I remember being admonished from the pulpit in one of my faith's world general conferences that we should not live in such a way as to give credence to the lyrics by Billy Joel that "I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints -- the sinners are much more fun!" The purpose of this book is similar. One of the scriptures from the Book of Mormon that it is popular to memorize says "men are that they might have joy." This book has good suggestions for how to do that in a spiritual way. And it had a lot of funny anecdotes as well.

The book interested me when ResQgeek brought it to meeting, but it lingered on Mt TBR for a while. Then the author was one of the panel on Star Talk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and I was intrigued again. The topic for discussion at church on Sunday will include finding gratitude in difficult times. I will try to share a tidbit from the book that was on point.

An unexpected gift of a book. It gives a unique perspective on the role of joy, laughter, and humor within the spiritual and human context. Highly recommend.

Listened to audiobook version. Martin was very engaging. Enjoyed this book more than expected, and am now looking at some of his other books.

I really enjoyed this book, but found parts f it hard to get through. I liked reading it because Father Martin is right - it's often hard to see the humor in spiritual life. Fortunately, I the religious communities I was raised in and continue to participate in have always had a strong enjoyment in joy and humor, but it was interesting to read about the background of the Church and to read actual examples from the bible to better understand my own faith. It also really makes you think about your relationship with God, so I particularly liked the questions that asked you to reflect throughout the book.

Reading about humor is just not as enjoyable as reading humor… …there are some delightful and edifying bits contained within, and I get what Martin was attempting to organize, but it was just not put together in a very compelling package.

One of the most refreshing (and laugh out loud funny) books I've read in a long time. and certainly on Christianity.

What a wonderful book to read during Lent! It made me think a lot about how to approach faith and how I like a positive approach better and that's OK. Reading it with a group helped underscore some of the most important points.

I'm now looking for another Martin book to read during Easter.

Made me laugh out loud several times. What a great book to read on the most joyful of days!

3.5/5 stars
I saw James Martin speak at a graduation ceremony, and of course I had seen him on Colbert multiple times. This book is great, and I agree with it wholeheartedly, but I didn't feel like I learned much, and I expected the book to be funnier in itself. I appreciate any argument in favor of joy and laughter, though.

"Look at God looking at you...and smiling." - de Mello.

I bought this book last fall at a Jesuit retreat center. The only thing better than lakeside solitude is lakeside solitude with its own bookstore. Mostly, I picked this book for the cute cover. Additional bonus: Richard Rohr of recent enneagram fame and Stephen Colbert wrote the blurbs on the back.

In this book, joy is defined as “happiness in God…a deep-seated result of one’s connection to God.” A lot of the book is about how it’s ok for believers to enjoy life. Specifically, how it’s good to experience joy, humor, and laughter. I thought this was a given, but in some traditional religious circles this has been a problem. Perhaps because of my age, I haven’t been around that too much. It’s not hard for me to imagine that God has a sense of humor, or that people who believe in God should be joyful. Therefore, that part of the book wasn’t really for me.

What was for me, I think, was Martin’s fantastic articulation of the differences between humor (can be good/bad), laughter (can be good/bad), and joy (always good). Humor and laughter can be used to hurt, and Martin here makes the point that the safest and most edifying types of humor are “relaxing” (putting people at ease) and “prophetic” (playfully challenging power structures to keep people humble and to elevate others). I think in 2019 we’re all aware of the dangers of putting our foot in our mouth, and how we want to honor others with our words. This book provided some useful advice for doing just that. The book also includes great advice on how to practically share your joy with God, which in the long-term will probably be my favorite part.

It’s also full of funny stories, because how do you write a book with a Pope and Mother Teresa lol’ing on the cover without jokes?