Joe
Marty Feldman: The Biography of a Comedy Legend by Robert Ross
Marty Feldman is the funniest man who ever walked the earth. As a wee lad watching Young Frankenstein and his other movies, I wanted to be Marty Feldman when I grew up. Everything I am today is based on him. When I saw this book, it had to be mine.
The book is great. It’s based on recordings Feldman made right before he died, when he was going to write his memoir. I’m at the beginning of his career. He had a crazy life. Living on the streets, selling drugs, playing jazz, Vaudeville. And he wasn’t googly yet, he was actually quite handsome.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you like comedy or Mel Brooks. He was a master of the form.
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Clint
Butterfly in the Typewriter: The Tragic Story of John Kennedy Toole and the Remarkable Story of The Confederacy of Dunces by Cory MacLauchlin
I just started this. It’s coming out in a couple of months. Finally, a true portrayal of a singular author (and by singular, I mean he wrote one great novel – A Confederacy of Dunces). Interesting is that his mother is not interviewed. Vastly intelligent. I cannot wait to dig into this book.
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Salvador
Twitter for Good: Change the World One Tweet at a Time by Claire Diaz Ortiz
This book is written by Twitter’s head of corporate social innovation and philanthropy. It’s a how-to book for non-profits and other organizations, an A-to-Z manual on how to use Twitter. I’m learning really fantastic stuff that’s helping me with the Twitter page for the non-profit I work for, Action for Animals Austin. I really like it.
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Raul
The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellebecq
This novel is much different, more mature, than his previous work. It deals with some of the same themes of death and nihilism. It’s a strange story because the author is in the story, he puts himself into the fiction. It won the Prix Goncourt in France and I can see why.
The Beauty and the Sorrow by Peter Englund
I always enjoy First World War narratives. This one is particularly interesting because it’s a people’s history of the war. It’s not about strategy or anything like that, it’s about people’s daily experiences. For example, it tells the story of a Venezuelan cavalryman who joins the Ottoman Empire because no one else will have him. You can’t get more diverse storytelling. I’m really enjoying it.
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Jamie
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
I read this seven years ago and I’m reading it again now for the next meeting of the New & Noteworthy Book Club. I forgot how much I like it. I keep looking forward to finding out what’s going to happen next, even though I’ve already read it.
Momofuku by Chef David Chang
I’m cooking my way through the Momofuku Cookbook, which means there’s cabbage rotting in my fridge and my wife is sick of Korean food. It’s actually a really fun read. The cookbook is also the story of Momofuku’s success and goes through his different restaurants. It’s pretty great.
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Scott
A Simple Act of Violence by R. J. Ellory
This is a cross between Silence of the Lambs and Spy Who Came in From the Cold. It further proves Ellory is one of our stronger voices in crime fiction right now.
MysteryPeople welcomes Ellory to BookPeople this Friday, Jan 27, 7p.
The Comedy is Finished by Donald Westlake
This is a newly discovered book Donald Westlake wrote in the 70’s. It uses a kidnapping story as a great way to look at the post-Watergate era.
BookPeople 
