Reading is about more than following a narrative or learning facts; it can also be a profound shared experience that culminates in a better understanding of ourselves and each other. In that spirit, welcome to the Westword Book Club a weekly feature celebrating the books that inspire Denver artists.

We’d both been to some pretty amazing comedy festival setups ranging from Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Oregon to the now defunct HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado and we both agreed that Denver deserved a truly sustainable festival that would be uniquely “Denver.” We thought by joining forces with creative fire stokers like Pete and Virgil Dickerson that we could make something special. Between our collective backgrounds and interests it just ended up being a pretty great team. It’s like Sesame Street. Cooperation is a real fucking thing.

Comedian and Westword feature subject Ben Roy is about as widely known as comedian can get in Denver. In addition to performing at the upcoming High Plains Comedy Festival, Roy will be headlining a show at Comedy Works downtown at 7:00pm on August 25th. Westword caught up with Ben to discuss his politics, being a comedy outsider, his motorcycle, his non-fictional reading habits, and how he’s like Bill Cosby.

“I came to the decision that the album has to be called Greg Baumhauer: Live at the Squire Lounge. It has to. That’s why it came about so quickly because I found out that the renovations were happening, and I wanted to record this while the Squire was still the Squire. It’s going to be more than just my album, it’ll be a eulogy to what the Squire was.”

Nathan Lund, a comedian in the Fine Gentleman’s Club, may not strike Denver comedy fans as a man of letters, but those who listen closely will be unsurprised. However, there’ a lot going on beneath Lund’s direct, unvarnished style of joke-telling and his wooly appearance. An integral figure in the Denver comedy scene, Nathan Lund is right at the center of what promises to be a banner month for Denver comedy, as he’s performing at the High Plains Comedy Festival and mounting a festival with the other fine gents. Lund is also the host of a weekly open mic on fridays at Three Kings. As one of Denver’s most unique comedians, it’s always a treat to see Lund perform new jokes. He’s also a good friend who volunteered to help me out by doing an interview at the last minute. This week, Westword caught up with Lund outside of a dreadful comedy show in Aurora to discuss wrestling, serial killers, Vonnegut and politics.

Simply put, Lucha libre is fun. Stand up comedy is fun. Put them together, and you have fun overload. The idea came to me after the 2012 Too Much Funstival, during which we put together a few tag team lucha libre matches from the MxW Pro Wrestling promotions before the stand up comedy and music at a show. The crowd was entirely a comedy crowd, but they ate it up. They were loud and rowdy, cheering the good guys and booing the bad guys. Seeing this planted the seed in my brain that eventually sprouted Lucha Libre & Laughs.

In a comparatively short period of time, Troy Walker one of Denver most sought-after comedians, a designation he’d likely dismiss with a modest scoff despite its accuracy. A regular at Comedy Works, Walker has opened for some of the most prominent comedians in the country on their way through our humble cow town and also served as a fine ambassador for our scene during recent trips to Portland’s Bridgetown Comedy Festival and in Los Angeles where he performed at UCB’s Put Your Hands Together. This week, Westword asked Troy about his favorites books, his influences and his time in law school.

As the proprietor of the Fine Gentleman’s Club, and host of the Squire’s ignominious tuesday night open mic, Denver comedy fans already know Sam Tallent, but what they may not know is the he contains multitudes, and not just within his corpulent frame. Surprisingly well-read for a public goofball, Tallent may instinctively eschew any pretentious-seeming affectations, but he’s often already devoured a literary classic or two before I wake up in the morning. An example of what persistent dedication and self-starting can achieve, Tallent is local treasure and a good friend. Not incidentally, he helped me come up with the idea for this very column. This week, Westword checks in with Tallent to discuss his love for Southern Gothic literature, how existentialism warped his adolescent mind, and the biographies of his Falstaffian forebears.