Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre has affordable, comedy shows seven nights a week in NYC and LA. Watch the best improv, sketch and standup in the country. Our original comedy video productions have garnered the national spotlight. We also run the first nationally accredited improv and sketch comedy school in the country. For information on our courses, visit the Training Center.
Splitsider includes UCBT authors on list of "Books Every Comedy Fan Should Read"
Splitsider February 21, 2013
The Ultimate Comedy Library: 57 Books Every Comedy Fan Should Read
by Jenny Nelson
Books are smart and reading is good for you!
This can be hard to remember because of podcasts and television and movies and all the other things begging for attention from your eyeballs and ear holes. A lot of funny stuff is in the media, we get it! But books can be funny, too. Just look at all the comedians making books! Comedians are always writing books about themselves, or about comedy history, or about writing, or just fun stuff called "fiction." And a lot of it is worth reading.
Because we are here to help, we made for you a list of some of the best comedy books -- broken down into memoirs, humor, history, and fiction -- that would be right at home on any comedy lover's shelf (or on your "E-reader").
MEMOIRS
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt
Oswalt mixes stories of his formative years as a D&D-playing nerd with other vignettes including poems, movie reviews, greeting cards.
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
Girl Walks Into a Bar… by Rachel Dratch
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling
Sleepwalk With Me by Mike Birbiglia
The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman
Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence by Paul Feig
God, If You're Not Up There, I'm F*cked by Darrel Hammond
A Bad Idea I'm About to Do: True Tales of Seriously Poor Judgment and Stunningly Awkward Adventure by Chris Gethard
Comic, actor, writer, and Chris Gethard Show creator Chris Gethard tells of all his life's moments that have been beyond awkward, like more awkward than yours when you say things are awkward.
Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 by Moshe Kasher
LA stand-up comedian Moshe Kasher relates his story, a complicated one that you can probably get an idea of from this memoir's lengthy subtitle.
Daddy's Boy: A Son's Shocking Account of Life with a Famous Father by Chris Elliott
A Liar's Autobiography by Graham Chapman
You're Lucky You're Funny: How Life Becomes a Sitcom by Phil Rosenthal
I Didn't Ask to Be Born (But I'm Glad I Was) by Bill Cosby
You're Not Doing it Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations by Michael Ian Black
Happy Accidents by Jane Lynch
Tasteful Nudes …and Other Misguided Attempts at Personal Growth and Validation by Dave Hill
In 17 short autobiographical essays, likably observant humorist Dave Hill makes funny about depression, death, and adolescence.
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
I Love You More Than You Know by Jonathan Ames
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
HUMOR & NON-FICTION
I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert
America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart
I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That is All by John Hodgman
The Onion Book of Known Knowledge: A Definitive Encyclopaedia of Existing Information by The Onion
Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty by Harris Wittels
Harris Wittels collects the best of the worst of Twitter, each tweet showcasing a twitterer's simultaneous self-pride and desire to hide that self-pride.
How to Sharpen Pencils by David Rees
The Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life by Eugene Mirman
BIOGRAPHICAL & HISTORY
And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on their Craft by Mike Sacks
Show Me the Funny!: At the Writers' Table with Hollywood's Top Comedy Writers by Peter Desberg and Jeffrey Davis
Great Comedians Talk About Comedy by Larry Wilde
I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era by William Knoedelseder
Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America by Richard Zoglin
Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman by Bill Zehme
Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" by David Bianculli
Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers, And Guests by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller
Gasping For Airtime: Two Years In the Trenches of Saturday Night Live by Jay Mohr
The Second City Almanac of Improvisation by Anne Libera and Second City Inc
SCTV: Behind the Scenes by Dave Thomas
The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night and The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy by Bill Carter
Mr. Mike: The Life and Work of Michael O'Donoghue by Dennis Perrin
On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy by Mel Watkin
Going Too Far–The Rise and Demise of Sick, Gross, Black, Sophomoric, Weirdo, Pinko, Anarchist, Underground, Anti-establishment Humor by Tony Hendra
FICTION BY COMEDIANS
Without Feathers by Woody Allen
An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
The Comedy Writer by Peter Farrelly
2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America by Albert Brooks
The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To by D.C. Pierson
Comedian/rapper/actor/writer D.C. Pierson's first novel, published in 2010, tells of two high schoolers, both social outcasts, one of which never sleeps.
How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely
Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
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