As we did in 2021 and 2023 and 2024, we're attempting to again increase book coverage in the community. This go round, we're talking with Jess about his " ." Joan Rivers was a stand up comic, an actress, a TV host, a screenwriter and an author. So, Jess, you recommend the book.
Jess:
Absolutely. It's a very funny book and that's what we ask of a humor
book. Someone might try explaining that to Paul Reiser.
In your review, you say it's more scatter shot like Joan's DIARY OF A MAD DIVA.
Jess:
Yes. It's kind of moving chronologically but it doesn't have the
organization that I HATE EVERYONE . . . STARTING WITH ME has. That's
not an insult. The scattershot manner works for the book.
You like humor books, how would you compare this to other humor books?
Jess:
Good question. I think I'd compare it to EDITH ANN: MY LIFE, SO FAR.
Edith Ann is the character Lily Tomlin created and brought to audiences
via LAUGH-IN. Jane Wagner is Lily's spouse and longtime collaborator.
For EDITH ANN: MY LIFE, SO FAR, Jane Wagner zoomed in on a series of
episodes in Edith Ann's life. And that book also had illustrations.
I'd say that it's a similar approach.
You wanted to give us an example of a typical passage in the book.
Jess: Right. Reading this part in:
The last time I visited Heidi she'd already had quite a few husbands, a couple of them her own, and had been involved in more undercover operations than the CIA.
It had been a long time, but the moment she opened the door I knew it was her. Despite that Frederick's of Hollywood exterior, I could still see the old trash for cash girl, the tramp I'd grown up with, the woman whose body language would never consist of more than four0letter words.
She as the only person I knew whose idea of a formal evening as putting sheets on the bbed.
She was thrilled with the No Pest-strips I'd brought. She thought there were just enough to make a skirt.
The place she was living as above an army recruiting center near Larchmont, New York. The decor of the apartment could only be described as Tart Deo. I mean, we're talking Slut City. There were more electric appliancesin the bedroom then in the kitchen! On an average night she could cause a brownout as far north as Buffalo.
She was living there with her son, who had evidently been named after his father. The kid's name was Trick.
Jess (Con't): If you found that funny, I did, this is a book you'll enjoy reading.
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Previous book discussions:
"Books (Rebecca, Marcia, Ava and C.I.)"
