Live from New York
There are very few books that I can stomach reading once, let alone multiple times. Maybe its my short attention span, or maybe its the fact that because I've grown up with TV and film as my favorite mediums to tell stories. In any event, when I do find a book I enjoy, I know its a good one. Such a book is Live From New York by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller.
Now, it shouldn't be a surprise that this is a book about Saturday Night Live, a favorite show of mine since I was 13. What is surprising is how well the format works. The authors have culled anecdotes about the show from cast, writers, hosts, producers and pretty much any living person ever significantly involved in the show. And through their careful editing, they've crafted a rather detailed history of the show's first 27 years (it ends at the end of the 2001-2002 season, which is pretty much the last good season of the show as of late). At over 550 pages, it's a hefty read, but the way it's formatted allows for easy starting and stopping. If you like the show, you should definitely read this book
Now, it shouldn't be a surprise that this is a book about Saturday Night Live, a favorite show of mine since I was 13. What is surprising is how well the format works. The authors have culled anecdotes about the show from cast, writers, hosts, producers and pretty much any living person ever significantly involved in the show. And through their careful editing, they've crafted a rather detailed history of the show's first 27 years (it ends at the end of the 2001-2002 season, which is pretty much the last good season of the show as of late). At over 550 pages, it's a hefty read, but the way it's formatted allows for easy starting and stopping. If you like the show, you should definitely read this book
posted by Mike at 4:30 PM
1 Comments:
And if you want a poorly written version of the book with a much more narrow focus, read Gasping For Airtime by Jay Mohr.
If it was a movie, I would say wait until it hits HBO, but it's worth checking out of you are a fan of the Farley/Spade/Sandler era of SNL. Some of his anecdotes about those guys are pretty funny. Not really worth the price of admission, but worth checking out.
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