Born Sitting Down to read "Born Standing Up"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're back!

Steve Martin, in his natural get-up

I have officially started the second book, Born Standing Up, by Steve Martin. So far, though not quite as entertaining as Confederacy, the book is very good. Essentially, Born Standing Up is half autobiography and half theorizing about comedy. Both are quite interesting in my opinion. Being a fan of Steve Martin, I am interested in both his life and his analysis of comedy!

So basically, the start of the book details Martin's rise through the ranks of comedy, starting out in a terrible comedy club in LA and working his way through the ranks to become a bigger and better comedian. At the same time, he talks about his childhood, and what made him want to go into comedy. What's interesting about Martin is that everything that happened to him as a child effected him as a comedian in his adult life.

What's good about this book so far, is that it is all of 200 pages, so I should be finished relatively soon. Being a nonfiction book, there is not quite as much to joke about in the plot as there was for Confederacy, so the posts for this one may be a little more dull... NOT!

RULES OF THE 50's

There is so much to make fun of in nonfiction. For instance, since Martin grew up in the 50's everything is totally 50's. I feel like all of the childhood settings are just less dysfunctional Catcher in the Rye scenes. For instance, when Martin is working as a magician as a kid, he is sad because the girl he had asked the to "Spring Social" said no. Calling something a "Spring Social" is just forever outdated and hilarious (forever meaning in my incredibly long 15 year lifespan).


Anyway, as I read more, you'll get to hear even more about Steve Martin! Excited yet? You should be.