Steve Martin Writes the Written Word: Collected Written Word Works by Steve Martin

by Steve Martin

A USA Today Bestseller 

With an exclusive new introduction and some never-before-published pieces, a collection of greatest hits from one of the most beloved comedians of our time, Steve Martin, now starring in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. 

Steve Martin Writes the Written Word is a perfect introduction for new fans and a must-have for longtime fans, showcasing the longevity, range, and—above all—hilarity of the master. ​Filled with his singular characters and musings--Daniel Pecan Cambridge, a modern-day neurotic yearning to break free in The Pleasure of My Company, to the comedic and heartbreaking relationship between Neiman Marcus shopgirl Mirabelle and businessman Ray Porter in Shopgirl, to meditations on bad neighbors and so much more--this collection shows the breadth of Martin's work, which is bolstered by a mix of brand-new and previously published selections of his writing for the New Yorker's "Shouts & Murmurs" column.

A tantalizing page-turner from start to finish that will appeal to a wide range of literary appetites, Steve Martin Writes the Written Word is a brilliant tour through a singular mind. 

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Short Stories, Essays, Biography

422 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 27, 2025

About the author

Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician, and composer. He was raised in Southern California in a Baptist family, where his early influences were working at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm and working magic and comedy acts at these and other smaller venues in the area. His ascent to fame picked up when he became a writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later became a frequent guest on the Tonight Show.

In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours. In the 1980s, having branched away from stand-up comedy, he became a successful actor, playwright, and juggler, and eventually earned Emmy, Grammy, and American Comedy awards.

Reviews

[Justin Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly what I expected but still very enjoyable. Martin's short pieces were mostly what you would expect from him: funny / amusing. His novellas were surprisingly good. "Shopgirl" was OK (a little too sex-focused for me) , but I really liked "The Pleasure of My Company". The protagonist may have been neurotic, but he was very likeable! I'm glad I read this hilariously-named book just for that. Martin has come a long way from his days as an SNL "wild and crazy guy" lol, and I enjoyed his good humor in this book.

[Mike Kowis · Rating 2 out of 5]

SAD to say this book was not what I expected. I was hoping for funny and/or wildly entertaining... something that I've come to expect from watching Steve Martin perform on stage and in the movies for decades. Unfortunately, I didn't find that here.

First off, I was really looking forward to reading this book b/c I *LOVE* Steve Martin's unique brand of silly humor as well as his musical talent on the banjo. He's a born entertainer! I also loved his autobiography, Born Standing Up. It's fantastic and I highly recommend it if you haven't yet read it!!!

For me, this book was a big disappointment. It starts with a variety of short stories put together with no particular theme or common thread. A few of these pieces are humorous, but most are just strange. Then it goes into chapters with one main character each. The chapters read like a well written novel (maybe a drama or love story), but very dry... no humor! I gave up after 50 pages or so (it's extremely rare that I don't finish a book that I start!). I regret to say that I do NOT recomend this book, especially if you are looking for lots of laughs. Just my 2 cents.

[Chris Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

fitfully funny and smart. Shopgirl is a wonderfully bittersweet novella, but I couldn't stick with The Pleasure of My Company.

[Kimberly Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed them all except for the Shopgirl novella. Everything else was super entertaining.

[Paul Sand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really straining for the proper words to describe Steve Martin's writings here. Maybe an example? I stuck a Post-It next to this paragraph, which describes a New York City party attended by Mirabelle, the heroine of Steve's novel Shopgirl:

As the evening loosens, confounding the normal progress of a party, the conversations gel into one, and the topic, rather than jumping wildly from politics to schools for kids to the latest medical treatments, also gels into one. And the topic is lying. They all admit that without it, their daily work cannot be done. In fact, someone says, lying is so fundamental to his existence that it has ceased to be lying at all and has transmogrified into a variant of truth. However, several of them admit that they never like, and everyone in the room knows it's because they have become so rich that lying has become unnecessary and pointless, Their wealth insulates them even from lawsuits.

What do you think? Not exactly laugh-out-loud funny, right? But it is (I think) witty and sharply observed. That's probably as close as I can get to a book description. While adding in that the book often leans toward the offbeat and ludicrous.

The book collects some previous work, including two novels, Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company.

I had previously read Shopgirl in pre-blog days. It's the story of Mirabelle, who sells gloves at the Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. She has artistic aspirations, but her life is otherwise pretty barren. Until she meets Ray Porter, a rich but lonely businessman. The rise and eventual fall of their relationship is chronicled. As mentioned above, it's rarely laugh-out-loud funny, although one bit revolving around mistaken identity is pretty good.

I found The Pleasure of My Company to be more accessible and interesting. The protagonist, and first-person narrator, is Daniel Pecan Cambridge, living in a downscale Santa Monica apartment, and sufferer of some pretty serious neuroses. For example, he cannot navigate curbs. To cross a street in his neighborhood, he has to find two driveways exactly lined up on either side. He has obsessions: magic squares, counting ceiling tiles, making sure the illumination in his apartment is a certain wattage. He's somewhat obsessed with three women: Clarissa, a shrink-trainee who comes periodically to (unsuccessfully) counsel him; Dorothy, a real estate agent trying to lease apartments in the complex across the street; and Zandy, who works at the pharmacy he frequents. Of these, only Clarissa knows Daniel exists. Although that changes as the book progresses.

Interspersed with the two novels are some short pieces, some old (and published in the New Yorker), and some not previously published. These are often bizarre. Example: "Shouters" imagines people who (unrequested) follow people around and shout works of literature at them. Like "Airport" or "Being and Nothingness". Okay. Glad Steve didn't expand that into a novel!

[Doctor Moss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this. I’ve always been a Steve Martin fan, so I’m surprised at how flat my reaction was. I noticed the same from several of the other reviews I’ve looked at.

The book is a collection of writings, including two short, previously published novels (Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company) and shorter pieces, some previously published in Pure Drivel and elsewhere.

I hadn’t read Shopgirl or The Pleasure of My Company. Both are thinly veiled autobiographical stories. The Pleasure of My Company was the more impactful of the two for me. It’s a portrayal of a young man with some serious, if sometimes funny, OCD problems and his attempts to cope with life, in particular with building an actual relationship with one of the women he’s mentally flirting with. It’s a sympathetic story — you root for him, no doubt an exaggerated portrait of Steve Martin himself. I’ve got a few OCD tendencies of my own, so I found a hook there.

Shopgirl is also thinly veiled autobiography, and even a bit of confession, as Ray Porter, an older man in a relationship with a younger woman can’t figure out how to actually care about a woman. Caught in a seemingly never-progressing passage from adolescence to adulthood, as the woman herself finds her own way.

Both are good, engaging, and probably moreso because they are by and presumably about Steve Martin, and we wouldn’t be reading this book at all unless we liked Steve Martin.

The shorter pieces are odd. They are often almost funny without getting there, and almost insightful without getting there either. They seem a bit like remaindered scraps from a casual writing hobby. Okay, that sounded harsh. I’m leaving it there, though.

I’ve liked Martin’s writing in the past, going back to Cruel Shoes. I also loved his autobiography, Born Standing Up. If you haven’t read Born Standing Up, get your fix there. It’s an outstanding read for anyone who has fallowed and enjoyed Steve Martin and his career.

[MaryAnn Benson · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the more bizarre books I have read, for sure. Steve Martin's thought processes are witty, clever, convoluted and sometimes impossible to follow. Comprised of a novella, a short novel and a variety of short pieces, the book ricochets all over the place, at times reading like a stream of consciousness diatribe. The overriding themes of living in Los Angeles, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Loneliness, and idiosyncrasies of language kept me wondering where I would be going next on this wacky journey.

I confess that the book almost became a DNF (did not finish) but as that is contrary to my nature I slogged through (admittedly frequently counting how many pages I had left). I nearly started this review with the simple statement: "I have no words." But I realized that there were indeed words...and that was Martin's point. His words had the power to evoke images, to create a unique world new to the reader. The morass of cliches and bizarre similes were there to set a tone and provide a view of an alternate universe. I cringed at some of the more overblown language, but, ultimately it helped me to understand who this narrator really was.

Like it or not, the book provides insight into the mind of a complicated and highly developed intellect.
The fact that it operates on a different plane than mine does not detract from its strength.

[David Tice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am of two opposing minds of this collection. First, the novella “Shopgirl” is an amazingly view inside a May/December romance - and dating overall (although one could argue how well a man can write a woman’s internal voice). I found it greatly insightful. I’d give it 5 stars.

Second mind is that the shorter pieces written for a periodical were just average, at best. They reminded me of something to be published in a state college’s newspaper by someone who is not quite as smart as they think they are. They would garner 2 stars.

A second novella included in the collection has a very odd premise; while its protagonist’s oddness was somewhat interesting, ultimately the premise grows old and the story ran out of steam.

Recommendation: read Shopgirl, also available widely as a separate publication, and skip the rest.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disappointment! Have read Steve Martin stories and novella's over the years, think he's a very talented man in many aspects. This collection proved to be a sad selection both for the writer and the reader. Many little tweaks, probably written for small editions, making no sense and actually boring.
Then two novella's, one I had never read, the other yes, had read many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed so thought a good re-read. But wait, the character was the same, but the story had been re-written and was not the same. The writers prerogative, but this readers disappointment! Worse yet, I had purchased this book for a gift, thought it would be enjoyed as a present. Alas it was not! Sorry Steve Martin, always enjoyed you, this time not!

[Robert Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever notice how some people excel at everything?

Take Steve Martin.

Stand-up comic sensation. Movies. TV shows. Grammys. And a two-man vaudeville show with pal Martin Short. If it comes to a theater near you, don’t miss it.

This is a collection of both previously published works as well as new material. Some stories, such as Shopgirl, run over a hundred pages, while other vignettes barely hit three. Regardless of length, Martin’s prose is a tour-de force through the human mind and emotions. I enjoyed reading, and is some cases rereading these stories as much as anything in the past year. Martin combines humor, honesty, and insight all punctuated with the occasional exquisitely placed blunt vulgarity. His toolbox runs deep.

[Michael Samerdyke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. It was good to be reminded of the essays in "Pure Drivel." The one about the use of periods is simply a gem.

I had never read "The Pleasure of My Company" before, and it delighted me. I like it much more than "Shopgirl." The precise prose of "Pleasure" was a joy to read.

What struck me was how much Steve Martin likes Los Angeles. That comes across in "Pleasure of My Company" and the essay "Hissy Fit." It's good that he has a place that nourishes him, because that lets him write so wonderfully.

A gem of a book.

[Graydon Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Steve Martin and I think his humor is hysterical. Everyone loves the overly goofy Steve Martin, (as they should) but his more subtle, anti-punchline humor is brilliant.

In this book, I found the majority of his short essays to be really funny. The kind of zany yet smart ideas that nobody else is coming up with. Laughed out loud several times. Then there were two novellas. Shopgirl contained some profound lines about relationship and character analysis, but was more sexual than I prefer. I thought The Pleasure of My Company was fantastic and entertaining!

[John Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book satisfies the conditions of the title because it does contain words that had been written by the author. Steve Martin is not only a gifted comedian who starred on SNL and many movies and shows and banjo player but is able to translate his 0ff-beat sense of humor into off-beat prose. Since my humor also doesn't follow the usual beat, I loved it! I especially enjoyed the two novellas, "Shopgirl" and "The Pleasure of My Company." I am baffled that I didn't read "Shopgirl" when it was a first published as a book.

[Patrick Hanlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great sampling of Martin’s essay and brief pieces with varying degrees of humour and/or absurdity to complement the rewards of his first two novels. Shopgirl has aged well and still holds the insight into relationships that characterized it on the first go around. The Pleasure of My Company shows traces of Silas Marner and adds a nice structure and around the life of a neurodivergent who is struggling to find his way in the world. Martin’s economy with his writing in his novels is a treat and a reminder of the habits he has crafted throughout his career.

[Pamela Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️’s This book contains short stories, and two adult contemporary fiction novellas from the mind of actor/comedian Steve Martin. Overall, I enjoyed the book but what made me rate it under four stars was because I felt the novellas felt somewhat monotone and too long. They were good stories but I eventually got a little bored with them. The short stories and random entries were not thought provoking, just funny which was a good break from the novellas.

[Anne Putnam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should get credit for like four books for this - if it helped me better understand anything it was where Martin has influence in it’s only Murders and just how much he tends to use social anxiety in his comedy, but still overall a very clever and silly writer. I had not read ShopGirl before and that was the standout.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Steve Martin is funnier on stage....but then he has a very unique sense of humor that I don't always understand. I enjoyed this book.....didn't love it but glad I read it as much for getting my head away from the world as it is right now as anything. He is a very fine writer. His "take" on the world is sometimes over my head.

[Jami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read all of Steve's books & knew this book contained his novels Shopgirl & The Pleasure of My Company, + supposedly previously unpublished essays...but out of the 411 pages, there were only 10 pages I hadn't already read. Almost all of the essays are from Pure Drivel.

So I'll give it 5 stars cuz I love Steve Martin (saw him do standup while I was in college :)

[Ryan C. Zerfas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this in the window of Barnes and Nobles on my walk to work. I made note of it and put it in my library queue.

I didn't realize until I opened the book it's a compilation of Pure Drivel, Shopgirl, and Pleasure of My Own Company--which I've already read.

Ah, well. It'd been awhile for two of them and read those two.

[Mike Violano · Rating 3 out of 5]

This compendium by Steve Martin is a mixed bag of previous published/unpublished articles and plus a couple of novellas also seen in print before. Articles from The New Yorker kick off the collection with some hits and misses. It is an uneven collection. I enjoyed a revisit to Shopgirl but there is better Martin written words elsewhere especially in my favorite, Born Standing Up.

[David Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This didn't come across to me as a comedian trying to be a writer. Steve Martin has such a distinctive style that comes across through all of these works. It would be amazing enough that someone can do as many things as he does, but the fact that he does them all so well is staggering.

[Kristen Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Steve Martin and I loved his autobiography. I just didn’t love this book. Shopgirl, previously published book by Steve Martin, was sandwiched in the middle. And it’s kind of a dated story. So that threw me off and really did capture my attention. The other chapters were fun one off reads.

[Keli Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Martin is so funny and witty! This collection of stories was a pretty fast read. My favorite stories were Dear Amanda and Shopgirl. I was surprised by the erotic content. Interesting insight from a man's point of view.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the two short stories, Shopgirl and The Pleasure of my Company, in the book. Steve Martin does a good job with the serious writing. The other writings are entertaining and have the comedy you would expect.

[Deborah Sowery-Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it's Steve Martin so some of these pieces are just plain silly & some so darn clever & yes I did laugh out loud. There are 2 novellas included, one I'd read before (Shopgirl - really good) & The Pleasure of My Company, very creative, interesting & quirky.

[Jon Liu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was shocked by how little I was motivated to finish this book. In fact, I’m not sure you’re supposed to read this all the way through.

It’s a compilation of short essays and two long form stories written by Steve Martin, a comedian whose work I have grown up enjoying. I’ve read some of the short essays before and found them funny. But I also realize that I didn’t read them one after the other after the other.

I ended up slogging through and stalling while reading the long form stories. They’re both acclaimed, and Shopgirl was made into a film. But I just could not bring myself to really care about the characters and their actions. Maybe it works better as a film?

Same with the other long form, The Pleasure of My Company. I have to complement Steve Martin for writing a first person perspective of a character with OCD and likely autistic, and feel kind of bad that the longer I continued reading, the less interest I had. I know it didn’t help that this story didn’t seem well paced and had no real good breaks. Reading it felt like being in a really, really long tunnel just waiting to see some sunlight to break up the experience.

[Lucas Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy his writing, even from his first book I read in the 1900's called "Cruel Shoes". Maybe it's not his first book, but the first book I remember reading by Steve Martin. I enjoy his eclectic and humorous perspective.

[Robin]

DNF - I just can’t get into this. The little that I read, the jokes either haven’t aged well, or they just don’t translate well over text compared to voice. This would be better as an audiobook (which I realize defeats the purpose of “the written word” - ironically)

[Louis Frillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started great got very slow very fast

[Annette · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw really excited to read this book as am a Steve Martin fan however it was awful. I normally stick books out and refuse to quit them but this was painful and I just couldn't do it.