The Funny Pages: 1,473 Jokes From Today's Funniest Comedians [Paperback]

Judy Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2002

The search for the perfect funny tidbit on virtually any topic can start and finish by letting your fingers do the walking through a copy of The Funny Pages. This fresh 304-page collection assembles quips from the country's top comedians of the last three decades. Cataloged and alphabetized by subject, it puts the well-timed joke or zinger just a flip of a page away. George Carlin on the Death Penalty: "You know the good part about all those executions in Texas? Fewer Texans." Jay Leno on Politics: "The reason there are two senators for each state is so that one can be the designated driver." Rita Rudner on Shopping: "Some women hold up dresses that are so ugly, and they always say the same thing: "This looks much better on." On what? On fire?" Dennis Leary on Geography: "I think we should take Iraq and Iran and combine them into one country and call it Irate. All the pissed-off people can live in one place and get it over with." When it comes to identifying good jokes and funny observations, few are more qualified than author Judy Brown. There's plenty to laugh at and reflect on in The Funny Pages. Whether you're a speechwriter, student, businessperson, or someone who just appreciates great humor, you're sure to find what you're looking for in this humor-reference book and joke collection rolled into one.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judy Brown is the author of Joke Soup and Joke Stew. She was a contributing writer and comedy critic for the L.A. Weekly for more than a dozen years, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times Syndicate, Mademoiselle, and a wide range of other publications. She lives in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (September 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740726862
• ISBN-13: 978-0740726866
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,587,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!, November 22, 2004

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Funny Pages: 1,473 Jokes From Today's Funniest Comedians (Paperback)

There are Joke Books,and there are Joke Books.All in all this one is pretty good.It is, however, somewhat different in a few ways.It has 1,473 jokes by 330 different comedians.One thing good about the book is that the author has included a brief note about each comedian at the end of the book.This is good,since many of the names were obscure or unknown to me.The jokes are arranged by subject,which is good and common in most joke books.It does not,however, give an index by comedian.This is not so good;and would be a good idea to note beside the comedians name in the appendix,the pages on which their jokes appear;this is normally provided.
The jokes selected seem to come mainly from recent TV shows and Sitcoms;though not exclusively.They are almost all one-line statement jokes as opposed to story jokes like,"Did you hear the one about..?"
I get the impression that most of the jokes are written by writers and there is little or no personality associated with the comedian who tells it.Roger Dangerfield's are an exception as his material "belongs"to him.This is also true of Twain and Skelton.It seems that today ,most entertainment is written by someone for someone else and thus lacks the personal touch or individuality that you get when material is self-created.
Bunker,Gleason Myron Cohen,Lewis and Martin were not included;but Fields,Paulson,Skelton ,Twain and Hope were;I wonder why.
At least the author ignored the foul-mouthed stuff that is so common with stand-up comics today on the Comedy Networks ,and the book is better for it.It doesn't take bad language to make good humor;Twain,Gleason,Skelton,Dangerfield,Bunker and Mark Russell are proof of that.
Like I said,the jokes chosen seem to be mainly West Coast, Late Night Show ,TV Sitcom type and little or no Hillbilly,Country Bumpkin,Irish or Jewish Humor,Military,Insults,Dumb Blondes,etc.
I sure hope this is not an indication of how far wacky ideas of Political Correctness has gone.
I doubt that Mark Twain,Hal Roach,Myron Cohen ever told tales to hurt anyone.They put forth humor ;not agendas.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Each gag is short but sweet, and packs a punch, January 3, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Funny Pages: 1,473 Jokes From Today's Funniest Comedians (Paperback)

Painstakingly compiled by Judy Brown (contributing writer and comedy critic for LA Weekley), The Funny Pages is an impressive and hilarious collection of 1,473 jokes gathered from the funniest modern-day comedians around, ranging from Robin Williams to Bill Cosby, George Burns, Conan O'Brien, and many, many more. The individual jokes are arranged by topic underneath dictionary-style headings. From Alcohol to Yoga and Zoos; each gag is short but sweet, and packs a punch in this chuckle-inducing, highly recommended anthology of wit, gags, and humor both classic and cutting edge.

1.0 out of 5 stars You are better off watching late night talk shows, May 4, 2010

By 

Bo Lansky "BL" (LA, California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Funny Pages: 1,473 Jokes From Today's Funniest Comedians (Paperback)

I bought this book thinking it would give me "the greatest hits" of several comedians. I thought I would find jokes that I would want to write down or retell to my friends but these jokes are mostly appropriate for the clean late night talk show audience. Most of the jokes are from Steven Wright, Jay Leno, Letterman, Conan, Bill Maher and the like. I imagine the author sat in front off her TV and wrote down as many jokes as she could to fill this 282 page book with 1,473 jokes. The jokes are categorized by topics such as "Age", "Marriage", "Military" but I would rather have broader categories such as one "Illness" instead of separate categories like "Disease" and "Humidifiers" (only one joke found here).

I give this book 1 star because most of the jokes are not usable among your friends, most are not funny and they don't express witty banter and how the jokes can be used in certain situations.

Some of my favorites:
"On my 16th birthday my parents tried to surprise me with a car, but they missed." - Tom Cotter
"I have a body of an 18 year old. I keep it in the fridge." - Spike Milligan
"I went to bed with a model. Not bragging or anything; it took me all night to glue it together." - Buzz Nutley

3 Random Jokes:
"I bought an ant farm. I don't know where I'm gonna find a tractor that small." - Steven Wright
"Someday I want to be rich. Some people get so rich they lose all respect for humanity. That's how rich I want to be." - Rita Rudner
"This is the 30th anniversary of Amtrak, whose motto is 'We treat every trip as though it's your last." - Jay Leno