I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This...

..is a memoir written by Bob Newhart. I picked this book up for 3 reasons:

1-I've always like Bob. Along with Carol Burnett, Harvey Kormak, Don Knotts and so many others. Back when humor was actually funny, instead of gross or crude and cheap. Great, great comedians, one and all. My mom hated "slapstick" and couldn't stand the Carol Burnett show. I loved her. I really loved it when Harvey Kormak was in a sketch and started cracking up. Good times. Truthfully, though, I've never been a huge T.V. watcher, and while I did catch many of the "Bob Newhart" shows I only watched a couple episodes of "Newhart." I always felt that I'd missed a great T.V. moment by not seeing the concluding episode. In the book he explains that I wasn't the only one, so I feel better about that.

2- Bob's funny. I've been in a slump. I believed that this book could provide some laughs. It did. Some of them I didn't actually get. But it's also an interesting look into what his life was like as a wildly successful comedienne, the friend of the rich and more rich and Bel Air golf junkie.

3-The title. "I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This" is actually the punch line of a sorta crude joke. Regardless of that, I could relate. I think I may adopt this line as my new slogan cause it sums up so much of my response as I go through life. Seriously. We are continually finding our selves in situations, circumstances, outcomes beyond our control, beyond our expectations or exceedingly odd. Both of us spend a fair amount of time looking around going, "how did this happen?" I think I'm going to add to that, "I shouldn't even be doing this!"

A fun and easy read about a truly funny person. Who, btw, has been happily married to the same woman for a gazillion years, has 4 kids and 7 grandkids. Mr. PG lives it out.