12 Top books and comics written by your favorite late night hosts and their shows
By Elaine Selna
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Late night talk show hosts are great at getting celebrities to talk about themselves, but what about their lives? From Graham Norton across the pond to late night ratings-king Stephen Colbert, we’ve rounded up the best books they and their shows have written.
1. Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not by Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, and Stephen Colbert
While working as touring Second City comedians, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello became fast friends. Whenever Sedaris appears on The Late Show, she and Colbert reminisce about the old days with Dinello, now a producer for The Late Show. In 2003, they wrote this satirical book about a town called Wigfield that is about to be in ruins unless “journalist” Russell Hokes helps.
Buy it: Amazon
2. Whose Boat Is This Boat?: Comments That Don’t Help in the Aftermath of a Hurricane by The Staff of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
During the Trump presidency, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert couldn’t help but make a satirical book. This children’s book features comments the former President made in the wake of Hurricane Florence. The book aims to teach children, through comedy, what not to say after a hurricane has devastated a region, and it certainly delivers.
Buy it: Amazon
3. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Born during apartheid in South Africa to a black mother and white father, comedian Trevor Noah was essentially born a crime. This compelling book demonstrates Noah’s storytelling abilities and gives fans a closer look into the life and upbringing of The Daily Show host well before he became a household name. Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o has plans to produce the memoir into a movie with her starring as Noah’s mother, Patricia.
Buy it: Amazon
4. The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
In June 2017, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah commemorated Trump’s presidency with a 4000 square foot museum space called The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library dedicated to his Twitter legacy featuring his most famous tweets. The Library brought in 7500 visitors, so naturally, they turned the library into a book for everyone to enjoy.
Buy it: Amazon
5. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twist and Marlon Bundo
There is a running trend, it seems, with late night hosts creating children’s books. Maybe it is to capture the market they exclude or the perfect arena for satirical comedy. Either way, it has produced some of the funniest books, like this one from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver about Marlon Bundo. Bundo is a lonely bunny living in former Vice President Mike Pence’s backyard exploring same-sex marriage and democracy.
Buy it: Amazon
6. May I Have Your Attention, Please?: The Autobiography by James Corden
Before he was the Late Late Show host, James Corden was making a name for himself back in the U.K. May I Have Your Attention, Please? takes readers on a journey from Corden’s childhood, through forming a pop group as a teenager up to the award-winning British show Gavin and Stacey, which he created, wrote for, and stared in as Smithy.
Buy it: Amazon
7. The Serious Goose by Jimmy Kimmel
Don’t even try to make this goose laugh because it won’t work. Jimmy Kimmel’s debut children’s book The Serious Goose tests readers to see if they can make the goose laugh in the book. From silly pranks to gags, your children will be cracking up by the end of this book.
Buy it: Amazon
8. I Hate This Place: The Pessimist’s Guide to Life by Jimmy Fallon and Gloria Fallon
Known for his optimistic presence on screen, Jimmy Fallon being a pessimist is hard to believe. The Tonight Show host teamed up in 2003 with writer Gloria Fallon, his sister, to create a cynical guide to living life. Though it might not be as well-known as Fallon’s children’s books Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada, Everything is Mama, and This is Baby, but it will still leave you in stitches.
Buy it: Amazon
9. The Life and Loves of a He Devil by Graham Norton
If you don’t live in the U.K., you might not be as familiar with the host of the popular late night chat show The Graham Norton Show unless you watch his viral clips on YouTube. Graham Norton has a talent for making his guests feel relaxed and open up about things we’ve never known before, thanks to giving them alcohol. Besides being a talented late night host, Norton is a talented author of fiction with three mystery novels Holding, A Keeper, and Home Stretch, but to learn more about his own life his memoir, The Life and Loves of a He Devil has to be your first stop.
Buy it: Amazon
10. The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year by Andy Cohen
Bravo’s Andy Cohen has dealt with a lot of drama while hosting The Real Housewives reunions and his late night show Watch What Happens Live. Somehow, he still makes time to write books about his life. In The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year, readers get to vicariously live through Cohen’s exciting drama-filled life in this no-holds-barred memoir.
Buy it: Amazon
11. I Know I Am, But What Are You? By Samantha Bee
As host of TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and former correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, there is nothing Samantha Bee can’t make funny. In this book of essays, Bee uses her witty comedy writing to discuss her views on various subjects like Barbie’s Dream House and gym class.
Buy it: Amazon
12. Spider-Man: The Short Halloween by Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, J.M. DeMatteis, Tom Defalco, Brian Reed, and Marc Sumerak
Somehow Saturday Night Live alumni Seth Meyers and Bill Hader wrote a one-off comic about Marvel’s Spider-Man called The Short Halloween in 2009. In the story, Peter Parker realizes one of the downsides to wearing a costume is that anyone can copy it, especially on Halloween. Though they never ended up writing another issue, we can still cherish this one.
Buy it: Amazon