the stand-up comedian\'s library: 21 books for comics who care about their craft

The only best way to get better in the stands
Comedy is on stage, the second good way is to watch or listen to other people standingup.
But there\'s more to this ship.
Learn how to write jokes, how to build your character, how to practice, and why people laugh can help you add directions to your scene and mature into a more knowledgeable and skilled comic book.
On top of that, learning art history and some of the more esoteric things about joke theory can give you an advantage over the other two --
A dozen people lined up in front of the open microphone.
As a comedian who also wrote a lot about comedy, I \'ve read a lot about comedians, about comedians, and how to be comedians.
Here\'s my best choice-the books I read over and over, and the books that help me understand everything about jokes and jokes.
Let\'s start with a book that\'s great for beginners joke writers, and it\'s full of good practice, even if you have a bigger toolbox, you can also do these exercises with more experience: a serious guide to Sally Holloway writing jokes.
Holloway is not just an experience as a position-
Over the years, she has also taught comedy in the classroom, which makes her books different from many other teaching texts.
In addition to having a very practical section on how to make timely/current affairs jokes based on specific newspaper articles, and what I know is the best chapter to explain surrealist comedy writing, it also contains information about the Hadron joke collider, one of the most useful brainstorming exercises I \'ve come across-and one that I still use frequently when joking.
It has long been considered an impromptu Bible.
The comedian should also have a dog.
The ear of the true comedy is on the shelf, even if they never say \"\". . .
\"In their lives. Why?
Improvisation is a vital skill for standing. ups.
It will not only allow you to improve your jokes on stage, at the moment, but also make you more authentic to the audience.
In common cases where something strange happens in your set, it will help you (like hecklers)
Or if you want to work with the masses.
Most importantly: it has some really great, timeless lessons about comedy, from the rules of the three-pointers, to the difference between the situation and the jokes, how to get laughter through the characters.
You might think it\'s pretentious to call the comedy Bible, but Judy Carter\'s book is so thorough and deepby-
This is a perfectly reasonable step.
I love every day she brings you
By writing down your first position
Set up and write specification scripts.
It\'s full of famous comics from super
Practical exercises and a simple checklist.
The book also provides a great deal of information about comedy business, including how to log in to a show, how to brand and market yourself, and how to get paid for your jokes at the end of the day.
God bless this reality, no. frills guide.
If you want to learn comedy from the best people, one of the smartest starts is Mike Saks\'s kick, which is 21 in-
In-depth interviews with some of the best humor writers, from Dave Barry to Alison Silverman to Jack Handi.
These interviews are filled with delightful anecdotes that will excite anyone interested in the history of comedy, but at the same time, they also delve into craft issues from the writing process of the famous comedians, and some of our greatest minds think laughter is the most important.
If you like the book, you will certainly also love the sack\'s sequel, \"poke the Frog,\" in which he interviewed another ship of other comedy writers.
Seriously, take out your highlighter. Every stand-
Comics should read a good stand
Comedy legend Steve Martin\'s comedy memoir is perhaps the best.
Even if you don\'t like his humorous style, his journey story, and his insights into acting and persistence, it\'s worth reading.
How real is this?
\"My most persistent memory of my position --
Up is my mouth now, my mind is in the future: the mouth of the line, the body of the gesture, and the brain looks back, observes, analyzes, judges, worries, then decide what to say next.
The enjoyment of performance is rare
Enjoyment will be the loss of focus of an indulgence that comedy can\'t afford.
If you like Steve Martin and his comedy, you should also have his weird classic, brutal shoes.
Another memoir that comedy writers need is Tina Fey\'s Bossypants, a memoir about 30 Rock comedians writing characters in the head from small to large at SNL.
One thing that makes this book so great is that it\'s about comedy, but it also contains a lot of jokes, so, you can learn about comedy life while watching one of our best comedians at work.
For women in comedy, it also has great advice that they face obstacles when they climb the ladder.
Here is just a small message: \"So, my advice to women in the workplace is like this.
When faced with gender discrimination, age discrimination, appearance discrimination, and even really radical Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: \"Is this person between me and what I want to do?
If the answer is no, ignore it and move on.
Your energy is best spent on work, surpassing others in this way.
Then, when you are in charge, don\'t hire people who are not happy with you. ”Stand-
Ups should not just read about standingup comedy.
Comic books can help you learn a lot about joke writing, characters, comedy situations and rhythms.
One of the best writers is P. G.
Wodehouse, who wrote the timeless series about Wooster and his very patient valet Jeeves.
All the books in the series are very interesting, interesting and fast --
But what I like most is the password of the suitor.
Reading any book can help you get into the right mood and mindset to write your own original material.
Worst of all, even if you don\'t get inspiration, you can learn from all the humortime greats.
Written by a founding editor of onion, this book lays a solid foundation for how to build jokes and what makes fun things interesting.
Unlike many other comedy manuals, how to write funny without fat or padding: Scott dikes is right and then goes to the next one.
At the heart of the book is eleven \"interesting filters\"-jokes are the main way to be fun, from word games to exaggeration to parody.
This is the necessary knowledge.
If you like the option, be sure to read the sequel and how to write something more interesting, which will go deeper.
Another book of improvisation, I think is also very useful for improvisationups.
Again, a large part of this book talks directly to theatrical works, such as parts about masks, but these parts are easily skipped so you can focus on super movies
Important Information about status and spontaneity.
If one of your problems is not being able to relax on stage or deviate from your script jokes, this article is a great place to start working on this.
If you want to dip your toes into a crowd work, or a less structured job, or shut up that booing person, there are some good suggestions and ideas.
Do you really need a super academic text about women in comedy? It is almost 500 pages long.
Yes, you may.
Yes, even if you are a man.
Especially if you\'re a man.
With chapter titles such as \"Hollywood\'s Whoopi Goldberg: quirky family tree of comedy genres\" and \"Alan de Jerez\'s merged body: Politics of Authenticity\", you may feel that, however, the lessons and history contained in hysteria will make you a better, smarter and more aware comedian.
If you are a male comedian who is not interested in exploring female comedies, consider that half of your audience is female and that the number of your booties, promoters, collaborators is growing rapidly, and working togetherworkers.
Like many of the books on this list, thank you for coming to Hattiesburg for a duel: it contains a great deal of sharp comedy by the King of irony, Todd Barry, and it also draws a super
What is the picture of reality? it\'s a complete picture.
Time tour comedian (
Answer: not the same as the Rock team).
Even when complaining, Barry is very likable, and the stories in his extensive travels are filled with tips on how to deal with the show, travel and keep up with the spirit.
You will learn valuable information about booking a show, finding a place to live and getting paid, and will laugh at him for describing a road meal and a bomb.
The Comic Toolbox, written by television writer John wohaus, tends to write stories and scripts instead of standingup comedy.
But it still contains dozens of pearls of wisdom that can easily be translated into stools and stages.
Think of your clips as stories or scenes (
You will be surprised by their frequency)
Almost everything is applicable and helpful.
The book is also full of examples of comedy plots and storylines in movies, so this is a treasure trove of movie referrals that can help you learn more about humor.
Many of these books delve into the big question: why do we joke and laugh?
Freud thought a lot about it and thought it was because joking allows us to talk about our unconscious desires in a way that we usually can\'t.
In addition to the joke, the joke and its relationship with the unconscious are much like his dream analysis (
To be honest, many of these questions are a bit confusing, probably due to translation issues).
No, this is not the best theory about jokes, nor is it the clearest and most concise theory to explain.
But it is very interesting and different, it is an important part of the history of the theory of jokes.
Former SNL writer Jack Handi is one of the best joke writers of all time, and his only novel, The Stench of Honolulu, is filled with
Liners, reconcile and run.
Before I start writing my own work, I like to read a few pages of the book randomly because Handey\'s time, rhythm and sound are so inspiring and powerful.
Another exercise I did with this book?
Sit down and type a page of it word by word.
I swear it works to teach you joke structure!
I also have every book Handey wrote in my library. The other must-
What I want to say to the Martian is \"yes \".
Shrill is the most famous Super
The popular comedy series on Hulu these days, but it all started with the prose of writer and comedian Lindy West.
While it covers a great deal of themes, three of these chapters, \"America, Chuckletown: jokes,\" \"desire to die,\" and \"it\'s about freedom of speech,\" are not hate women, but focus on the position.
Comedy, sex discrimination, rape jokes and shock comedy.
As far as I\'m concerned, for anyone on stage, they need to read, regardless of their gender.
Her main point about offensive comedy is too complicated to cover in a short book review, but it is very smart, thoughtful and simple.
Also, the book is very interesting-the West can teach you something about humorous writing through examples on each page.
Although the TV series is fictional, it is also very funny.
Probably the most famous and successful comedy nerd, he published a very large long book to interview famous comedians: sick head.
Like Mike Sack\'s book, they offer a great deal of advice, ideas and theories from our most respected people, intertwined with stories from their lives and careers.
These interviews can be very inspiring when you want to give up, and they can be very insightful if you are stuck in a project or blocked by writers.
Apatow also has a book called \"I found this interesting\", which is a super
A compilation of various humorous short films he has enjoyed over the years.
This book explores the concepts of humor through mathematics, and how we apply formulas to interesting things.
Filled with illustrations, charts, and Venn charts, this is an engaging, strange reading that touches on topics such as unexpected dissonance, deduction, riddles, irony, paradox, and reversal.
You can skip this if you\'re not a full geek, but if you\'re interested in thinking about some more quantitative aspects of jokes and humor, you\'ll appreciate what it says.
Like the comic toolbox, the hidden tools of comedy focus on story and script writing, not on Independent
Comedy writing.
But also like the toolbox, it contains a lot of lessons on what makes things interesting and how to develop these ideas into complete ideas
A mature narrative.
Kaplan is a long time
Comedy time teacher, this book shows, well structured, full of examples of real scripts.
It can be a bit repetitive at times, but as long as you look through fluff comfortably from time to time, it\'s an article worth reading and a resource that you\'ll return when you\'re writing.
We\'re 60-
Oral History of the year\'s female comedy, from the stands-
Watch TV.
Why is reading important for people of all genders?
Because it clearly outlines the obstacles and challenges women face in the comedy and how far we still need to go, it\'s important for all the comics.
Filled with amazing insights, fun trivia, and hundreds of great anecdotes, it\'s a lesson in history, feminism, comedy, and work.
It also fills in many unfortunate holes in comedians.
The comedian is a very simple history in the history of American comedy, starting from about 1900.
On page 350, author Kliph Nesteroff takes us from juggling to SNL, telling all the biggest stories and events from the best comedians.
This is a great overview of the development of comedy over the last few hundred years and a great map to see where we might go next.
It\'s not as attractive as the rest of the comedy history I \'ve listed, and sometimes it feels like a white straight man parade (which. . .
Well, that\'s usually the case, but that doesn\'t mean you can\'t cover anything else).
This is a good reference (
Great index)
This is a great way to discover past famous comedians you may not be familiar.
A big part of learning humor is trying to make people laugh.
But to understand this, you should also first look at what makes people laugh: why do we do this and why do we like to do this?
To answer this question, we turn
Peter McGraw runs something called the Humor Research Lab, which sounds cool.
The pair teamed up with reporter Joel Warner to embark on a journey through science to discover how humor works.
The Humor Code is an easy, fun read that provides insights beyond the structure and state changes of the joke.