Congratulations on watching all of the comically progressive original shows on netflix and amazon, and then on listening to every one of the podcasts. your next assignment: read some comedy books by the comedy people you love so, so much.
Comedians: Drunks, Robbers, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy, by Kliph Nesteroff. I’m so glad this book is finally a real thing and that nesteroff wrote it, because it’s a great match between the writer and the material. A former comedian, it reads as if Nesteroff is having a casual conversation with you about the history of comedy, revealing an interesting fact behind a fascinating story. Nesteroff performs tons of his own interviews and existing interviews seamlessly woven together to create an oral history/epic tale hybrid of American comedy history, specifically and most often the development of standup comedy. It is told chronologically while being helpfully divided into Vaudeville, Late Night TV, Night Clubs, Las Vegas, the Comedy Rise of the 70s/80s, and more. the comedians humanizes comedy and American history like no other book this year.
You are reading: Funniest books of 2015
Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America’s Bravest Rioters, by Nick Offerman. Paddling his own canoe, Offerman reclaimed masculinity from brain-dead male misogynists. with guts, he reclaims the patriotism of the right, showing that liberals can and do love their country just the same. It’s a modern profile of bravery, consisting of more than 30 individual looks at people Offerman says embody the American spirit and make this country a good place, from George Washington to Jeff Tweedy and, most of all, Yoko Ono. is a funny book in the way that outbursts of joy can sometimes make you laugh.
modern romance, by aziz ansari. this works somewhat like a companion piece to ansari’s master of none series, which dramatizes all the really messy stuff about trying to find love in a world where technology has given us endless options that prevent us from making a decision . With Modern Romance, Ansari teams up with sociologist Eric Klinenberg to conduct extensive research supporting many theories about dating in the new millennium, particularly how men have gotten rude, rude, and lazy because they can hide behind their phones. ansari writes with curiosity and wonder about the finds and also with many embarrassing and confessional asides and food porn, because this is an aziz ansari book.
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c.d. journey, by sara benincasa. It sounds like it could be a young adult novel, except it’s not appropriate for teens. The story of a three-day sophomore class trip to Washington, D.C. (plus a side story focusing on two of the teacher-chaperones), it is profane, sexually charged, and primarily concerned with the anxiety of growing up and expressing identity. so, you know, how it feels to be a teenager, after you’ve grown up and are glad you’re not a teenager anymore.
the terrible twos, by mac barnett and jory john. Most comic novels these days seem to be written for children, because when you’re 12, all of life feels as strange as the world of a comic novel. hence one of the funniest novels of the year is also a book aimed at 12-year-olds. The Terrible Two follows some familiar tropes from children’s novels – new kid in town, evil principal – but goes in very different directions. the terrible two is about two kids who play elaborate pranks on each other and team up to pull pranks on each other. Because when you’re a kid, isn’t friendship both nihilism and a deep spiritual connection?
I must say, by martin short. short has always been the kind of entertainer who gives people what they want. His memoir hits all the right notes, delivering exactly what we want in a Martin Short memoir. he jumps chronologically, mixing professional stories (how he met his fellow sctv) with personal stories (his brother’s untimely death when they were both children). he also writes a lot of in-character interstitials like ed grimley and jiminy glick, because that’s what people want.
oh, the meat you will eat, by mike levine. it is not easy to parody dr. seuss well it’s not easy to parody dr. seuss well, and then highlights the nonsensical rhyme and familiar tone over the course of an entire book while honoring the source material while also being, you know, funny. levine manages to do it, knocking over a peg that kind of catches dr. seuss that we all got for graduation by injecting it with zombies, violence, and blood.
almost interesting, by david spade. Spade more or less invented the sarcastic tone that came to define comedy (and, well, conversation) for the better part of a decade. that tone becomes from shovel to shovel itself with its self-critical and somewhat discreet memories. it’s a pretty fascinating look at how the wickedness of life influenced a comedy career, and then how that comedy career played out on the world’s biggest stages. Lots of behind-the-scenes SNL stuff here, along with some never-before-heard stories from Chris Farley.
glasses, by sue perkins. comedy people necessarily have tough skin, but it’s their vulnerability that makes them so magnetic and leads them to relate to comedy. such is the case with perkins. If you’re not familiar with this British TV personality, check out her work as the host of the Great British Bake or Supersizers, a hilarious reality show where she made her way through foods from different historical eras. from England. But Perkins was a writer first, and hers is clipped, classic British wit in the tradition of Wodehouse or Shaw, and she’s just a little hard on herself in this tender and funny memoir.
softly, from afar, by lucas gardner. gardner is a divided contributor and this is his first novel. is a dark, silly, absurd western novel that embraces dimestore cowboy novel tropes while simultaneously changing, lampooning, and stretching them to their most illogical conclusions. I don’t use the phrase “lovely game” much, guys.
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Moone Boy: The Mistake Years, by Chris O’dowd and Nick V. murphy. O’dowd’s semi-autobiographical TV series Moone Boy, in which he co-stars as the imaginary friend of himself as an idiot boy, is one of the funniest things going on right now, and now there are books about it. this one, the first in a series, shares the same tone and style, a blend of the brutally real (lower-middle-class economic struggles, being an idiotic kid) with the fantastical (a variety of imaginary friends and a boy who doesn’t I know he’s an idiot).
If the raindrops met, by judah friedlander. friedlander is, of course, best known for his stand-up, playing frank in 30 rock, and for being the overall world champion, but he’s been doing one-panel cartoons since he was a little kid, and if the united raindrops collect a few hundred of them. some are silly, some are satirical, most are clever puns, and some are deeply sad (the ones about living in new york city).
Zone Theory: 7 Easy Steps to a Perfect Life, by tim heidecker and eric wareheim. The crown princes of nihilism have a book, and it’s a logical and accurate extension of the baffling and defiant madness of their many TV shows. Taking up Andy Kaufman’s torch of all acting art all the time and without skimping on decorum, the book’s goal is quite specific. is a parody self-help book that is actually a terrifying satire on cults, celebrity-endorsed spirituality, and the cult of personality.
Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel, by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. The bizarre universe of the podcast expands and becomes even more unhinged in this first novel, welcome to nightvale. it’s crazy crazy and constantly escalating and yes, and the supernatural/paranormal/wacky circumstances. multiple stories intertwine, all featuring characters and locations from the original podcast (is this the first novel based on a podcast?), but it stands on its own. it’s like a classic h.p. lovecraft novel if lovecraft suddenly became extremely self-aware. silly, ridiculous, and creepy.
Sick in the Head: Conversations on the Life and Comedy of Judd Apatow. While hosting a show for his high school radio station, Apatow tricked a group of famous comedians (garry shandling, steve allen) into doing some really insightful interviews about the craft of comedy. Here, Apatow transcribes those interviews with his future cohorts and also adds new ones with today’s comedy people (Chris Rock, Louis C.K.).
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