
Before & Laughter
Audible Audiobook
– Unabridged
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Self-help meets memoir in this deeply insightful, fascinating and entertaining audiobook about happiness by one of the country's most treasured comedians.
A memoir and self-help manual by one of the country's most treasured comedians - for anyone who feels stuck in a rut but doesn't have the tools or self-belief to shake things up
In his mid-20s, Jimmy was bored, boring, unfulfilled and underachieving. He wasn't exactly depressed, but he was very sad. Think of a baby owl whose mum has recently died in a windmill accident. He was that sad. This book tells the story of how Jimmy turned it around and got happy, through the redemptive power of dick jokes.
Written to take advantage of the brief window between the end of lockdown and Jimmy getting cancelled for saying something unforgivable to Lorraine Kelly, this book is as timely as it is unnecessary.
Because you might be interested in Jimmy's life but he's damn sure you're a lot more interested in your own, Before & Laughter is about both of you. But mainly him. It tells the story of Jimmy's life - the transformation from white-collar corporate drone to fake-toothed, donkey-laugh, plastic-haired comedy mannequin - while also explaining how to turn your own life around and become the you you've always dreamt of being.
Before & Laughter contains the answers to all the big questions in life, questions like:
- What's the secret to happiness?
- Is Jimmy wearing a wig?
- What happened with that tax thing?
- What's the meaning of life?
- Is Jimmy's laugh real?
- Can those teeth bite through vibranium?
And for listeners in the West Country: yes, there are pictures (actually, sorry, there are no pictures, but there's a book about a hungry caterpillar you'll love).
Because it's Jimmy Carr - recently scientifically proved to be the funniest comedian in the UK - there are jokes, jokes and more jokes throughout. If laughter really was the best medicine, the NHS would be handing out this book in Nightingale Hospitals.
Fascinating, thoughtful and insightful - are all words that appear in the book.
- Listening Length6 hours and 45 minutes
- Audible release date30 September 2021
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB09BB8P9BW
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 6 hours and 45 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Jimmy Carr |
Narrator | Jimmy Carr |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com.au Release Date | 30 September 2021 |
Publisher | Quercus |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B09BB8P9BW |
Best Sellers Rank | 73 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 1 in Comedy (Books) 1 in Comedy (Audible Books & Originals) 3 in Love, Sex & Marriage Humour |
Customer reviews
Top reviews from Australia
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Turns out he puts together a really interesting book which he peppers with sound advice and common
sense while also making you laugh and sneaking in a brief history of his life.
Jimmy comes across as a really good/nice person with a refreshing outlook on life. I ticked the "follow" button and look forward to reading more by him.
BTW I'm an old(er) person not yet ready for the scrapheap and more than willing to update/change my outlook on life fairly frequently. Thanks Jimmy.
Ended too abruptly or is this just Amazon thing?
I’d recommend to people who like Jimmy Carr.
I wish this book was around a decade or more ago: it would have been very helpful to me over the last few years.
I expected to be appalled, which I wasn’t; and to laugh out loud a few times, which I did; but I did not expect it to be thought-provoking, which it definitely is.
I particularly like his quote “If you keep working on your weaknesses, you might become average. But if you find your strengths and work on those instead, you will become the best.”
I think I might steal that one.
Top reviews from other countries



Disclaimer: my favourite books are biographies and self-help books and this is both so I am probably the exact target audience. However, because I'm really into personal development, I very rarely come across anything refreshing or new these days. And this was all of those things.
Jimmy tells a story really well, drops in the odd hilarious comment and has some 'genuinely useful' things to say about life.
The not so appreciative reviews on here are probably just a case of the book ending up in the hands of the incorrect audience, which isn't surprising when at a quick glance this book looks like any old comedian autobiography.
If you're not interested in self-development material at all, and you're looking for pure biography with some laughs, this is not the book for you. Do not buy. However, if you're open to some life insights, interested in the inner workings of the comedy scene and would like to read about the life and times of Jimmy Carr, add it to your basket now.

So when I saw he was bringing out a book I pre-ordered it straight away.
I am so disappointed to say that this book was terrible. It’s so random. It’s not in the slightest but funny and it makes no sense. I hated it after first chapter but carried on Incase it got better- it didn’t.
Sorry Jimmy but this was awful.
