Jay Sankey

I coach a group of amateur comedians every year for "Accountants Are Funny Too", a charity event that pits 10 accountants from the Southeast against each other in a fun competition of stand-up, mainly to debunk the myth that theirs is a humorless, dry profession.

Anyway, this is the one book I recommend above all others to them in terms of 'getting' what doing stand-up is all about. I don't like the title, b/c I think the "Zen and the Art of..." thing has been done to death, and it makes it show more sound trendy, but to the author's credit, he does draw out the Zen metaphor often and well, and he hits home on what works and what doesn't in the world of stand-up.

It's a fun read, even if you don't aspire to the world of comedy. show less