Jimmy Carr's interview with Dr。 Jordan Peterson。 It was a nice memoire clouded with generic self help。 I read this after listening to Jimmy Carr's interview with Dr。 Jordan Peterson。 It was a nice memoire clouded with generic self help。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Before & Laughter
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Before & Laughter&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Before & Laughter&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0