5 Comedy Books for the Rest of Fall, From Katt Williams to Andy Richter's Elf
Comedians are writing books again this season: a sitcom king's confession, Katt Williams unfiltered, and an oral history of a movie about a very tall elf.
By the Heckle Desk · · 2 min read
Every fall the publishing industry discovers comedians the way a dog discovers the mailman: suddenly, loudly and all at once. This year the shelf is crowded with memoirs from people who used to make a living talking and have now decided to make one typing, which takes longer and pays worse, and which they'll all tell you was the most painful thing they ever did, right after the divorce.
Here are five worth carrying home, in order of release. I've included one that's already out, two that land this month and two for November, when you'll need something to hide behind at Thanksgiving.
A word of advice about comedy memoirs: buy the audiobook if the comic reads it. The page can't do the pause, and the pause is where they kept all the money.
- 01
Sitcom: A Memoir, by Chuck Lorre (Dey Street, out since Oct. 13)
The man behind Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory writes 368 pages about Roseanne, a detour into Scientology and the collapse of his biggest hit. Kirkus calls it candid about failure and about TV executives, which is like a lion being candid about gazelles. He and Charlie Sheen made up later, on HBO Max's Bookie so the book has a happy ending, which is more than Two and a Half Men managed.
- 02
Nine Lives, No Wives, and 69 Concubines, by Katt Williams (Gallery Books/13A, Oct. 20)
Williams' first book runs 336 pages, covers his childhood, his self-funded tours and his legal battles, and comes with a foreword by Shaquille O'Neal. He's on a five-city book tour through Oct. 25 and narrates the audiobook himself. The title alone has more plot than most novels.
- 03
The Hardest Part of Schizophrenia Is Spelling Schizophrenia, by Byron Bowers (Oct. 27 in most U.S. listings)
Bowers writes about growing up with a father who had schizophrenia while he chased a career in stand-up. Retail listings disagree on the exact date, so check before you drive to the store. It's the rare comedy memoir where the title is the lightest thing in it, and he reads the audiobook himself.
- 04
Elf Unwrapped, by Andy Richter with Aaron Karo (Dey Street, Nov. 3)
An oral history of the 2003 Will Ferrell Christmas movie, from rejected script to holiday staple, with a foreword by Ferrell himself. Richter spent decades as Conan O'Brien's sidekick, so he knows better than anyone how to tell a story about a man in tights who got all the attention.
- 05
We're Having a Good Time, by Dusty Slay with Sean Evans (Gallery Books, Nov. 10)
Essays from the Alabama-raised comic about odd jobs and getting to headliner after getting sober, co-written with the Hot Ones host. The launch party is in Opelika, Alabama, on release night. It's 240 pages, which is about the right length for a man who tells stories slower than anyone in the business and is better for it.