# The Best Books on Improv (Updated)

Kory W. Mathewson · 2021-09-09 · https://korymathewson.com/the-best-books-on-improv/ · The ultimate reading list for improvisers: 49 essential books on improv comedy, theatre, and creativity.

This post is a collection of the best books on improv --- or improvisational theatre or improvised comedy, or improv, depending on where you are in the world. This is the ultimate list for you to start growing your improv library. It includes new books by friends and mentors and many of the classics.

1. [Improvise Freely](https://amzn.to/2X1it77) by Patti Stiles
1. [Improv Beyond Rules](https://amzn.to/3tstbPs) by Adam Meggido
1. [Truth in Comedy: The Manual for Improvisation](https://amzn.to/36kNva3) by Charna Halpern
2. [Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre](https://amzn.to/36cQ2TE) by Keith Johnstone
3. [Improvise.: Scene from the Inside Out](https://amzn.to/2LJDmKE) by Mick Napier
4. [Improvisation for the Theatre](https://www.amazon.ca/Improvisation-Theater-Handbook-Directing-Techniques/dp/081014008X) by Viola Spolin
5. [Art by Committee: A Guide to Advanced Improvisation](https://amzn.to/2z2adaV) by Charna Halpern
6. [Jill Bernard's Small Cute Book of Improv](http://jillbernard.blogspot.ca/2008/06/jill-bernards-small-cute-book-of-improv.html) by Jill Bernard
7. [Improvisation for the Spirit: Live a More Creative, Spontaneous, and Courageous Life Using the Tools of Improv Comedy](https://amzn.to/3g6VvQo) by Katie Goodman
8. [Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up](https://amzn.to/2XeGx2a) by Patricia Ryan Madson
9. [Something Wonderful Right Away: An Oral History of the Second City and the Compass Players](https://amzn.to/2XaNbXb) by Jeffrey Sweet
10. [Impro for Storytellers](https://www.amazon.ca/Impro-Storytellers-Keith-Johnstone/dp/0571190995)) by Keith Johnstone
11. [Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual](https://amzn.to/2zQ2A7l) by Matt Besser
12. [The Improv Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Improvising in Comedy, Theatre, and Beyond](https://amzn.to/2Xbqtyi) by Tom Salinsky
13. [Bossypants](https://amzn.to/2yhOPOv) by Tina Fey
14. [Group Improvisation: The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games](https://amzn.to/3bLoSEw) by Peter Gwinn
15. [Process: An Improviser's Journey](https://amzn.to/2TnWCl1) by Mary Scruggs and Michael Gellman
16. [The Compass: The Improvisational Theatre that Revolutionized American Comedy](https://amzn.to/2ZkpNZW) by Janet Coleman
17. [Causing a Scene: Extraordinary Pranks in Ordinary Places with Improv Everywhere](https://amzn.to/2Zgq3tb) by Charlie Todd
18. [Improvising Better: A Guide for the Working Improviser](https://amzn.to/2zOr4ht) by Jimmy Carrane and Liz Allen
19. [Improv for Actors](https://amzn.to/3bO4OBm) by Dan Diggles
20. [Improvisation Starters](https://amzn.to/2AEBgJz) by Philip Bernardi
21. [How to Improvise a Full-Length Play: The Art of Spontaneous Theater](https://amzn.to/2WPwfXz) by Kenn Adams
22. [Acting on Impulse: The Art of Making Improv Theater](https://amzn.to/3cNdskX) by Carol Hazenfield
23. [Directing Improv: Show the Way By Getting Out of the Way](https://amzn.to/3bNQsAW) by Asaf Ronen
24. [Girl Walks into a Bar . . .: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle](https://amzn.to/3bMPzsH) by Rachel Dratch
25. [Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art](https://amzn.to/2LJLieI) by Stephen Nachmanovitch
26. [Theater Games for Rehearsal: A Director's Handbook](https://amzn.to/2ToEk3f) by Viola Spolin
27. [The Second City Almanac of Improvisation](https://amzn.to/2TmI2u7) by Anne Libera
28. [Improv Therapy: How to get out of your own way to become a better improviser](https://amzn.to/3bNPapQ) by Jimmy Carrane
29. [Improv Ideas 2: A New Book of Games and Lists for the Classroom and Beyond](https://amzn.to/36gLqvD) by Justine Jones
30. [Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by](https://amzn.to/3cHHXZD) Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
31. [An Improvised Life: A Memoir](https://amzn.to/3g7LeTY) by Alan Arkin
32. [The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not](https://amzn.to/3dZ2HfE) by John Vorhaus
33. [The Second City Guide to Improv in the Classroom: Using Improvisation to Teach Skills and Boost Learning](https://amzn.to/2ZjFJMg) by Katherine S. McKnight
34. [The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard](https://amzn.to/3cMD5lP) by Norrie Epstein
35. [Improv Comedy](https://amzn.to/36eRpkJ) by Andy Goldberg
36. [Long-Form Improv: The Complete Guide to Creating Characters, Sustaining Scenes, and Performing Extraordinary Harolds](https://amzn.to/2LENJiT) by Ben Hauck
37. [Improv Wins](https://amzn.to/3dZNGtT) by Chris Trew
38. [Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation](https://amzn.to/3cOopTn) by Patrick Bateson
39. [58 1/2 Ways to Improvise in Training: Improvisation Games and Activities for Workshops, Courses and Team Meetings](https://amzn.to/3g1pcTb) by Paul Z. Jackson
40. [Acting: The First Six Lessons](https://amzn.to/3e484dk) by Richard Boleslavsky
41. [How To Start Your Own Improv Comedy Group](https://amzn.to/3bLq0rK) by Paul Johan Stokstad
42. [Handbook of Recreational Games](https://amzn.to/2zeegkf) by Neva L. Boyd
43. [Second City: Backstage At The World's Greatest Comedy Theater](https://amzn.to/2XaODJ7) by Sheldon Patinkin
44. [Musical Improv Comedy: Creating Songs in the Moment](https://amzn.to/2XghjAJ) by Jason Alexander
45. [SCTV: Behind the Scenes](https://amzn.to/36iCtlB) by Dave Thomas
46. [Aerodynamics of Yes](http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00ANZ29KG/) by Christian Capozzoli
47. [The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance] by W. Timothy Gallwey
48. [The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle](https://amzn.to/3yYjiue) by Steven Pressfield
49. [Playful Mindfulness: a joyful journey to everyday confidence, calm, and connection](https://www.amazon.ca/Playful-Mindfulness-everyday-confidence-connection/dp/1950373002) by Ted Desmaisons

If you have some recommendations of other 'best' books on improv, please get in touch and let me know! I just might add it to the list.