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Harris Wittels

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Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty Hardcover

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From comedian and writer (Parks and Recreation, Eastbound & Down) Harris Wittels comes a hysterical breakdown of boasts, brags, and self-adulation disguised as humble comments and complaints-based on his popular @humblebrag Twitter feed.

Something immediately annoyed Harris Wittels about Twitter. All of a sudden it was acceptable to brag, so long as those brags were ever-so-thinly disguised as transparent humility, such as:

"Just filed my taxes. Biggie was right, mo money mo problems."

"I hate when I go into a store to get something to eat and the male staff are too busy hitting on me to get my order right :( so annoying!"

Taking action by naming this phenomenon and creating the Twitter account called Humblebrag-dedicated solely to retweeting the humblebrags of others-Wittels's new word took the Internet by storm. Harris also shows readers what humblebrags might look like from some of history's most notable names, as well as devoting an entire chapter to a man who just might be the greatest humblebraggart of them all...

Language

English
Publisher

Grand Central Publishing
Dimensions

5.75 x 1 x 7.63 inches
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Stephanie Wittels Wachs
702
Paperback
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Harris Wittels is a hilarious performer and writer and with this book he has coined a new term for that thing that drives us crazy. But honestly, I don't know how I feel about this whole thing. It makes me nervous." -Amy Poehler

"Great, Harris. This is a really good use of your time." -Mindy Kaling, comedian and NYT bestselling author of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

"HUMBLEBRAG: The Art of False Modesty is an amazing assembly of hilariousness and an anthology of heartbreaking insecurity. Enjoy it-but don't forget how sad it is." -Sarah Silverman, comedian and New York Times bestselling author of The Bedwetter

"I haven't read this, and never intend to, but Harris is my friend, so I feel obligated to give him a 'blurb' for his book. He's a funny writer...I'm sure it's not that bad." -Aziz Ansari, comedian, NBC's Parks and Recreation

"I can't believe they asked me of all people to blurb a bestselling book! Weird." -Bill Simmons, ESPN columnist and New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Basketball

"So weird to be asked to write a blurb for this amazing book when they passed over Alec Baldwin, Bono and The Pope. Like I'm ANYWHERE near as important as those guys. I mean, I DO have more Twitter followers than Baldwin. Oh well." -Patton Oswalt, comedian and New York Times bestselling author of Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

"Since the dawn of man, bragging has been evolving, growing more elusive and resilient. Thank you, Harris Wittels, for identifying the new strain, the "humblebrag." Humanity is forever in your debt. -Ezra Koenig, lead singer of Vampire Weekend

About the Author

Harris Wittels currently writes for NBC's Parks and Recreation (on which he sometimes appears as Harris, the Animal Control guy). He has also written for HBO's acclaimed series, Eastbound & Down, Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program, MTV's Human Giant, and the MTV Video Music Awards. He has several feature film projects in development with Universal, Mandate Pictures, and Scott Rudin Productions.

In addition to his writing, Wittels regularly tours the country performing stand-up comedy with such comics as Sarah Silverman, Louis C.K., and Aziz Ansari. His stand-up has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, and Showtime's Live Nude Comedy. He was also on Variety's "10 Comics to Watch" list for 2011.

Harris Wittels lives in Los Angeles, California.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00E8V8EDC
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 7.63 inches

Customer Reviews:
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

170 global ratings

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Valerie

Wittels' effortless humor is endlessly funny.

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2012

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There aren't many books that can make you laugh out loud repeatedly while reading them on a treadmill. I can't tell you why I needed to include that I was on a treadmill, it just felt relevant since laughing while you run is particularly strange, but I think it's likely that Harris Wittels' book has turned me into a shittier version of myself. You see, he has made it so I am now all too aware of one's need to brag about things that no one else cares to hear about, and I'm finding myself wanting to brag - humbly and the old-fashioned way - so much more now that I've read this book. And I read it once at the gym - over multiple days, it's a fair-sized book, then immediately read it again aloud to my boyfriend. This book is that good and I think I just bragged again.

Harris' sense of humor is kind of don't-give-a-shit. He's very cynical and sometimes filled with hatred for the people writing these humblebrags - which I love - but he's also laid back about the whole thing. He'll often respond to a horrendously annoying tweet with something as simple as "Dude, just stop" or "Why did you say that?". He is brilliant and I can't even express how much joy I got out of reading this book.

10 people found this helpful

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leah collins

Hilarious, just like Wittels.

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2015

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I was already a fan of Harris for years, mainly from listening to his episodes of CBB and following him on social media. But honestly, I never intended to read this book. The idea of reading a book of tweets (as he calls it- an Urban Outfitters book) just wasn't that appealing to me. But after his passing, I felt compelled to listen to every podcast I could find with him and read this book, because I know I won't ever get to hear a new joke from him and he was so unbelievably funny and entertaining. This book is no different. Harris will truly be missed.

6 people found this helpful

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Matt

Amusing

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2012

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A quick read of actual people's tweets. Funny for those of us that find twitter ridiculous, funnier for those of us that enjoy sarcasm

Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2016

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miss you harris. i named my rat after you. his name is Wittels. i thought about naming him Harris but then i thought about the word "whittles" and it kind of sounds like what rats do with their teeth (which grow 5 fukn inches a fukn year! wow!), so the wordplay was too good. people use the word "humblebrag" every day, i hear it all the time, so i thought you might appreciate that.

5 people found this helpful

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margieebee

More suitable as a coffee table book

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2016

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This book is much more suited to be a coffee table book, as it is basically just humblebrag tweets the author has accumulated and the author's very short commentary on those tweets. Still, Harris Wittels was an incredibly brilliant comedian and I would have loved to have seen more from him. R.I.P. Wittels

5 people found this helpful

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Tim

I read this book while on a trip to Cuba ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2015

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I read this book while on a trip to Cuba. When I returned I learned Harris Wittels had passed away and it really shook me up. I've been a huge fan of Harris since he first started appearing on the podcast Comedy Bang Bang. This book contains his classic wit bringing to life the humblebrags we're all guilty of. Also, f*** skinny attractive people.

10 people found this helpful

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Jacob

Clever!

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018

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Really enjoyed this book but all it made me think of was how great Harris was. Seems like he could have done anything with his talents, so I’m very pleased to at least have this.

2 people found this helpful

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Renee Johnson

Funny Book

Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2018

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Really funny book that makes you think. A bit of a blast from the past. Rest in peace Harris, wish there was a volume 2

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Top reviews from other countries

Mr. B

Infuriating, hilarious, essential!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2013

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For anyone who is bemused and perplexed by the (relatively) modern phenomena of the Humblebrag, this book is a must.

Hundreds of wonderful examples, each with an individual response from Mr. Wittels. Genuinely funny, but also with a serious point about the nature of arrogance, condescending superiority, and basic snobbery.

A great book that you can pick up for 5 mins, or spend an entire evening with.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Good for a laugh

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2016

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Absolutely brimming with loveable Harrisisms. The tone and style is so unique and just brilliantly cynical. Highly recommend.

Drew P.

What a waste of my valuable multinational CEO time.

Reviewed in Canada on April 29, 2013

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The product details said it had 272 pages - thank God it only had 252 pages. I suggest you read the product description for two of his best humblebrag examples and then imagine reading one after the other that are worse than those until you reach page 247 where the author glibly says: "So now you know what a humblebrag is".

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Ya, I already knew...they aren't funny.

I bought this book thinking I could find out what to do about people I know that continually humblebrag on-line, not to just read hundreds more of them. I should have been suspicious of the quality of this book when his "friends" made such snide reviews in the product description. This is the absolute worst waste of my wealth I have ever made. (and that ain't nothing to be braggin' about)

How do I rate it a ZERO?

Drew P.

One person found this helpful

P. J. Jorgensen

Hmmmm

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2014

Verified Purchase

Flicked through this fairly quickly and it then went to the Charity Shop. A real Stocking Filler. Well put together but not particularly interesting.

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