Can you learn how to be funny by reading a book?

I've been reading a book about how to write jokes. I'm about half way through it.

I'm not going to say who the author is unless I write some KILLER jokes and am able to PERFORM them consistently.

So far, the book is really big on how the joke is structured. There is a setup, then a misdirection punch line. At first blush, I feel like a "joke structure" is a little restrictive. I'm going to keep reading to see if the author is going to describe how to take that joke structure and allow for some free flowing story telling.

My comedy heroes are Richard Pryor, George Lopez, Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, Judy Tenuta, Paul Rodriguez, and Scott Shimamoto. (Sorry, I had to know that I'm SOMEBODY'S comedy hero. Plus I needed to be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys.) Where was I. Oh, yeah, I wanted to talk about my style. I like telling stories like my comedy heroes, and a joke structure seems like it is going to make me write a bunch of one liners. I do some one liners, but I don't think it's a good idea to write every line of my routine as a set up and misdirection punch.

I must say that the book has some VERY good hints that I need to keep in mind. One of the hints is to END the joke with a punch line and don't talk over the laughter. I learned that from my first comedy coach Bobbie Oliver as well, but I think most comedians instinctively know that before they start. It is GREAT to hear about comedy fundamentals again anyway, because as in any performance, the fundamentals are critical.

It's like shooting a basket or hitting a golf ball. Some people can just see others do it, and then mimic the actions with good success without even thinking about it. The problem comes when these "naturals" want to take it to a higher level and hope to get paid to do it. If they're not paying attention to the fundamentals of WHY they can do what they do, they will most likely hit a plateau and not get any better.

Once I finish reading the book, I'll post another blog and give you my thoughts on what the rest of the book says. I know that what I've read so far has been helpful, and it has definitely given me some good fundamentals that I'll keep in mind when I'm writing new material.