Review: Jon Stewart: Beyond the Moments of Zen by Bruce Watson (Kindle Edition)

As a fan of Jon Stewart and his satirical comedy, admittedly, I've been an on again off again viewer of his late-night fake news show on Comedy Central for several years. That said, in the last few years, I've become a regular by recording The Daily Show with Jon Stewart every weeknight that it airs (Monday - Thursday).  When I saw this book featured as a Kindle Monthly Deal recently, I had to have it, even though it isn't an "authorized" biography, meaning Stewart, himself, did not contribute directly to the book. His quotes are taken from other interviews and sources and are clearly noted throughout.

Its obvious that Bruce Watson is a huge fan of Stewart, but he does a good job of trying to be non-biased about the comedian and his work. If you are a die-hard fan and you already are familiar with Stewart and his path to late-night stardom, you probably already know a lot of what's in this book. But for people like me, who really like Stewart and his humor but don't know a lot about his back-story, you may find this book as informative and entertaining as I did.

There are many things I didn't realize about Jon Stewart: How smart he is; how funny he is; and how influential he is. Some people may not appreciate his sarcastic humor, also known as satire, but I love it. I have been accused of being a smart-a** myself so I'm not offended by his sharp, sometimes painful jabs at the ridiculousness of certain people.  The thing that makes Jon Stewart different than other comedians is that he not only makes fun of his targets, he takes it a step further and explains why, in great detail, said target is being made fun of, all the while keeping the laughs going but making absolute perfect sense as he does this. That is the art form of Jon Stewart, in my opinion. You may or may not agree with him, but you're still going to laugh about it, if you allow yourself.

The book reveals how private a person Stewart is when not on air and I was a little surprised by that. He is probably one of the most private celebrity's out there and that is really saying something in this age of social media overload. I was also surprised to find out that even though he is a comic hosting a fake news show, he is extremely influential. He's very passionate and knows what he's talking about and that, I believe, is why he is so good at what he does. Bruce Watson takes the reader through the ups and the downs of The Daily Show and how Stewart's love of politics lead to the growth of the show since he took it over from Craig Kilborn in 1999. He emphasizes that Stewart does his very best to remain non-partisan and calls out 'real' news shows that are so blatantly partisan that they skew the issues for their own benefit while pushing their opinions on its viewers.  

I have to be critical for a moment and say that there were some editorial issues I noticed throughout the book, such as spelling and a few sentences that were jumbled. Though noticeable, it wasn't a huge distraction. On the plus side, its a quick read that highlights many of Stewart's milestones both on and off the show. I read this book in two sittings and I feel like it was time well spent. I now have a broader understanding of this unique satirist, not to mention a whole new respect for his knowledge, passion and commitment to his job.

The bottom line is I really enjoyed this book and learning more about Jon Stewart and how he is perceived by the very people he uses as targets. Watson did a great job of showing that the host of a fake news show on a comedy channel is taken seriously and has earned the respect of people on both sides of the aisle.

JON STEWART: Beyond the Moments of Zen
Author: Bruce Watson
Publisher: New Word City, Inc.
Published: January 2014
Length: 150 pp
Source: Purchased

Review: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

If you're going to sit down with a David Sedaris book, I highly recommend you do so with the audio version. There is something to hearing his stories in his own voice that just makes it even better. ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY is the first Sedaris book I've read, after years of a friend telling me to 'just do it'! And now I'm glad that I did it. This strange title will make sense once you've read this book and it will make you chuckle every time you see it.

In this, his foutth book, Sedaris talks about some of his life's experiences and how they shaped who he is today. Its autobiographical in a satirical way. He talks about his childhood, siblings and parents and then moves on to college life and thereafter. All of his stories are filled with funny, detailed observations and will have you laughing out loud. The story about his embarrassment of having to go to speech therapy classes in high school for a lisp and how he learned to use alternative words so that he wouldn't have to pronounce certain letters that brought attention to his affliction were hilarious. As was his learning to speak French while living in France years later. Keeping in mind that the book was published in 2000, right before technology really blossomed to what it is today, Sedaris talks about his hatred of computers for taking all of the attention and respect away from the beloved typewriter. There are many insightful stories such as these. Goodreads has a great description of this book that you can read here.

My Thoughts:

I chose to listen to this book on audio, so I downloaded it to my iPod and listened as I worked out on my elliptical machine. It was the perfect choice. It made time fly by and kept my mind off of the boredom of working out alone, not to mention, it had me laughing out loud much of the time. I especially liked when he talked about trying to outsmart the speech therapist and also when he tried to speak French, but there were so many other stories that I loved too. His father and his relationship with his kids is also a big part of the book and although funny, is poignant as well.

Most of the audio book is done with regular narration but there are other parts that are recorded with a live audience. During those parts, its easy to see why people flock to his readings. It's not a huge book, only 288 printed pages, a little over 5 hours on audio and, I believe, well worth the time. Sedaris is, for me, an author I will probably always listen to rather than read. It's just better that way.

ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY

Author: David Sedaris

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Published: 2000

Pages: 288

Grade: A

Would I recommend this book? Yes!