Born Standing Up

Title: Born Standing Up - a comic's life
Author: Steve Martin
Recommened by: Lesley (my sister)

So, after recommending Steve Martin's short novels to my sister, she picked up this book, his autobiography, and read it. I'm not sure my sister ever read his other stories, or if she had to read this for class, or what happened, but I'll throw the credit to her for recommending it.

This book is Steve Martin's short (~200 pages) autobiography , going through his life, how he got into comedy, how he got famous, and how he walked away from it. It's really interesting, Steve Martin's style is very personal, but not contrived. It feels like he's talking to you, instead of trying to make it feel like he's talking to you. Subtle difference, huge effect.

My favorite thing about this book is how moving it is. People often think that just because it's funny, comedy isn't serious. But humour isn't just a defensive trait, and it's possible to be both funny and serious at the same time. Steve Martin does a great job tying in how comedy and his life go together.

Recommendation: I loved it. 9/10