Still Foolin' 'Em

Book 24 of my 2019 Reading Challenge

read from February 28 - March 3

Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys

by Billy Crystal

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2013

"At sixty-five I can do whatever I did when I was thirty-five, if only I could remember what those things were."

Seventy-seven million baby boomers have either recently joined or will soon join Billy Crystal at this milestone birthday. Here, with his trademark blend of wit and heart, Crystal looks back at the most powerful and memorable moments of his storied life and provides a road map to the absurdities and challenges that come with aging. He reflects on everything from his legendary stint at Saturday Night Live, to making City Slickers and When Harry Met Sally..., to his long run as host of the Academy Awards, to his one-day career with the New York Yankees (he was the first player to ever "test positive for Maalox") and his enduring friendships with several of his idols, including Mickey Mantle and Muhammad Ali. In between these unforgettable tales are meditations on such topics as "Buying the Plot" and "Nodding Off," in which Crystal catalogs his gripes in hilarious detail. He lends a light touch to more serious issues like religion ("the aging friends I know have turned to the Holy Trinity: Advil, bourbon, and Prozac"), grand parenting, and, of course, dentistry. Wise, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny, Still Foolin' 'Em Is a triumphant counterpunch to the indignities of aging, from the beloved comedian who for forty years has captured the anxieties and joys of his generation.

My Opinion

4 stars

These are the kinds of books that don't seem necessary to review.  If you like Billy Crystal and his style you will like this book and its behind-the-scenes stories of his work and his life.  If you don't like Billy Crystal, why are you even looking at this?

I don't listen to audiobooks because my mind wanders too easily but autobiographies/memoirs like this seem exactly what they're made for.  I was able to hear his voice while I was reading and I would imagine that if he did his own reading for this book it would really add to the experience.

A Few Quotes from the Book

"I shouldn't complain so much. Life at sixty-five is good. I have had one house, one wife, my real nose, my real name, and most of my teeth."

"I no longer live in the state of California, I live in the state of permanent annoyance."