Book Review: The Pretty Good Joke Book

AuthorGarrison Keillor
Reviewed ByMatt Miner
Last Updated
Rating

Get This Book If…

  • You’d like to improve your image as good-natured with a sense of humor
  • You are in meetings and you need to reach for a quick filler

The Pretty Good Joke Book is an unlikely book to make it to anyone else’s top-10 leadership books, but here’s why those lists are missing out.

Reliable

How many jokes could you rattle off from memory? If you’re like most people, likely two or three. Add the pressure of a zoom call and you might fumble it.

Joke books have become relics unfairly. These days it is common to rely on Google or an AI chatbot to provide a zinger in a pinch. That’s all well and good, but nothing compares to having more than a thousand categorized and curated jokes to quickly thumb through and deliver. No AI hallucinations, no ad-saturated junk websites, just jokes.

Safe-For-Work

A top rule for leaders in an organization is that you have to keep it PG. “Dad jokes” are the sweet spot, causing “the groan”. This book contains myriad jokes safe to deploy in any meeting. Read more about the biz rules of humor.

It’s a Prop

One of its hidden features is that it’s literally a prop you can show on camera and point to.

Who wants to hear a pretty good joke? Not a great joke, just a pretty good one?

and then show the book. In the right setting with the right people it will delight in that perfect safe-for-work way. I’ve done this many times for external folks (vendors, clients) and it works almost always.

In Summary

Whether you pick this book or another similar one, having a joke book within reach is a cheap and easy way to give yourself an advantage that will improve your image.

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The Pretty Good Joke Book
From the Publisher:

From Garrison Keillor, the beloved author and radio personality, comes The Pretty Good Joke Book, a collection of more than 300 of his favorite jokes, puns, and one-liners. Whether you need a quick icebreaker, a clever quip for a speech, or just a good laugh, this book has you covered with jokes that are sure to entertain and amuse.

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