Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, Kathy Griffin

Daniel Edwards, Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston

(November 30) So funny. Sample story:

We started class, and in the Groundlings curriculum, one of the first exercises you do is the clichéd "trust" game. I made everyone stand in a circle, with me in the center, and I said, "Being onstage, you have to trust your fellow actors, especially when you're an improviser. You're going to be there for each other, and they're going to be there for you. For example, I'm going to fall back, knowing that you'll catch me."

Then I let myself fall backward, and sure enough, I was caught. Everyone gets out some nervous laughter, and then they all took turns doing it. By the time it got around to Mariska Hargitay, we'd already done it with ten or eleven students, and they clearly had gotten the point. Then it was Mariska's turn. "Okay, Mariska, cross your arms in front of you and gently fall back," I said.

She fell back and nobody caught her. She fell flat on her ass.

I was horrified. This had never happened in one of my classes before. I don't know if there was a fly buzzing in front of our faces, or being typical actors, we were just dIstracted. People must have turned their heads at the wrong time, but as the teacher, I took full and complete responsibility. And this was a 5'10" girl, too. It's true, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and BOOM, she went right down on her coccyx. Like a ton of bricks. No, not a ton of bricks. A few very beautiful bricks. She giggled and got right back up like a pro, but it looked like it just fucking killed her. I mean, everybody else got caught except Mariska Hargitay. Nobody else wanted to do the trust exercise after her. Nobody trusted anybody. It was a terrible way to start that class.

I've laughed at Kathy Griffin's performances and thought I'd be reading about how she exaggerates and embellishes her stories to make herself sound more pathetic than she actually is and therefore funnier. However, now, after reading this, I don't think she actually is exaggerating much and is probably more pathetic than even she realizes. I mean -- still funny, but less self-aware than I thought. So, in fact, funnier.

The Lost Art of Gratitude, Alexander McCall Smith

William Holman Hunt, Mrs Wilson and Her Child

(November 5) More of wonderful same. As always, not much happens, but Isabel's every thought and deed is thoroughly analyzed. McCall Smith seems to be saying with this series that life is quietly bizarre.

Anything new or notable at all? Well, Jamie and Isabel have kind of morphed into a comedy team, which is nice, because it hasn't been absolutely clear before now what they see in each other. Second, Isabel is really duped by Minty (she's been misled before, but never so deliberately and evilly), and Minty is the first sociopath Isabel's had to deal with, which changes the rules of the game. Finally, Isabel gets really angry twice in this book -- something we haven't seen her do yet.