Would Everybody Please Stop?, Jenny Allen
Would Everybody Please Stop?, Jenny Allen
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Would Everybody Please Stop?
Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas

Author: Jenny Allen

Narrator: Jenny Allen

Unabridged: 5 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/06/2017


Synopsis

"One of the funniest writers in America."

That’s what The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz calls Jenny Allen—and with good reason. In her debut essay collection, the longtime humorist and performer declares no subject too sacred, no boundary impassable.

With her eagle eye for the absurd and hilarious, Allen reports from the potholes midway through life’s journey. One moment she’s flirting shamelessly—and unsuccessfully—with a younger man at a wedding; the next she’s stumbling upon X-rated images on her daughter’s computer. She ponders the connection between her ex-husband’s questions about the location of their silverware, and the divorce that came a year later. While undergoing chemotherapy, she experiments with being a “wig person.” And she considers those perplexing questions that we never pause to ask: Why do people say “It is what it is”? What’s the point of fat-free half-and-half ? And haven’t we heard enough about memes?

Jenny Allen’s musings range fluidly from the personal to the philosophical. She writes with the familiarity of someone telling a dinner party anecdote, forgoing decorum for candor and comedy. To listen to Would Everybody Please Stop? is to experience life with imaginative and incisive humor.

About Jenny Allen

Jenny Allen is a performer, and the author of Would Everybody Please Stop?: Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas. Her articles and essays have appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times, among other publications. Her award-winning solo show, I Got Sick Then I Got Better, has been seen in venues across the country and in Canada. She lives on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cindy on June 05, 2017

Jenny Allen is hilarious, and her new collection of essays proves it. Would Everybody Please Stop? kept me laughing – at times with tears streaming down my face - from the time I picked it up until I finished it (all in one sitting). A few of the essays are more serious, addressing topics relevant t......more

Goodreads review by Melora on April 14, 2020

"One of the funniest writers in America" -- Andy Borowitz Oh, Andy. In your defense, I'm sure you said to yourself, "No one takes jacket blurbs seriously." And you're right. But... okay. Fine. Still, I hope you felt at least a little guilty. Not all the essays are dull. A few are mildly funny (I didn'......more

Goodreads review by Julie on March 25, 2022

Very fun. A delightful collection of essays. Many I completely appreciate, and not just for the humor. Jenny Allen's heartfelt and brave sharing of personal experiences complements the laughter she inspires.......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie on November 08, 2018

Jenny Allen is a whacky writer and this book was such a pleasure to read. Her mental meanderings are entertaining yet familiar, and I find it so comforting to read a train of thought I’ve had myself. I particularly loved the story “Speak, Memory” in this regard. I related for myself during some stor......more

Goodreads review by Emily on October 04, 2017

I love her voice (both style and sound-great audiobook!) and find her personal essays better than her fictional pieces. Laughed out loud several times, and the humor is balanced with levity. But the scale tips towards humor. Basically I want Jenny to be my friend.......more


Quotes

"[Jenny Allen's] clear and lively voice moves quickly from one observation to another in a peppy stream of consciousness. ...just plain funny." -AudioFile