Book Report Time

Here is a brief summary of the last five books that I have read.

Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by It’s Stars, Writers, and Guests by Tom Shales and James A. Miller – I got this book for a quarter at the Oak Lawn Library. It is a very interesting look back at the show’s origins and chronicles all of the ups and downs the show has had. While I personally think the show is in the toilet currently, it has over the years produced some of the biggest comedic stars over the last thirty years. This book has a lot of behind the scenes stories and interviews a ton of people associated with the show.

Savage Love: Straight Answers from America’s Most Popular Sex Columnist by Dan Savage – I have been reading Savage Love online for years. I picked this book up at the Printers Row Book Fair in June for a dollar. Basically the book is just a “best of” of his online column. If you are a fan of Dan’s, like I am then you will enjoy this book. Pretty much every sexual perversion is addressed and discussed in this book which makes this an interesting and quick read.

Where Have All the Leaders Gone by Lee Iacocca – I read Iacocca’s biography he wrote in the 80’s. While I didn’t always agree with the man I did admire him. In this book he basically takes both political parties to the wood shed. He also gives it to the auto industry which he obviously knows a lot about. He brings up some good points even if at times he sounds a little grumpy.

A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon changed Comedy Forever – I got this one at the Book Fair as well. I was looking in a booth and saw the book. I started flipping through it when the author came up to me and started talking to me. He was pretty cool and I got him to sign the book. For anyone that is a fan of the films Caddyshack or Animal House this is a must read. Kenney and National Lampoon’s legacy is still felt today. For anyone that reads the Onion, basically National Lampoon was doing very similar things way back in the 70’s. It ends tragically and if you don’t know the story, I urge you to read about Kenney’s short, bizarre life.

The Running Man by Stephen King – I know what you are thinking why, in God’s name are you doing as a thirty eight year old man reading a Stephen King book? I like most teenagers in the 80’s read most of his library when I was in my teens. I never read this book however. I saw the bad Arnold movie based on this short story on cable awhile back and so, out of boredom one day I looked up the film on IMDB. On the site was a thread about how different the book was from the film. After reading the synopsis about the book, it looked interesting. So, I picked up the book and read through it while I was on Jury Duty last week. It is vastly different from the movie. As a matter of fact it ends with the main character flying an airplane into a building. Mind you this book was written in the early 80’s. It is in a word creepy