Tag / Jay Leno

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Prolific Authors – 3 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three yeas, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the 20 authors I’ve read thrice, an increase of eight over the past two years.

Kevin J. Anderson

Last read in the 20th century, he’s responsible for three of the X-Files books on my shelf.

A Man Called Ove – Fredrik Backman

Fredrik Backman

This Swedish author has become a recent favorite, showing up once a year over the past three years, with more to come, I’m sure.

Adam Carolla

The former comedian and current right-wing nutjob managed to get me to read three of his podcast regurgitations.

Bill Carter

The former media reporter for the New York Times delivered three behind the scenes looks at the television industry, including the transition from Johnny Carson to Jay Leno and from Jay Leno to Conan O’Brien and back again.

Executive Order – Max Allan Collins

Max Allan Collins

Author of all entries of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Suzanne Collins

The woman behind a little trilogy about a young woman named Katniss who upends her entire world.

Keith R.A. DeCandido

Two Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels and a Spider-Man novel make up his works.

Alex Finlay

A DC lawyer writing under a penname, Finlay has placed three books in my hands over the past two years.

The Guest List – Lucy Foley

Lucy Foley

Another recent fave, Foley, a New York Times best seller, has shown up annually since 2021.

Megan Goldin

The former Reuters correspondent first appeared on my radar in 2021 with her debut, The Escape Room.

Paula Hawkins

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Prolific Authors – 3 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the 12 authors I’ve read thrice.

Kevin J. Anderson

I’ve read the 3 X-Files books he has written.

President Me: The America That’s In My Head – Adam Carolla

Adam Carolla

The former comedian and current right wing lugnut managed to get me to read three of his podcast regurgitations.

Bill Carter

The former media reporter for the New York Times delivered three behind the scenes looks at the television industry, including the transition from Johnny Carson to Jay Leno and from Jay Leno to Conan O’Brien and back again.

Max Allan Collins

Author of all entries of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins

The woman behind a little trilogy about a young woman who upends her entire world.

Keith R.A. DeCandido

Two Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels and a Spider-Man novel make up his works.

David Lagercrantz

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest – Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson wrote the first three entries in the story of Lisbeth Salander.  Following his death, David Lagercrantz continued the series with three entries (to date) of his own.

John R. Maxim

Last read in 2001, I would have liked to read more but it seems like he stopped writing.  Or they stopped publishing his work.

Kimberly McCreight

Her latest came out earlier this year, so she should be moving up the charts.

Tom Perotta Continue reading →

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ABC Upfronts

ABC is shaking up their lineup this fall, with changes on every night save Monday and Thursday.  The week gets off to a familiar start with Dancing With The Stars, followed by The Good Doctor.  Roseanne returns for another season to kick off Tuesday nights, followed by The Kids Are Alright, about a traditional Irish-Catholic family navigating the turbulent 70s, then black-ish and Splitting Up Together staying put.  The night ends with The Rookie, bringing Nathan Fillion back to the network in a familiar setting.

Wednesday starts the same, with The Goldbergs, American Housewife, and Modern Family starting the night, followed by Single Parents, a comedy about, well, single parents starring Taran Killam and Leighton Meester.  The night is capped off by A Million Little Things, about a group of Boston friends who re-examine their lives when one of them dies.  Thursdays stay exactly the same, with the three Shondaland shows remaining in place.  A revamped Friday kicks off with the re-located Fresh Off The Boat and Speechless, followed by Child Support and 20/20.  Sunday goes all reality, with a junior edition of DWTS sandwiched between America’s Funniest Home Videos and Shark Tank.  The night ends with The Alec Baldwin Show, the first prime time talk show since the unfortunate attempt to keep Jay Leno happy while Conan O’Brien hosted The Tonight Show.

Agents of SHIELD will return in summer of 2019, and American Idol and For The People will return at some point.  Also on the bench for mid-season are The Fix, a legal drama from Marcia Clark starring Robin Tunney, Grand Hotel, from executive producer Eva Longoria, and Whiskey Cavalier, about a partnership of FBI and CIA agents played by Scott Foley and Lauren Cohan.  The one comedy is Schooled, a spin-off of The Goldbergs.

Cancelled shows never to be seen again are Alex Inc., The Crossing, Deception, Designated Survivor, Downward Dog, The Great American Baking Show, Kevin (Probably) Saves The World, Inhumans, The Mayor, The Middle, Once Upon A Time, Quantico, Scandal, Somewhere Between, Still Star-Crossed, and Ten Days In The Valley.

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Book 1 (of 52) – The War For Late Night

The War For Late Night - Bill Carter

Jay Leno is a sad individual.  That is the one main takeaway from this, the tale of the late night showdown of 2009-2010, and author Bill Carter’s previous work, The Late Shift, which chronicled the first occurance when Leno’s people ousted Carson from The Tonight Show.  Jay is quoted numerous times as saying his only purpose in life is to “tell jokes at 11:30,” no matter who, or what, gets in the way.

In 2004, NBC had a (good) problem: two successful late night hosts who both wanted to host the same show.  In an effort to keep Conan O’Brien from moving to ABC or FOX and competing directly against Jay Leno, they promised him that Jay would retire and he would get The Tonight Show in 5 years.  This book tells the familiar story of what happened after those 5 years, when a hurt Jay Leno wouldn’t (couldn’t?) just walk away, a naive Conan O’Brien thought that his loyalty counted for something, and a happy David Letterman watching it all unfold from the sidelines.  We all know how the story ended, with Jay back on The Tonight Show and Conan off on TBS, but the destination is not as intriguing in this case as the journey.

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Book 3 (of 52) – The Late Shift

The Late Shift - Bill Carter

 Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.  The host of the Tonight Show changes, NBC executives start to think they’ve made a huge mistake, and, while the new host is on the air, offers the job to someone else.  No, this isn’t the story of Jay Leno stealing the Tonight Show back from Conan O’Brien, but the original story of Jay Leno stealing the Tonight Show from Johnny Carson and then fighting off David Letterman.

It is a fascinating story, even more so within the context of nearly the same thing playing out 18 years later.  Jay Leno is the permanent guest host of the Tonight Showand his manager is working furiously to push Johnny Carson out of the way.  When Carson announces he is retiring, Jay had just signed a contract guaranteeing him the top spot.  Meanwhile, as NBC’s other late night star, Letterman assumed he would move up an hour once Carson retired.  NBC execs, wanting to placate both stars, split down the middle.  When Jay’s manager goes crazy, starting booking wars and alienating publicists, NBC decides they made a mistake a offer the job to Letterman, who instead decides to leave his home of over a decade and start over at CBS.

The behind the scenes look at these shows, and the men who host them, is intriguing.  Jay Leno comes off as someone with extreme mental disorders.  He is loyal to a fault, either to his manager who almost sabotaged his career or to the network he thinks of as home.  He seems to have trouble dealing with people in an adult manner.  His life appears to revolve around two things: hosting the Tonight Show and fixing old cars.  He is married, but it comes off as though it was done not out of love, but because when you reach a certain age, you are supposed to be married.  The famous story of Leno hiding in a broom closet for hours so he can eavesdrop on a call between NBC executives, and the glee it brought him showing off that he knew things he shouldn’t, makes you feel sad for him. 

Letterman comes off as the more together person, but that really isn’t saying much.  He is described as a bundle of neuroses, who is never satisfied with a performance and is overly critical and dismissive of his own skills.  He spent years bashing the network and his bosses and yet expected them to just know how much it would have meant to him to be the host of the Tonight Show.  The book ends with a triumphant Letterman on top, his Late Showon CBS winning the ratings war for the first year plus.  Unfortunately, for Letterman and his fans, this started to go the other way with Jay Leno, behind a resurgent NBC primetime lineup, overcoming Dave and holding on to the top for years.

As we know, the sequel would happen 18 years later, and Bll Carter is back with the sequel.  Hopefully, I don’t have to wait 18 years to read it.