Cheer Up Love by Susan Calman
26/05/2016 … Comedians have long stopped just telling jokes in favour of speaking about subjects that interest them – No 1 on that list being themselves, of course.
Latest Books
Reviews of books about comedy, including biographies of comedians old and new, and (occasionally) books by comedians. To have a book considered for review, send a copy to Chortle, 112 Norman Road, London, E11 4RL.
Thu 26 May 2016
Tue 26 April 2016
Sara Pascoe: Animal
26/04/2016 … Few comedians' books can lay claim to being important; but Sara Pascoe's debut, Animal, falls firmly into that category.
Sun 13 March 2016
Thatcher Stole My Trousers, by Alexei Sayle
13/03/2016 … We’ll probably never see anything like the alternative comedy revolution again.
Fri 29 January 2016
© Idil Sukan/Draw HQ The Actual One, by Isy Suttie
29/01/2016 … Bridget Jones was never quite like this.
Mon 09 November 2015
The Comedians by Kliph Nesteroff
09/11/2015 … There's a strong argument to be made for stand-up being a quintessentially American art form.
Mon 26 October 2015
Easily Distracted by Steve Coogan
26/10/2015 … 'Critics tend to lazily define me by my performance as Partridge,' Steve Coogan writes wearily in his autobiography, showing that creating one of the finest ever…
Thu 15 October 2015
A Portrait Of An Idiot As A Young Man, by Jon Holmes
15/10/2015 … The subtitle of Jon Holmes's autobiography, 'part memoir, part explanation as to why men are so rubbish', indicates it's being pitched as a manual of modern manhood,…
Thu 10 September 2015
Off The Mic, by Deborah Frances White and Marsha Shandur
10/09/2015 … Centuries of stand-up experience have been condensed into Off The Mic, with an impressive roster of comedians from both sides of the Atlantic sharing wisdom about…