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Wednesday, October 12, 2022

One final (for now) personal Batty: Outstanding Season 10 Book

Before we turn the page on the Season 10 Battys, I would like to give one more personal unofficial award--a literary one, if you will. This season, as discussed on the podcast, I did a lot of reading for prep. I want to recognize one more time the fine books I read that helped provide info for the shows we covered:

Michael Landon: His Triumph and Tragedy by Aileen Joyce
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim
The Case of the Alliterative Attorney: A Guide to the Perry Mason TV Series and TV Movies by Bill Sullivan with Ed Robertson
It's Garry Shandling's Book by Judd Apatow
Laugh Lines by Alan Zweibel
Enemies, A Love Story
Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories by Wesley Hyatt
The Laugh Makers: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers by Bob Mills
An American Saga: The Definitive History of High School USA (OK, I made that one up, but if anyone ever writes it...)

And my unofficial yet sincere Batty for Outstanding Book goes to...

Wow, this is a tough choice. There are biographies and reference guides mixed in, and I got something out of all of these. Attorney and Video Memories are tremendous resources I refer to often, and the latter's lively reviews are quite enjoyable. Alison Arngrim's memoir was even better than I expected. The Shandling and Zweibel books are entertaining and revealing. Mills' book, despite the title, is really a fascinating look at Hope himself and his later career as much as anything. Even the Landon book taught me a lot I didn't know about the icon.

However, if someone asked me to recommend one book on this list, it would be Enemies, A Love Story. Yes, it is an oral history, and it is a Kindle Single. But I am counting it as a book, and what a book! It's addictive, and it offers tremendous insight into all aspects of the long-running movie show--not just their fabled relationship, but the production and business aspects of the program as well. Therefore I am giving my unofficial Outstanding Book Batty to Enemies, A Love Story.

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