Let me begin by saying I was waaaaaaaay not smart enough for this book. I am 100% unapologetically a pop culture aficionado and most certainly not a “sprocket fiend." I also have to admit that I have only watched a couple of episodes of The King of Queens (and there’s a WHOLE lot of baggage about the why on that one in the form of “why does the woman in these couple comedies always have to be portrayed as some shrieking bitch harpy even though she’s married to a slug of a dude?” – but that’s a discussion for a different time and place).

That being said, I am a rabid fan of Parks and Rec and Reno 911 Brooklyn 99 and A.P. Bio and Drunk History and Archer and I have come to simply adore this man. He has the most pleasant voice, he’s cute as a dang button and he steals every scene he’s in. It was like having an old friend talk to me in the car this week . . . .

Okay, okay, I’ll dial it back and try not to make it weird. Anyway, what I was trying to say was that it was like having someone you think you know pretty well start telling you stories and then you realize that you had zero clue how smart that person was or how well he could do words. And also that your own encyclopedic knowledge of films is pretty much strictly relegated to that of the toilet humor variety. So while some things definitely went over my head and I had heard/watched about 50% of the films referenced, but I was completely enraptured despite the fact and the tale of this addiction/superstition reaching such epic levels was laugh-out-loud funny when I was able to track WTF he was talking about.

ARC provided by NetGalley FOUR YEARS ago that I still haven’t read because I opted for the audio instead. That is shameful.

"New York Times bestselling author, comedian, and actor Patton Oswalt shares his entertaining memoir about coming of age as a performer and writer in the late ’90s while obsessively watching classic films at the legendary New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles.

Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakeable addiction. It wasn’t drugs, alcohol, or sex. It was film. After moving to L.A., Oswalt became a huge film buff, absorbing classics and new releases at least three nights a week at the New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid became Patton’s life schoolbook, informing his notions of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships. Set in the nascent days of the alternative comedy scene, Oswalt’s memoir chronicles his journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective supporting him all along the way.

Ideally timed for awards season, when everyone’s mind is on Hollywood, Silver Screen Fiend follows up on the terrific reception of Oswalt’s New York Times bestselling debut, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. Already a beloved fixture on the comedy stage, on television, and in film—not to mention his 1.87 million Twitter followers—Oswalt announces, with this second book, that he’s also here to stay on the page."

While I definitely have cover issues with this book, it's Patton Oswalt whom I love and am hopefully seeing in a few weeks!