Not Funny: Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Etcetera

Written by Jena Friedman

Narrated by Jena Friedman

For fans of the perceptive comedy of Hannah Gadsby, Lindy West, and Sarah Silverman, Academy Award–nominated and acclaimed stand-up comedian Jena Friedman presents a “smart and thoughtful and even a little offensive” (Sacha Baron Cohen) collection of essays on the cultural flashpoints of today.

Growing up, Jena Friedman didn’t care about being likable. And she never wanted to be a comedian, either. She wouldn’t discover her knack for the funny business until research for her college thesis led her to take an improv class in Chicago.

That anthropology paper, written on race, class, and gender in the city’s comedy scene, was, in Jena’s own words, “just as funny as it sounds.” But it did lay the groundwork for a career that has seen her write and produce for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Late Show with David Letterman, and the Oscar-nominated Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

Friedman’s “entertaining and soulful” (Publishers Weekly) debut collection, Not Funny, takes on the third rails of modern life in Jena’s bold and subversive style, with essays that explore cancel culture, sexism, work, celebrity worship, and…dead baby jokes.

In a moment where women’s rights are being rolled back, fascism is on the rise, and so many of us could use a breather as we struggle to get by, Jena applies her unique gifts to pull a laugh from things deemed too raw, too precious, and too scary to joke about. She deftly dissects how we get coerced into silence on the issues that matter most, until they’ve gone too far afield to be turned back around again. “A mix of lethal deadpan delivery and biting sarcasm with impressive intelligence not only makes this book phenomenal but announces the arrival of a singular voice” (Phoebe Robinson, New York Times bestselling author).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Apr 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781797152493

Jena Friedman

Jena Friedman is a comedian, filmmaker, and creator of AMC’s Indefensible and Soft Focus with Jena Friedman on Adult Swim. She has worked on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Late Show with David Letterman, and her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Artnet, and The Guardian. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and won a Writers Guild of America Award for her work on Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. She splits her time between Los Angeles and New York. Find out more at JenaFriedman.com and follow her on Twitter @JenaFriedman.  

Reviews for Not Funny

[Reed Schaeffer Stanton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Jena is so inspiring in her defense of her artwork and and she believes.

[atomic1964 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I disagree with the title ? Very very funny, insightful and frank. Perhaps not for the faint hearted. But then that’s life in the US.