My ridiculously talented friends

Two friends of mine have recently had books published, and since they're on topics likely to interest readers of this blog--and I can vouch for their quality--I wanted to encourage everybody to take a look. The books are (in order of publication):

A Futile and Stupid Gesture. Doug Kenney was a seminal figure in the revolution that transformed American comedy in the Seventies. After co-writing "Bored of the Rings," Kenney co-founded National Lampoon, co-wrote "Animal House," and created "Caddyshack"--then fell/jumped/was thrown off a cliff in Hawaii. As a fellow Midwesterner, I've always been a rabid Kenney fan, and have been waiting for someone to write this book for decades. Josh Karp conducted over 150 interviews--AND talked humor with me much, much longer than any sane person would--in the course of writing what is likely to be the last word on this mercurial, fascinating, essential figure. Those who know see a big Doug Kenney-shaped hole in the comedy of the 80s, 90s, and today. Anybody the least bit interested in where comedy was in the Seventies--and where it might've gone had people like Kenney and Belushi survived--should buy this book.




The Prisoner of Trebekistan. Bob Harris is one of those people who, like Doug Kenney, is too smart to be just funny, and vice-versa. It's not always a comfortable way to be. But all of us who know Bob enjoy the hell out of it, and his relentless intelligence makes him one of the funniest writers around. This book--about Bob's many appearances as a contestant on the game show Jeopardy!--gives him ample room to struct his unique combo of stuff. There are jokes, of course, philosophy, too; even some insights into programming your mind. I read Trebekistan in an early form, and even then it was funny enough to make my testicles shrink up into my body. You, as a non-comedy writer, will probably have a much more pleasant reaction, but there's only one way to find out. Buy it.

Here endeth the shameless plugging.