For those of you in Boston, if you’ve got $5 and some free time tonight, I’d highly recommend this event:
Friday, February 29
Special Event
Harvard Book Store Presents
Reading: Ben Karlin at 6:00
The Brattle TheaterHarvard Book Store is pleased to present BEN KARLIN, the Emmy Award-winning former executive producer of ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Colbert Report’, who in his new book has assembled a lineup of male celebrities, writers, and public figures who have one thing in common: they’ve all been dumped
Tickets for this event are $5 and may be purchased STARTING FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH at Harvard Book Store or over the phone with a credit card (617-661-1515). Please note that your $5 ticket may be redeemed for $5 off a single item at the event or at Harvard Book Store for one month following the event.
h/t Entropy
I’ll be there! I’ll let you folks know if he relates any interesting information about Stephen.
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A very enjoyable evening with a good turnout. Ben talked a bit about how the book came to be, read from his chapter, and showed an animated film based on Rodney Rothman’s essay “I like Jessica” that was very funny. He said that the readings in NY and LA had some of the writers performing skits and doing readings and that HBO was considering putting them into a special–fingers crossed, I hope that happens. He said at the NY reading Brooke Shields told a very funny story about how she attempted (unsuccessfully) to get George Michael to relieve her of her virginity. He took some questions, one of which was about TCR–he was asked what he thought would have happened if Stephen had gotten the SC nomination. Ben said that everything on TCR has a life of it’s own. He used Guitarmeggdon as an example–apparently it started out as a throwaway joke and ended up with Spitzer, Frampton and Kissenger. He described TCR as “Dadaesque”, which I thought was perfect. It turned out that his mother was in the audience so I got her to sign her introduction in the book (she was very kind). Ben signed “Please enjoy this legacy of shame”. He seems like a very nice guy–wryly funny throughout.
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Ben said that if Stephen had gotten on the ballot he doubts that he would have won but Ben thought it would have gone in directions nobody had dreamt of since that’s what usually happens with things on TCR. Also, I asked him if it was true that Jon Stewart was originally supposed to have written an intro to the book. Ben said it was true but that Jon bowed out when Nick Hornsby agreed to write something. He said it was probably for the best since having Stephen and Jon in the same book might have been overkill. I facetiously asked if Jon was crushed when Ben told him Nick was on board. “Actually, I think he was probably relieved that he didn’t have to write anything!” He also made a comment that it was a pleasure to do a smaller signing like this one where he could talk to people a bit. “When we were doing the tour for America The Book there were like 2000 at every site–after like 100 people you were just drawing a line in the book, you couldn’t even sign your name anymore much less talk to people”.
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Thanks very much for the inside scoop, imoldfashioned! Ben sounds *exactly* the way I would have imagined; how wonderful that you were able to go to this. I’m not at all surprised that he said that about the smaller book signings; I can’t even imagine what the signings for America the Book were like. (Well, actually I can, given what the I Am America signings were like.)
Here’s hoping the HBO idea pans out …
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@imoldfashioned,
Wow! How lucky you were to have attended this! It sounded so intimate and thoroughly entertaining, and what a pleasure to hear Ben speak AND to get his Mom to sign the intro. What a wonderful evening! Thanks for sharing your recap with us!!
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