Very entertaining survey of the comedian's life. I recommend listening to the audiobook version to get the extra inflection of Billy Crystal's voice.

The reader/listener will be shocked (shocked! I say) to learn that Billy grew up in a happy home, has always been pretty funny, and didn't go into comedy right away. I should have recalled, but learned more deeply here, that Billy has a love of baseball, especially the New York Yankees, that is long and deep and is rooted in the limited time he had with his father.

This is a love story between Billy and life, with a little death thrown in for added poignancy and drama. Recommended for any fan and even non-fans. ( )

2.5 stars. I mostly know Billy's Crystal's later work - from City Slickers to his award-hosting stints to appearances on late-night talk shows. He seems like a nice guy, and this book wasn't bad. It's a combination of stand-up type material (some performed in front of a live audience) and memoir. I found some parts slow, and I also found some of his language extremely jarring. I just wasn't expecting so many f-bombs from him! ( )

A bit about the format. This was my first audio book. I listened to it on my way to and back from work. In my opinion, this format is great for something just like this, a memoir, or maybe an historical biography. However, I just can't see myself listening to a novel. For me, fiction is meant to be read.

With that said, this memoir made me laugh, made me get misty, made me a tad bit angry in a few parts, made me reminisce, and it made me think. That's five stars for me. Pick it up, it's a great read, or listen. ( )

I’ve enjoyed quite a few celebrity memoirs on audio and after we recently rewatched the movie City Slickers I added this to my audio library.

I’ve always enjoyed Billy Crystal as and actor and comedian. This memoir was excellent. He wrote is about the time he was turning 65 and it’s a look back at his life, career, and other milestone birthdays.

He actually recorded several chapters in front of a live audience which given his standup comedy career worked very well. I was glad the whole book wasn’t recorded that way but for some chapters it was great.

It’s a great listen and I definitely recommend it. He’s quite a sports fan and prominent sports figures and of course his beloved New York Yankees are as much a part of the book as his personal and working life.

I laughed out loud many times, I got a little emotional several times, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. ( )

The audiobook of this is particularly funny in places, as Billy Crystal reads it and actually performed parts of it as a comedy sketch in front of an audience. The first 10 minutes I was dying with laughter. Then it turned to the more ususal "let me tell you about my life" type of memoir, which was interesting enough as Billy Crystal has led quite a life. But the best parts are definitely the comedic reflections that are spread throughout the narrative. I will say that the humor is definitely R-rated so be careful who is in the car with you when you listen to this! Crystal doesn't hold anything back, so this book may not be for the easily offended. Otherwise, enjoy - but pull over to the side of the road if you are laughing so hard you can't breath. ( )

What an excellent audio book!

In his mid sixties now, Billy Crystal recounts his life by decade, (my twenties, my thirties, etc...), interspersed with portions set in the present which were performed in front of a live audience. What an interesting man!

Starting with his early home life, the death of his father and his first career milestones, Billy tells his story with warmth, humility, humor and poignancy. Recounting his relationships with Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell, Johnny Carson and Mickey Mantle, this is a behind the scenes look into building a successful career and family life.

The live audience portions of this performance were all about the aging process- they were very funny and all true. Towards the end of this autobiography he addresses the big issues-the loss of extended family members and facing one's own death. There is a real focus here on family and I enjoyed that. It also lent a sense of poignancy when he discussed the losses his family has experienced.

Funny and genuinely interesting, I enjoyed the hell out of this audio book. I laughed out loud, I teared up and I learned a lot. What more could a reader ask for?

Highly recommended! ( )

Tags: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Billy Crystal, Comedians, Reflections, Essays, Growing Older

Overview: I listened to this one on audio read by Billy Crystal, one of my favorite comedians and actors growing up. This one was really reflections on his getting older, looking back on his career and how he got to where he is today, stages of his family (marriage, children, grandchildren), and a few little rants here and there (that are incredibly entertaining).

Highlights: Some of the audio was recorded in front of a live audience, so having an element of other people responding live (laughing, commenting, etc.) made the audio really fun to listen to. There were parts that made me guffaw, they were so funny, and there were parts towards the end that made me really tear up, they were so heartfelt and human.

Pre-Requisites: A good sense of humor and the ability to laugh!

If you like: comedy, Billy Crystal, short pieces/reflections, reminiscing on the past, quick reads, thoughtful discussion on life and death (and all the in between things) ( )

LOVED this book. NYTimes bestseller. Hundreds of reader reviews, and I'm about five years late in reading it. Loved his 700 SUNDAYS too. Not surprised how hard I laughed, but he can make you cry too, and I did. He's that good a writer. Thanks for all of it Billy. LOVED every page, every word! Enough said.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )

Mostly hilarious, poignant at times. I am now revisiting all my old favorite Billy Crystal movies and even discovering some new ones! ( )

Mr. Chrystal has written a funny, warm tale of his life. Very enjoyable, especially as an audio book, since the author read it, and some of the chapters were done in front of an audience. ( )

This is going to sound strange. After all, Mr. Crystal is a very funny man. This book was...boring. It read like any old person's biography. The man has no juicy tidbits in his past! Which is refreshing, but certainly doesn't make for an interesting biography. I liked the in-between bits, that focused more on his stand-up and humor, rather than the history of himself. ( )

How could you ever actually READ this book instead of listen to it? Billy Crystal does voices so well, the stories are a thousand times better heard.
It's a bit of a memoir, going back through his life talking about his family and his career, and part reflection on what it means to get "old" (65 specifically) and start thinking about death.
It's funny, charming, delightful autobiography with lots of "laugh out loud" moments.
Crystal is certainly obsessed with the Yankees, so it helps to know a bit of baseball if you read/listen to the book. ( )

It's Billy Crystal. He's a very funny man. He also says some very poignant things. His life so far has been very interesting. It'll be fun to hear about how it all pans out.

Listened to him read his book. He did a good job- all the people in the book should be proud. ( )

Listening to the audio book! My first!!



Listened to the whole audio book and it was good. Funny and silly and well written. Its read out loud by billy crystal so it def adds to it. :) ( )

I'm a big Billy Crystal fan. I've always thought he has been one of the few stars who seemed grounded and real. This book shows how much he is a family man and. I love that he and Janice have been married for over 45 years and have lived in the same house for that long. He still gets start struck and he hasn't let fame blow his head up. I enjoyed the live audience sections of the audio book. There were times in this book where I was laughing so hard I was snorting and had I been drinking I would have spit it out. There were times when he made me cry. There were also times where I just smiled because he took me back to a movie I enjoyed or a show I saw him on. The audio book is a must as Billy does a fantastic job reading it. When he talked about hitting for the New York Yankees I got on YouTube and looked up the footage. Probably one of my favorite nonfiction books. ( )

Everybody knows Crystal is a funny guy, so I expected a good number of laugh-out-loud moments, and the author delivers. That said, there's not much surprising about his stories of creating When Harry Met Sally, etc. because his general attitude is one of self-congratulation. I would have liked a more self-reflective look at a hugely successful show biz career, but I don't think Crystal is that guy. With Crystal, what you see is what you get . . . and read. ( )

Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m going, and Where the Hell are my Keys? by Billy Crystal
288 pages

★★★

In this book, Billy Crystal talks about his career and his life surrounding it. He also talks about recently turning 65 and he rants about…well whatever he wants.

I love Billy Crystal but honestly? I found this book a bit boring. It had its moments of being funny or sweet and there were a lot of interesting tidbits on his life. The man, in 65 years, has had no celebrity drama in his life. This is great for him – same wife, same career, same house, no rehab, no drugs, and no affairs (that we know of!) after 35 years as an actor is a rarity and I commend him for that. However, I won’t lie that it made for a somewhat dull book. A lot of “And I auditioned for this movie. And I met these awesome people. And the movie did well. And it was called When Harry Met Sally… then I met someone else and we made a movie. And then there was this movie….”well you get the gist. And then the many of the parts I did find interesting he had already mentioned in his previous book, 700 Sundays, which I recently read (like..last week recently). I still adore the guy, I think he is amazing and that is reflected in this book but I am glad I got it from the library, I can’t imagine wanting to re-read this one.
( )

I received a free copy through Goodreads.
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It was a rather fun and unexpected read. I haven't seen a lot of Billy Crystal's stand up comedy or films but I rather enjoyed reading this book. He is quite the comedian.

I enjoyed his little jokes here and there, along with some words of wisdom. There were a few instances were it was a little meh, but there's enough funny parts to keep going.

Overall, fairly decent and insightful memoir that allows us a glimpse into Billy's life. ( )

Very funny book. Part memoir, part collection of material for stand up routines. Billy turned 65 and uses that as a recurring topic. Some filthy jokes, some cute stuff. Spoiler alert. He finds his keys.

I found myself, literally, laughing out loud on quite a few occasions. ( )

I used to be more of a Billy Crystal fan until I listened to this audiobook. I almost couldn't wait for it to be over, and I almost stopped listening to it. Sure, he's a funny guy, but he's not funny in this book at all. He's funny with the one-liners. Anything more than a few sentences for Crystal is just too long to be funny. And so you are left with a book where he just talks about his accomplishments and those things in life that are really important to him, like baseball and the Mets. It's all about, "Me, Me, Me," and after I heard it, I realized that the Me was not all that interesting. The book has no great insights. It was mundane and rather boring in my opinion. ( )

I did not love it, but I feel I have been given a gift after listening to Billy Crystal narrate this memoir. Everything most precious to the man is in here. He didn't hold back anything. Having said that, there is too much repetition (about Mickey Mantle and Muhammed Ali, for instance) and not enough of reminisces about working with other famous people to hold my attention. I didn't mind the crudeness except when it got boring. The family stuff is wonderful as are the parts about his most famous movies. ( )

Very enjoyable! ( )

I'd give this 3 1/2 stars.

It was fun to listen to - like listening to stand up comedy but heartfelt. Made me love Billy Crystal even more! ( )

Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell are My Keys?
Written and narrated by Billy Crystal
Ⓟ 2013, Macmillan Audio
8.10 hours

Still Foolin’ ‘Em is an autobiography of Billy Crystal’s career to date as told from the perspective of the 65 year old veteran comic, actor, writer and, producer. Crystal recognized as he was writing the book that some sections would be better presented live for the audiobook edition, so there are chapters which have been recorded in front of an audience. Whether live or from a studio, Crystal’s delivery is fast and his timing well-honed.

This isn’t really a comic album per se. It’s a memoir of a comic who delivers Borscht Belt or Matzoh Ball humor as a part of his personality. It’s interesting and engaging; but if you’re looking for jokes and routines, you’re better off checking out his old performances on television and film.

OTHER: I borrowed a CD edition of Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell are My Keys? (Written and narrated by Billy Crystal) from the Jackson County Library System in Oregon. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post. ( )

At times hilarious, at times poignant, this audio was partially performed in front of a live audience. Crystal describes much of his career and personal life, joys and sorrows. Enough famous people are mentioned to add to the interest, but fundamentally it's the recollections of a 60 year old man looking back over his relationships at home and work. ( )