A review by pennsnape
Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy by Judd Apatow

4.0

I won this book as a part of Goodreads First Reads.

This book fell into my life at the perfect time. I've never been into comedy, except for TV sitcoms and movies. When the show @midnight started, I found that I'd been missing the hilarious world of stand up. This book is a great look into the whole world of comedy, from comics to producers to writers. For anyone who loves comedy or wants to work in comedy, this is definitely a must read. I also recommend it to anyone that enjoys any kind of comedy.

This was not a quick read for me, but I don't mean that in a bad way. You need time to digest each interview and all the different personalities. Each interview gives a lot of food for thought and the end of each interview is a natural break. (which made it impossible for me to put the book down in the middle of one). Also, I think interview is not necessarily the proper word. The early ones free before Judd was in the business, yes, but the later interviews read more like conversations between important people in comedy.

I learned a lot of things from this book. I never realized how much thought and hard work goes into comedy of all kinds. I definitely don't watch enough of Amy Schumer, I'm currently working on that. And most surprising, Jay Leno is perhaps not a complete asshole.