Some fun reading while at home

From his time working with Jay Leno and Chelsea Handler to sitting at the RuPaul’s Drag Race judges table, Ross Matthews has always been known to deliver his own patented brand of advice, humor, and honesty with his trademark laugh and his tongue firmly planted in cheek. In his latest book Name Drop, Matthews peeks behind the sparkling curtain and brings the readers along for the ride every step of the way.

While his memoir Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence was a look at how a somewhat shy young man bloomed into the Ross Matthews that we know now, Name Drop tells stories detailing the highs and the lows of show business. From a somewhat confusing offer to guest star on The View to spending Christmas with the Kardashians, Matthews gives his own specific kind of fun dish on his career and life highlights. Hearing what it’s like working on The Tonight Show, sitting on the esteemed RuPaul’s Drag Race judging panel, and even becoming friends with comedy luminaries like Rosie O’Donnell, Matthews speaks directly to those readers who share an adoration for Matthews as well as for pop culture itself.

From writing for Family Guy to Executive Producing on Will & Grace as well as writing the brilliant sitcom Vicious, Gary Janetti is what anyone would call “busy.” Despite being neck deep in genius comedic writing, Janetti found the time to write his uproarious memoir/short story collection Do You Mind If I Cancel.

As Janetti dives into his childhood stories of soap opera adoration and journeys to see Patti LuPone in Evita, we start to see where Janetti’s razor-sharp comedic mind was formed. Janetti’s storytelling in book form is very similar to the way actors help the lines that Janetti has crafted come alive on screen. They’re devilishly hilarious, undeniably smart, and have just enough heart to make you feel a little something even when you don’t realize you’ve done so until pages later.

As he approaches the end of his contract with Sirius/XM, Howard Stern has more than made an undeniable impact on the worlds of radio, television, and books. That being said, Stern surprised the entertainment world when he dropped his book Howard Stern Comes Again last fall.

While many wondered if it would follow the outlandish and personally revealing template of his previous two books, Stern made it clear that this one would be all business. As his quite possibly last act as a radio personality has him now being one of the best interviewers in the business. Stern’s book packs some of his absolute best interviews into one easy to read package of revealing chats with celebrities.

While it may be easy to forget some of the interviews Stern has done in his decades on the air, he has managed to talk to everyone like Madonna, Lady Gaga, Alec Baldwin, and the Kardashians, with each of them dropping their public facade and truly letting Stern in for some really great conversation. An interesting bonus: sprinkled throughout the book are interviews and moments that Stern has shared with the current occupant of the Oval Office. Though Stern and Donald Trump were always known to be socially friendly, when Trump would go on-air, he would talk openly about everything from how attractive his daughter is to actually rating women based on their appearance. While the relationship between them now has undergone somewhat of a sudden frost, reliving those moments not only makes it crystal clear as to who we have leading our country but also serves as a testament to Stern.

He clearly is able to look ahead and knows the questions to ask and areas to pinpoint so that the material lasts long after the mics have gone down.