Episode · How I Write · 2026-10-26
David Perell & Taylor Tomlinson: books mentioned on How I Write
Taylor Tomlinson: How to Make Your Writing More Funny | How I Write
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Taylor Tomlinson recommended Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and discussed The Comedy Bible by Judy Carter and Actually, Nevermind by Taylor Tomlinson. David Perell discussed The Getaway Car by Ann Patchett.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Comedy Bible
Discussed“Um it's like some of the oldest advice about joke writing. I think it's from like Judy Carter Comedy Bible books, too, of like just write down things that you have strong feelings about.”
Where to get it
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Actually, Nevermind
Discussed“I also really liked writing the book and being like in a blanket for months and months going, we'll find out if this sucks in 2 years. Like I liked that, too.”
Where to get it
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Bird by Bird
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is a well-known guide on writing and creativity that often resonates deeply with readers' broader lives.
Recommended“I mean, Bird by Bird is the best one. I mean, it's the one that I've gone back to the most because the part of that book where she talks about how perfectionism makes you think that if you're perfect, you're never going to have to die, but you are going to die.”
Where to get it
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The Getaway Car
Discussed“Last question. I know that The Getaway Car by Ann Patchett, you've talked about a lot. What is it that you took from her? Well, I wrote I wrote about this through my Substack recently cuz I just got on Substack, but it goes back to what we were talking about”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing Actually, Nevermind
“Taylor Tomlinson is on the show, who's one of the world's top comedians with multiple [music] Netflix specials and also a book called Actually, Never Mind.”
Passing Good Writing
“Um I saw that stack of books that you had, that just insane stack of Bird by Bird and Good Writing by Anne Lamott. What did you take from those books? And what are the best ones?”