Non-standup summer reading list

[Phil]

So we've read all the classic standup how-to books, and we've read all the comedian biographies and interview books - Do you have any suggestions for non-standup books that might help us with our standup?

Like maybe a book on improv could help with our crowd work? And Ive seen books on sparking creativity that look useful. And books on storytelling look like they could benefit our longform bits.

Any recomendations? Anything you've read that's helped you with your standup?

[lorianddori]

Howard stern private parts and howard stern miss america. Stern rules.

[CaptainBreakfast]

Stop worrying about being a better comedian because that's not all there is to life by John S. Roberts

[Monty]

A Whack on the Side of the Head, by Roger Von Oech. It's a book on creativity (and also a collection of exercises for sparking creativity by forcing your brain into unusual avenues) that some of my game designer friends swear by.

[drieux]

Stephen King's "On Writing." Enjoyable and quick and helpful for anybody working at bettering themself in communication.

I think anybody who speaks publicly or writes on a public forum regularly (and I'm guessing most of us blog and tweet like the wind) should have a copy of Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style." Before you can break the rules of the English language, you should know them. I got my first copy of this when I was 20 years old in college and I've had to replace it twice, but I find I'm referring to it regularly 11 years later.

Michael Chabon's "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay." That's just a really good book, in my opinion.

[Vercetti]

'The Vagina Monologs' taught me a lot about the kind of material I didn't want to do onstage.

[JManderville]

Not really textbooks on storytelling but I think some good inspiring works:
• Hunter Thompson as a resource for tips on descriptive, colorful journalism.

•"Youth In Revolt" by CD Payne is still a funny fictional journal to me.
I have read that one about 4 times now.

[Vercetti]

I'm just finishing up with the 'Shit My Dad Says' book. Really fun read and oddly heartfelt at times.