Yael Kohen

I seriously recommend this to anyone even remotely interested in standup or improv (regardless of whether you prefer to perform it or just to watch it).

It's an unusual format; the author's commentary is sparse, consisting of scattered italicized paragraphs that give a bit of additional information when necessary. But really, this is the history of women in comedy in the words of the people who made that history. So you get to read Joan Rivers and Ellen DeGeneres's comments on their early successes in the comedy clubs, and it gives you a better sense of "what it must have been like" than any outsider's description ever could. And then you get something like Susie Essman's comments on the rise of Sarah Silverman or Chelsea Handler, and it's like having a bunch of gossipy comedienne best friends, and it's fascinating.

The format also made it a great before-bed or occasional-read book, because there's not really a plot to keep track of, and it's easily digested in small bites over a length of time.… (meer)