When it comes to presentation, comedian Demetri Martin is straightforward. He released an album showcasing his jokes called These Are Jokes, a DVD starring himself called Demetri Martin. Person. and, during his Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin, a song could be heard before sketches that included the lyrics “This is a sketch.” And so it is with his debut book, This Is a Book by Demetri Martin, which, as the title suggests, is a book by Demetri Martin.

The book — divided into four parts, though none of them differ from the others in any discernible way — could have been many things: a memoir, a transcription of stage jokes, a collection of annotated tax-deductible receipts. But it’s all comedy in various forms, and that’s a good thing. Martin’s brew of bizarre, clever, and generally cheerful humor works so well on stage and screen, and there’s always the risk that it wouldn’t translate to the printed page. Fortunately, we’re in the clear, and there are a lot of notable pieces. Continue reading…