I absolutely adored Rudnick's novel I'll Take It and this book of essays interspersed with the "diary" of Elyot Vionnet was pretty good, too. There are stories about showbiz (what really happened in I Hate Hamlet, working on Sister Act, producer Allan Carr), New York (apartments, the Chelsea Hotel) and topics also covered in I'll Take It (Jewish families, junk food diet). What's not to like? ( )

Paul Rudnick is one of those names that I was complete unfamiliar with, until I read his book. As he told his stories, I kept thinking “oh! I remember Sister Act!” “I’ve heard of Allan Carr!” “He wrote The Addams Family? I never knew that!” It was part discovery, part reunion, full of funny bits, a little gossip, and some entirely fictional chapters that were, perhaps, my favorite parts. It is wickedly funny, even — maybe especially — when recounting the worst stories. All in all, it was a pleasure to read.

I Shudder isn’t exactly a memoir, although it’s full of funny stories about his family, his Hollywood contacts, the plays he’s written and the people he’s met. Between these stories, there is also a (hopefully) fictional memoir, “An Excerpt from the Most Deeply Intimate and Personal Diary of One Elyot Vionnet.” Elyot is a bizarre character, a semi-retired substitute teacher living in a perfect studio apartment that almost overlooks Gramercy Park.

In I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey, the fiction and non-fiction go well together. The stories are great — his mother and her crazy sisters, his partner John, his time at the Chelsea Hotel. Chapters sped by and I laughed often enough (and loudly enough) that people at the airport asked what I was reading. I always think that’s a good sign.

Read my full review at AliveontheShelves.com. ( )

Very funny, packed with zingers (which I forget ten seconds after reading). The first few chapter about his family is the weakest. Odd that he would put it first. Fortunately, I kept reading. ( )