comedians

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comedians

Joyful recollections of trauma

2024
"From award-winning actor and comedian Paul Scheer, a candid and hilarious memoir-in-essays on coming to terms with childhood trauma and finding the joy in embracing your authentic self"--.

I shouldn't be telling you this

(but i'm going to anyway)
"There are things Chelsea Devantez probably shouldn't be telling you. Many of them are in this book : some are embarrassing (like when she tried to break her three year spell of celibacy using a guide of seduction tips). Some are confessional (getting sentenced to the 'hell hill' at Mormon church camp). Some are TMI (a series of outrageous doctor visits that ended with one doctor misdiagnosing her as 'pregnant.' Woopsies!). Then there are things Chelsea really shouldn't be telling you : like the time her biggest family secret was publicly outed, or about the drive-by shootings and the precipitating domestic violence she survived. Yet through it all, it's the women in Chelsea's life who kept her going -- from the lowest points of her childhood when she and her mom had only $100 left to their name, all the way to her career highs as the Emmy-nominated Head Writer for The Problem with Jon Stewart and sensational podcaster deemed 'the celebrity memoir whisperer' by her fans. In I Shouldn't Be Telling You This, Chelsea centers each story around a different woman who shaped her life, taking us on a tour of friends and strangers, fictional characters and celebrities, heroes and villains who will destroy any Netflix algorithm for a 'strong female lead.' Reading it will feel kinda like that moment at a party when your friend beckons you close, sloshes her martini around, and covertly whispers, 'I really shouldn't say this, but...'"--.

Ginger Mancino, Kid Comedian

2022
At 12 years old, professional comedian Ginger Mancino has drawn laughs on stage across the country and even performed on one of the most popular late-night comedy shows. But when she's forced to retire from comedy and live a regular life for the first time, she discovers her toughest audience yet: middle school.

Subculture vulture

a memoir in six scenes
2024
"After bottoming out, being institutionalized, and getting sober all by the tender age of fifteen, Moshe Kasher found himself asking: OK, so what else is out there? Over the ensuing decades, he found his way to the answer: a lot. From his current vantage point as a successful stand-up comic, Kasher looks back on his years careening from subculture to subculture, and he immerses readers in the hilariously strange nuances of each of the scenes he's found himself in. Immediately after getting sober, Kasher began serving as the self-appointed sheriff of his Young People's AA group. He then went on to start his own club-promoting business from scratch in the heart of the 90s California rave scene, and later became a security guard at Burning Man. Once, he caught a man who worked as a coyote at the US border sneaking punk kids into the festival as a side hustle. A child of deaf adults, he's also served as a sign language interpreter, and once helped an angry client cuss out a police officer. Later in life, Kasher went on to reconnect with his Jewish heritage after the death of his father, and now has a booming career as a stand-up comic"--Provided by publisher.

We had a little real estate problem

the unheralded story of Native Americans in comedy
2022
"Comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff focuses on one of comedy's most significant and little-known stories: how, despite having been denied representation in the entertainment industry, Native Americans have influenced and advanced the art form. Profiles important events and humorists from the 1880s to the present"--Provided by publisher.

Sure, i'll join your cult

a memoir of mental illness and the quest to belong anywhere
2023
"From "weird, scary, ingenious" (The New York Times) stand-up comedian Maria Bamford, a brutally honest and hilariously frenetic memoir about show business, mental health, and the comfort of rigid belief systems-from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, to Suzuki violin training, to Richard Simmons, to 12-step programs. Maria Bamford is a comedian's comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it. In Bamford's signature voice, Sure, I'll Join Your Cult, brings us on a quest to participate in something. With sincerity and transparency, she recounts every anonymous fellowship she has joined (including but not limited to: Debtors Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous), every hypomanic episode (from worrying about selling out under capitalism to enforcing union rules on her Netflix TV show set to protect her health), and every easy 1-to-3-step recipe for fudge in between. Singular and inimitable, Bamford's memoir explores what it means to keep going, and to be a member of society (or any group she's invited to) despite not being very good at it. In turn, she hopes to transform isolating experiences into comedy that will make you feel less alone (without turning into a cult following)"--.

When I was your age

life lessons, funny stories & questionable parenting advice from a professional clown
2023
Actor and comedian Keenan Thompson tells his story from a child star to SNL's longest-serving actor, and what he learned how to be a grown-up along the way.

A very punchable face

a memoir
2021
Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost writes about his early life, his career in stand-up comedy, his work on Saturday Night Live, and more.

Chris Rock

comedian and actor
2019
Explores the life of the comedian and actor Chris Rock.

Semi-famous

a true story of near celebrity
2022
"Social media star and comedian Josh Sundquist takes readers on his hilarious journey to the fringes of viral stardom to discover if it's possible to be both very famous and very happy"--Provided by publisher.
Cover image of Semi-famous

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