Cannonball Read #20: I Am America, And So Can You, by Stephen Colbert

What can you say about Stephen Colbert that hasn't been said? He is hysterical, and thankfully I finally got around to fixing my weird relationship with his show whereby I would watch it occasionally, wonder why I didn't watch it all the time and then promptly forget about it until the next time I catch it by accident. I now use the magic of DVR to make my mornings awesome as I watch it and get ready for the day. I so admire his ability to skewer the political process, and also to do so in a way so different from The Daily Show while still providing smart, funny commentary on a subject often ignored by those who don't have the time or patience for hours of CSpan and piles of newspapers. It's not the same as reading the New York Times and Wall Street Journal all the way through every day, but it helps increase people's awareness of what's going on in the immensely important political arena.

I want my high opinion of Colbert to be clear so you understand what I'm actually saying next. This book is more of the same. "More of the same" generally means "ick, boring" in context, but in this case it's more of a hilarious, witty product. Needless to say, I Am America is more broad, hitting up a massive swath of topics and ripping on all of them in that affectionate, blustery way Colbert has about him. I originally bought this as a coffee-table book, to go with my copy of Jon Stewart's faux textbook, America, but this is quite different. It's a snort-to-yourself-and-alarm-your-airplane-seatmates book, and now that you can get it in paperback and audiobook form, it's a much more portable option.

I am not going to continue on this one because I am now about fifteen reviews behind what I've actually read, and if you need me to explain why Stephen Colbert is awesome, you're probably not going to check this one out anyway. It's excellent, clever and a great read, and you should go on out and buy yourself a copy. Punto.

240 pages