Impro
Impro by Keith Johnstoneby Keith Johnstone
Shares rank 2 of 4 creativity books by recommenders
Recommended for building spontaneous social connection, understanding power dynamics, and acting practice, with many exercises. No recurring criticism appears in the quotes.
Recommended for building spontaneous social connection, understanding power dynamics, and acting practice, with many exercises. No recurring criticism appears in the quotes.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Insight into social and power dynamics
“the social engagement practices in improv games have done more for me in being able to spontaneously respond and connect with others”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “Rules of Good Social Skills” “I have yet to find another source that can describe the power dynamics (also in life) as succintly as he can.”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “Company as Code” Strong personal endorsements from readers
“my favorite book on acting and improvisation, with tons of brilliant exercises”
Comment from 2 Aug 2026 in “Impro is a handbook for running a cult” “Can't recommend it highly enough.”
Comment from 6 Nov 2025 on Hacker News
Other creativity books people recommend
The three most recommended other creativity books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Creative Actby Rick Rubin | 6 | 1 | 86% | 5 | — | — |
| Improby Keith JohnstoneThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| The Artist's Wayby Julia Cameron | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Art & Fearby David Bayles and Ted Orland | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the social engagement practices in improv games have done more for me in being able to spontaneously respond and connect with others”
“my favorite book on acting and improvisation, with tons of brilliant exercises”
“I have yet to find another source that can describe the power dynamics (also in life) as succintly as he can.”
“The first one is the classic.”
“Can't recommend it highly enough.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.