Marc Maron Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Marc Maron is an American podcaster, actor, stand up comedian and author. He has been the host of the politically oriented shows “Breakroom Live” and “Morning Sedition” produced by Air America Media for several years. He also replaced Jon Stewart and hosted “Short Attention Span Theater” on Comedy Central for a year. He used to be a regular guest on David Letterman’s “Late Show” and also made more than forty appearances with Conan O’Brien on “Late Night” and holds the record for appearances on the show for a standup comedian. One of the most popular standup comedians in the US, he has appeared on a range of television talk shows including Bill Maher, Craig Ferguson, Charlie Rose, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel. In September 2009, he launched a twice a week podcast that he named “WTF with Marc Maron” where he interviewed all manner of celebrities and comedians. Some of the biggest highlights of the podcast were when he hosted the likes of Robin Williams, Conan O’Brien and an interview with Louis C.K. that Slate Magazine rated as the best ever in the history of podcasting. In 2015, he hosted Barack Obama the President of the United States at his podcast studio in Los Angeles.

Marc Maron was born in Jersey City to the Jewish family of Barry R. Maron a surgeon and Toby Maron. The family lived in Wayne, New Jersey for his early childhood but moved to Alaska when Barry joined the US Air Force and was posted to the remote state for his residence. Once his father was out of the air force the Maron family relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his father set up a medical practice. He went to the Highland High School in Albuquerque from the third grade until he finished his high school studies. For his college studies he went to Boston University and graduated in 1986 with a bachelors in English Literature. After graduation, he moved to Astoria, Queens where he spent much of the 1990s and most of his 2000s. In 2009 he packed up and moved to Los Angeles from where he made his name as a standup comedian and podcaster. He lives with his cats LaFonda, Buster, and Monkey in his home on Highland Park, Los Angeles that he usually refers to as the “Cat Ranch” on his WTF Podcast.

Marc is currently a star on “Glow,” an original Netflix series where he has earned nominations for the SAG and the Critics’ Choice Award for his portrayal of Sam Sylvia. “Maron” his 30-minute scripted series where he starred as himself ran on IFC for four years. The series was won a WGA award nomination in 2016 and Maron created, wrote the script, and executive produced the series. Before then, he had starred in “Girls and Louie” the hit series. Maron is the author of several novels including “The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant Messiah,” “Attempting Normal” and “Waiting for the Punch: Words to Live by from the WTF Podcast.” His first novel is a hilarious travelogue about doing his solo show. Attempting Normal that was published in 2013 by Spiegel and Grau is a collection of essays that chronicles Maron’s journey including the different things he has done in a hilarious and comedic tone that only he can pull off. Waiting for the Punch is a running narrative of the stories of the many people that have appeared on his WTF Podcast. In 2013 He released “Thinky Pain,” a stand up special stand up on Netflix. In 2015 he premiered “More Later” as a special on Amazon Prime and Hulu.

In “Attempting Normal” Marc Maron tells his story as an angst-filled, drug dabbling, parent scarred, and love-starved comedian that had a dream of having a simple life with a home, a wife and a sitcom on TV. However, he found himself sacked from his job on job in radio, financially and emotionally annihilated by divorce by a woman he thought he was in love with, and in a house full of feral cats. He tried everything including flying airplanes, minor league holding, cat fancying, viagra addiction, and accidental racial profiling trying to heal his heart from the heartbreak but nothing was effective. It was when he cleared his life and mind of everything that he finally got back on the path to healing. Attempting Normal is Maron’s travelogue as he traverses the wilderness in his life. They are a collection of painfully, explosive and addictively funny narratives that make for a moving story of flailing, hope, and hopelessness that ends with finding a way. He goes from standup, to TV and an outrageous podcast that is the talk of the country. Marc shows why he has always been one of the most brutally honest, intensely smart, original, and disarmingly open comedian that can find meaning in very strange places. It is a story of obsession, madness and failure traveled on a potholed and winding road that makes for a thrilling journey.

“Waiting for the Punc”h is a book that takes inspiration from his “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast. It is a book that takes you on a journey of life-changing, hilarious and intimate conversations with some of the most important and funniest people on the planet. Ranging from luminaries such as President Obama, Amy Schumer, Bruce Springsteen, Mel Brooks, David Sedaris, Will Ferrell, and Jimmy Fallon among others, it is a wondrous narrative. While much of it is drawn from the interviews, they are a running narrative of the problems and challenges bedeviling the famous and the rich. Through his narratives, he showcases that everyone even the rich and famous experience problems, failures, triumphs, doubts, and joys. Through the life experiences of the characters the novel is something of a guide for life. From Amy Schumer remembering the pain of her parents’ divorce to Barack Obama speaking of the challenges of being president to Bruce Springsteen explaining the nature of desperation and its power to both devastate and motivate. These are heartbreaking, powerful, tragic, joyous, and sometimes laugh out loud funny tales.

Marc Maron’s ‘The Jerusalem Syndrome” is a spiritual memoir of a super hip, ultra-neurotic and hyper-intelligent Jewish seeker and comedian. Maron has a unique version of the Jerusalem Syndrome as he goes to find religious revelation and significance in the unlikeliest of places. Maron assaults Beat Phenomena with its prescribed pilgrimages, established rituals, and sacred texts. He explores the dark side of things such as conspiracy theories, his cocaine obsession, and self-destructive comedians that made him believe that the opening into Hell was under Los Angeles. Over the course of the book, he moves on to analyze the many aspects of Corporate America, including visiting a Philip Morris cigarette plant and sound offs on the ageless beauty of the Coca Cola logo. It ends with Maron visiting the Holy Land for real for a true taste of the Jerusalem Syndrome. With a camera hanging down his neck, he comes face to face with Judaism and gets a better understanding of his amorphous relationship with religion. Maron crafts a considerably expanded and adapted literary memoir that leaves you wondering whether he is a neurotic mess or a genuine prophet. Nonetheless, he makes you laugh while questioning the meaning of life.