FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Shaggy 2 Grote on November 21, 2009, 11:23:06 PM
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Xmas shopping for my 18-year-old brother who's into improv comedy. Any suggestions? Keith Whitener mentioned a couple in the Fave Books thread but I think this is of general interest, and might deserve its own thread.
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I don't know what KW mentioned in the other thread,
but I really enjoyed And Here's The Kicker by Mike Sacks.
Also, the Timewaster Letters which has been mentioned on the show before, is incredibly funny.
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Hodgman's books, obviously. I think Amy Sedaris' book "I Like You" is great, but maybe not for an 18yo dude.
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State by State with The State
I Am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert
The Chris Farley Show is one of my favorite books. Not really funny but definitely a peek behind the man.
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Hodgman's books, obviously. I think Amy Sedaris' book "I Like You" is great, but maybe not for an 18yo dude.
Wigfield!
(http://i50.tinypic.com/fkd7xv.jpg)
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In addition to the ones mentioned above:
Mountain Man Dance Moves - which is a compilation of Lists from McSweeneys.
Created in Darkness By Troubled Americans -more McSweeney's pieces
Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature - so bombastic and great.
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Steve Martin--Pure Drivel
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Woody Allen's Without Feathers, for non-sequitur and timing.
Simon Rich's Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations, or Free-Range Chickens, for a voice that is both innocent and absurd.
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Comedy By The Numbers is very good.
http://comedybythenumbers.com/cmp/main.html (http://comedybythenumbers.com/cmp/main.html)
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Making Love the Bruce Cambell Way
I Am America and So Can You
A Long Way Down is pretty dark but has a few really funny moments
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I like Simon Rich a lot. I like John Swartzwelder, although I haven't read his last few books. The Time Machine Did It and How I Conquered Your Planet were great. I really liked A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body by Lauren Weedman. It made me laugh out loud a lot!
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Had this when I was 13 and thought it was hilarious
The Brand New Monty Python Papperbok:
http://www.amazon.com/Brand-New-Monty-Python-Papperbok/dp/0749311703 (http://www.amazon.com/Brand-New-Monty-Python-Papperbok/dp/0749311703)
Modern Humorist used to have some great stuff on the web, and I think their books would probably be quality as well:
http://www.modernhumorist.com/store/books.fm (http://www.modernhumorist.com/store/books.fm)
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Someone in another thread was talking about Michael Ian Black's book "My Custom Van." I think his stuff is risque so, don't know if it might not be a gift to give a family member.
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Any of the John Swartzwelder books. Not the David Cross book.
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Monty Python All the Words is funny, too, if only because now you can actually understand all the jokes instead of listening to muffly 70s audio.
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The Complete Peter Cook
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Not the David Cross book.
I second this sentiment.
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Any of the John Swartzwelder books.
Been meaning to pick this guy's books up for some time now ... I think of him as the real world equivalent of D-Day from Animal House.
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Great recs, thanks everyone! I actually permanently destroyed my brother's chances at having a love life by giving him Python's All The Words at age 9 or 10, but I'm sure he'd dig lots of these others.
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Not the David Cross book.
I second this sentiment.
I started the audiobook. I'm a Cross fan and I'm still having a hard time getting into it.
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'My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist' by Mark Leyner is not necessarily a comedy book, but there are some very funny bits within (Big Squirrel, NFL X-ray telecasts, etc), plus it I think is in the 'blow the minds of the roughly 18 set' category.
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When I was roughly 18 Mark Leyner duly blew my mind.
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I heard really good things about Raymond Kennedy's Ride a Cockhorse. I bought a copy a while back but haven't read it yet.
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Charlie Brooker has a few books, and he's quite reliably hilarious. Someone around here recently posted a link to "Unnovations," which is really nasty and funny, and there's an accompanying book.
http://www.zeppotron.com/unnovations/
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If he's into improv he may already have Guru, the biography of Del Close. On my list this year are Mock Stars: Indie Comedy & the Dangerously Funny (featuring Tom), And Here's the Kicker, and I'm Dying Up Here, all of which I've heard are great.... You could also pre-order FOT Julie Klausner's book "I Don't Care About Your Band..."
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Charlie Brooker has a few books, and he's quite reliably hilarious. Someone around here recently posted a link to "Unnovations," which is really nasty and funny, and there's an accompanying book.
http://www.zeppotron.com/unnovations/
That was me, and I second the website. I like the book, but most of the funniest stuff is on the site.
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I used to laugh really hard at the Barry Ween series on Oni Press. I haven't looked at them in a while, but if I know 18 yr-olds, then I know he'll love something as packed with swears at that is.
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On my list this year are Mock Stars: Indie Comedy & the Dangerously Funny (featuring Tom)
That's a good book. The interviews are pretty amazing. The Patton and Cross ones in particular.
I just got Carlin's 'Last Words'. I'm gonna crack into it once I'm done with 'The Chris Farley Show'.
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Shaggy,
Robert Popper's The Timewaster Letters. I was a huge fan of Look Around You and Peep Show and then he actually called into BS (the same night as Tim Heidecker). He mentioned his book which turned out to be absolutely hysterical and a great gift for anyone who has a sense of humor (and a sense of sight)...
MikeinM
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"My Life As A Small Boy" by Wally Cox
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Not the David Cross book.
I second this sentiment.
Yeah, this has been a very slow, not that funny read.