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Oct 05, 2011

Evan rated it:

Sarah Silverman's lightning-rod comedy -- irreverent, snarky, grotesque, un-PC and offensive to those who lack an ironic sense -- invariably causes her to have to sometimes justify, explain and defend herself to humorless people, who still won't get it anyway.

My review of this book will be a little bit like that, because, even though I'm giving it a fairly lowly two stars, I'm not saying it's not enjoyable, funny, revealing, sometimes thoughtful, and a good read. The book is like spe More...

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2010

Joel rated it:

Sarah Silverman knows how to write a good joke. She does not so much know how to write a good book. As a consequence, The Bedwetter is for the most part very funny, but it doesn't really do any of that good memoir stuff like tell about how she lived in devastating poverty in Ireland and was forced to spend her days rummaging for coal to sell so her siblings would have enough to eat before they all died of typhoid fever, or reveal that her monumentally irresponsible and unstable parents kept upro More...

3 comments like (14 people liked it)

May 14, 2010

rachel rated it:

What I have learned from this book: Sarah Silverman is a clever, sensitive, free-spirited clown who clearly adores her family and her friends, and who has no fear about talking honestly about her clinical depression or admitting that she wet the bed until she was 16.

Also: Steve Perry is a racist (or was that a joke? I don't even know) and Louis CK is reserved, mature, and very smart, in some ways as much like his Parks & Recreation character as his onstage character.

At More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 02, 2010

Matthew rated it:

What's good:

-She sprinkles funny lines throughout.
-Her childhood and her bouts with bedwetting and depression are interesting, however they feel ghostwritten.
-The stories of the writer's room throughout the years and early years in the Boston and New York stand-up comedy scenes.
-She has led a resilient career overcoming a failed stint at Saturday Night Live and countless controversies over her style of button-pushing comedic style.

Not so good:
More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 14, 2010

Wallace rated it:

On the front flap of comedienne Sarah Silverman's humorous memoir, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, there is a warning from the publisher. It is a silly three question multiple answer quiz asking, in various forms, what limits can be pushed before you are offended. Though an original way to announce what is to come if you read the book, the quiz is quite an accurate barometer. If you can't make it through the short questionnaire without a red face, then you should not open More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 08, 2010

Jae rated it:

I laughed so hard reading this on the plane that people started to stare. I read a number of reviews that said this book isn't funny for the last half. I disagree. I laughed all the way through. Granted, reading about the culture at Saturday Night Live might not be as funny as you expected, but that's the point, at least partly.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2011

Melissa added it

Sarah Silverman believes that, in order to enjoy life, you have to learn to “Make it a Treat”, meaning just because you love chocolate doesn’t mean you should eat it every day. Make it a treat and you’ll enjoy it more.

In her hilarious autobiography, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, Silverman gives some advice to her avid readers: “Look, there’s not much useful to take away from this book—it’s largely stories of a woman who has spent her life peeing on hersel More...

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Dec 31, 2011

Miles rated it:

i've always been a fan of sarah silverman. something about her deadpan delivery, with her ability to keep a completely serious face while saying the wildest and most twisted of things. i liked her cable show, got a kick from her standup, so i decided to pick this up. the book is marketed as an "8 poop companion", and sarah treats the rest of the book with a similar sense of self-awareity. she's quick to admit that she's just a comedian, not some literary genius. she's treats the book f More...

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Dec 16, 2011

Sylvia rated it:

I'm not sure why I picked this book up. I'm not a Sarah Silverman fan--not a hater either, just someone who is ambivalent. Also, the books I read this year by comedians I adore were something of a let-down. So I was predisposed to dislike, if not outright hate, this book.

I was pretty shocked to find myself adoring it. From the first page of the foreword, where she correctly ascertained my physical location (on the toilet) through all the funny, sincere self-exposure, this book was gre More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 11, 2011

Tamara rated it:

I bought this for my boyfriend, who is, like, obsessed with Sarah Silverman, then wound up hogging his Kindle because it isn't "lendable." I think she's funny too, although more for her smaller thoughtful moments (example: someone having to use fire for toilet paper in hell) than for her scatological obsessions. And there is a lot of very funny stuff here, but I found it interesting in a larger sense as a history of how Silverman became a "functioning insane person" (my term, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 05, 2011

Lily rated it:

Hello, my name is Sarah Silverman. I'm not very funny, but I am very pretty. Will you buy my book, please?

We Jewish girls (see, I'm a Jew! How daring of me to come right out and admit it!) have a long history of goofing off and trading on our looks to get whatever we want out of life. In the Old Testament, (that's like, the cool Jewish part of the Bible, where all the sex and killing is) Esther married the King of Persia because it was easier than working or coming up with a plan. I' More...

7 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2011

Jonny99 rated it:

Oddly, the book actually smells like pee. The connections between Sarah Silverman as reported in her more sad than funny autobiography and on again/off again hip hop star Eminem are numerous. Both essentially make their living in creative fields talking mostly about themselves – other than a chapter recounting voice mails left by her alleged wacky father the remainder of the book never strays from its headline subject. They both launch vicious character attacks against others and yet are nota More...

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Sep 16, 2011

Angie rated it:

I picked up The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee after seeing Sarah Silverman on the Marriage Ref. I had known of her as a comedian for a long time, but the only thing I had seen was the “I’m f*cking Matt Damon” video. I found her hilarious on that show and in the video so I decided to learn more.

The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee reads like a long stand up act. Each chapter is filled with vignettes from a particular period of her life. This mak More...

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Jul 17, 2011

Dimity rated it:

I listened to this audio memoir written and read by Sarah Silverman twice-once by myself and then again with my husband. I happily listened to (and laughed through) it both times. I quite enjoy Silverman’s now defunct and oddly hilarious “The Sarah Silverman Program” so I was excited to see this audiobook in my library’s e-download catalogue. I found this memoir to be surprisingly deep and emotional in parts, while always maintaining Silverman’s trademark humor. Silverman’s memoirs are a view i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 02, 2011

Mariana rated it:

i read this book while sitting by the pool. it was a quick read so i didn't get to sit by the pool very long, but i did enjoy the discussion i ended up having with a couple of friends regarding sarah silverman and whether or not she's a dumb, no-talent, freak.

i think she's smart and incredibly funny (sometimes a bit crass) -- overall, this is an enjoyable book for my purpose of pool side reading.

this book seemed occasionally apologetic or overly explanatory. there are some More...

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Jun 05, 2011

Ben rated it:

Sarah Silverman has a horse-ish face and is proud of it. Normally this would make me have a crush on her instantly, unfortunately this book does a great job of making me genuinely dislike her. The "childhood" part of the book is the only piece with any sort of a narrative. Most of the "adult" half of the book is just a loosely held together collection of paragraphs describing various incidents in her life. Chapters jump from problems with depression, to the loss of her virgi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 31, 2011

Joe rated it:

Having voraciously torn through Patton Oswalt's latest book then right into Chuck Klosterman's "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs," I suppose it was unfair to even start this book by an obvious novice like Sarah. She even admits frequently to never writing her jokes and comments all the time at how lazy she is. Somehow, this knowledge wasn't a prerequisite to seeing such things evident in her writing. Whereas Patton came off as someone who sincerely locks himself away to hone his craft, Sa More...

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Feb 01, 2011

Nathan rated it:

I've always been ambivalent with Sarah Silverman. She can be hilarious (THE standout in "The Aristocrats"), but she often pushes buttons that makes me uncomfortable. As, of course, she means to. But in my critical world, reader response is #1 and artistic intent is #2--I choose to consume, I am interested in its effect on me. It's ironic, of course, because my response to Silverman must be how other people respond to me: "aw, why did he have to say THAT?"

This bo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 11, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I rarely read celebrity biographies, but found Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter irresistible. Sarah Silverman is the girlfriend of my dreams; someone I fantasize about hanging out with and joking raunchily with while avoiding the shock and awe reactions I usually muster up in anyone who is not a dude.

Silverman's The Bedwetter is an example of a really clever way for a celebrity to overcome any hang-ups and insecurities they may have had before or during stardom. A large portion of the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 06, 2010

Rich rated it:

Not really knowing who Sarah Silverman was when I read this book. I had heard of her many times through association with Adam Carolla and his one time radio partner Jimmy Kimmel, who she once dated but doesn't seem to mention in her book.

It's a quick read that gives some interesting incite to the behind the scenes look at what it takes to be a writer/actor/comedian on Saturday Night Live and some of the people she meets on her way to her success as a producer/writer/actress on her s More...

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Nov 08, 2010

Chris rated it:

I learned she wet the bed until age 15 and that she's a Jew. She mentions again that she's a Jew. She then goes on to say she likes a work atmosphere that would cause anyone not working in porn to go to jail and that she's a Jew who wet the bed until she was 15 years old.

The first half and mid-word were good but I started losing patience and interest in the second half of her stuff. This is where she explains how she can't understand how someone might take offense at her spouting racia More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 07, 2010

A.gasior rated it:

I borrowed this book on CD thinking I was getting a comedy album, instead I got an autobiography. This isn't to say that I was disappointed. Silverman recounts her life in a very humorous and authentic way. She delivers her life story in an animated way that brings scenes and people to life and leaves little to the imagination. The story itself includes a bit of self-flagellation mixed with moments of self-righteousness; all in all, interesting to say the least.

At one point in th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 13, 2010

Sean rated it:

"Unvisited tombstones, unread diaries, and erased video-game high-score rankings are three of the most potent symbols of mankind’s pathetic
and fruitless attempts at immortality. Not to be negative."

I don't read nonfiction as a rule. when I do, it has hither to been about people I know a fair bit about to begin with - hence the interest in the first place. Stephen Fry. Roald Dahl. Joanne Rowling, and so on.

Having rather listlessly flipped through this mor More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 18, 2010

Paul rated it:

I am a Sarah Silverman fan, but as you can infer from the title, her life wasn't all peaches and cream. Sometimes it's waking up to wet sheets.

The introduction (done by Sarah) and the MidWord (rare, but also done by Sarah) are fun novelties. The beginning of the book (her childhood) drags a bit, but perhaps that's because overall it's not a cheery period of time for Sarah.

Facts I didnt' know about Sarah Silverman:

1) she want through a time of depression, and More...

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Jul 10, 2010

Patrick rated it:

Bedwetter By Sarah Silverman (2010)

I tend to think Sarah Silverman as very funny and capable of showing the nasty side of us although I do tire of her abortion jokes. I like her brilliance at writing, crowing her literacy talent, and her honesty at battling depression, inappropriate jokes about her dead brother when she was four, and her public show of pubic and tinkling in public places. I am ashamed that I laughed when she writes that her summer camp is the second worst camp More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 24, 2010

christa rated it:

Attention pervos: If you are looking for a free photograph of a penis wearing a hair clip, just find a dark corner of your local (preferably indie) bookstore, and flip to page 209 of Sarah Silverman's "The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee." That's where you'll find the shot of a chunky decorative unit resting on a bed of balls, framed by bunchy boxer shorts and a nest of unkempt, as Silverman would call them, pubes.

You're welcome.

Silverman's More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jun 11, 2010

Mark rated it:

Like most biographies, if you don't like the person it's about, you clearly won't like the book. If you like Sarah Silverman's comedy routine and show, you will enjoy this book. I'm somewhat in the middle regarding her. I enjoy her stuff but never go out of my way. While definitely not perfect, it's still a solid read.

I'm always curious to read about comedians because they are always expected to be funny, but not everything in life is a joke. The Bedwetter definitely has its serious More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 01, 2010

Amanda rated it:

I have to go against the more popular three star choice because, while I did enjoy many parts of this book, it was just so random and unorganized I felt like I was reading the rough draft version before the editor even touched it.
The personal stories of her childhood, experiences working in the industry, and friendships with other comics were interesting, but many of them just seemed there to fill up space and not really connected to anything else. As a fan of the program and knowing he More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 26, 2010

Karen rated it:

A memoir by Sarah Silverman, actress and comedian known for her potty mouth and great love of fart jokes. Like the title implies, Silverman was a bedwetter until (and through some of) her teenage years. Once the bedwetting stopped, depression descended. The book also details her comedy career, including her unsuccessful year on SNL and some hilarious repercussions from her trademark nothing-is-sacred comedy style.

The Me Play Joke chapter is especially astute. Silverman relays how she More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 21, 2010

Brian rated it:

As I've said, I'm not a cynical person, and I don't believe that human beings are naturally evil. Cuntiness comes from somewhere.

* * *

I'll be honest; I have contempt for pretty much every drug other than pot. I find drunk people gross. ... At a party, I have so much fun stoned, flitting about -- but once I sniff that first wave of drunkeness on someone, I'm out of there. To me, it's a signal that tells me it's time to head to a diner and finish the night right. With eggs. More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)