A Load of Hooey (McSweeney's)
Skylight Books welcomes one of our favorite comedy minds (and customers) -- Bob Odenkirk -- for a reading and signing of his new humor collection, A Load of Hooey.
NOTE: As with all Skylight Books events, this reading is free and open to the public (first come, first served). But because we're expecting a large crowd at this event, we'll be giving out numbered tickets to the signing line to keep things organized. To get a ticket to the signing line, you must purchase a copy of A Load of Hooey here at Skylight Books. Tickets will be available starting September 30, 2014. They will be available in-store, or you can order on our website and leave a note in the "Order Comments" field. We will also hold a ticket for you if you order and pay for a book over the phone. In addition to books, you may bring one item of memorabilia to be signed (but no pieces of paper please). Due to time constraints, Bob Odenkirk will be unable to pose for photos with individual attendees, though you are welcome to take photos during the event and from the line. Please also refrain from making an audio or video recording of the event. Thank you for your cooperation!
Bob Odenkirk is a legend in the comedy-writing world, winning Emmys and acclaim for his work on Saturday Night Live, Mr. Show with Bob and David, and many other seminal TV shows. This book, his first, is a spleen-bruisingly funny omnibus that ranges from absurdist monologues (Martin Luther King, Jr's Worst Speech Ever) to intentionally bad theater (Hitler Dinner Party: A Play); from avant-garde fiction (Obituary for the Creator of Madlibs) to free-verse poetry that's funnier and more powerful than the work of Calvin Trillin, Jewel, and Robert Louis Stevenson combined.
Odenkirk's debut resembles nothing so much as a hilarious new sketch comedy show that's exclusively available as a streaming video for your mind. As Odenkirk himself writes in The Second Coming of Jesus and Lazarus, it is a book to be read aloud to yourself in the voice of Bob Newhart.
Praise for A Load of Hooey:
"Whip-smart and laugh-out-loud funny." —Publishers Weekly
"For a comedy connoisseur (as I am), this book is like The Satanic Bible (I'm also a Satanist)." —Peter Serafanowicz
"Bob Odenkirk is wrong. He’s wrong about Jesus hosting a comedy show and he’s wrong that his book is just 'a load of hooey.' It’s a load of funny and thoughtful is what it is. And why would one title a book that way? It gives the wrong impression to folks. It's a terrible marketing plan. It should be called, 'The Best Book in the World This Year,' or 'This Is Totally Worth It!' or something along those lines. It's certainly not a load of hooey. Oh! And I looked up the definition of 'hooey' as per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It does NOT say that! He’s wrong about that too!!!! Wrong, wrong, wrong!" —David Cross
"If you're a fan of books published by Bob Odenkirk, this Bob Odenkirk book will fulfill your desires almost perfectly. It's also excellent for anyone who's interested in conversations that did not happen, the casual use of words that are no longer popular, aspects of writing that are vaguely related to elements of poetry that are tangentially interlocked with concepts of architecture, and the 1888 presidential debates between Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. I really didn't like what he wrote about Harrison's complicated relationship with Presbyterian faith, but who am I to question Bob Odenkirk? He once took me to a Tower Records and complained about an Oasis album." —Chuck Klosterman
Bob Odenkirk started by writing sketches for his junior high school classes. Inspired by Monty Python, Bob and Ray, and The Credibility Gap, he went on to work in Chicago’s sketch comedy scene. Professionally he has written for the TV showsSaturday Night Live (where he famously wrote "The Motivational Speaker" sketch), and The Ben Stiller Show (where he wrote the infamous "Manson Lassie" sketch), and then Bob went and created (and starred in) Mr. Show with Bob and David, which has been called "the American Monty Python." He's also had a creative hand in creating Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and The Birthday Boys sketch show on IFC.
Since Mr. Show finished production he has written, acted in, and directed many films and TV pilots.
As an actor, Bob has had memorable roles as the agent Stevie Grant on The Larry Sanders Show, the character of Saul Goodman AMC's Breaking Bad, and Director Alexander Payne’s Oscar-nominated film Nebraska.
Through it all, Bob has written comedy scripts and short essays. Some of these have appeared in The New Yorker, Vice magazine, and Filter magazine, among other publications. A Load of Hooey is a collection of these short pieces, and Bob considers it the "best thing" he’s "ever done."
Photo of the author by Sharon Alagna.
Skylight Books welcomes one of our favorite comedy minds (and customers) -- Bob Odenkirk -- for a reading and signing of his new humor collection, A Load of Hooey.
NOTE: As with all Skylight Books events, this reading is free and open to the public (first come, first served). But because we're expecting a large crowd at this event, we'll be giving out numbered tickets to the signing line to keep things organized. To get a ticket to the signing line, you must purchase a copy of A Load of Hooey here at Skylight Books. Tickets will be available starting September 30, 2014. They will be available in-store, or you can order on our website and leave a note in the "Order Comments" field. We will also hold a ticket for you if you order and pay for a book over the phone. In addition to books, you may bring one item of memorabilia to be signed (but no pieces of paper please). Due to time constraints, Bob Odenkirk will be unable to pose for photos with individual attendees, though you are welcome to take photos during the event and from the line. Please also refrain from making an audio or video recording of the event. Thank you for your cooperation!
Bob Odenkirk is a legend in the comedy-writing world, winning Emmys and acclaim for his work on Saturday Night Live, Mr. Show with Bob and David, and many other seminal TV shows. This book, his first, is a spleen-bruisingly funny omnibus that ranges from absurdist monologues (Martin Luther King, Jr's Worst Speech Ever) to intentionally bad theater (Hitler Dinner Party: A Play); from avant-garde fiction (Obituary for the Creator of Madlibs) to free-verse poetry that's funnier and more powerful than the work of Calvin Trillin, Jewel, and Robert Louis Stevenson combined.
Odenkirk's debut resembles nothing so much as a hilarious new sketch comedy show that's exclusively available as a streaming video for your mind. As Odenkirk himself writes in The Second Coming of Jesus and Lazarus, it is a book to be read aloud to yourself in the voice of Bob Newhart.
Praise for A Load of Hooey:
"Whip-smart and laugh-out-loud funny." —Publishers Weekly
"For a comedy connoisseur (as I am), this book is like The Satanic Bible (I'm also a Satanist)." —Peter Serafanowicz
"Bob Odenkirk is wrong. He’s wrong about Jesus hosting a comedy show and he’s wrong that his book is just 'a load of hooey.' It’s a load of funny and thoughtful is what it is. And why would one title a book that way? It gives the wrong impression to folks. It's a terrible marketing plan. It should be called, 'The Best Book in the World This Year,' or 'This Is Totally Worth It!' or something along those lines. It's certainly not a load of hooey. Oh! And I looked up the definition of 'hooey' as per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It does NOT say that! He’s wrong about that too!!!! Wrong, wrong, wrong!" —David Cross
"If you're a fan of books published by Bob Odenkirk, this Bob Odenkirk book will fulfill your desires almost perfectly. It's also excellent for anyone who's interested in conversations that did not happen, the casual use of words that are no longer popular, aspects of writing that are vaguely related to elements of poetry that are tangentially interlocked with concepts of architecture, and the 1888 presidential debates between Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. I really didn't like what he wrote about Harrison's complicated relationship with Presbyterian faith, but who am I to question Bob Odenkirk? He once took me to a Tower Records and complained about an Oasis album." —Chuck Klosterman
Bob Odenkirk started by writing sketches for his junior high school classes. Inspired by Monty Python, Bob and Ray, and The Credibility Gap, he went on to work in Chicago’s sketch comedy scene. Professionally he has written for the TV showsSaturday Night Live (where he famously wrote "The Motivational Speaker" sketch), and The Ben Stiller Show (where he wrote the infamous "Manson Lassie" sketch), and then Bob went and created (and starred in) Mr. Show with Bob and David, which has been called "the American Monty Python." He's also had a creative hand in creating Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and The Birthday Boys sketch show on IFC.
Since Mr. Show finished production he has written, acted in, and directed many films and TV pilots.
As an actor, Bob has had memorable roles as the agent Stevie Grant on The Larry Sanders Show, the character of Saul Goodman AMC's Breaking Bad, and Director Alexander Payne’s Oscar-nominated film Nebraska.
Through it all, Bob has written comedy scripts and short essays. Some of these have appeared in The New Yorker, Vice magazine, and Filter magazine, among other publications. A Load of Hooey is a collection of these short pieces, and Bob considers it the "best thing" he’s "ever done."
Photo of the author by Sharon Alagna.
Event date:
Thursday, October 30, 2014 - 7:30pm
Event address:
1818 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027