I read Bill Carter's 1995 book, THE LATE SHIFT: Letterman, Leno and the Network Battle for the Night, and was fascinated by the ultimate office politics practiced by our late night television hosts and their staffs. (One personal note, regarding the famous scene with Jay Leno hiding in a closet to eavesdrop on a corporate conference call where it was discussed whether he or David Letterman would host the Tonight Show -- I was actually in the audience that day for the taping of the Tonight Show. Who knew?)
Carter has updated the late night landscape with THE WAR FOR LATE NIGHT: When Leno went Early and Television Went Crazy (Viking/Penguin). If you want to read the inside scoop on Leno, Letterman and Conan O'Brien then grab this book. I know I will.
Also looking interesting this week is IN FIFTY YEARS WE'LL ALL BE CHICKS...and Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy by Adam Carolla (Crown Archetype). Aside from being a (sometimes) angry middle-aged white guy myself, I have always enjoyed Carolla's snarky but intelligent take on this life we all share.
From the book's publicity:
In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks is Adam's comedic gospel of modern America. He rips into the absurdity of the culture that demonized the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, turned the nation's bathrooms into a lawless free-for-all of urine and fecal matter, and put its citizens at the mercy of a bunch of minimum wagers with axes to grind. Peppered between complaints Carolla shares candid anecdotes from his day to day life as well as his past—Sunday football at Jimmy Kimmel's house, his attempts to raise his kids in a society that he mostly disagrees with, his big showbiz break, and much, much more. Brilliantly showcasing Adam's spot-on sense of humor, this book cements his status as a cultural commentator/comedian/complainer extraordinaire.
My to-be-read stack gets higher and higher and I couldn't be more thrilled.
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Out this week from Knopf/Doubleday (Nan A Talese) is MY READING LIFE by Pat Conroy. I previewed this book on Friday with my post on what's in my immediate to-be-read stack.
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Congratulations to the winner's of LONG WAY HOME: On the Trail of Steinbeck's America by Bill Barich. Bloomsbury Press has graciously sponsored this giveaway and I thank them.
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Out this week from Knopf/Doubleday (Nan A Talese) is MY READING LIFE by Pat Conroy. I previewed this book on Friday with my post on what's in my immediate to-be-read stack.
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Congratulations to the winner's of LONG WAY HOME: On the Trail of Steinbeck's America by Bill Barich. Bloomsbury Press has graciously sponsored this giveaway and I thank them.
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