The Kind You Don't Take Home To Mother

Almost exactly two years ago, I gave my mom and four siblings each a copy of War and Peace for Christmas. The premise was to do a long-distance book group, at a nice and easy clip of 1200 pages in one year. That's only 100 pages a month! But I've since concluded that book group etiquette asks a commitment of at most 300 pages from each person at a time, preferably less. Although most of my family said they really wanted to read it, the execution itself was a little more... challenging. A year is a long time. 1200 pages is a lot of pages.

2009 came and went, but still I'd read only half. Then, in November of last year, with 800 pages under my belt, I decided enough was enough. And I finally finished, on Dec. 27, squeaking in just under the two-year mark.

And? It's brilliant! Obsessed with the microcosm, Tolstoy deconstructs major historic events through the eyes of half a dozen characters whom we watch grow-up from childhood. He's a starry-eyed romantic, yet he's also one of the most weirdly hilarious guys I've ever read. Drunken frat boys wrestling bears, crabby old men with sneezing problems, Tsars throwing biscuits from balconies, anagrams of Satan's name... When Tolstoy wants it to, the story really soars, and he's the best drama queen that ever was a drama queen. He definitely writes from the perspective of a privileged 19th-century white guy, but I can forgive him that by thinking of it as a campfire story told by someone's grandpa. Everyone knows Grandpa's a little old-fashioned, but boy he spins a good yarn! And the toasted marshmallows taste great.

OK, so there's your obligatory glowing review. But now I'm going to tell you how I really feel.

A Few of Our Favorite Things: More Staff Picks

	Name and department: Matt, Security Coordinator Staff Pick: Horse soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan by Doug Stanton What’s an alternative title you would give the book? Real American Heroes Summarize the book in one sentence: Chronicles the beginning of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan—the first cavalry invasion since the Civil War. I would not recommend this book to my father because... He’s had his own chronicles of war in Vietnam.
	Name and department: Rebecca, Youth Services Staff Pick: Deaf Sentence by David Lodge What’s an alternative title you would give the book? No alternative, it's the perfect title--a humorous play on words, poignant, and says everything about the main character's mindset. Summarize the book in one sentence: A middle aged professor struggles with encroaching deafness that isolates him and lands him in hot water with an unhinged graduate student. I would not recommend this book to my mother because... It's too funny for her and she wouldn't appreciate the relationship between the professor and the student.
	Name and department: Ransom, Adult Services Staff Pick: I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir by Josh Kilmer-Purcell What’s an alternative title you would give the book? Dude Looks Like a Lady and Smells Like a Distillery Summarize the book in one sentence: A New York City drag queen drinks an inordinate amount of vodka while maintaining a day job in advertising. I would not recommend this book to my mother because... Who do you think recommended it to me?

Bubbly Personalities

Much like professional wrestlers and wives of philandering politicians, every comedian of even middling success is mandated to write a book.   I don’t think that a week goes by where I don’t notice another questionable addition to this already underperforming sub-genre.   It’s not hard to see why these books are being published, with Tina Fey and Chelsea Handler having penned such monster bestsellers.   But when Ms. Handler’s hangers-on start getting book deals (even Chuy), it’s a signal that we are in the midst of a comedy book bubble – and like all bubbles, its chief characteristic is a wanton disregard for quality control.

So it was with a healthy dose of skepticism that I picked up Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).  I might have passed it by had the title not been so adorably self-conscious and relatable.  The book is filled with accounts as cute as the title promises and Kaling manages to steer clear of the two main pitfalls endemic in other comedians’ written work: 1) she doesn’t get so wrapped up in telling her life story that she neglects being funny and 2) she doesn’t repurpose an old routine as a chapter for her book (which was probably easy since she doesn’t do much standup).  The only complaint I’d lodge is that Kaling is less vapid and conniving than her T.V. persona Kelly Kapoor, leaving the book without any saltiness to cut the sweet (entire chapters were devoted to her expressing how much she loves her friends and family).

Since Is Everyone Hanging Out… is receiving a major advertising push all over the internet, I’ll let those getting paid to laud it do so and instead take this opportunity to recommend an overlooked title in the same vein.   Earlier this year, Michael Showalter released Mr. Funny Pants, which touches on themes shared in Kaling’s book, such as: childhood embarrassment, Brooklyn living, and rising up the ranks in comedy – but what is so special about his book, is that he seems to bore quickly with the traditional patter of mildly funny anecdote and veers many of his chapters into the realm of nonsensical weirdness.  His refreshing absurdity challenges the convention that every standup comic should also be David Sedaris.  Showalter captures buffoonery in a very smart way.  Plus, it's something fun to read while you are on the ballooning wait-list for Kaling's book.  (There's also no wait for Chuy's.)

Ransom - Reference