Comedy eBooks That Are Good For Your Soul

Comedy eBooks can change how you think and make decisions. Laughter provides escapism from reality and gives you a chance to process your emotions during stressful situations. Here are some of the most popular comedy eBooks that will help you deal with difficult situations.

Born Standing Up - Steve Martin

In this eBook, Martin talks about his early life and his days while working for Disneyland. The eBook also chronicles his life when working as a comedy act at clubs and low tier coffee shops. You'll also learn about his relationships and the reason he decided to quit stand-up comedy.

Bossypants - Tina Fey

The Bossypants' story plot is more of Tina Fey's comic biography. She tries to give you an idea of what it is like to be Tina Fey. She has the necessary managerial and comedy skills that make it seem so easy to create comic ideas. The book is rated to be among the best-selling books written by Tina Fey.

Save Yourself - Cameron Esposito

Actress and stand-up comedian Cameroon Esposito shares her life story in this eBook. She attended the Catholic Church ever since she was a child. Later on, she discovered that she loves comedy. She uses her sexual identity to come out and begin her career as a writer. Save Yourself is full of laughs and life lessons about gender, sexuality, and accepting yourself for who you are.

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Mitzi Shore: Comedy Career Maker

You may not know the name Mitzi Shore, but odds are you’re well acquainted with the comedians whose careers she helped launch: Richard Pryor, David Letterman, Jim Carrey, Jay Leno, Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, Sam Kinison, all just to name a few. These names, among the dozens of other A-list comedians Shore helped introduce to the world, owe their fame in large part to clubs like The Comedy Store, which Shore co-founded in Los Angeles over 50 years ago. The Comedy Store was famous not just for introducing groundbreaking comedians to the world, but also for helping to break the comedy glass ceiling by not only allowing female performers on stage in an age where such a thing was a rarity, but also by holding comedy nights designed specifically for LGBT performers.

The Comedy Store was not without its controversy, however, and the club’s regular performers banded together to go on strike, demanding compensation for their performances. Shore began paying her performers $25 per show, which had a monumental impact on the standup comedy profession and the industry as a whole. From a TIME magazine article:

“The strike's impact was far-reaching. Comedy clubs in New York City began paying their comics as well. Clubs that were springing up around the country were then forced to boost their fees too, to lure more top comics out on the road—launching the comedy club boom of the 1980s.”

Despite the controversy at the time, Shore was highly regarded, and her contributions to the world of comedy won’t soon be forgotten!

Looking for some comedic content? Visit our online library at Wantate for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from your favorite devices.

Tom Segura’s Using Netflix to its Full Potential

With three stand-up specials for Netflix already to his name, Tom Segura is already one of the biggest names in modern comedy. He’s only expected to further cement his spot thanks to Tom Segura: Ball Hog, his fourth Netflix special, which premiered on March 24. But Segura’s not done, far from it in fact, and while it’s still untitled Segura already has a deal in hand for a fifth special, one which will be shot completely in Spanish this fall.

“Netflix has rapidly changed the way comedy is consumed around the world, and by releasing a Spanish language special, I look forward to being able to reach a new audience that Jo Koy and Ali Wong will never get,” said Segura. “Estoy muy emocionado por la oportunidad de entretener las amigas de mi mama,” he added.

Growing up in a half Peruvian/half American household Segura spoke both fluent english and fluent Spanish from an early age, and he recently launched a new Spanish podcast, Tom Segura En Español. No word yet on a release date for the all-Spanish Netflix special, but we’re willing to bet it’ll be every bit as hilarious as his English stand-up, and if you can’t wait for the Netflix special you can also catch him on tour at a comedy club near you.

Looking for some comedic content? Visit our online library at Wantate for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from your favorite devices.

Monty Python: Comedy pioneers who influenced a generation

The modern comedy landscape owes a huge debt to the innovative and groundbreaking work of celebrated British comedy group Monty Python.

It’s hard to imagine that what now has morphed into a huge comedy empire across many different platforms started out as a sketch show on British television in the late 1960s which many critics did not know what to make of.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus ripped up the comedy rulebook in a number of ways. For a start, it was a sketch show in which sketches didn’t always have the formulaic set-up and punchline. It was also noteworthy in that its writers were also its main performers, something not widely practised at the time.

Original Python members Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Eric Idle both attended Cambridge University while Michael Palin and Terry Jones were at Oxford. The fifth member was American Terry Gilliam whose most conspicuous contribution to Flying Circus were his anarchic animations.

Despite initial uncertainty by TV executives, Flying Circus was hugely popular with viewers, but only ran for four seasons, with a total of 45 episodes produced.

The Pythons started to branch out into films and live shows, with movies such as the Life of Brian and The Holy Grail and stage show Live at the Hollywood Bowl among their most famous works.

Despite all branching into individual projects over the years, the Pythons will always be remembered as one the most influential comedians of all time.

As well as TV shows and movies, they have produced a stream of music albums and books and are heavily involved in the hit musical Spamalot.

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How to Get Through Your Day With Humor

Having a tough day? Humor can help! Here’s how humor can help you get through your day, from the very start to the very finish.

Lift the fog with some laughs. Waking up in the morning can be hard to do, especially since many of us sacrifice sleep for the sake of getting things done. But next time you’re rubbing your eyes and having a hard time getting out of bed, consider playing a comedy podcast to start the day with some laughs. It’ll go a long way in engaging your brain and waking you up in the morning!

Crack a joke on your coffee break. Like with many things in life, humor is best when it’s shared with other people. If you’ve got some time the night or morning before you head off to work, look up a great joke, give it a practice run or two, and share it with your co-workers on your coffee break. The laughter will be contagious, and it’ll have everyone feeling just a bit better!

Catch up on the comedy when you come home. When you finally get home after a long day, what better way to unwind than with a couple of chuckles. Get the couch ready and stream the latest comedy special, or curl up with a hilarious book that’s bound to give you the giggles.

Looking for some comedic content? Visit our online library at www.wantate.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from your favorite devices.

Hilarious Podcasts You Should Listen to in 2019

Here are three hilarious podcasts that are well worth incorporating into your playlist.

WTF Podcast With Marc Maron. Marc Maron is everywhere these days, especially since his stellar work on GLOW, but he’s nothing new. His podcast has been running for nearly a decade now, and with over 1000 episodes under his belt there’s much to catch up on. His brand of comedy can be obscene at times, but it’s intellectual comedy at its best, and well worth exploring.

That’s How I Remember It. Have you ever told a story but forgot some of the details? Have you ever done the same thing with a movie plot? Well, that’s exactly what happens when a group of four improv artists get together and to their best to recount the storylines from classic movies. Their efforts are seldom accurate, but always hilarious.

My Dad Wrote a Porno. You’ll perhaps cut your family some slack and feel a little less embarrassed by your parents after a few episodes of My Dad Wrote a Porno. Some time ago host Jamie Morton found out his dad wrote a collection of erotic novels, so he did what anyone who values their sanity would do, he read them. With the help of his best friends Alice Levine and Adam Cooper, and the occasional use of sultry British accents, Morton reads one chapter each week to his insatiable audience.

Looking for some comedic content? Visit our online library at www.wantate.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from your favorite devices.

Career Defining Comedies

Here are three of the comedies that were career makers for their starring comedians.

Tommy Boy. While Chris Farley was already a notable name in the comedy scene thanks in no small part to Saturday Night Live, it wasn’t until Tommy Boy in 1995 that his movie career really took off, and subsequent movies like Black Sheep and Beverly Hills Ninja would further cement his spot among Hollywood’s stars. One can only think what might have been had he not met his end so young.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Although Jim Carrey is now making a name for himself as a dramatic actor, few fans will forget the slapstick comedy he brought to his hilarious role as Ace Ventura in 1994, a year which also saw Carrey star in The Mask and Dumb and Dumber.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Although Mike Myers has had a long career in comedy, with notable highlights such as his tenure at Saturday Night Live, Wayne’s World, and as the voice of Shrek, he will perhaps forever be remembered as both Austin Powers and Dr. Evil thanks to the 1997 smash hit Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. With two sequels to its name and a fourth installment rumored, there’s no end in sight to the British spy’s undying popularity.

Looking for some comedic content? Visit our online library at www.wantate.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from all your favorite devices, and sure to have you cracking a smile!

The Six Essential Ingredients of Humor

Many have tried to tackle the topic and teach other how to be funny, few have succeeded. Mel Helitzer may just be one of them. In his bestselling book, Comedy Writing Secrets, Helitzer (along with co-author Mark Shatz) outlines his six essential ingredients for all things funny, which he refers to as the “THREES” formula, an acronym which stands for:

1. Target

2. Hostility

3. Realism

4. Exaggeration

5. Emotion

6. Surprise

To summarise:

1. Humor must be specifically targeted, and while our target can be anything or anyone, it’s important to know who our audience is.

2. Humor may contain a certain amount of hostility towards our target. Comedy can be cruel, after all.

3. There’s a bit of truth behind every joke, as many of us have heard through a variety of famous quotes.

4. Exaggeration is often nothing more than expanding on reality, with perhaps the occasional metaphor thrown in for good measure.

5. Emotion can produce tension and anxiety, which serves to build up the anticipation in our audiences.

6. Surprise is one of the primary reasons why people laugh, as Helitzer puts it, and the proper punchline, though unexpected, will produce the perfect reaction.

Armed with the ingredients you’ll be ready to craft some creative comedy and will have audiences laughing hysterically in no time! Helitzer’s book remains in print to this day for those looking to go beyond the basics.

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Hilarious Reads That Deserve More Attention

The world of comedy fiction has plenty to offer when it comes to hilarious reads, and sometimes it’s easy to overlook a few gems. Here are two hilarious reads that are definitely deserving of more attention.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. Often overshadowed by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is a series of books that was recently adapted into a television series starring Samuel Barnett and Elijah Wood among others. Douglas Adams passed away before completing The Salmon of Doubt, the third book in the trilogy after The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul but it’s still well worth a read, padded with hilarious essays from throughout Adams’ career. Although decidedly darker than The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy, the books are nothing short of hilarious and well deserving of more attention.

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. The 20th book in his Discworld series, Pratchett tells the tale of the mythical creature known as the Hogfather, who bears striking semblance to our very own Father Christmas. That is, Pratchett tells the tale of the Hogfather’s absence… With nobody to grant children’s wishes and bring them presents on Hogswatchnight (December 32), Death attempts to fill in for the missing Hogfather while Susan Sto Helit, his granddaughter, attempts to find and rescue him. Although Pratchett’s Discworld series as a whole is well loved, this installment in particular is well worth a closer look.

On the hunt for more hilarity? Visit our online library at www.wantate.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more, accessible anytime from your favorite devices and sure to have you laughing hysterically!

Funny Facts About The World We Live In

Although the world can be a strange place, it can often be a hilarious one as well, with stories from around the globe leaving us chuckling away or scratching our heads. Here are three rather random stories about the world we live in that are sure to make you crack a smile 

A matter of measure. The metric vs. imperial debate has gone on for decades, with metric seeming like the more logical of the two but imperial being the hands down winner when it comes to hilarity. Take, for example, a unit of measure used for wine and spirits popular in medieval times. It was called a “butt,” and was roughly equal to 4 barrels.

Idiocy. Although now commonly used as a derogatory term for stupid or foolish people, the term “idiot” was once used as a legal classification for someone with a considerable or significant intellectual disability. Tracing the word to its origins, it was actually used in ancient Greece somewhat innocuously to denote a private citizen with no political involvement.

Fire! Fire! The invention of the fire hydrant is a somewhat contentious topic, although many credit the invention to Frederick Graff Sr Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Works in the early 19th century. Unfortunately, we may never know who actually invented it, as the patent for the fire hydrant actually burned in the 1836 US Patent Office fire in Washington, DC.

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Getting it right with comedy writing: it’s no laughing matter

It’s a genre which can reap rich dividends, but comedy is arguably the hardest one to get right. Writing comedy may, on the surface seem straightforward – think of a story, be silly, the end. It is quite the opposite however. Good comedy writing is well-crafted and often has a deeper meaning than that initial laugh generates.

Whatever type of story you are writing, you need to have a good understanding of your subject matter. This is particularly true for comedy writing as an in-depth understanding of the subject can allow you to challenge conventions or clichés and poke a bit of fun at some sacred cows. Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams may be primarily associated with fantasy and sci-fi writing, but both were skilful comedy writers, garnering great laughs due to their deep knowledge of their particular genres.

A story must be structured too, and characters well drawn as often the comedy can be found in how characters react to certain situations which is only possible if the reader is familiar with their personality.

Another good top to writing rich comedy is to think of the punchline first and work backwards from there. You’ll have a good idea of the hilarious fate you want to befall your characters, but how they get there can be just as amusing, with the pay-off being a fitting crescendo to a serious of funny happenings.

Great comedy also has an element of truth about it and many satirical works go down rather well due to the fact that they humorously expose some form of injustice or corruption through ridicule.

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