The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness
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Narrated by:
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Paula Poundstone
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By:
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Paula Poundstone
About this listen
Is there a secret to happiness? Beloved comedian Paula Poundstone conducts a series of "thoroughly unscientific" experiments to find out, offering herself up as a guinea pig and recording her data for the benefit of all humankind. Armed with her unique brand of self-deprecating wit and the scientific method, in each chapter Paula tries out a different get-happy hypothesis. She gets in shape with tae kwon do. She drives fast behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. She communes with nature while camping with her daughter. Swing dancing? Meditation? Volunteering? Does any of it bring her happiness? And, more important, can the happiness last when she returns to the daily demands of her chaotic life? The results are irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny, and pointedly relevant to our times.
The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness is both a hilarious story of jumping into new experiences with both feet and a surprisingly poignant tale of a working mother raising three kids. Paula is a master of her craft. Her comedic brilliance, served up in abundance in this book, has been compared to that of George Carlin, Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin, and David Sedaris.
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Emily Bell believes in destiny. To her, being forced to sing a solo in the church choir - despite her average voice - is fate: because it's while she's singing that she first sees Sam. At first sight they are connected. Sam Border wishes he could escape, but there's nowhere for him to run. He and his little brother, Riddle, have spent their entire lives constantly uprooted by their unstable father. As Sam and Riddle are welcomed into the Bells' lives, they witness the warmth and protection of a family for the first time.
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Needs to be a film!
- By TreasureHunter on 06-25-16
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Just Don't Fall
- How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made It Down the Mountain
- By: Josh Sundquist
- Narrated by: Josh Sundquist
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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At age nine, Josh Sundquist was diagnosed with cancer, and by age 10, he'd lost his leg to the illness. But Sundquist never faltered in his dream to ski in the Paralympics, and in 2006 he achieved his goal in Turin, Italy.
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A fun read
- By Kindle Customer on 08-14-12
By: Josh Sundquist
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What's So Funny?
- My Hilarious Life
- By: Tim Conway, Jane Scovell, Carol Burnett - foreword
- Narrated by: Tim Conway, Carol Burnett, Dick Hill, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Six-time Emmy Award-winning funnyman Tim Conway, best known for his characters on The Carol Burnett Show, offers a straight-shooting and hilarious memoir about his life on stage and off as an actor and comedian. In television history, few entertainers have captured as many hearts and made as many people laugh as Tim Conway. There's nothing in the world that Tim Conway would rather do than entertain - and in his first-ever memoir, What's So Funny?, that's exactly what he does.
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Not narrated by Tim
- By Bob Murdock on 05-05-14
By: Tim Conway, and others
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I Regret Nothing
- A Memoir
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jen Lancaster
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author Jen Lancaster has lived a life based on re-invention and self-improvement. From Bitter Is the New Black to The Tao of Martha, she’s managed to document her (and her generation’s) attempts to shape up, grow up, and have it all - sometimes with disastrous results...Mistakes are one thing; regrets are another. After a girls’ weekend in Savannah makes her realize that she is - yikes! - middle-aged (binge watching is so the new binge drinking), Jen decides to make a bucket list and seize the day.
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The Smug Is Strong With This One
- By T. Filowitz on 05-24-15
By: Jen Lancaster
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The Ride of Our Lives
- Roadside Lessons of an American Family
- By: Mike Leonard
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Mike Leonard is a lucky man. It’s not everyone who gets parents like Jack and Marge. At 87, Jack is a pathological optimist with an inexhaustible gift of gab. Marge, Jack’s bride of 60 years, though cut from the same rough bolt of Irish immigrant cloth, is his polar opposite - pessimistic and proud of it. What was their son, Mike, thinking when he took a sabbatical from his job with NBC News so he could pile these two world-class originals along with three of his grown kids and a daughter-in-law into a pair of rented RVs and hit the road for a month?
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Hilarious!!!
- By TurtlesRMe on 03-06-07
By: Mike Leonard
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Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter
- By: Melissa Francis
- Narrated by: Cris Dukehart
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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When Melissa Francis was eight years old, she won the role of lifetime: playing Cassandra Cooper Ingalls, the little girl who was adopted with her brother (played by young Jason Bateman) by the Ingalls family on the world’s most famous prime-time soap opera, Little House on the Prairie. But behind the scenes, her success was fueled by the pride, pressure, and sometimes grinding cruelty of her stage mother.
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Awesome book - really enjoyed it.
- By Jane C. Bailey on 11-16-12
By: Melissa Francis
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The Book of Help
- A Memoir in Remedies
- By: Megan Griswold
- Narrated by: Megan Griswold
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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A hilarious and heartbreaking memoir-in-remedies by a self-described "professional soul-searcher" that details a journey of self-discovery through more than 160 tonics, seminars, regimens, and transformative therapies. With a voice that is at once intimate and hilarious, Megan captures the openness and honesty necessary for people to take a new path in life. Listeners will open the audiobook with curiosity about all the different healing therapies that Megan tries, but leave with a new understanding of themselves.
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Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has some serious competition!
- By Elisa R. Goodman on 02-15-19
By: Megan Griswold
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Breaking Night
- A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard
- By: Liz Murray
- Narrated by: Liz Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age 15, Liz found herself on the streets when her family finally unraveled. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep. Then, when Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny.
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unbelievably inspiring
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-12
By: Liz Murray
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Liar, Liar
- The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception
- By: Gary Paulsen
- Narrated by: Joshua Swanson
- Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Kevin has a big talent. Some might call it compulsive lying. He calls it common sense. Kev doesn’t mean to cause trouble by lying all the time; he’s just trying to make everything easier for everyone (and himself). And, of course, a few harmless, um, falsehoods are crucial to his plan to convince Tina that he’s the perfect boyfriend for her. In Gary Paulsen’s irresistible and chaotic comedy, Kevin’s lies spiral out of control until he’s faced with the need to do the unthinkable: tell the truth.
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Mindless entertainment
- By Melody on 01-21-15
By: Gary Paulsen
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Don't Lick the Minivan
- And Other Things I Never Thought I'd Say to My Kids
- By: Leanne Shirtliffe
- Narrated by: Trudie Kessler
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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As a woman used to traveling and living the high life in Bangkok, Leanne Shirtliffe recognized the constant fodder for humor while pregnant with twins in Asia's sin city. But in spite of deep-fried bug cuisine and nurses who cover newborn bassinets with plastic wrap, Shirtliffe manages to keep her babies alive for a year with help from a Coca-Cola deliveryman, several waitresses, and a bra factory. Then she and her husband return home to the isolation of North American suburbia.
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I Guess You Had to Be There?
- By Sara on 09-08-14
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The Admissions
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The Hawthorne family has it all. Great jobs, a beautiful house in one of the most affluent areas of Northern California, and three charming kids whose sunny futures are all but assured. And then comes their eldest daughter's senior year of high school....
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Anything for success
- By JillHen on 09-13-15
What listeners say about The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tammy
- 05-09-17
As always, Paula nails it
What made the experience of listening to The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness the most enjoyable?
The question of what makes this book on Happiness by one of the funniest women in America enjoyable to listen to is ironic in a Poundstone kind of way. Dark times call for laughter, and Poundstone delivers in spades. I always buy her books to listen to, as well as hardcopy, because her delivery is amazing. I haven't finish listening yet, but this is one I'll listen to over and over again. Thanks, funny lady!
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42 people found this helpful
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- Stephanie Chambers
- 12-08-17
I absolutely loved this book
Paula writes from the heart and it is so funny in parts. I would love to be able to write like she does and it has also inspired me to be a better person too. This is one of the very few books I know I will listen to over and over again.
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- Christine Howland
- 04-09-18
Comedian turned author and
An entertaining book especially with Paula Poundstone narrator. I think if she wasn't being the story teller, I never would have been able to follow the book's message.
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- David N
- 08-07-18
Laughed so hard that I wanted another cat.
I feel like this is one of the only real life stories that is just real. She is so sarcastically great. I feel connected to her.
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- vickie b
- 04-03-18
WONDERFUL WAY TO SPEND THE DAY WITH PAULA!
What did you love best about The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness?
I can't give you just one. Paula's voice and humor can brightened any moment or day. The topics she wrote about are so curretnt. They are things so many people struggle with, find joy in, and laugh about.
I adore this book and will recommended it to all!
Who was your favorite character and why?
Paula
What about Paula Poundstone’s performance did you like?
Everything! The way she weaved humor into human stories.
Any additional comments?
Thank you Paula for the wonderful woman that you are. Kind, empathy, love, generous, and so damn funny!
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- Janna Carwile
- 01-19-21
Small laughter and good insights
I enjoyed getting to learn a little bit more about Paula. The best part was there was no political crud in the book. She made me feel like she was actually searching for happiness. The spirit of trying a new adventure to see if you can find happiness is actually a little motivation for myself. I didn't like that she was repetitive in some of the details. I loved that she was descriptive though. She does a great job with her typical voice for the narration.
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- Jamesh75
- 10-17-17
Excellent listen!
what a fun way to pass the time in my car. well worth the price.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lynne
- 07-10-18
It really made me laugh - and was filled with great stories and insights
I got this Audible book because I enjoy Paula Poundstone‘s work on NPR‘s “Wait, Wait. Don’t tell me.“ I needed a laugh, after reading a couple of more serious books. I absolutely got what I wanted. I very much enjoyed her thoughts and stories. Moreover, it makes me want to go see her perform in person! (Wink to Paula!)
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- Frank
- 09-09-20
Paula Poundstone is an Open Book
The courage it must take to write and then read a book that is so self effacing is astonishing to me. I find Paula Poundstone to be extremely funny and insightful, this was a voyeuristic view into her life with some things that I can't forget. I really enjoyed the book and her honest approach.
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- Marie Evans
- 08-06-18
Paula is My Favorite Unscientist
I'm a fan of author-read comedy books, and Paula does not disappoint. This is part unscientific process, part memoir of raising teenagers.Be careful if listening to this book while driving. I had trouble seeing the road during Paula's description of meditation class because I was laughing so hard. Some may be put off by liberally "blue" language; I find it appropriate.
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