The Non-Oprah Book Club

I thought I'd try a (mostly likely infrequent) series of book recommendations on the blog. These will be books that I found interesting and hard to put down. Some will be genre, some litfic and some will be non-fiction. So, what will be first? I think I've mentioned Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road in the past so I won't put it back in the spotlight (even if everyone in the known universe should read it). If you've read the recommended book, feel free to comment. If you haven't read the book, give it some consideration.

The first pick is Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner - A Sort of Love Story by Alan Zweibel. This is a bittersweet memoir about the author's friendship with comedienne Radner, incuding the heartbreaking tragedy of her death. But the story isn't a downer. In fact, most of the book is quite funny; no surpirse considering Zweibel was one of the original writers of Saturday Night Live (where he first met Radner). The memoir was later turned into an off-broadway play.

The book is a quick read (under 200 pages), but it does leave a lasting impression. There is a preview on the Amazon link posted above, so if you haven't read the book (and I don't believe it hit any best-seller lists, so most likely you haven't), you can at least see if the beginning holds any interest for you. But like I said, if you read and enjoy it, let me know.

And before you comment, yes, this isn't a title one would expect on a blog that has noir in its title; but I believe writers should read anything and everything - and this just happens to be a very good book regardless of its non-affiliation with noir literature. Tough guys and gals have soft sides as well (of course my trouble is that all of my sides are soft).