I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This...

I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This...and Other Things That Strike Me as Funny
by Bob Newhart [817 New]

I've always been a fan of Bob Newhart, ever since getting hooked on The Bob Newhart Show back in the 1970s, and subsequently tracking down his Grammy-winning Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart comedy album(s). So...when this autobiography/memoir appeared back in 2006, I couldn't pass it up. Bob's book is a very entertaining read, filled with lots of recollections of high points in his comedy career, but after finishing it my first feeling is that the book didn't really add up to much. It's very light-weight as biographies go, and even fairly weightless in comparison to other similar humor books. While a lot of page space is taken up with his earlier comedy career in standup, and his first real breakthrough on television (The Bob Newhart Show), his later hit, Newhart, although long-running and tremendously popular, only gets a few pages -- about the casting and about the unforgettable final episode. And his two lesser-know shows, Bob, and George and Leo get less than a paragraph combined. The book came out before he became involved in the recent series of made-for-TV-movies about The Librarian, in which he has a major role. Overall, although this book is a fun read, I don't know that I'd recommend it for anyone but a die-hard Bob Newhart fan, and even then if you're a big fan you've probably heard most of the stories he tells already, in his many talk-show appearances. On the other hand, it will bring back fond memories of seeing him chatting with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available in Large Print format.]

[ official Bob Newhart web site ]

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