Amy Schumer: By the Book

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/books/review/amy-schumer-by-the-book.html

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The comedian, actress, producer and author of “The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo” reads everything by Elena Ferrante. “But not right before bed, because I have furious nightmares.”

What books are currently on your night stand?

In my apartment in N.Y.C., “The Girl on the Train” and Gloria Steinem’s “My Life on the Road.” I finished them both and loved them and promised my sister I would pass them along to her when I’m done, but I just haven’t. I have read many of Gloria Steinem’s books, and I admire her greatly. I am now lucky enough to call her a friend. Spending time with her is such a thrill, because for years, my fellow female comic friends and I have been texting each other Gloria quotes to comfort one another while we’re out on the road. Her quote “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off” is something I think about a lot. I think it has fueled a lot of my writing. I also love this one that my best friend Rachel Feinstein sends me once in a blue: “Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”

Also, on my night stand in Oahu where I am shooting a movie right now, I have a copy of Michener’s “Hawaii,” but I am having trouble getting through it. It’s interesting and beautiful but slowwwww.

Which writers — novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets — working today do you admire most?

Jonathan Ames has been my favorite at what he does for as long as I can remember. The honesty and rawness of his stories have definitely inspired me. I read everything by Elena Ferrante, whoever she is. But not right before bed, because I have furious nightmares. I think Jason Zinoman from The New York Times has an unparalleled understanding of comedy and comics. Emily Nussbaum, who is a television critic and writer for The New Yorker, is my favorite person to follow on Twitter, and her articles inspire me and make me think. I want her to be proud of me more than my parents, I think. Amber Tamblyn is my friend and a beautiful poet. Martin McDonagh is my favorite playwright. Samantha Bee is the breath of fresh air we all need right now. She’s in your face with the truth and makes me feel like I’m not alone. Jessi Klein, the head writer for my TV show, just wrote a book called “You’ll Grow Out of It,” and this is good news for everyone, because she is hilarious, smart and trenchant in any medium.

What genres do you especially enjoy reading? And which do you avoid?

I love to read the autobiographies of comics and athletes. Spoiler alert: If they’re male, they had dad issues. Bar none, dad was too hard on them or ignored them. Is that too reductive? I also like some young adult stuff, which is an embarrassing section to walk through in the bookstore, and I like historical fiction. It started when I was a teenager with “Memoirs of a Geisha” and never stopped. I avoid John Grisham- or Danielle Steel‑type books. I’m not sure why, but they just don’t appeal to me. My dad was always reading Grisham, and I have never even given it a shot.

What’s your favorite self-help book?

I don’t do that. Maybe I should.

How and when do you read? Electronic or paper? Bath or bed?

I like a paperback; I’ve dabbled in Kindles and hardcover. It makes me so happy to pick up a flimsy book I can get pizza sauce and wine on and not feel bad about it. And when you fall asleep with it, you won’t hurt your face on the corners. Which answers the next question. Bed.

How do you organize your books?

Color; ugh, sorry. I saw them color-coded at my sister-in-law’s house, and I thought it looked cute, so I started doing it. People always point it out, and I have a mini shame-attack, but I love it.

What do you like to read on the plane?

The New York Times. Page Six and the Sally Brompton horoscope. New Yorker. New York magazine, especially the Approval Matrix feature. Time. Rolling Stone. I always get the new National Geographic and look through all the pictures. Yes, I buy trashy magazines if it’s a really long flight, and also bring whatever book I’m reading.

What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?

Probably that I have even one book.

What’s your favorite book by a comedian?

“A Lotus Grows in the Mud,” by Goldie Hawn, and “Born Standing Up,” by Steve Martin.

What’s the last book that made you laugh out loud?

David Spade’s “Almost Interesting.” He kills me. He is just the funniest dude. Also Colin Quinn’s “The Coloring Book” had my sister and me howling.

What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?

“The Professional,” by W. C. Heinz. It profiles a boxer before a match in the 1950s. I reread it before taping a stand-up special. Preparing to perform comedy in front of hundreds (or thousands) of people and telling jokes that may or may not make them laugh is just as terrifying as getting hit in the face while boxing. I boxed for a while a couple years back, and the fear of getting punched was a big hurdle I had to get over. But you know what helped? Getting punched. Just one time was enough to learn that the fear of pain is worse than the pain itself. That’s like stand-up. I learned to just get up there and own my jokes. Relax and take the punches. The crowd will forgive you for less-than-perfect jokes, but nobody likes to watch a fearful performer. My favorite quote from “The Professional” is to the effect that “a fight is won on the road.” It reminds me so much of preparing for a stand-up special. By the time you’re walking onstage and the cameras are rolling, you’ve already done all you can do, working out your jokes and timing — and that’s when you’ve succeeded. Not the night of the show.

Tell us your favorite TV, film or theater adaptation of a book.

I love Alison Maclean’s film adaptation of Denis Johnson’s book “Jesus’ Son.” It’s not that I am particularly drawn to stories of addiction or wayward young men, but I just love the beautiful performances in that film. One of my favorite scenes of all time is in that movie — when Billy Crudup’s character meets Samantha Morton’s character for the first time at a deadbeat midday party. They don’t speak, but they make eyes at each other, and she dances to the most beguiling, sexy, funny, tragic dance in his general direction to the Tommy Roe song “Sweet Pea” to get his attention. It’s the kind of gesture that feels wild and romantic — and at the same time, completely prophetic of their horrible relationship to come. I like the book quite a lot too, but that scene is an example of how movies and books work in very different ways.

I don’t know if this counts since it’s a play adapted as a movie, but I also love Mike Nichols’s film adaptation of Edward Albee’s play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” When I was in my 20s, I thought the yelling and drinking and sexy anger between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was what love was supposed to look like. The endless brown liquor drinks, the cigarettes always being freshly lit in Elizabeth Taylor’s very lipsticked mouth, and the unbridled, constant rage. . . . It was all so appealing to me. By the way, that movie has a knockout dance scene as well, when Elizabeth Taylor dances with George Segal’s character while simultaneously screaming at her husband on the sidelines.

And the movie “Short Cuts,” directed by Robert Altman, is in my top three favorite movies ever. It’s adapted from Raymond Carver short stories. I love Carver, and that movie blew me away.

What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?

I read all the Roald Dahl books, Berenstain Bears, “The Giving Tree,” Ferdinand the bull, Baby-Sitters Club, “The Hobbit” and the Nancy Drew books. My absolute favorite was and still is “Eloise.” It’s such a glamorous New York story for little girls. She shows no real respect for authority or the status quo. She marches to her own beat. Several years back, my sister commissioned someone on Etsy to put me in an Eloise picture, and it’s my prize possession.

If you could be friends with any author, dead or alive, who would it be?

Mark Twain. I think he was the most interesting, funniest person. He and Oscar Wilde — but Twain is No. 1 to me. I once went on a date with a guy who asked me this exact same icebreaker question, and when I answered “Mark Twain,” he said, “No, the person has to be real.” And yes I still slept with him.

Disappointing, overrated, just not good: What book did you feel you were supposed to like, and didn’t? Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

“Fifty Shades of Grey.” I only made it three pages in. That feels mean to write, but I truly felt so alone. Everyone loved that book, and I couldn’t wait to get on the ride with them, but it was unreadable to me. I loved the movie, though, and have watched it several times.

Whom would you want to write your life story?

I just took a stab at this myself. My book isn’t a memoir or autobiography exactly, but it’s a good representation of many of the highs and lows in my life to date. I can’t speak for all comics, but it seems like many of us would rather write our own life stories than outsource the job, because we can loathe and mock ourselves more deeply and truly than even our own worst enemies ever dream of. And we can promise ourselves to be honest and get it right. Also, I kept detailed journals of everything that happened to me from age 13 to 30, and it was really fun/painful/humiliating/exhilarating to mine them for material.