Book recommendations

I have a bunch of books stacked up in front of me. Books I’ve often said I’d read if I had more time. But now that we are all in quarantine and my schedule cleared, I can’t really focus long enough on anything other than TV shows and YouTube clips. On a separate post, I’ll share my favorite bingeable series, but I decided that for this one, even though I cannot find the required concentration to go through a book, I can nonetheless recommend a few titles for some of you who are looking for something to read.

I’m terrible at summarizing so I’ll provide a list, linking each title to their Amazon page, where you’ll find a more enticing synopsis. From then on, if one of the titles below seems interesting to you, I recommend that you check out your local library’s online catalog to see if there’s an electronic version that you can borrow. Don’t forget that libraries are free!

This is not a comprehensive list either, as I have realized that my memory is crap.

Mystery / Thrillers

• Think of a number, by John Verdon. This is the first of a series of novels featuring Dave Gurney, a retired NYPD homicide investigator, and it is also the best one. The followup, Shut Your Eyes Tight isn’t bad either.

• Birdman, by Mo Hayder. This first installment of the Jack Caffery series is downright creepy. If you’re into serial killers, this thriller will do the trick.

• Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham. Billingham’s debut thriller tackles locked-in syndrome, and like Birdman, it’s actually chilling.

• The Poet, by Michael Connelly. A classic for all thriller fans.

• The Man with a load of mischief, by Martha Grimes. Pretty much the whole Richard Jury/ Melrose Plant series, up until the most recent publications, is good. They’re lighter reading materials compared to the previously mentioned titles. They’re still murder mysteries but with a touch of humor.

• The Raphael Affair, by Iain Pears. Like Martha Grimes’ books, Iain Pears’ art history crime series featuring Jonathon Argyll and Flavia di Stefano is the perfect mix of intrigue and comedy.

All the above titles are the first volumes of their series. If you enjoyed them, check out the rest!

Da Vinci Code-like novels

Don’t roll your eyes! There is nothing wrong with these novels, starting with The Da Vinci Code! They are not high literature but they are a great form of distraction and entertainment. I love these action packed, conspiracy-filled, unrealistic novels about secret societies, secret codes, and I own it.

• James Rollins’ Sigma Force series. Starting with Sandstorm, the whole series is plain ridiculous but once you’ve started reading, I dare you to be able to put the book down. James Rollins’ books are somehow catchy and whether you like it or not, you get caught up in the intrigue and want to know how it concludes. He was a bit uninspired with his latest books, but they remain nonetheless readable.

• Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone series. What I said about James Rollins can also be applied to Steve Berry. Cotton Malone’s series begins with The Templar Legacy, and though the books address some very intriguing historical notions, the latest ones are extremely boring reads. The novels are still worth it but only the first 5 or 6 of the series.

• The Dante Club, by Matthew Pearl. Pearls’ fascinating debut novel combines very successfully suspense, history and literature.

• The Rule of Four, by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. Murder, a mysterious coded manuscript, and secrets dating back to the Renaissance. What’s not to like?

• Library of the dead, by Glenn Cooper. Ancient knowledge. Conspiracy theories. Area 51. Murder. All boxes checked.

• Codex, by Lev Grossman. A mysterious medieval codex, a buried treasure and people ready to kill for them. Intriguing and riveting.

Sci-Fi

• The Southern Reach Trilogy, by Jeff VanderMeer. Please do not watch the movie adaptation of Annihilation. Read the book instead. This trilogy (Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance) is by far among the best books I’ve read recently.

• The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury. A classic.

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. Another classic, dubbed by many as the best sci-fi novel of all time.

• Flashforward, by Robert J. Sawyer. An origital take on the notion of time travel. It was very poorly adapted for TV a few years ago.

• World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks. Though technically a horror novel, I’ll categorize it with sci-fi because I don’t have a list for scary books, and World War Z could also be considered sci-fi since it’s about a dystopian future dealing with the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Cold, scientific and frighteningly realistic, this book is a modern classic.

More novels

• La Saga Malaussène, by Daniel Pennac. If you speak French, this series is a must. Beginning with Au bonheur des ogres, this series is both funny and endearing.

• The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Often described as Gabriel García Márquez meets Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis Borges, this is a book for book lovers.

• The book Thief, by Markus Zusak. A heart-wrenching tale taking place in Nazi Germany, as told by Death.

• Sophie’s World, by Jostein Gaarder. This book made me fall in love with books. It also helped me survive my drenching high-school philosophy courses!

• The Art Thief, by Noah Charney. An intrigue that will keep you on the edge of your seat as well as providing fascinating and informative facts about art history.

• The housekeeper and the professor, by Yoko Ogawa. A beautiful novel about mathematics.

Non-Fiction

• A Short History of Nearly Everything, By Bill Bryson. A fascinating book about scientific curiosity.

• Top of the Rock : Inside the Rise and Fall of Must-See-TV, by Warren Littlefield. For TV buffs, an account on the time when NBC was on top of the world.

• Bossypants, by Tina Fey. An autobiography by one the best comedy writers ever.

• Ayoade on Top, by Richard Ayoade. A brilliant and hilarious scene-by-scene study of Gwyneth Paltrow’s 2003 flop A View from the Top.

• Grace : A Memoir, by Grace Coddington. An autobiography by one of fashion’s most influential and innovative figures.

• The Feather Thief : Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, by Kirk Wallace Johnson. The title says it all.

• Born into it : A Fan’s life, by Jay Baruchel. In order to truly appreciate this book, it’s better that you are a little bit familiar with hockey. More specifically, with the Montreal Canadiens fandom.

• For more behind-the-scenes books or about making-ofs, checkout this old post of mine.

That’s about it for now. I know for sure there a re a ton of other books I should have mentioned here but as I explained earlier, my memory is crap.

Hopefully, at least one title here that you might find interesting!

Making-ofs, behind the scenes and the likes

When I enjoy a movie or a TV show, I want to know everything about it. Every thing. I would rent the DVD to watch the making-of documentaries, I would scour the Internet and magazines to read everything pertaining to the reviews, critical and public reactions, I would watch late-night talk-show interviews with the actors or directors and I would eagerly purchase books that were written on how the show or movie came to be.

These details are, to me, just as interesting as the show or the film because they allow us the viewer to enjoy and appreciate the product even more. For example, I really had a great time watching Inception, but seeing how the hallway dream battle sequence was shot (no CGI, just actors strapped in harnesses inside a huge spinning tube, trying to find their footing while acting and pretend fighting) made the film even more impressive.

How did the creative team come up with such an idea? How did they cast the actors? What hurdle did they have to surmount to achieve their goal? How was such or such scene shot? These are all very valuable information that only increase the value of the show or film, in my view.

I’ve read a few behind-the-scene books over the past few years so I thought I’d make a some recommendations. I’ve always had a more profound attachment to TV shows than to films, probably because I grew up in front of my TV while movie going only came much later in life, so this list is about TV shows only. Even if you are not as TV obsessed as I am, these books are pretty interesting so you’ll be able to enjoy them anyways. And who knows, maybe they’ll make you want to watch the shows all over again and see them with whole other perspective!

Bossypants

Tina Fey

Bossypants is Tina Fey’s autobiography in which she recalls with great honestly, effortless humor and self-deprecation her childhood, upbringing, personal life and professional growth. For those of you who, for some reason, don’t know who Tina Fey is, she was once SNL’s head writer, week-end update host and incredible Sarah Palin impersonator, and she’s also the brilliant mind behind 30 Rock, one of my favorite sitcoms (Liz Lemon is my hero and spirit animal). She’s a comedian, writer, actress, producer, award-show host, name it.

What’s most interesting about Bossypants is the part about her time at SNL. We already know it’s a crazy work environment that comes with lots of pressure and an impossible deadline but it’s interesting to read about all of that from a writer’s perspective who was also in charge of a group of writers. I loved learning how she dealt with different personalities (as much with her staff as with guests), her strategies for coming up with the best possible sketches (do not team up like-minded writers, quite the opposite!). We get a look behind the curtains of one of TV’s most iconic and long lasting show and it was fantastic.

Top of the Rock: Inside the rise and fall of Must-see-TV

Warren Littlefield

Without Warren Littlefiled, there would be no Seinfeld, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Mad About You, Frasier, Friends, ER, Homicide: Life on the Street, Caroline in the City, NewsRadio, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Will & Grace or The West Wing, and much more. There would none of these iconic and groundbreaking shows.

From 1993 to 1998, Warren Littlefield was NBC’s president of entertainment. During his tenure, he transformed television history by developing the abovementioned shows and overseeing the rise of Must-see-TV, the most powerful and entertaining night of the week: thursday. A line-up of the best sitcoms of the decade, from 8 pm to 10 pm for 2 guarantied hours of laughter, followed by the one of the most innovative drama of the time, E.R. No other network could compete against NBC’s ratings.

Say what you will about Warren Littlefield (he was not universally liked by everyone!), but he had a knack for finding good and interesting ideas that would eventually become TV gold. Or at least, he knew how to find the right people to get the job done. In his book, Top of the Rock, he recalled that sweet moment when NBC was on top of the world, up until the moment he was fired. There are also a slew of testimonies from actors, writers and executives who worked under him which gives a great picture of how a network and TV shows were run. It’s fun to read about the Golden Age of television, back when shows on basic cable were still good.

I’ll be there for you: The one about Friends

Kelsey Miller

Friends celebrated its 25th anniversary in September of 2018. It’s only fitting that a book about this iconic show was published around the same time. Over the past 25 years, a lot has been said and written about friends and its cast. I thought I knew everything there was to know about it but was pleasantly surprised when I read Kelsey Miller’s book!

In I’ll be There for You, Miller describes the chronology of events that led to the creation of Friends but she also explored a few other themes such as why did Friends touch so many people’s hearts and why it resonates so much with its audience despite the fact that it’s so blatantly unrealistic. There was also an interesting discussion about whether or not Friends should be considered racist, misogynistic and/or sexist.

The most interesting part of the book was the first half. It covered how Marta Kaufman and David Crane evolved into the creative team that they became, how they had to fight to get Friends to air and the way they intended it to air as well. That first part of the book also covered where the actors came from and how they dealt with their rising celebrity and their contract negotiations. It was pretty captivating and made me want to watch the series all over again, even though I’ve seen it so often that I probably know every episode by heart!

Seinfeldia: How a show about nothing changed everything

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

I am obsessed with Seinfeld. If an episode happens to air on TV, I will watch it. I think it’s my favorite TV show of all time. Love it. Love the humor, love that there is no lesson at the end, love that the characters don’t really seem to like each other or anybody for that matter and love the universality of some of the things that happen to the characters or their actions and thoughts.

I know pretty much all there is to know about Seinfeld but I still had a great time reading Seinfeldia. There were a few facts here and there I was not aware off but the joy came from revisiting a show I grew up watching and that I still very much adore.

Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld are such peculiar individuals that reading about them and their creative process is just as entertaining as watching an episode of their show!

This is a definite must-read for all Seinfeld fans.

Pretty, pretty, pretty good: Larry David and the making of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm

Josh Levine

Larry David is the funniest grumpy man ever! In this book, we get a behind-the-scene look at one of the most cringe-worthy sitcoms there is. And to think that it was mostly improvised! I never really could watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, not because it’s not funny, but because the situations Larry David constantly finds himself in are just too embarrassing and painful to watch!

Reading this book, I had an even bigger appreciation for the actors who worked on the show. They, like the writers, are brilliant individuals. And some anecdotes are pretty damn hilarious as well!

The Daily Show: An Oral History

Chris Smith

I must admit, with some shame, that for the longest time, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was one of my main sources of information! Though a comedy show, it seemed, at times, that it was more unbiased than the real news broadcasting. I loved the Daily Show and its by-product, The Colbert Report; it was the perfect way to end a day, before going to sleep. You learn about current events, you think about it, you laugh and go to bed in a good mood!

The book was highly informative. First of all, Jon Stewart is so intrinsically linked to the show that I totally forgot that some one else was the host before him! Craig Kilborn was the original host and the show, under him, was a lot different than the one we’re used to watching. The original version of the Daily Show was a lot more amateurish, mean and juvenile. And it also was not a success. Jon Stewart, then almost an unknown comedian, was hired to take over. The book was very interesting in that it recounts Jon Stewart’s difficult start with the writing staff and how much of a challenge it was for him to turn things around and make the show fit his vision.

His initial relationship with most of the staff was tedious and tense when he began hosting The Daily Show but he toughed it out and transformed a childish news parody into the quintessential show that it is now. From the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a slew of comedic geniuses were discovered, or at least, became household names: Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Lewis Black, Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, Jason Jones, Aasif Mandvi, Hasan MInhaj, John Oliver, Rob Riggle, Larry Wilmore, just to name a few!

A must if you are even remotely a fan of the show!

Upcoming reads

I bought some time ago Mindy Kaling’s book Why Not Me? and Judd Apatow’s Sick in the Head but never got around to reading them. They’re on my to-do list.

One show I really wished someone wrote a book about is The Office (US edition)! We’ve been binge-watching the series lately and it is so good! The out-takes alone are worth a watch, and I’ve read so many articles about it that it is surprising noone published an oral history book about The Office. Feels like there is so much to be said about one of the best sitcoms ever!