I love books. They're fun, educational, and they allow you the chance to pig out at the library/bookstore cafe. It's a little known fact that all literary titans loudly eat cinammon buns while chugging a 245-oz. frappacinos. Willa Cather guzzled, like, eight of those bad boys a day while paging through "People" magazines.
They may or may not be true.
Given his non-stop presence on the big screen, it's getting harder to remember that Steve Martin was once a stand-up comic. Not only that, but he was one of the most successful stand-ups of all time, booking stadiums and hitting number one on the album charts long before the likes of Seinfeld and Rock became big deals.
Anyway, I just finished "Born Standing Up," Martin's account of how he became a comedian. It's a fascinating read because Martin, who's not exactly the talkative type, is truthful and humorous about his performing travails. He talks about humiliating gigs, struggling to write for the Smothers Brothers, and the work that it took to build his act from scratch. We're talking 15 years of failure before a glimmer of success. Even more interesting, he breaks down his strained relationship with his father and how becoming a success at stand-up was both the best and worst thing that could have happened.
You know who needs to write a book like this? Woody Allen. Do you know that he's one of the 15 best comedians of all time? Listen to his comedy albums some time. They're amazing.
Read in peace, friends.
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