Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The "Late Night with David Letterman" Book of Top Ten Lists

1990, undated later edition, from Pocket Books
David Letterman and the Late Night with David Letterman Writers
The "Late Night with David Letterman" Book of Top Ten Lists
Possibly bought newish for $8.95
Worn paperback
C

Although I remember this as a great feature on the show (which I haven't watched regularly in at least 20 years), it feels flat in a book, especially with list after list.  Unlike Leno's headlines book from the previous year, this has neither aged well nor gained much irony over time.  (Although I suppose the constant use of "gorgeous babes" as a number one reason is ironic in light of revelations a few years ago of Letterman's affairs.)  Some of the lists are Dave-centric, like the ones about his stalker and some driving incident he had, but honestly, you'd have to be a fan to still care or remember.  And I have no idea what the running joke about "Mookie" is, or the one about "not gonna pay a lot for this muffler."  Even the Quayle humor gets stale because it's so one-note.  The best of the lot are some of the wordplay lists, like the "Least Popular Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavors," including Oprah Mocha, Norieggnog, and Zsa Za Gaboreo.

This completes another 100 reviews since Paradise Postponed, for 700 total so far.  And I must thank all you regular (and irregular) readers, who've boosted my stats in the last few months, even when I'm constantly surprised by what's popular.  (A MAD Look at Old Movies is currently moving up the charts.)  Nearly four months ago, I had

1 F
4 F+s
2 D-s
5 D's
11 D+s
19 C-s
36 C's
126 C+s
208 B-s
137 B's
44 B+s
7 A-s

Since then, I've added another D+, 3 C-s, and 7 C's.  There are 20 new C+s and 38 B-s.  Surprisingly, there are 27 B's, over a quarter of the additions.  And there are 4 additional B+s but no A-s.

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