Autographed Books – Scrappy Little Nobody

scrappylittlenobodyMove over Bald Bryan!  Our penultimate look at the hardcover books I’ve gotten autographed over the years, Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick, replaces his Shrinkage as the most recent addition to my collection.  Kendrick’s memoir tells the tale of her rise from a Maine schoolgirl to a Broadway star to an Oscar-nominated actress.

The autograph was acquired last month when I bought the book and saw her do a Q&A about the book.  Sadly, the books were pre-signed and I didn’t get the chance to meet Ms. Kendrick, but it was autographed none-the-less.

Autographed Books – Shrinkage

shrinkageWeek 2 of our look at the hardcover books I’ve gotten autographed over the years is the most recent addition to my collection.  Shrinkage, a memoir from Adam Carolla Show lackey Bryan Bishop about his experiences fighting off an inoperable brain tumor, came out in 2014 and was the 9th book I read that year.

The autograph was acquired a few weeks back, after a live podcast performance at the Vic.  The quote is one of the more famous drops from the show, selected by Bryan when I couldn’t come up with a favorite of my own.

Book 10 (of 52) – President Me

President Me: The America That's In My Head - Adam Carolla

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

For months now, the Adam Carolla podcast has been plugging two books, Adam’s latest, President Me, and Bald Bryan’s cancer memoir Shrinkage.  I hadn’t really planned on getting either, just as I had skipped Carolla’s previous 2 offerings.  Obviously, I had already relented on Bald Bryan’s book, and a chance for a meet and greet with Adam made me pull the trigger on this one as well.

Anyone who listens to the podcast regularly won’t be surprised by anything is this book, which is basically a collection of rants on what is wrong with the country today and how to fix it.  In Carolla’s world, everything is black and white (pun somewhat intended, as race comes up a bit), and his cures for societies ills are just as nuanced.  In some scenarios, it makes for a humorous take on the absurdities of the world we now live in.  When he tries to get down to real issues, like education and the growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots, it is less so.  But, again, it is nothing I haven’t heard before.

And that, I guess, is my biggest beef with the book.  It mostly feels like a transcript of podcasts that I have already listened to, which is somewhat disappointing, and one of the reasons I had avoided Adam’s books to this point.  Having said that, given the amount of free entertainment I’ve gotten from the podcast over the years, the $30 I spent on this is a small price to pay.  So now I just have to wait for Allison Rosen to put out a book to hit the trifecta.

Book 9 (of 52) – Shrinkage

Shrinkage: Manhood, Marriage, and the Tumor That Tried to Kill Me - Bryan Bishop

Shrinkage: Manhood, Marriage, and the Tumor That Tried to Kill Me – Bryan Bishop

5 years ago, at the age of 30 and just months away from marriage, Bald Bryan, the sound guy from the just cancelled Adam Carolla radio show, found out he had a brain tumor and was told he had 6 months to a year to live.  Over the next year, he fought against bad doctors, arguing family members, and, oh yeah, a brain tumor determined to kill him, as he tried to battle back against cancer.  As you may have guessed, he ultimately survived, and he tells his story in this memoir.

As Carolla’s podcast was getting off the ground, Bryan was battling the debilitating disease, and this book covers that whole year, from his initial diagnosis, to his radiation and chemotherapy treatments that seemed to be making him worse, to his wedding and eventual recovery.  Anyone who has either had cancer or had a family member suffer from the disease (and really, who does that leave out) can relate to his story.