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476th out of 1,871 books
—
3,706 voters
Pure Drivel
by
Steve Martin
Steve Martin has always been one of the most intelligent of comedians (you won't find Adam Sandler writing a play about Einstein and Picasso anytime soon), but this intelligence is manifested in gymnastically absurdist flights of fancy, rather than the politically informed riffs typical of performers like Lenny Bruce. Pure Drivel is a collection of pieces, most of them wri...more
Paperback, 144 pages
Published
September 4th 2003
(first published September 16th 1998)
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I love Steve Martin, but this book is mostly Drivel, with a capital D. One or two good pieces, the rest so severely dated that I didn't get the joke. Or perhaps I am so old that I don't remember the joke. Whatever.
The two best pieces are:
"Times Roman Font Announces Shortage of Periods": the whole piece is consequently written without full stops; and
"Schrödinger's cat" (see Wiki article) where Martin presents us with other paradoxes such as Wittgenstein's Banana, Elvis's Charcoal Briquette, and...more
The two best pieces are:
"Times Roman Font Announces Shortage of Periods": the whole piece is consequently written without full stops; and
"Schrödinger's cat" (see Wiki article) where Martin presents us with other paradoxes such as Wittgenstein's Banana, Elvis's Charcoal Briquette, and...more
In many ways Steve Martin could be considered a comedian for my parents' generation. By the time I started watching SNL in High School and college he had long since left the show (Norm MacDonald, Phil Hartman, and then eventually Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey, and Jimmy Fallon were the stars when I was watching it most.) Also, I haven't seen that many of his movies. I was born in the '80's, so I missed most of his comedies when they first came out. The movies I recall seeing with him in the cast are fi...more
I don’t even know where to start. Plot is not a factor. This is a collection of pure drivel, for certain. It’s tidbit thoughts and ramblings and short story pieces. It’s wrought with Steve Martinism.
Whatever do you mean, Chy? you ask.
“Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol,” Martin says, near the beginning. I was hooked. I loved it. I poured myself a mix drink, shoved my own writing projects aside, and dove in. Martin went on such a meander...more
Whatever do you mean, Chy? you ask.
“Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol,” Martin says, near the beginning. I was hooked. I loved it. I poured myself a mix drink, shoved my own writing projects aside, and dove in. Martin went on such a meander...more
My story with Steve Martin is kind of weird. Due to my age and the fact that I didn't grow up in the United States, I never really knew much about Steve Martin as a comedian. Growing up in Paraguay, I only knew him from the movies I sometimes caught on cable while channel surfing. These movies were usually subtitled or dubbed in Spanish, usually romantic comedies, usually light and fun. I thought of him as the cute (yes, I know, even as a 12-year old I was a weirdo) dude with white hair who was...more
This is my first foray into reading anything written by Steve Martin, and I must admit I am now on the hunt down for some more fiction as this book was fabulous.
Overall this is a laugh out loud book of 23 short (some pieces are so short they could well be considered flash fiction) stories, and all of them without exception could well be considered literature of the absurd, i.e. "The Sledgehammer: How It Works"- which is exactly what the title suggests, and so much more. Another favorite piece w...more
Overall this is a laugh out loud book of 23 short (some pieces are so short they could well be considered flash fiction) stories, and all of them without exception could well be considered literature of the absurd, i.e. "The Sledgehammer: How It Works"- which is exactly what the title suggests, and so much more. Another favorite piece w...more
Sep 13, 2009
Jess
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Martin fans, short essay fans, others
Recommended to Jess by:
$1 at a book sale and entirely worth it
Steve Martin wrote this collection of essays, many previously published in the New Yorker or similar, while on a break from acting/writing/etc.
I love Steve Martin. He's an interesting fellow, a good Letterman guest, and the kind of guy you could talk to for an entire afternoon and still want to meet tomorrow for lunch. Because of this, I'd go along with him for most things.
The first half of this book was hilarious. I kept laughing out loud, a nice treat before bed during my first full week of t...more
I love Steve Martin. He's an interesting fellow, a good Letterman guest, and the kind of guy you could talk to for an entire afternoon and still want to meet tomorrow for lunch. Because of this, I'd go along with him for most things.
The first half of this book was hilarious. I kept laughing out loud, a nice treat before bed during my first full week of t...more
if you've been wondering how bill murray managed to stage a comedic comeback but not steve martin, then you're just not looking in the right place. martin's humor is still sharp as ever. it's just been in written form for the last decade. my favorite essay in this one is "times new roman announces a shortage of periods." it's written with only one period over 3 pages and cracks me up every time i read it.
"Pure Drivel" is pure fun. Comedy is a funny thing (well, duh), either you laugh or you do not; you can’t fake it. And if you are into Steve Martin, as I have been since he was that wild-and-crazy-guy with the arrow through his head, then this book will not disappoint.
These supposedly serious essays that originally appeared in "The New Yorker" are off the wall. No one really looks at the world the way he does.
If you've been reading a lot of oh-so-serious books and need something light and refre...more
Mar 23, 2012
David
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
comedy,
from-the-library
I like Steve Martin, and I particularly enjoyed his autobiography, but this just didn't hit my funny bone. It's absurdist humor, but it just feels dated (admittedly, it is 14 years old.) It's also fairly consistent stylistically despite article themes which practically scream to be written differently (e.g., the titular article about drivel has a few abstruse metaphors, but otherwise there's not much different about it.) Ultimately, some of the premises are creative, but it seems like their pote...more
This is Steve Martin at his best. The stories are hilarious and his writing style is particularly suited to these stories. He loses a star for the slimness of the volume, "A Word From the Words," "Changes in the Memory After 50," and stories along those lines that seem like filler material. I like the Oulipo thing when it is done well, but it didn't work here. "How I Joined Mensa," "Yes, In my Own Backyard," "The Wily Filipino," and, of course, "Pure Drivel" are well worth the cover price of the...more
This book is almost 10 years old, but I ran into it at the library. I’m a sucker for Steve Martin, so perhaps you’ll take this with a grain of salt. I laughed my fool head off. It’s a collection of short pieces that originally appeared in the New Yorker and New York Times Magazine and a couple of other places. If you remember _Cruel Shoes_, you’ll be interested to observe how Martin’s absurdist strolls around the block have aged, not to say mellowed. Like wine, richer, more wry... compared to _S...more
I'm always hesitant to read books written by actors or actresses I like. They always are so hit or miss and it's always disappointing when they don't convey the same whatever-it-is that makes me like them so much on stage/screen. Fortunately, this little gem wasn't a disappointment. Steve Martin's quirky sense of nonsense translates very well onto the page and makes his short stories extremely giggle inducing. I wouldn't say much more about it (It's a one hundred page collection of short stories...more
It's always hard to rate a collection of short works because rarely do all the components merit the same stars. This is a book you can read in one sitting, and some of the essays really are 5-star. My favorites are "Hissy Fit," about a New York writer who braves a visit to LA -- and misses all the beauty because he's too deep in his prejudged perceptions (his hissy fit) to notice -- and "Michael Jackson's Old Face," which is literally about MJ's pre-surgery face going out for lunch with Walter M...more
This book is funny! But, then again, I love Steve Martin. My favorite bit is "Sledgehammer."
This collection of short stories is not his best work (The Pleasure of My Company would be hard to top), but nevertheless each piece is thoroughly in line with his delightful brand of "anti-humor". To give you an idea: several hours after reading the title story, it struck me as a far more thoughtful (and amusing) commentary on his own work than I had imagined while reading it.
I love Steve Martin. This is another one of those “random ramblings” books and some of the topics were a bit dull. I enjoyed the book more after I checked the copyright date and realized it was released in the late 90s. The subtle digs at Windows and other pop culture references were more humorous when interpreted in the right time-frame. This wasn’t a laugh my head off from start to finish book (something I’ve been searching for but still haven’t been able to obtain) but there were quite a few...more
Well, I have to say... this was, by far, my least favorite Steve Martin book. The stories were short... very short. Most topping off at about 2.5 pages, which was fine. But, my impression is that it wasn't enough for Martin to build a solid tale from. Quite a few of the stories read like Mad Libs, although there were a few gems along the way, and it was easy to see a glimmer of what would eventually become "The Pleasure of my Company", which I enjoyed very much. If you liked his novels (or novel...more
This is an aptly-named collection of crap. The author implies that calling this drivel "pure" elevates it somehow to some kind of art form. It does not. Pure crap is still crap.
Sure, crap serves its purpose in the human life, so if you're in the mood for it, knock yourself out. This actually wouldn't be a bad book to keep next to the shitter. Just be forewarned that this book is really nothing more than verbal diarrhea from a pretty amusing guy who's not really in top form.
Sure, crap serves its purpose in the human life, so if you're in the mood for it, knock yourself out. This actually wouldn't be a bad book to keep next to the shitter. Just be forewarned that this book is really nothing more than verbal diarrhea from a pretty amusing guy who's not really in top form.
I read this book in a couple hours today while I was helping out at the store. I did't know what it was about honestly. I have read 2 novellas that Steve Martin wrote and enjoyed them well enough. This was just a bunch of ideas, one chapter per idea, I didn't get it I guess, and didn't really enjoy it. Laughed a few times but would have lived life fine without having read this. But I also have this problem, I have to finish a book that I start.
I love Steve Martin, but not this book. Wanted to give it 1/2 star because of the 3 or 4 humorous essays. On the cover, Neil Simon is quoted as saying "...the funniest book I've ever read". Well - - -this is the dumbest book I've ever read. (Must be 'guy' humor) Neil Simon needs to widen his range of reading material. How did Steve Martin talk his publisher into putting this book into print? Very disappointed.
I had to put this book on my "funny" shelf because I don't have a "mildly amusing" shelf.
These short pieces are just like I remember Steve Martin's comedy: a little silly, a little weird, mostly unexpected, but eliciting soft chuckles and no guffaws.
My favorites from this book are "Writing Is Easy!," "Times Roman Font Announces Shortage of Periods," "Artist Lost to Zoloft," and "A Word from the Words."
These short pieces are just like I remember Steve Martin's comedy: a little silly, a little weird, mostly unexpected, but eliciting soft chuckles and no guffaws.
My favorites from this book are "Writing Is Easy!," "Times Roman Font Announces Shortage of Periods," "Artist Lost to Zoloft," and "A Word from the Words."
This was the first Steve Martin I've read, and I wasn't overly impressed, though I was somewhat amused maybe twice to the point of laughing out loud. Maybe this humor isn't for me, I don't know. Maybe it was because this was the first book I've read on the kindle. But overall, I found the humor in the book to be sometimes almost embarassing...trying a bit too hard, I think. But again, maybe this humor just isn't for me.
A colleague gave this to me after he had finished it. I like Steve Martin, so I was looking forward to listening on a long drive. It was a bit underwhelming. There were enough strong actions that kept the overall piece solid, but there were more than a few clunkers. I particularly enjoyed "Lolita at 50" and "Bad Dog." not a bad way to pass a couple of hours on the road, but I was hoping for a bit more.
Steve Martin's voice is evident in this short volume of articles, many of which had previously appeared in The New Yorker. Mr. Martin may be a wild and crazy guy, but he's also smart as a whip. The combination of those two factors plus a very randomized quirkiness makes for a fun read. In this case, it also makes for a quick read - this is the sort of book that could easily read in one sitting.
It baffles me how this got in the non-fiction category, but at its heart, Pure Drivel is a selection of absurd short stories, some of them verging on flash fiction. I particularly enjoyed the closing pieces about the shortage of periods in Times New Roman (the most loathed font ever), "Bad Dog" and "Side Effects."
I listened to this one, rather than read it, and I feel like it was the right banana.
I listened to this one, rather than read it, and I feel like it was the right banana.
1 like · like · see review
This is a collection of short essays, many published in the New Yorker magazine, which highlights Steve Martin's skill in comic writing. It was hard to pick a favorite, but the essay about membership requirements for Mensa ranks in the top three. Martin comments on the minimun 132 IQ cutoff for inclusion--until he meets someone with an IQ of 131 and it all becomes clear. A short, very enjoyable book.
I really enjoy Steve's humor, both on film and on paper, but I felt that this book was no where near the quality of his regular hilarity. Although I do not want this to seem as though I feel he has no talent, quite the contrary. I think Steve Martin is one of the most gifted people of his generation, unfortunately I don't see that in this particular piece of work.
I bought this book because I had heard a sample of it when I subscribed to Audible. The sample was the chapter titled "Dear Amanda" and it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Sadly, that is the funniest part of the book. The rest was okay and I chuckled a few times, but after "Dear Amanda," it seems I had very high expectations, and sadly, those expectations were not met.
Steve Martin is smart and funny. This book... not so much. It is a collection of short essays on unrelated topics. I like the voice but feel he takes things a bit too far. I have a feeling he would take "absurd" as a compliment but that's not really how I mean it. :) It was a quick read but I wouldn't recommend it, not even to other fans of his comedy.
What can I say? Steve Martin is a funny, funny man as well as a really good writer. This book is a quick read - a collection of short "essays" (his word) with each being no more than a couple of pages. Subjects include, among other things, dwindling memory, what a dog is thinking, and what Michael Jackson's old face thinks of his new one.
Definitely recommend.
Definitely recommend.
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Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician, and composer. He was raised in Southern California in a Baptist family, where his early influences were working at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm and working magic and comedy acts at these and other smaller venues in the area. His ascent to fame picked up when he became a writer for the Smothers...more
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“LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA: WHY IT'S A BAD TITLE
I admit that "Love in the time of . . ." is a great title, up to a point. You're reading along, you're happy, it's about love. I like the way the word time comes in - a nice, nice feeling. Then the morbid Cholera appears. I was happy till then. Why not "Love in the Time of the Blue, Blue, Bluebirds"? "Love in the Time of Oozing Sores and Pustules" is probably an earlier title the author used as he was writing in a rat-infested tree house on an old Smith Corona. This writer, whoever he is, could have used a couple of weeks in Pacific Daylight Time.”
—
53 people liked it
I admit that "Love in the time of . . ." is a great title, up to a point. You're reading along, you're happy, it's about love. I like the way the word time comes in - a nice, nice feeling. Then the morbid Cholera appears. I was happy till then. Why not "Love in the Time of the Blue, Blue, Bluebirds"? "Love in the Time of Oozing Sores and Pustules" is probably an earlier title the author used as he was writing in a rat-infested tree house on an old Smith Corona. This writer, whoever he is, could have used a couple of weeks in Pacific Daylight Time.”
“Scientists at first were skeptical that a kitten-type being could exist in the rare Martian atmosphere. As a test, two Earth kittens were put in a chamber that simulated the Martian air. The diary of this experiment is fascinating:
6:00 A.M.: Kittens appear to sleep.
7:02 A.M.: Kitten wakes, darts from one end of cage to another for no apparent reason.
7:14 A.M.: Kitten runs up wall of cage, leaps onto other kitten for no apparent reason.
7:22 A.M.: Kitten lies on back and punches other kitten for no apparent reason.
7:30 A.M.: Kitten leaps, stops, darts left, abruptly stops, climbs wall, clings for two seconds, falls on head, darts right for no apparent reason.
7:51 A.M.: Kitten parses first sentence of daily newspaper that is at bottom of chamber.
With the exception of the parsing, all behavior is typical of Earth kitten behavior. The parsing activity, which was done with a small ball-point pen, was an anomaly.”
—
52 people liked it
More quotes…
6:00 A.M.: Kittens appear to sleep.
7:02 A.M.: Kitten wakes, darts from one end of cage to another for no apparent reason.
7:14 A.M.: Kitten runs up wall of cage, leaps onto other kitten for no apparent reason.
7:22 A.M.: Kitten lies on back and punches other kitten for no apparent reason.
7:30 A.M.: Kitten leaps, stops, darts left, abruptly stops, climbs wall, clings for two seconds, falls on head, darts right for no apparent reason.
7:51 A.M.: Kitten parses first sentence of daily newspaper that is at bottom of chamber.
With the exception of the parsing, all behavior is typical of Earth kitten behavior. The parsing activity, which was done with a small ball-point pen, was an anomaly.”
Nov 29, 2012 10:12pm