Yes Please
Amy Poehler
Like Martin, Poehler writes candidly about building a comedy career from the ground up, with a warm, self-aware voice that balances laughs and honest reflection on work and ambition.
11 books to read next
Books Like Born Standing Up
If you loved Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
Born Standing Up is Steve Martin's memoir of his early years, from selling guidebooks at Disneyland as a teenager to his rise as the biggest stand-up draw of the late 1970s and his decision to quit in 1981. Readers love its candid, dryly funny voice, its close look at craft and discipline, and its quieter sections on loneliness and family. The pace is brisk, the tone reflective rather than sentimental, and the book reads as much like a writer's account of work as a celebrity story.
Comedians telling their own story
Is everyone hanging out without me?
Mindy Kaling
Kaling's memoir mixes sharp humor with frank accounts of chasing a creative career, much as Martin does when he examines the cost of his own drive and solitude.
Modern Romance
Aziz Ansari, Eric Klinenberg
Ansari brings a stand-up performer's observational wit and research-minded curiosity to a subject, pairing comic timing with thoughtful analysis much like Martin's blend of humor and craft.
Behind the scenes of performing
Just Kids
Patti Smith, Patti Smith
Smith's memoir of her early years in New York shares Born Standing Up's focus on artistic apprenticeship, devotion to a craft, and the hardship that comes before recognition.
Autobiography of red
Anne Carson, Vanasay Khamphommala
Carson's inventive, unusual approach to telling a life story appeals to readers who enjoyed Martin's literary, carefully shaped prose and his sense of an artist's self-invention.
Go deeper into the era
Live from New York
Tom Shales, James A. Miller
This oral history of Saturday Night Live covers the same 1970s comedy scene Martin describes, with firsthand voices on the show's irreverent beginnings and its performers.
Eat the Document
Dana Spiotta
Spiotta's novel about radical politics in the late 1970s captures the era of protest and upheaval that Martin evokes in his memoir.
Brain Droppings
George Carlin
Carlin's observational, sharp-edged writing reflects the counterculture stand-up tradition Martin grew up admiring, offering a glimpse of the comic sensibility of his times.
A lighter read
Cheaper by the dozen
Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
This warm, funny family memoir shares Born Standing Up's affectionate look at a family's eccentricities and the humor found in everyday life.
Me Talk Pretty One Day
David Sedaris
Sedaris's wry essays about odd jobs and family quirks match Martin's deadpan humor and his knack for turning personal embarrassment into crisp, entertaining storytelling.
Bossypants
Tina Fey
Fey's brisk, joke-filled memoir about her early career at Saturday Night Live will appeal to readers who enjoyed Martin's insider stories and comic self-deprecation.
We earn a commission if you buy through these links. Learn more