Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything

This starts out as a good book, or at least one that is full of information that you may not know if you are a casual fan and some bits that are interesting even for the diehard fan. It does have its faults, and goes completely off the rails at the end, but is an easy light read that is not something you should rush out to buy at all. It is a disappointing purchase for hardback.-For a 320 page book, it goes surprisingly fast. This is praise and criticism, as it makes for light reading but seems oddly empty.-It is strongest when the actual show is the main focus. When it discusses things after the show and (especially) fandom it shows its lack of real depth.-Many things about the show aren't new and revelatory, but that isn't a problem per se, as any fan can find a few nuggets that are interestingly new, and re-living some other events and stories surrounding the show can't be anything but fun to read about.-The writing can be choppy at times, with abrupt stopping and little transition into another topic within a chapter.-The focus on much of the meat of the book is about the writers, which I found fascinating and interesting, though others that might care more about the actors might not appreciate as much.-You can really tell who she interviewed more in depth because it comes through loud and clear via the amount of coverage that certain writers or people get compared to others. Some writers get barely a mention while others get superfluous details added.-She is really obsessed with the cars people drive, implying a sort of meaning to them. I didn't notice this at first, but you notice as the book goes on that you may not know if a person is married or how old they are, but you sure know what car they drive at that time.-The worst part of the book is her attempt to tie everything in to the concept of "Seinfeldia", which is sort of the real and fake universe of the show and everything associated with it, which has some recursive interaction within itself. I see what she is trying, but it seems forced and just doesn't really work at a level she is trying. But she keeps trying to make it happen. I kept rolling my eyes.-The book really falls apart at the end, to the extant that I stopped enjoying it. Once the show ends, she keeps talking about things. Actually, she only talks about a couple things in long depth. It seems she had extensive notes on a couple things and wanted to include everything she took notes on.-Are you interested in what the guy who played The Soup Nazi did after his time on that one episode? Including today? Well, you will get that. Want to know about the person who posed for the barely visible poster for Rochelle, Rochelle? You will hear that story too. Want to know way too much about someone and their Seinfeld2000 twitter account? Oh my gosh does that go on and on and on. The last part of the book focuses on a few things like that and is tedious and, in a capital offense, is not very interested at all.The book is interested until the end, when I just wanted it to finish so I could move on. The writing is ok, but overall the whole thing seems like a shallow first pass at a book. Wait for paperback or get it from the library and know going in that it is a flawed book that craps out at the end and you will enjoy it. Buy it when it first comes out and hope for a book that is evenly interesting and you will be disappointed.

Best show ever, and this was a great book. We get 3 Seinfeld episodes a day in our area, and I still watch them without fail. There was a lot of interesting information in the book about the inner workings of the show, and the characters, both the peripheral and the main characters. I wish there had been more about Seinfeld himself, but I guess he has been discussed in other books. I love the show and think it is about "everything" instead of nothing, and am always amused at how the plotlines come together at the end of each episode. But speaking of end-- the final show was a major disappointment. I simply couldn't believe that they would end a perfect series with such an off the wall finale. It was depressing. And after watching all the episodes numerous times, it's pretty obvious that all the things Jerry and the gang were sent to jail for, were instances where they had tried to do what they thought best, but things would go wrong. They only made mistakes, and didn't commit any deliberate crimes. I thought it would have been a good goodbye if the show had ended in the coffee shop, with them discussing plans for the trip to Paris. Then let that be it. They should have stopped while they were on a roll.

I'm a huge fan of Seinfeld, so it's hard to be objective here. I was a true watcher, someone who started with the first episode, not a Jonny Come Lately who started watching during the third or fourth seasons, so with full disclosure let me say I loved this book. Armstrong writes a compelling narrative, complete with cultural analysis and juicy gossip, about the makings of the cultural juggernaut Seinfeld, and her thesis is that the show was so powerful it shaped the Zeitgeist and still influences culture today.She defines "Seinfeldia" as this absurd shadow world, existing not totally in fiction or totally in "real life" but somewhere in-between. She uses dozens of examples both from the show and how "real life" imitated the show, including the real and fictional Kramer, the real and fictional NBC producers, the real and fictional Larry David, the real and fictional Jerry. She touches on Michael Richards' heart-breaking, inexplicable 2006 breakdown in which he spewed epithets and had one of the most notorious on-stage celebrity meltdowns in history.Armstrong also addresses the class conflict between "elite" Seinfeldian sensibility vs. the working class Roseanne Barr one. This book is fast-paced, comprehensive, smart, and sometimes funny and sometimes sad. Highly recommended.

The book gives a very interesting story and background of the formation, execution and fallout of the Seinfeld show. Now when the credits roll after one of the reruns, you recognize the names. The last half gets into where the characters and staff ended up. The last 25% gets a little dry as this process should have stopped earlier

This is a most interesting but light read. Over the years I watched all the episodes more than once. Still, I consider myself a casual fan. If you want a wonderful change of pace from the worries of Covid 19 and the world problems, read this book. It will positively bring smiles to your face.

I read this years ago, but remembered it when I heard that my 16-year-old grandson was watching the series. I thought he would enjoy reading it, too. That show just never gets old and still makes me laugh whenever I see it. The characters are funny and yet believable. My husband and I never fail to watch it when we come across the repeats. The book has a lot of inside information about the actors.

buenisima calidad un exclente libro para los amantes de seinfeld

Verpackung war geöffnet und auch das Buch sah leider verdreckt und gebraucht aus. Ich bin extrem enttäuscht. Außerdem wurde es bei einem Nachbarn abgegeben, obwohl ich das gar nicht will/wollte.

It's a must-have for die-hard fans of the show. The writing is very unshowy and magazine-y, and the author, though clearly a fan, does not fawn over her subjects. This makes it an interesting though slightly bland account. It's about Seinfeld, though, so it automatically gets you giggling at the mention of the jokes and plots. Plus, it has lots of trivia and context for you to bring up as you watch re-runs with friends and family. My only real gripe is about the photos included. They add very little value, though I'm sure a legendary TV show like Seinfeld is probably well-documented. And they include 4 photos (out of 28) of Stoller, who played a very small role in the series.

Loved the tv show and this book reveals how they got their stories and the names of who the characters are based on. You have to have had watched the Seinfeld show other wise this book will mean nothing to you.

The author has Piled-up all possible trivia and intricate details in perfect manner, even though it's about a highly ranked revolutionary sitcom.Great job describing Cosmo Kramer !!!