5 Jewish Pop Culture Books You Need To Read
By Thea Glassman December 8, 2016
Curl up with this year’s best reads from some of the biggest, funniest Jewish names in pop culture.
Superficial: More Adventures From the Andy Cohen Diaries
Talk show host Andy Cohen brings all the juicy, candid, pop culture packed elements from his hit show, “Watch What Happens Live,” into his latest memoir. There’s an awkward run-in with Taylor Swift, honest takes on his show’s best and worst guests, and the very dirty joke Howard Stern told at Joan Rivers’s funeral.
The Daily Show: An Oral History
This comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at “The Daily Show” features voices from the show’s correspondents and staff and from Stewart himself. There’s dish on Stewart’s fights with Roger Ailes and Wyatt Cenac, his relationship with Bill O’Reilly and his first pick for his successor (hint: it wasn’t Trevor Norah), and a look at how the Bush administration help catapult “The Daily Show” to stardom.
Carry This Book
Ever wonder what Hillary Clinton carries in her purse? What’s in Donald Trump’s weekender bag? Beyonce’s clutch? “Broad City” creator/star Abbi Jacobson has imagined all that — and much more — for you in her illustrated, jam-packed look into the satchels of the rich and famous.
The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo
Amy Schumer brings all the laughs, tears and endless life wisdom in her debut memoir. The comedian chronicles her childhood growing up on Long Island, her early days as a struggling stand-up comedian and stories galore of sex, love and family. Oh yeah, and that one time her voice cracked during her bat mitzvah ceremony.
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah, host of “The Daily Show,” gives readers a raw account of growing up in apartheid-era South Africa. He chronicles his childhood and teen years of struggling to fit in as half-white, half-black, being bullied by darker-skinned children and creatively negotiating for popularity with the cool kids. The book also serves as something of a love story between himself and his mother, who, during their darkest days, once had to cook him mopane worms and spinach, “the cheapest thing that only the poorest of poor people eat.”
Thea Glassman is an associate editor at the Forward. Contact her at glassman@forward.com or on Twitter, @theakglassman
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