Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt

Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life From an Addiction to Film
by Patton Oswalt [Biography Oswalt]

Silver Screen Fiend is a charming, funny, engaging and well-paced personal account by Patton Oswalt about one of the formative times in his life and his career. A recommended read for fans of Patton Oswalt or anyone looking for a charming story that just about anyone can relate to.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, also by Patton Oswalt.]

[ official Patton Oswalt web site ]

Recommended by Corey G.
Gere Branch Library

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Talk Show

Talk Show
by Dick Cavett [791.45 Cav]

After years in the entertainment industry as the host of his own titular TV talk show, Dick Cavett was invited by the New York Times to pen a regular "column" for that august publication. Knowing that Cavett came from Lincoln, I was happy to find Talk Show on the new books display recently. Cavett has a witty, observational tone to his writings. He's also very funny, in that dry, intellectual, "New Yorker" way. Still, despite the type of sophisticated image that he projects, it is fun to hear him talk of his formative years living in Lincoln. Cavett's subject matter for his columns varies wildly, from the expected remembrances of his talk show days and the many celebrities he interacted with, to his childhood, to his public battles with severe depression. Cavett is easy to listen to -- I sampled the book-on-cd version of this title. However, whether you're reading this or listening to it, I caution that Cavett is an unapologetic liberal, and conservatives or supporters of George W. Bush are likely to be put off by some of Cavett's angrier columns. Never-the-less, it's a pleasure to re-visit one of the 1970s and 1980s TV icons I grew up on...especially with the "local" connection! [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Cavett's earlier books. Also, the libraries have several DVD compilations featuring "best of" collections of bits from the Dick Cavett Show...these are definitely worth checking out!] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available in book-on-cd format.]

[ Dick Cavett entry on Wikipedia ] | [ official Dick Cavett NYT blog from which this book originated ]

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This Time Together: Laughter and Reflections

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflections
by Carol Burnett [Compact Disc Biography Burnett]

Although not her first autobiographical offering, this is a good overview of her life and career for those who love her work and those who may not know much about her. And I can't imagine anyone BUT Carol Burnett narrating her own memoirs. From the young girl who was raised primarily by her grandmother to the renowned comedienne/actress/variety performer, she is an American icon and American success story, whose luck and talent has been tempered by tragedy. Oddly, although she mentions her middle husband, Joe Hamilton, who was the father of her children and the producer of the venerated "Carol Burnett Show", she doesn't really talk about him much. All in all, it's a good and not overly long 'listen'. There is a small amount of adult language, and Carol becomes quite emotional on the chapters about the deaths of a young fan and her own daughter, Carrie. -- recommended by Becky W.C. - Walt Branch Library

[Also available in downloadable audio, print, downloadable E-book and Large Print formats.]

[ Wikipedia page for Carol Burnett ]

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The Complete Making of Indiana Jones

The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films

by J.W. Rinzler, interviews by Laurent Bouzereau [791.437 qIndYr]

For anyone who's a fan of the Indiana Jones films, or who grew up going to movies in the late 1970s and 1980s, The Complete Making of Indiana Jones is a treasure. This coffee-table book is a massive history of everything that went into the filming and release of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, its sequels in 1984 and 1989, and the much-delayed follow-up film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, released just this past May. Filled with dozens of interviews, and reproductions of script pages, call-back sheets, billing invoices, directors notes and every other form historical document associated with the productions that you can imagine, this book is a movie-lover's dream. Interested in how and when George Lucas came up with the idea for his adventurer, Indiana Smith? Curious as to who else was considered for the role of Indy before they offered it to Tom Selleck, who had to back out? Want to know how they did the incredible stunts and special effects? Want to know what was really in the monkey skulls during Temple of Doom's dinner sequence? Did Sean Connery and Harrison Ford get along off-camera? Why did it take almost 20 years to get a fourth film made? The answers to all these questions, and many more, are to be found here. Though a fascinating read, for a movie buff like me, I'm going to deduct an entire point from my score because they didn't bother to dedicate a chapter to The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. If George Lucas considers the stories told in that excellent TV series to be part of the Indy canon, they least they could do is dedicate a few of this book's 300 pages to Young Indy. Otherwise, an excellent read! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available (on DVD) -- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (1989).]

[ official Indiana Jones web site from Lucasfilm ] -- Don't forget...the 4th film is released on DVD tomorrow, October 14th, 2008!

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