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Finding Your Comic Genius

An In-Depth Guide to the Art of Stand-Up Comedy

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Finding Your Comic Genius

By: Adam Bloom
Narrated by: Matt Lucas, Ed Byrne, Adam Bloom, Ninia Benjamin, Tim Clark, Carole King, Ady Lloyd, Hannah Oldman, Matt Welcome
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About this listen

This has proven to be the most significant book ever written on stand-up comedy. It truly comes to life as an audiobook, especially with ‘before & after’ examples of punchlines. It explains groundbreaking methods and theories that give you the tools to fast-track your stand-up to the next level and will permanently change the way you look at writing and performing comedy.

Although Finding Your Comic Genius is an advanced book that was aimed at people who already do stand-up, thousands of new comedians all over the world have used the seventeen chapters on writing material to prepare for their first time onstage. It will also be beneficial to anyone who is planning on doing any form of public speaking. Ricky Gervais said of Adam Bloom’s comedy, “He's been one of my favourite stand-ups for about ten years. Bloom not only has meticulous, brilliant lines, but also an intense and fragile honesty”.

Jim Jefferies said of this book, "This is the only book you will ever need on stand-up comedy. No one on Earth knows more about stand-up comedy than Adam Bloom".

©2023, 2024, 2025 Adam Bloom (P)2025 Adam Bloom Performing Arts Comedy Celebrity

Critic Reviews

“He's been one of my favourite stand-ups for about ten years.” (Ricky Gervais)

“No one on Earth knows more about stand-up comedy than Adam Bloom.” (Jim Jefferies)

“Adam explains things about comedy I didn't even realise.” (Rich Hall)

“Adam Bloom is the right person for this job as he writes some of the best jokes I’ve ever heard.” (Harry Hill)
All stars
Most relevant
Loads of comedians I know in Australia own this book in hard copy and have all told me how helpful they’ve found it. Hearing it as an audiobook is fantastic as the examples he uses suddenly make even more sense. I like all nine narrators, but you’re bound to have a favourite. I’ve read the book a few times as it’s very dense and will no doubt be listening to this version over and over.

Incredible

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I’ve heard it said that some material either works or it doesn’t. “You won’t know till you get in front of an audience.” But this book showed me that we can use simple, measurable techniques to work out why something works — and just as importantly, why it doesn’t. I didn’t come to this book looking for inspiration or motivation. I came to it because I was stuck. I had bits that felt solid on paper and made sense in my head, but just weren’t landing the way I expected. I couldn’t work out what I was missing, and “try it on stage again” wasn’t giving me any new information. What Finding Your Comic Genius helped me do was slow down and actually diagnose the problem. Instead of treating laughs as something mysterious or purely instinctive, Bloom breaks comedy down into clear ideas you can test. Reading it, I kept having those uncomfortable-but-useful moments of recognition — realising why certain lines were muddy, why some premises felt flat, or why a punchline wasn’t doing the job I thought it was. The book isn’t about being funnier overnight, and it’s definitely not about copying anyone else’s style. It’s more about understanding your own thinking well enough to spot where the logic breaks, where the surprise disappears, or where you’re asking too much of an audience. That alone made it worth the read for me. Some sections took a couple of reads to click — but that felt appropriate for a book about craft rather than vibes. What I got out of it was clarity. Instead of just feeling that a bit wasn’t working, I could usually point to a reason. For me, this book didn’t magically fix my comedy. What it did was give me a language and a process for improving it, which is far more useful in the long run.

Thorough instructions on how to bring your material to the next level!

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.