“We all get older, if we’re lucky. So, if I had to choose, I’m happy I was there at that time…to have a laugh or sing a song.” -Carol Burnett (from In Such Good Company) I make it no secret that my favorite television genre is comedy/variety. Growing up in the ‘70’s every network had […]
Books
George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones (Little, Brown $42)
“Lucas had controlled the way his movies were filmed, edited, financed, and merchandised. Now he would control the way they sounded in theatres as well-and get paid to do it, no less.” -Brian Jay Jones (from George Lucas: A Life)
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher (Blue Rider Press, $35)
“Who do I think I would’ve been if I hadn’t been Princess Leia? Am I Princess Leia, or is she me? Split the difference and you’d be closer to the truth. Star Wars was and is my job. It can’t fire me and I’ll never be able to quit, and why would I want to?” […]
Canada by Mike Myers (Doubleday Canada, $39.95)
“This book is about my fifty-three-year relationship with Canada, one that, for me, continues to grow and deepen. We may not live in the same house, but I think about Canada every day, and my American friends wonder why I just don’t marry it already. I can’t. I looked into in.” -Mike Myers (from Canada) […]
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen (Simon & Schuster, $39.99)
“I was twenty-three and I was making a living playing music! Friend, there’s a reason they don’t call it ‘working,’ it’s called PLAYING! I’ve left enough sweat on stages around the world to fill at least one of the seven seas; I’ve driven myself and my band to the limits and over the edge for […]
Based on a True Story: A Memoir by Norm MacDonald (Collins, $29.99)
“…I come up with a title for my book. I’ll call it Based on a True Story, because it comes to me that there’s no way of telling a true story. I mean a really true one, because of memory. It’s just no good.” -Norm MacDonald (from Based on a True Story: A Memoir) The […]
The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer (Gallery Books, $36.99)
“As it turns out, being OKAY ALL THE TIME as a child makes for a difficult entry into adulthood.” -Amy Schumer (from The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo) I enjoy Amy Schumer’s stand-up and it’s always a treat to watch one of her many talk show appearances. I liked her movie Trainwreck, although my […]
Presto! How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales by Penn Jillette (Simon & Schuster, $35)
“I didn’t lose the weight in order to write a book. I didn’t train myself to eat healthy in order to share my techniques with the world. I didn’t do it because the trips to the hospital scared me skinny. I did it because I wanted to give myself a few more chances to die […]
The Impossible Has Happened: The Life and Work of Gene Roddenberry Creator of Star Trek by Lance Parkin (Atrium Press, $38.99)
“At a time when prominent idealistic politicians were being gunned down, when civil rights campaigns were exposing structural inequities and certain groups were seriously advocating a race war, when the US Army was bogged down in Vietnam, and where an atomic war between America and the Soviet Union looked inevitable, Star Trek portrayed a tolerant, […]
Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Simon & Schuster, $35)
“David’s penchant for using real names and real-life stories in Seinfeld scripts, week after week, without any effort to conceal constructed a third dimension: There was reality; there was television; and there was Seinfeldia, where the elements of both comingled, passed through, and, as the show’s audience grew, enticed fans into feeling like this was […]









