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Hits and Misses: Stories Audiobook
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Publisher Description
A hilarious collection inspired by a former Saturday Night Live writer's real experiences in Hollywood, chronicling the absurdity of fame and the humanity of failure in a world dominated by social media influencers and reality TV stars.
Simon Rich is "one of the funniest writers in America" (Daily Beast) -- a humorist who draws comparisons to Douglas Adams (New York Times Book Review), James Thurber, and P.G. Wodehouse (The Guardian). With Hits and Misses, he's back with a hilarious new collection of stories about dreaming big and falling flat, about ordinary people desperate for stardom and the stars who are bored by having it all.
Inspired by Rich's real experiences in Hollywood, Hits and Misses chronicles all the absurdity of fame and success alongside the heartbreaking humanity of failure. From a bitter tell-all by the horse Paul Revere rode to greatness to a gushing magazine profile of everyone's favorite World War II dictator, these stories roam across time and space to skewer our obsession with making it big -- from the days of ancient Babylon to the age of TMZ.
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"Welcome to the sweet but twisted world of Simon Rich... Rich has proved he has a boundless imagination and a sharp sense of humor, and Hits and Misses continues that streak--it's a bizarre and hilarious collection from one of the funniest writers in America... He's endlessly clever but not impressed by his own wit; gentle, but not afraid to test boundaries. It's a kind of humor that recalls early 20th-century writers like James Thurber and E.B. White, but Rich's comic genius is really all his own. He spent years being regarded as a kind of precocious wunderkind, but with this book, Rich has come into his own as one of the most talented writers of comedic fiction working today."
— Michael Schaub, NPR
Quotes
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“In Hits and Misses, Simon Rich dissects his generation’s culture with humor and empathy.”
— New York Times -
“This collection of eighteen satirical stories—by an author who makes the difficult look so easy you could think of him as the Serena Williams of humor writing—pokes fun at the foibles of millennial culture.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Rich’s special genius is his ability to nest an absurd premise in an otherwise ordinary situation…The tale of an actual dinosaur being laid off as a comedy writer is a perfect example of Rich’s ability to mix humor and poignancy.”
— Washington Post -
“He’s endlessly clever, but not impressed by his own wit; gentle, but not afraid to test boundaries…Rich has come into his own as one of the most talented writers of comedic fiction working today.”
— NPR -
“Flights of fancy from preternaturally gifted humorist Rich… Shades of Christopher Moore’s slapstick…[and] Python-esque medieval farce…He has a sweet spot between mockery and respect for old Hollywood…Lovingly crafted comedies from a writer beginning to match wit with wisdom.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
Rich's special genius is his ability to nest an absurd premise in an otherwise ordinary situation... A perfect example of Rich's ability to mix humor and poignancy.
— Ron Charles, Washington Post -
Great writers tend to arrive when we need them most, and at this moment Simon Rich is a comedic godsend. Hits and Misses is a motherlode of silly, inventive, absurd brilliance. My admiration for Rich is rivaled only by my jealousy.
— Conan O'Brien -
Simon Rich is the Stephen King of comedy writing. From the first lines, he pulls you into a world of hilarious, simple, kind, determined, dumb, and bizarrely proud characters who, like all of us, are terrified of being embarrassed. He is the funniest writer I have ever met and Hits and Misses is his best collection of stories.
— John Mulaney -
Simon Rich is the Serena Williams of humor writing... Rich has sharpened his satire over the years, and he now wields it with skill... Rich is at the height of his craft when he is writing on the border between comedy and tragedy.
— New York Times Book Review -
Simon Rich "writes funny, short, inventive, breathtakingly precise pieces... Rich's insistence on hope, love, and that people (other than himself) are basically good is refreshing.
— The Millions -
Rich's special genius is his ability to nest an absurd premise in an otherwise ordinary situation... the tale of an actual dinosaur being laid off as a comedy writer is a perfect example of Rich's ability to mix humor and poignancy.
— Ron Charles, The Washington Post -
Flights of fancy from preternaturally gifted humorist Rich... Shades of Christopher Moore's slapstick... [and] Python-esque medieval farce... He has a sweet spot between mockery and respect for old Hollywood... lovingly crafted comedies from a writer beginning to match wit with wisdom.
— Kirkus -
Hits and Misses is full of the kinds of snappy writing and short, well-crafted situations that make perfect sense.
— BookReporter
Awards
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A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice of the Week
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About Simon Rich
Simon Rich has written for Saturday Night Live, Pixar, and The Simpsons. He is a frequent contributor to the New Yorker and has also written for GQ, Mad, Harvard Lampoon, and other magazines. He is the author of several humor collections, including Ant Farm, which was a finalist for the 2008 Thurber Prize for American Humor.