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Actual Books
Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics,
Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™
“Revelatory... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”
-- Boston Globe
"Brave... irreverent... charges into the thick of the globe's myriad simmering wars... hilariously relaxed."
-- New York Observer
“Fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly: NOT TOTALLY DEPRESSING.”
-- John Hodgman,
author, The Areas of My Expertise and correspondent for The Daily Show
"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... his comic timing never fails"
-- The Wall Street Journal
"A surprisingly touching memoir"
-- Entertainment Weekly
"Effortlessly funny and informative... tender, human, and very wise... A must for anyone who loves Jeopardy!, or has ever seen it, or is breathing."
-- Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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Home  Book Blog
Prisoner of Trebekistan
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If it were up to me, after these kind words about Prisoner of Trebekistan, Ken Jennings would get his official iron-on patch for what he calls the Jeopardy! "club" in the mail next week. Plus a map to the tree fort, and the secret password we use to keep those Millionaire kids out.
The
timing of his praise is also a bit remarkable -- I spent a bit of Thanksgiving Day working on a list of books I'm giving (and will shortly recommend here) as gifts during
the looming holiday ritual shopping fiasco season, and Brainiac was already right up by the top.
I'm
a big advocate of books as gifts: you can
usually find cool choices for everyone on your list -- even people who rarely read (they get books about their favorite sports, TV
shows, or in extreme cases, smells) -- and at appropriate prices for any implied level of affection;
they're simple to wrap (or order gift-wrapped) and carry to somebody's house; and (best of all) they're easy to order -- you can probably knock off half your shopping without moving your kiester from that chair.
Plus, you're usually supporting
writers you actually respect, while encouraging people to read more. And any leftover books take about a century to go bad, even without
refrigeration.
Anyhow, my list isn't quite done in time for the start of the post-Thanksgiving shopping bloody nightmare
rush. (I'm already being crushed by the deadline on the next book.) But here's what I was already gonna say about Brainiac, even before Ken beat me on the buzzer just now:
it's surprisingly funny, it's surprisingly modest (coming from a guy
who has lots of reasons not to be), and it's the most entertaining book
about the world of trivia I've ever seen.
It's also a very different book from Trebekistan,
in at least a dozen ways you can find out for yourself if you're curious. A bookstore manager in Anaheim once described it as "the way Kirk was
different from Picard," if that's any help. Although she didn't say who was who, and I wish
now that I'd asked.
I think it depends on which one of us goes bald with dignity.
PS: Ken's book hasn't sent any women into labor yet that I know of. So, pregnant Ken Jennings fans... you now have a project.
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Well, crap.
Nothing to worry about, nothing's on fire, no need to cue any sad music. But it doesn't look like I can make it to Book Soup this weekend. For the 0.6, six, sixteen, or sixty of you who would have been there, my apologies.
I encourage you to imagine that I am entering rehab after a long descent into drug-addled oblivion. If my publicist announces that I am "dehydrated," well, wink wink, nudge nudge.
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He and his wife just had a new daughter last night. Caitlin Elizabeth Jennings. Mother and child are both in perfect health.
Caitlin will qualify for Jeopardy! Kids Week in 9 years and 364 days.
Ken tells me that Mindy went into labor last night while reading Prisoner of Trebekistan.
So that's another thing the book is good for -- inducing labor.
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I'll be reading and signing Prisoner of Trebekistan at Book Soup on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood on Saturday, November 18th, at 5 pm.
That's one week from this Saturday, and it's early enough you probably won't need to change your plans much. If your friends are as bookish as mine, you'll probably even see a great holiday gift or two while you're there.
It's a cool neighborhood anyway. Afterwards,
I dunno, maybe we'll all wander over to the Viper Room and suck our cheeks in and try to look like we're trying not to be seen, even though we chose to go to the Viper Room. We'll blend right in.
Or maybe you guys can walk up to Hustler afterward and try on ridiculous underwear and giggle. Actually, there's not a chance in hell I'll be doing that with total strangers. But you and the rest of the group will be welcome to if you like. Tell me all about it later.
So drop on by!
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It's not quite a direct follow-up to Trebekistan, and we're still working out the details, but it looks like there's a deal for my next book.
If I wander away again for a while, well, that's why.
More details to follow.
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