To share your reaction on this item, open the Amazon app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone.

Add Prime to get Fast, Free delivery

Kindle
$7.99

Available instantly

Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial

Hardcover
$19.61

Paperback
$15.85

$19.61 with 25 percent savings

List Price: $26.00

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Friday, January 31 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 18 hrs 41 mins

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$19.61 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

shinystars

Returns

30-day refund/replacement

Payment

Secure transaction

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Add to List

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

$19.61 with 25 percent savings

List Price: $26.00

FREE pickup Friday, January 31 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest pickup Thursday, January 30. Order within 18 hrs 41 mins

Amazon Locker - Pyrus

1.76 mi | Ashburn 20147

How pickup works

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$19.61 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Sold by

shinystars

Returns

30-day refund/replacement

Payment

Secure transaction

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (41) from $1.02 + $3.99 shipping

Marc Maron on "Attempting Normal"Merchant Video

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

VIDEO

Follow the author

Marc Maron

Follow

Attempting Normal Hardcover – April 30, 2013

by Marc Maron (Author)

4.3 1,684 ratings

Editors' pick Best Biographies & Memoirs

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$19.61","priceAmount":19.61,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"19","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"61","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ItobhwNZdCALZESorscnC7dVxIK7VkrAadfKtWljLHkPUzUk%2FJDH0ZkvlsiCjC4FnY03uRUuzsdzDZba%2FErhW491GQkc1EixTINZnBqROR8lC%2F980VrFlUdNR9FxaKnmwOTgBWSM6r%2FFrukI2nA1s0QfXw7Tx8f303ayIeTRorcmgibBjJJgODAuQ2mHc8ob","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}],"desktop_buybox_group_2":[{"displayPrice":"$19.61","priceAmount":19.61,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"19","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"61","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ItobhwNZdCALZESorscnC7dVxIK7VkrAadfKtWljLHkPUzUk%2FJDH0ZkvlsiCjC4FnY03uRUuzsdzDZba%2FErhW491GQkc1EixTINZnBqROR8lC%2F980VrFlUdNR9FxaKnmwOTgBWSM6r%2FFrukI2nA1s0QfXw7Tx8f303ayIeTRorcmgibBjJJgODAuQ2mHc8ob","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"PICKUP","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":2}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

People make a mess.

Marc Maron was a parent-scarred, angst-filled, drug-dabbling, love-starved comedian who dreamed of a simple life: a wife, a home, a sitcom to call his own. But instead he woke up one day to find himself fired from his radio job, surrounded by feral cats, and emotionally and financially annihilated by a divorce from a woman he thought he loved. He tried to heal his broken heart through whatever means he could find—minor-league hoarding, Viagra addiction, accidental racial profiling, cat fancying, flying airplanes with his mind—but nothing seemed to work. It was only when he was stripped down to nothing that he found his way back.

Attempting Normal is Marc Maron’s journey through the wilderness of his own mind, a collection of explosively, painfully, addictively funny stories that add up to a moving tale of hope and hopelessness, of failing, flailing, and finding a way. From standup to television to his outrageously popular podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, Marc has always been a genuine original, a disarmingly honest, intensely smart, brutally open comic who finds wisdom in the strangest places. This is his story of the winding, potholed road from madness and obsession and failure to something like normal, the thrillingly comic journey of a sympathetic f***up who’s trying really hard to do better without making a bigger mess. Most of us will relate.

Praise for Attempting Normal

“I laughed so hard reading this book.”—David Sedaris

“Funny . . . surprisingly deep . . . laced with revelatory insights.”—Los Angeles Times

“Superb . . . A reason that [it] is a superior example of an overcrowded genre—the comedian memoir—is Mr. Maron’s hardheaded approach to his history, the wisdom of experience.”—The New York Times

“Marc Maron is a legend because he is both a great comic and a brilliant mind. Attempting Normal is a deep, hilarious megashot of feeling and truth as only this man can administer.”—Sam Lipsyte

Praise for Marc Maron and WTF

“The stuff of comedy legend.”—Rolling Stone

“Marc Maron is a startlingly honest, compelling, and hilarious comedian-poet. Truly one of the greatest of all time.”—Louis C.K.

“I’ve known Marc for years and I can tell you first hand that he’s passionate, fearless, honest, self-absorbed, neurotic, and screamingly funny.”—David Cross

“Revered among his peers . . . raw and unflinchingly honest.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Devastatingly funny.”—Los Angeles Times

“For a comedy nerd, this show is nirvana.”—Judd Apatow

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Attempting Normal

“I laughed so hard reading this book.”—David Sedaris

“Funny . . . surprisingly deep . . . laced with revelatory insights.”—Los Angeles Times

“Superb . . . A reason that [it] is a superior example of an overcrowded genre—the comedian memoir—is Mr. Maron’s hardheaded approach to his history, the wisdom of experience.”—The New York Times

“Marc Maron is a legend because he is both a great comic and a brilliant mind. Attempting Normal is a deep, hilarious megashot of feeling and truth as only this man can administer.”—Sam Lipsyte

Praise for Marc Maron and WTF

“The stuff of comedy legend.”—Rolling Stone

“Marc Maron is a startlingly honest, compelling, and hilarious comedian-poet. Truly one of the greatest of all time.”—Louis C.K.

“I’ve known Marc for years and I can tell you first hand that he’s passionate, fearless, honest, self-absorbed, neurotic, and screamingly funny.”—David Cross

“Revered among his peers . . . raw and unflinchingly honest.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Devastatingly funny.”—Los Angeles Times

“For a comedy nerd, this show is nirvana.”—Judd Apatow

About the Author

Marc Maron is a stand-up comedian and host of the podcast WTF with Marc Maron. He has appeared in his own comedy specials on Comedy Central, HBO, and Netflix, and his sitcom, Maron, airs on IFC. He lives in Los Angeles.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

The Situation in My Head

I had a bad run-in with myself on a plane recently. I had just flown from Dublin to Chicago and hadn’t slept much. I was strung out. Tired. Tweaky. I changed planes in Chicago to fly to Los Angeles. Things were vibrating and I was edgy. I was in the exhaustion zone, feeling the kind of tired you can’t sleep off because you can’t sleep, because your blood is pumping caffeinated dread and loathing.

I was seated at the front of coach in an aisle seat, directly behind the first-class dividing wall and the flight attendant service area. It’s my favorite seat on a plane. I like watching people get on the plane so I can judge them. I like judging. I didn’t see any real problems among the passengers who awkwardly clumped onto the plane, but I definitely felt like I was in a better place than some of them, which helped take the edge off my mood. Judging works.

We took off. The flight attendants were strapped in almost directly in front of me, facing me. I always scan their faces for fear. I rarely see it. When I do see something dark flicker across their faces, it usually seems like it has nothing to do with the job. More likely something personal that followed them onto the plane. But then again, what do I know. I project. Then I judge.

The crew seemed pleasant. One woman in particular seemed genuinely nice: blond hair, about fifty, pretty in the classic California way. I always wonder when I see older flight attendants if they’ve been at it since the seventies, when things were crazy. Did she ever have sex in a cockpit? Did she survive a crash? Get tied up in a hijacking? Did she ever have sex in a bathroom with a passenger? With the pilot? I like to give my flight attendants a bit of backstory. I decided she was an out-of-control instigator of major in-flight mayhem back in the day. She got through it disease-free and didn’t end up in rehab. She started a family, her husband had a drug problem he couldn’t kick and left her, but she did all right. The husband had a lot of money, so she’s good. Humble and wise. She lives in Topanga with a few big dogs. Her kids are in college. Only a few people know her from her old life and one of them is the pilot on the flight I am on. That’s who I made the flight attendant up to be.

Once we were up in the air I was crawling out of my skin. I couldn’t sleep and had definitely had enough of flying. I needed to walk around and judge. I walked down the aisle toward the back of the plane in hopes of going to the bathroom. I didn’t really have to go but sometimes it’s just nice to lock yourself in the bathroom of a plane and take a few minutes to look in the mirror. I reached the door of the bathroom and the little lock indicator said Vacant, but there was a man standing in front of the door. Hanging out, I guess. He was a Middle Eastern–looking man, olive-skinned with Semitic features—a dubious shade of brown. I looked at him and gave him a raised-eyebrow grunt, asking if he was waiting. He looked me right in the eye but didn’t speak for a moment. Then he shook his head no. It was a simple gesture, but seemed ominous and cryptic. I couldn’t understand why he was standing there. In retrospect he was probably just doing what I was doing. Stretching, moving around. But in that moment, when I looked into his eyes, fear shot through me. I was sure that this guy was up to something. He had that look in his eye. Scheming, driven, full of will and sacrifice. He was clearly Palestinian or Saudi and we were all in trouble. The worst of it was that I was sure I was the only one on the plane who knew that something truly awful was about to happen. I knew and he knew I knew. I could see it in that quick glance he shot me letting me know that he wasn’t going into the bathroom. No, he was going into the cockpit. It was that kind of look.

I didn’t go into the bathroom. I lingered around in the rear flight attendant station thinking, watching, figuring out what had to be done. The suspicious-looking, dubious-shade-of-brown man started making his way down the aisle. I decided to follow him. I found out very quickly that it’s hard to discreetly follow someone on an aircraft. I gave him about ten steps, then I started pacing behind him down the aisle toward the front of the plane. He walked right through the division between the classes, from coach into business. I stopped in the service area, afraid to cross the class line, and watched him disappear behind the curtain. I was completely panicked. I knew he was heading for the cockpit. I hadn’t figured out what his plan was but I knew we were all in trouble and no else knew. I had to save us. I pulled the curtain back and focused intently on the man moving toward the front of the plane. I can only imagine what my face looked like or what kind of panic vibrations were peeling off me as I stood there trying to figure out a plan, my brain working the angles.

“Is everything okay, sir?”

It was the flight attendant, the one who’d been through some shit and come out on the other side. I turned. She looked concerned. Some part of me knew I couldn’t spill everything, that she wouldn’t understand if I just babbled out everything I knew. So this came out of my mouth:

“Uh, well, there’s . . . a situation. In my head.”

“Maybe you should sit down, sir,” she said, concerned, like I was the one with a problem.

“Um. I think we . . . okay. Yeah, okay,” I said, letting go of my horrible knowledge and the impending crisis for a moment. “I’ll sit down. But . . . okay.”

I sat down in my seat, my brain still feverishly running scenarios. I knew what was happening. I saw it in my mind. The dubious-shaded-brown man was already in the cockpit. He had on a pair of rubber gloves that had been soaked in an ancient toxin that he had achieved immunity to by exposing himself to it in small doses over the last year. He had already touched the neck of the pilot and copilot, who were in full cardiac arrest with a pinkish white foam coming out of their mouths as they gasped and writhed in their final throes. The man was moments away from taking control of the plane, plummeting us to a lower altitude, and putting us on a flight path into the target of his choice.

I don’t make pretty pictures. Sometimes I wish my imagination were fueled by something other than panic and dread. But I don’t have control over my gift. It has control over me and I am dragged by it more often than not, away from the idyllic land of normal and onto the jagged shores of self-destruction. Imagining the worst has always been a great comfort to me. If there is turbulence there is an imminent crash. If she doesn’t pick up the phone, she is fucking someone. If there is a lump it is a tumor. By thinking like this I protect myself from disappointment. And if anything other than the worst-case scenario unfolds, what a pleasant surprise! The problem is that I am always walking around preparing for and reacting to the horrors of what my brain is making up, living as if every potential terror and every defeat were already happening—because in my mind, it always is. I think if I could just create a series of characters to enact all the heinous possibilities my brain manufactures to insulate me from joy, then I would be using my creativity in a safer way. I see maybe an animated series or perhaps several epic paintings, large canvases. I’m talking the whole wall of the gallery big.

I don’t like animation and I’m not a painter. All I can do is imagine these horrors and share them with you.

I sat in my seat powerless, waiting for the plunge. I was squinting hard and clutching the armrests when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see the entire flight crew standing over me. The one who seemed to be the leader, a hard-looking woman, asked, “Are you all right, sir? Do you need medical attention?” The kind flight attendant had betrayed me and now stood behind the monster in an apron who was interrogating me. I wondered how I became the problem. If they only knew what was about to happen they would be thanking me for being the one person perceptive enough to see it. I was actually hoping that we’d lurch into a sudden descent at that moment. I was hoping that they would all go flying toward the back of the plane, screaming and thumping along the ceiling. Then they’d know I was right.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0812992873
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Spiegel & Grau; F First Edition (April 30, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780812992878
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812992878
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.86 x 1.02 x 8.54 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,796,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13,791 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies
- #41,965 in Humor (Books)
- #51,710 in Memoirs (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 1,684 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Marc Maron

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Products related to this item

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Customer reviews

1,684 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Review this product

Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book entertaining and funny. They describe it as a compelling, fun read that makes them think. Readers appreciate the author's honesty and relatability. The writing is engaging and easy to read. They find the book intelligent and interesting, providing a good introduction for Marc Maron fans.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

Humor Readability Insight Honesty Writing quality Intelligence Pacing Neurotic content

187 customers mention "Humor"177 positive10 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and funny. They say it tugs at their heartstrings and makes them laugh out loud. The author is described as a true comedian who says what we all feel. Overall, readers describe the book as an enjoyable read that keeps them engaged.

"...his life story pages are witty, funny, and yes SERIOUS FUNNY too! he really shows you how malleable the human soul is!..." Read more

"...His book is a funny , wickedly honest version about being Marc Maron , in all it's trials , tribulations and pain that he carries around with him ...." Read more

"...Well, it kind of is. But it’s funny and it’s smart and it puts into words a lot of the things I wish I could talk about in my own writing...." Read more

"...I was lucky to find his HBO special on demand, and it was as hilarious as I remembered. His podcasts are equally entertaining...." Read more

112 customers mention "Readability"107 positive5 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They describe it as a compelling and fun read that explores themes of hope and fears. The author is described as talented but needs a filter.

"...Just finished the audiobook and it was spectacular! his life story pages are witty, funny, and yes SERIOUS FUNNY too! he really shows you..." Read more

"...It was a good read , I found myself laughing out loud a few times...." Read more

"...So how is it? To summarize up front...it's brilliant. To call it a memoir wouldn't be accurate...." Read more

"...make this a compelling read...." Read more

100 customers mention "Insight"91 positive9 negative

Customers find the book insightful and funny. They appreciate Marc's ability to take life experiences and break them down in a kind of comedic way. The book is an interesting collection of essays and stories about his life and career. It's poignant, filled with honest reflections, and is full of terrific stories and ruminations that make you smile a lot.

"...Hearing him almost daily on the radio or internets, Marc is deep! super deep!..." Read more

"...Mr Maron is a smart , insightful person , a wonderful interviewer , and really gets the most from his interview subjects...." Read more

"...Through all his musings and misadventures, he proves himself to be very self-aware and accepting, owning all the s***ty things he’s done, but still..." Read more

"...What sets this book apart is that it's more than funny - it's poignant. Maron's humor goes beyond the underwhelming size of airline snacks...." Read more

70 customers mention "Honesty"66 positive4 negative

Customers appreciate the author's honesty and openness about his life and battles with addiction. They find him relatable and unapologetic about who he is. The book is described as funny and honest, with a dry wit.

"...to the plateau of many many walks of his own life, is relatable on a cosmic level..." Read more

"...His book is a funny , wickedly honest version about being Marc Maron , in all it's trials , tribulations and pain that he carries around with him ...." Read more

"...The stories he tells in this book are real and compelling and some of them cut to the very core of the human condition...." Read more

"..."Attempting Normal" is a hilarious, bitter, bemused, brutally honest self-examination by a man who hit rock bottom and clawed his way back out in a..." Read more

47 customers mention "Writing quality"47 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's writing engaging and easy to read. They appreciate the author's true voice and witty storytelling style. The book provides a concise, accurate, and funny memoir.

"...Just finished the audiobook and it was spectacular! his life story pages are witty, funny, and yes SERIOUS FUNNY too! he really shows you..." Read more

"...Like all good comedians, he’s a great storyteller. His writing is intelligent and insightful and I’m glad to have found it...." Read more

"..."Attempting Normal" is a hilarious, bitter, bemused, brutally honest self-examination by a man who hit rock bottom and clawed his way back out in a..." Read more

"...It's a very concise and accurate answer to the age-old question. He demonstrates a broad intellect in passages like that...." Read more

18 customers mention "Intelligence"18 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's intelligence. They find it smart and funny, praising the author as intelligent and interesting. The book is described as a good introduction for fans of Marc Maron.

"...an extremely interesting (if almost tragic) life and he's an extremely intelligent and interesting person, offering some great insights...." Read more

"...Great intro to Marc, with a few extra stories, but not really for the WTF crowd as it retells already told tales." Read more

"...Because Marc is great. So buy this book because this guy deserves all the success he can get. He is a good and funny guy. Trust me on this...." Read more

"...Great read. Well written. And the speech at the end ... pure Maron!" Read more

16 customers mention "Pacing"16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's pacing good. They describe it as honest, raw, and relatable. The humor is insightful, and the book is an enjoyable read with good pacing.

"...I expected this book to be raw, honest and self loathing at times, which it certainly is, however I did not expect it to be so well written and..." Read more

"Every once in great while I stumble upon a book that is so well crafted and that I can relate to, that I'm certain to read it again...." Read more

"...level of self-awareness and, at times, self-flagellation makes for a quick and interesting read...." Read more

"This book is so much more than I thought it would be. It is raw, passionate and sincere. I could not stop reading...." Read more

17 customers mention "Neurotic content"10 positive7 negative

Customers have different views on the neurotic content. Some find it funny and raw, allowing Marc more time to reflect on his neurotic episodes than on stage. They say it makes them feel less crazy and saves their sanity. Others describe the author as self-obsessed, psychology disturbed, and a narcissist.

"...In this book, Marc is allowed more time to reflect on his neurotic episodes than he is afforded on stage on in the garage...." Read more

"...This man is a totally despicable person, but he’s smart enough to realize it and honest enough to admit it...." Read more

"...I expected this book to be raw, honest and self loathing at times, which it certainly is, however I did not expect it to be so well written and..." Read more

"...your money or time on this pathetic rambling by this miserable, narcissist, crass, moron...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

HomerKSA
this book should be called: bigger brother know how!
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2013
Verified Purchase
i am definitely biased as i write this review! Marc has been a savior, an inspiration, and a "real" human being! I first turn on to his show WTF back when i myself was going through the HAVOC of those 1st 2nd and 3rd "mid life" scenarios of my own! Hearing him almost daily on the radio or internets, Marc is deep! super deep! i have yet to come across a comedian (besides George carline - God bless his soul) who would be so so so real grounded!

Just finished the audiobook and it was spectacular! his life story pages are witty, funny, and yes SERIOUS FUNNY too! he really shows you
how malleable the human soul is! we indeed as "human beings" on this planet really are supposed to give each other hope!

The lens and its filters which Marc brings to the plateau of many many walks of his own life, is relatable on a cosmic level (cohesively that would include international sitting saps like my self and many of my close friend! ) I encourage everyone especially in these "human trying times" to get this book and listen to Marc's WTF!

it will move the deepest crevasses of your soul! the Marc Platform will make you: smile, laugh, get mad, get happy, empathize, sympathize and maybe even learn a few things about being a "road worrier!"

Bless you Marc! you are my hero and bigger brother! (i hope boomer is in a better place - in this timeline or any other cosmic universe!)

Read more

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
mitchco
a candid, honest and funny look into the mind of a comic genius!
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2013
Verified Purchase
I have been listening to Marc Maron on his "WTF" podcast for a couple of years now , and I always find something new to like about it. Mr Maron is a smart , insightful person , a wonderful interviewer , and really gets the most from his interview subjects. I have also seen him live doing his standup act , and , I think he is one of the funniest , most honest comedians working today.His book is a funny , wickedly honest version about being Marc Maron , in all it's trials , tribulations and pain that he carries around with him . It was a good read , I found myself laughing out loud a few times. although , I had previously heard some of the chapters in some of his bits , either on TV , or in person , it didn't make reading them any less funny .He is an original voice , and I hope his current success with his new IFC show , and his other ventures continues.

Read more

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
SB
Read this book.
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2016
Verified Purchase
A lot of ATTEMPTING NORMAL addresses my questions for comedians: “Why are you like this?” and “What happened to you?” The answers I find are doozies. Surprise, he’s got crazy parents. Isn’t that always part of the reason? He’s a former addict, a recovering rageaholic, and, twice divorced. The stories he tells in this book are real and compelling and some of them cut to the very core of the human condition. Like all good comedians, he’s a great storyteller. His writing is intelligent and insightful and I’m glad to have found it. I think this guy’s got a good heart, too. Through all his musings and misadventures, he proves himself to be very self-aware and accepting, owning all the s***ty things he’s done, but still in the fight, trying to be a better person, to make some bigger contribution. The big takeaway from this book, kind of the catch-phrase, if you will, is, “people make a mess.” And then they go on.

“I look at every book as a self-help book,” Maron says. Yeah, I get that. I read this book looking for what I’m supposed to do next. (Kidding. Kind of.)

It’s not all doom and gloom, this book.

Well, it kind of is. But it’s funny and it’s smart and it puts into words a lot of the things I wish I could talk about in my own writing.

“We’re all carrying around some s***. When you hear the things people have gone through and realize you’ve gone through the same, it provides an amazing amount of relief. It give us hope. And I think that’s what we’re supposed to get from each other. The hope that, maybe, just maybe, we’re going to be okay. Maybe.” ― Marc Maron, Attempting Normal

Read more

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Debbie Hadala
Good book if you like Marc Maron
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
I recently saw Marc on Real Time with Bill Maher. I remembered him from a One Night Stand special on HBO years ago. I was lucky to find his HBO special on demand, and it was as hilarious as I remembered. His podcasts are equally entertaining. I bought his book because since I enjoyed his comedy so much, I wanted to get to know him better. His book accomplishes that. It's not a great work of art, but if you want to get to know Marc better, I highly recommend it. This is the first ebook I've purchased with audio clips. It was great to hear Marc's voice speaking about the topic you've just read. His book also reminded me of his show on IFC, which I hope to start watching soon. I need more of Marc's comedy in my life!!!

Read more

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

dt
Maron fails and rules
Reviewed in France on June 11, 2022
Verified Purchase
Great read. Great comedian

Read more
Report
Eheca
Never thought he would write as good as he talks.
Reviewed in Mexico on January 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
Love Marc Maron therefore I thought I was going to love his book, for that solely reason, but I loved it because it is well written too.

Read more
Report
Maikel Sommandas
Een goed verteld verhaal met een melancholische ondertoon
Reviewed in the Netherlands on September 13, 2017
Verified Purchase
Het boek is verdeeld in twee gedeelten. Het eerste gaat over zijn pogingen om normaal te zijn en het tweede deel waarin hij normaal is. De meeste indruk heeft het laatste hoofdstuk op mij gemaakt. Het is een een speech die op een festival gegeven heeft. Als je wilt weten of het boek iets voor je is, dan raad ik je aan om dat hoofdstuk te lezen voor je het boek koopt.

Read more
Report
Translate review to English
Lachie Gaudion
Very Enjoyable
Reviewed in Australia on October 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
Great read, read the first 2/3 in one day and then tried to savour the rest. You'll read the whole thing in his voice if you're familiar with his stand-up!

Read more
Report
Amazon Customer
The book is awesome! But the quality of the print is terrible
Reviewed in India on April 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
The book is awesome! But the quality of the print is terrible! The book even arrived with a torn cover!

Read more
Report

See more reviews

Amazon Prime Free Trial

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Follow the author

Attempting Normal Hardcover – April 30, 2013

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

Videos

Videos for this product

About the author

Marc Maron

Products related to this item

Customer reviews

Review this product

Customers say

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

5.0 out of 5 stars this book should be called: bigger brother know how!

4.0 out of 5 stars a candid, honest and funny look into the mind of a comic genius!

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book if you like Marc Maron

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Maron fails and rules

5.0 out of 5 stars Never thought he would write as good as he talks.

3.0 out of 5 stars Een goed verteld verhaal met een melancholische ondertoon

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Enjoyable

5.0 out of 5 stars The book is awesome! But the quality of the print is terrible

this book should be called: bigger brother know how!

a candid, honest and funny look into the mind of a comic genius!

Read this book.

Good book if you like Marc Maron

Maron fails and rules

Never thought he would write as good as he talks.

Een goed verteld verhaal met een melancholische ondertoon

Very Enjoyable

The book is awesome! But the quality of the print is terrible