Mike Birbiglia
“Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories”
(Simon and Schuster)

Whenever comedians write books, I’m always a little leery to read them. Back in high school, I read Chris Rock’s “Rock This” and was disappointed when the entire book was pretty much his act from “Bring the Pain.” Of course, I was 14 and probably didn’t know much better in the way that comics process humor.

Mike Birbiglia, a comic I knew through the media osmosis that is This American Life, has a narrative style that lends itself well to the written form. Birbiglia’s book “Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories” (Simon & Schuster) has culled stories that have appeared on his album “My Secret Public Journal” as well as his various appearances on This American Life, and yet in book form, they’ve certainly taken on a life of their own.

This is particularly fortuitous for fans of Birbiglia who are so familiar with his work because there are details in the book that aren’t mentioned their broadcast versions.

While “Sleepwalk” certainly has its many funny moments, there’s a particularly heartwarming and heartbreaking chapter about Birbiglia’s relationship with late comic, Mitch Hedberg. I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s probably one of my favorite stories in the book.

Unlike most collections of essays and even most memoirs, “Sleepwalk with Me,” is organized very well, though it doesn’t seem so at first. By the time you get to the end, the story as a whole makes a lot more sense and probably moreso when you hear Birbiglia’s voice as you make your way through the tome. After reading this book, I re-read “Rock This” with a different set of eyes and definitely made me appreciate comic’s book artform a little bit more.

— Ryan Pangilinan