Clothing Optional: And Other Ways to Read These Stories Book

Garry, it s Alan. Look, I m calling because I just felt the need to tell someone that I m forty-four years old, and about an hour ago, for the first time in my life, I put suntan lotion on my ass. I ll explain later. Bye. In Clothing Optional, Alan Zweibel offers a collection of laugh-out-loud personal narratives, essays, short fiction, dialogues, and even a few whimsical drawings. Zweibel first made a name for himself as one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live, but his career s humble beginnings included creating one-liners for Catskill comedians at seven dollars a pop. That experience is only one of the hysterically inspired anecdotes ( Comic Dialogue ) in this quirky compilation.Zweibel confesses his first love, as a young Hebrew school student, for Abraham s wife, Sarah ( At this point, Sarah s husband had been dead for more than three thousand years so, really, who would I be hurting? ); recounts the time he was sent to a nudist resort to write an article ( The fact that I brought luggage is, in itself, worthy of some discussion ); offers a touching tribute to Saturday Night Live writer and mentor Herb Sargent ( Herb was New York. But an older, more romantic New York that took place in black and white like the kind of TV I grew up on and wanted to be a part of someday ); and imagines a scenario in which Sergeant Joe Friday, the stiff, monotoned character from Dragnet, is inexplicably partnered with Snoop Dogg ( Damn, Friday. You gotta learn to chill. Take some free time and kick it with your boys ) Every piece is punctuated with the same wit and insight that have come to define Zweibel s humor. Unhinged and hilarious, Clothing Optional is an unguided tour through the uniquely peculiar life and mind of a man who The New York Times said has earned a place in the pantheon of American pop culture.Read More