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I Didn't Ask to Be Born: (But I'm Glad I Was)
In this hilarious collection of observations, Cosby brings us more of his wonderful and wacky insights into the human condition that are sure to become classics. In the tradition of Fat Albert, I DIDN'T ASK TO BE BORN offers a host of new characters, including Peanut Armhouse and Old Mother Harold. Not since Mushmouth, Dumb Donald, Bucky and the Cosby Kids has there been s...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
November 1st 2011
by Center Street
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Most people either love Bill Cosby's sense of humor or don't. I do, and have loved his sense of humor and story telling style since the Fat Albert days of his comedy career. Here is a book that shows how Bill's outlook on life, complete with humor intact, has grown mellower but no less funny.
I don't know how many people actually laugh out loud when they read something that strikes them as funny, but I'm one of them. If someone asks me what's so darned funny, I am incapable of delivering the line...more
I don't know how many people actually laugh out loud when they read something that strikes them as funny, but I'm one of them. If someone asks me what's so darned funny, I am incapable of delivering the line...more
This book by comedian, Bill Cosby, contains more of his own history and muse than other books he has authored. Part memoir, part stand-up comedy script, Cosby holds up his end of the bargain to continue entertaining the masses. He recollects random stories from his life, more or less in chronological order, that the reader who has lived through the time period will find nostalgic and entertaining.
Of course, Cosby uses his own brand of exaggeration as some things may not have happened exactly th...more
Of course, Cosby uses his own brand of exaggeration as some things may not have happened exactly th...more
Who Me? Miss this? Why? Optimistic Extraordinary!
Bill Cosby’s “I Didn’t Ask to Be Born (But I’m Glad I Was)” is life as everyone experiences it but few take time to note it. How we perceive our circumstances has value as a learning tool if we are able to find humor in some of the things that are ‘hard pills to take’ when originally experienced.
This book is something that makes you laugh out loud because only you can know what you are laughing about. Cosby gives us circumstances that make us reme...more
Bill Cosby’s “I Didn’t Ask to Be Born (But I’m Glad I Was)” is life as everyone experiences it but few take time to note it. How we perceive our circumstances has value as a learning tool if we are able to find humor in some of the things that are ‘hard pills to take’ when originally experienced.
This book is something that makes you laugh out loud because only you can know what you are laughing about. Cosby gives us circumstances that make us reme...more
This novel is hysterical, to sum it up in one word. It will be hard to write a review without giving anything integral to the hilarity of the novel away. The reader gets to see a younger Bill Cosby, who is funny even at a young age. He instills his natural personality into this fairly short nonfiction book.
Bill Cosby literally anticipates what the other person would say to him, say, in a talk show and manages to provide funny one liners. The first chapter of the book opens with a conversation b...more
Bill Cosby literally anticipates what the other person would say to him, say, in a talk show and manages to provide funny one liners. The first chapter of the book opens with a conversation b...more
I found the book to be as humorous and down to earth as you would expect from Bill Cosby, and I enjoyed it. However, as I typically read books that are more on the serious side, it was difficult for me to read through some of his "spaghetti" passages. I use the term "spaghetti" to describe conversations or writing that start in one place, move in a multitude of different directions, ends up in a completely different place, and you aren't quite sure where it started or ended or how it got there....more
Like most people, I enjoy the comedy of Bill Cosby. However, I was disappointed by this book. I've waited a few weeks since finishing it because I wanted to find the best way to explain what I didn't like about it.
The answer came to me just yesterday while listening to an interview where two comedians were discussing the greatness of Bill Cosby. They discussed his use of timing, intonation, inflection, and facial expressions.
And that is what is missing from this book. The stories are mildly humo...more
The answer came to me just yesterday while listening to an interview where two comedians were discussing the greatness of Bill Cosby. They discussed his use of timing, intonation, inflection, and facial expressions.
And that is what is missing from this book. The stories are mildly humo...more
I really, really enjoyed it!!!! As always, with Bill Cosby, you can always expect good, clean, wholesome comedy and get it. He asks and answer questions all of us wonder, but we do not have the guts to speak them into existence. I really liked "Missing Pages' and "I Didn't Asked to be Born". I believe anyone over the age of 25 can relate to his stories and observations. As a wife, I enjoyed his views on marriage. As a parent, it was good to know that my children are not the only ones who annoy t...more
There were some parts of this book that made me laugh out loud (his description of the plight of penguins in the chapter on the Bible's missing pages stands out) but like some other readers I didn't really get the point of the illustrations, since very few of them seemed to have much to do with the story in which they were placed. This was a very fast read because some of the stories were very short and they flowed nicely except for the times when he veered off course. I read this in a little ov...more
If you don't have a grandpa (or grandpoppy) and want to experience what it's like, here's a book for you. Interesting, sometimes rambling stories is what you'll get. I'm torn with the use of smartphone tags at the end of each chapter; they slowed me down a bit, but the extra video tidbits from Mr. Cosby are good. Thanks Mr. Cosby (@billcosby) for another good respite between my regular reading, though I still think you're wrong about Cabbage Patch dolls -- mine are truly adorable, especially com...more
I wish I could give this 5 1/2 stars if I could because I think Bill Cosby is awesomely hilarious. I've seen quite a good bit of The Cosby Show, I've seen his standup, he's a funny man and you have to admit it. This was my first book by him that I read. I really liked it, and it's got some pretty memorable, funny stories packed in the book. From missing Bible pages to a Godzilla-crazed grandson of Bill, this book has got it all. It's a very decent book that I suggest that you read if you're a Co...more
This is the second book by a comedian that I have read in the past six months, the first one being Ellen's. I guess I just prefer the talent live. Was it funny? Yes. Did I laught out loud at some points? Yes. But I also felt that some chapters were forced just to add pages to the book. I'm not sure that I felt a theme stringing the book together at all. It was more like an afternoon lunch with your grandfather telling you some snippits of old stories that he can't quite remember in full but make...more
*If I could, I would have given this book a 3 1/2 stars*
At times, very light-hearted, but very thoughtful at other times in the book. My favorite chapters in the book were, "The Morphamization of Peanut Armhouse", "The Missing Pages", "Erectile Dysfunction", and "My Son's First Bad Word." Be forwarned, Bill does a lot of jumping around with his thoughts and this can get a little confusing, but it helps keep it "real" to me. He kind of reminds me of Grandpa Simpson on "The Simpsons" but his stori...more
At times, very light-hearted, but very thoughtful at other times in the book. My favorite chapters in the book were, "The Morphamization of Peanut Armhouse", "The Missing Pages", "Erectile Dysfunction", and "My Son's First Bad Word." Be forwarned, Bill does a lot of jumping around with his thoughts and this can get a little confusing, but it helps keep it "real" to me. He kind of reminds me of Grandpa Simpson on "The Simpsons" but his stori...more
I decided to read this book because I saw it on Oprah. I was expecting a comical series of short stories about his life. Its very light reading and at times boring! I found the first story to be very funny and I wish the rest of the book carried on in that way. Bill Cosby is a really cool guy with an impressive background and he write about his life in a very humble way. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light read!
This book had me laughing out loud many times. In his usual style, Bill Cosby shares his memories and thoughts on a number of things. I especially enjoyed his chapter titled "The Missing Pages" where he explains that the Bible must have been poorly edited and has pages missing because there are so many things we are not told, especially in Genesis. It is just a fun book to read and I really enjoyed it.
I got this as a Christmas present and read it in about three days. It is thoroughly enjoyable. Every chapter has several LOL moments. I hope that there is an audio version forthcoming – one of the joys of Cosby is in his presentation and I would love to hear him tell the story, along with all the sounds, of his grandson’s obsession with Godzilla. This book was a lot of fun.
Great read. Easy and funny. He writes like he talks. Although I nowhere agree with his religious views and even many of his political views, he is a genius and generally wants the best for everyone it seems. One of the greatest comics of all time, I truly believe that. It's much harder to be funny and original without screaming curse words every 5th word.
Beau
Beau
I've always been a huge Bill Cosby fan since listening to his early stand-up routines on my parents old vinyl albums. His latest book "I Didn't Ask to Be Born..." is a quick read containing his trademark witty anecdotes and observations about wordplay, childhood memories, family, religion, marriage, and other hallmarks of life that are familiar to all of us.
This book wasn't exactly what I expected. I was expecting outlandish, outrageous humor, and the humor in this book is mostly of the Prairie Home Companion variety. Not that that's bad at all; it's certainly a fun book to read, and it's very Bill Cosbyesque. But it's much more warm and fuzzy than sharp and witty. That said, I'll certainly read more from Bill Cosby if he writes more... the man is a legend, and I had a great time with this book! Come into it expecting gently, family-friendly humor...more
I love Bill Cosby's humor, but I was disappointed by this book. The good stuff was great, but some of the bits were just awful and interminable. I found that the longest chapters were the worst, and seemed to be least Cosby-ish. I got the feeling that those chapters were engineered as a product rather than coming naturally from him.
I think that as an audio book this would probably be 5 stars. But, somehow, reading Bill Cosby just isn't as funny as listening to Bill Cosby. Every once in a while, I'd succeed in imagining how Bill Cosby would say what I was reading and it was great! But most of the time, the written word just didn't do it for me.
A lot of the material in this book seemed familiar to me. I don't know if it was part of some sort of routine I may have seen or heard at some point or just a general familiarity with Cosby's work. But I did find it amusing and entertaining. It's worth a read. It's just not great literature. One thumb up.
I remember reading "Fatherhood" by Bill Cosby a while ago and laughing out loud multiple times. While I didn't laugh out loud with this book, it did make me smile, maybe even chuckle to myself, more than a few times. Reminded me more of classic Bill Cosby from Fat Albert days than of The Cosby Show, but still enjoyable.
I read this hearing his voice in my mind and laughed out loud many times. It helps that my parents grew up in the same area at the same time - so many details already familiar to me through my family. I have to say this was not his best work overall though - some stories fall flat. Ah well - I'll always be a huge fan and have learned not to expect perfection :-)
I should have listened to him performing these routines -- better yet, I should have watched him performing them! The writing is like a script for a performance, where I can only imagine how he would emphasize this word over that, and when he'd roll his eyes. Not really a book to be read.
Too much straying from the main point of each story. The only reason I read the whole thing was that I 1. thought it would get better and 2.they were each just a short story so I could read a page or two and put the book down without forgetting what was going on.
I wanted to like this so much more. I love Bill Cosby, but this book really was a struggle to get through. It had funny moments, but on the whole, it felt far more like casual narrative from a friend than the comedy it was supposed to be. Still love Bill Cosby, though.
This is an interesting compilation of humorous essays from Bill Cosby. It's a quick read and spans a variety of topics. My Mom and I thought it wasn't quite as funny as some of his other books, but my Dad, who is quite close in age to Mr. Cosby, laughed out loud many times while reading the book. So maybe you'd have to be a guy from his generation to understand. I appreciate his candor and wisdom and I have loved his humor for years, so although this wasn't my favorite book by him, I still liked...more
i love Bill Cosby, but I couldn't get into this one. I think I'd just rather hear his jokes than read them. Most of his humor is in his verbal delivery, and it just doesn't translate as well on a page.
No offense, Bill. I love you to pieces.
No offense, Bill. I love you to pieces.
I would much prefer hearing Bill Cosby telling these stories than reading them but his voice still crept into my mind from time to time. I especially liked his "real" (?) story of the blue jay attacking the squirrel. Without going into further description, I must say I will have that image tattooed in my mind forever and will bring it to the surface whenever I need a good laugh!
Jun 30, 2012
Sarah Carr
added it
I thought it would be funnier. When you read it I knew it was supposed to be funny but it just didn't come through the written text. I really thought there would be times where I would laugh out loud and someone would ask me what was so funny, but that didn't happen. I really expected more from this book, being by Bill Cosby.
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| a great read. | 1 | 2 | Oct 09, 2012 08:42am |
American comedian, actor, television producer, activist, and luminary. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a vanguard role in the 1960s action show I Spy.
He later starred in his own series, The Bill Cosby Show, in the late 1960s. He was one of the major characters on the children's television show for its first two seasons, and created the humorous educati...more
More about Bill Cosby...
He later starred in his own series, The Bill Cosby Show, in the late 1960s. He was one of the major characters on the children's television show for its first two seasons, and created the humorous educati...more
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