Books on Comedy

If I were starting out as a brand new comic in 2025, these are the seven books I’d read, in order of importance.

The New Comedy Bible, by Judy Carter

I've been doing stand-up for 8 years and I still reference this book. If you take nothing else from this book, learn the joke structures she writes about:

A JOKE consists of two parts: a SETUP and a PAYOFF.
A SETUP is a TOPIC + an ATTITUDE + a PREMISE.
A PAYOFF is an ACT-OUT, a TURN, and/or a MIX + a TAG.

Here's her Neal Brennan example:

SETUP: It’s weird (👈 attitude) when they talk about the economy on the news (👈 topic) because they make it seem like everyone is rich (premise👈). PAYOFF: They’re like, (act-out 👉) ‘Global economic meltdown… is your money safe?’ ‘Uhh…you mean the $43 in my checking account? It should be okay.’

Mastering Stand-Up, by Stephen Rosenfield

Rosenfield approaches writing setups and punchlines from another, though equally helpful, angle. He discusses the importance of creating rolls as well as performing with emotional fullness:

To clarify what I mean by emotional fullness, let’s take a look at an excerpt from Louis C.K.’s piece on playing board games with his kids (this excerpt precedes the “Monopoly” material we looked at in chapter 7). I’ll indicate in parentheses the feelings that underlie his setups and punches.

Setup and punchline 1: (Annoyed) It’s boring having kids. You have to play kid games. You have to play board games. Little kid board games where you go . . . (making the monotonous sound of a game spinner twirling). And you go tick, tick, tick.
Punchline 2: (Making the same monotonous sound again.)
Punchline 3: (Trying to hide his frustration from his daughter) You got a six, honey.
Punchline 4: (Acting out his daughter’s slow and methodical counting and moving of her game piece) One . . . . . . . . . Two . . . . . . . . . Three . . . . . .
Punchline 5: (Openly frustrated, he points to where his daughter’s game piece should go) It’s here. Just go here. It’s just . . .

Finding Your Comic Genius: An In-Depth Guide to the Art of Stand-Up Comedy, by Adam Bloom

I liked Bloom's thoughts on what he calls "boom mic moments," those moments when comedians talk about other jokes or shows while on stage. "Even the biggest comedy nerd on the planet who’s seen that bit of material before and can quote it word-for-word doesn’t need to be reminded of that fact. So, the people who haven’t seen it before certainly don’t. There’s no point whatsoever in reminding your audience that what you’re about to say is a recital, because no single laugh (or two or even three) will justify causing that big a ‘boom mic moment’."

Also, I found his bonus chapter on corporate comedy helpful. When I was talking to a corporate comedy client, I used everything in that chapter.

Comic Insights, by Franklyn Ajaye

I love comedy. I love jazz. So when a fellow cruise ship comic told me there was a book written by a comedian Bill Maher described as "the jazz comedian," I bought it. Comic Insights is less about the craft and more about the art of stand-up. From the author's own mouth (pen?): “This is not a joke primer, but a philosophical approach to developing material that will help anybody who wants to be a comedian unlock his or her true comedic essence.” Ajaye features a ton of interviews with comedians. I found myself identifying with a lot of the reasons why other comics got into this line of work. When I was alone in my dark, windowless cabin on the cruise ships, this book reminded me why I got into this job in the first place.

The Comedians, by Glyph Nerteroff

A great read on the history of comedy.

Seriously Funny, by Gerald Nachman

A deep dive on the beginnings of stand-up comedy as we know it today, focusing on the comedians of the 1950s and 1960s.

Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture, by Jesse David Fox

This last one's more about the current state of comedy vis-à-vis culture.