Curtis Hauge

Pack a lunch

Reviewed: 01-21-24

The book is interesting but it isn't really a book. You can tell this is written by newspaper writers because the construct is all quotes from Lorne Michaels, former cast members, producers and guest hosts. It can get overwhelming and exhausting. If you weren't familiar with who the cast members were over the years you wouldn't always know when the time period was changing. But really with some exceptions the general assessment of the people involved was that it was the most intense experience of their lives. Most say they were happy to do it because of the adrenaline rush and because of the fame and money it brought them. They do talk to the people who had bad experiences there as well, mostly because of their lack of air time or their perceived mistreatment by Lorne or other executives in charge. If I had to listen to this again I would break it up by decade and listen to something else for variety. Otherwise the stories get repetitive.

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Good complement to her brother Garry's book.

Reviewed: 04-13-22

I listened to this right after listening to her brother Garry's book. There is not much repetition so feel free to check out his if you haven't. Like Garry's book, it flows chronologically. The title is a little misleading because there isn't really a theme throughout the book involving her mother. Penny had her issues with her and works out a fair amount of problems she had with her father also. Throughout the book, however is a constant refrain of namedroppong throughout the book. Penny admits to it and explains that she was lucky enough to have met and maintained a lot of friendships and working relationships because of her brother's connections as a tv producer and from her own career. Her audio performance in the book is a little lacking. It is obvious she is just reading out loud without a lot of expression. Not nearly as many funny stories as I hoped but it was still a pleasant experience.

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Funny and quirky storytelling.

Reviewed: 03-19-22

Garry narrates in his usual slow paced New York accent which you would think might get to be grating after a while but actually becomes endearing! Kind of like if your Grandfather was a famous producer and director telling stories. Lots if anecdotes about the people involved in his movies and tv shows.

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Kind of like an SNL skit...starts out funny then..

Reviewed: 02-07-22

This is a compilation of fictional stories that takes an absurdist spin on familiar tropes. Each chapter is a different story where the narrator becomes the character of which the story is about. The first half of the book is very funny and charming in how each story starts in a familiar setting and then takes a left turn. The fun of the book is that in the first few stories you don't see the left turns coming. But by the time you get toward the back half, the surprise is gone and the book starts to become a one trick pony. The surprise twists aren't as much of a surprise anymore and I found myself just waiting for it to end.

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24 people found this helpful

Nevertheless...read it for what it is,

Reviewed: 10-16-21

An overall compelling book with an overwhelming amount of detail about some things and little to no detail about others. The nice thing you get from an autobiography is the one person perspective right from the source. The nice thing you get from an independent biographer is a comprehensive point of view of someone's life as a whole. Alec goes into great detail about the relationship he had with his father and the evolving relationship he has with his mother. I would suppose to protect their privacy and avoid a few arguments over things, there is little to no mention of his famous brothers. I would have liked to have heard some stories as to how and why they followed their big brother to Hollywood to pursue their own acting careers but I guess you have to look elsewhere. Alec seems to have no problems discussing his relationship with Kim Basinger and their subsequent divorce and custody battles. The later part of the book discusses his television and movie resurgence. Near the end he discusses his run ins with the paparazzi and his political involvements. He wraps it up with the happy ending of him repairing his relationship with his older daughter and the new life he has with Hilaria and his children with her. The narration is very similar to what you hear on his podcast---clear and anchorish. I would have liked to hear him cut loose and be more conversational when telling some stories and bring out more of his famous wit and charm. He definitely has some axes to grind and uses his book to vent out some frustrations but overall it is an enjoyable listen.

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Basically a news recap...not much else.

Reviewed: 08-24-21

Three fourths of the book is a news recap of the first few years of the Trump presidency. If you watch the news on a regular basis there is not much you don't already know. The other fourth contains some behind the scenes information and opinion but not nearly as much as I was hoping for when selecting the book. I wanted to hear how the sausage was made at ABC in determining how the correspondents were selected, their actual opinions on the politics surrounding Trump and other people in DC. This unfortunately is part if the problem when a still employed reporter writes a book on close to current events. You don't want to get in trouble with your coworkers, you don't want to offend potential sources. Because you are a journalist you want to remain mostly neutral. So this book makes for a great wikepedia page on the Trump presidency, but don't expect much about the people who report on him.

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Cookie Robert's is great but...

Reviewed: 07-12-21

The book is an overview of the perspectives of politician's wives pre, during, and post Civil War. Not nearly as compelling or interesting as I thought it would be.

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Needed more editing but overall very enjoyable.

Reviewed: 04-25-21

For those of us who grew up in the late 70s/early 80s, Curtis Armstrong was one of those underrated supporting actors who started out being typecast as the annoying but loveable best friend and basically made a career out of it. He is most known for his 80s movie and televison roles. Although he has been steadily working ever since, he has had a bit of a career resurgence the last 15 years or so due to recurring roles on New Girl, Supernatural, and the voice of Snot on American Dad. His book title is a play off his best known role as Booger in the Revenge if the Nerds movies, talking about how that single role defined his acting career. It is a total memoir from childhood to present as of 2017. He gives the reader/listener an opportunity to skip the childhood and early adulthood memories and go to the movies... unfortunately I would advise that. The time he spends on it, recalling his childhood bullying occurrences, his obsessions with Sherlock Holmes, and his early play work could really have been cut to a third. You could really get just as much insight into his early life reading wikepedia. His time talking about Risky Business, the Nerds movies and Moonlighting are the highlights of the book. He spends an inordinate amount of time talking about his time cohosting the Nerds reality show on TBS yet gives the multiple years he has spent on American Dad no more than a brief mention. I suspect there is more to the story there but he seems to be doing his best not to be burning bridges, which is understandable. His narration comes across as overdramatic sometimes considering the subject matter but his rich tones make it very forgivable. In fact, Audible should have Curtis narrate the Sherlock Holmes novels he loves so dear. Overall a pleasant experience.

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Only for Poker Fans. Not much there if you arent.

Reviewed: 07-18-20

Got this because of her CBS News interview. The impression I got from reading the introduction and a few reviews was that she would give some insight because of her psychological background some insight into how her foray into the world of high stakes poker changed her outlook on life after a series of misfortunes in her life. It really doesn't delve into that. She just says at the end that it gave her a more confident attitude about life. The rest of the book is the journey she took with poker champion mentors to become one herself. Here I would have liked to hear more insight into the personalities of these (mostly men) players and what drives them to succeed and why. But mostly it is a lot of poker theory and how she applied it to win. Yay for her but for someone like me who is a casual player at best I was expecting more about everything else.

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22 people found this helpful

Very informative!

Reviewed: 04-21-20

When I first started listening to this I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Being an older guy the first couple of chapters made me feel like this is too girly and that she is teaching her girlfriends how to network at events. But the deeper I got into it the more information started to relate to me as well. This is more of a seminar approach than I expected but it is a good thing. Every chapter became more and more informative and by the end I made up my mind I need to listen to this whole thing again from start to finish now that I get the vibe of all this.

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