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Employee of The Month And Other Big Deals
You may know Mary Jo Pehl as “the guy from Mystery Science Theater 3000 that’s a woman.” But besides her stints as a writer-performer on the beloved Peabody-winning TV show, and now with the movie-riffing crew Cinematic Titanic, Mary Jo has survived one of the most traumatic, glorious, terrifying, joyful challenges known to humankind, a little thing she likes to call real life. With biting wit, bracing satire, and boundless good cheer, Mary Jo—distinguished member of the First Family of Circle Pines, Minnesota; she’ll explain—takes you on a poignant, hilarious journey through the world of keepin’ on. Dispatched from her Midwestern home state, then New York, Texas, and exotic points beyond, these very personal stories and essays, with illustrations by Len Peralta, reveal a warm, smart, funny writer who can spot the absurdities in what she deals with every day, and make her readers LOL at them. There’s nobody else like Mary Jo Pehl. But then, there’s nobody else like you, either. Hey, you two should get together! Read this book, and you will, my you will.
134 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2011
22 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Mary Jo Pehl
12 books25 followersMary Jo Pehl is a writer/performer/producer with Cinematic Titanic, the live version of the Peabody Award-winning TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000, for which she was a writer and on-air actor in the recurring role of Pearl Forrester. For these two projects, she has bravely withstood hundreds of the worst movies ever made. The experience hasn’t killed her, only made her stronger.
Mary Jo has worn out packs of pencils for Austin Monthly, Austin Chronicle, Minnesota Monthly, Minneapolis StarTribune, Catholic Digest, Salon.com, PBS and more. Her work is featured in several anthologies, including Life's A Stitch: The Best of Contemporary Women's Humor and Travelers' Tales: The Thong Also Rises. Her commentaries have aired on NPRs All Things Considered and Weekend America, and The Savvy Traveler on Public Radio International.
As a standup comedian, Mary Jo has appeared on Comedy Central and A&E, and in stage productions in New York and Los Angeles. She has also contributed to RiffTrax.
She is a member of the former First Family of Circle Pines, Minnesota, but that's another story, which you can read in her new book. That book, Employee of The Month and Other Big Deals, is available through Amazon.com.
A native of Minnesota, Mary Jo lives in Austin, Texas with Total Husband Ron and Total Dog Seymour.
Mary Jo has worn out packs of pencils for Austin Monthly, Austin Chronicle, Minnesota Monthly, Minneapolis StarTribune, Catholic Digest, Salon.com, PBS and more. Her work is featured in several anthologies, including Life's A Stitch: The Best of Contemporary Women's Humor and Travelers' Tales: The Thong Also Rises. Her commentaries have aired on NPRs All Things Considered and Weekend America, and The Savvy Traveler on Public Radio International.
As a standup comedian, Mary Jo has appeared on Comedy Central and A&E, and in stage productions in New York and Los Angeles. She has also contributed to RiffTrax.
She is a member of the former First Family of Circle Pines, Minnesota, but that's another story, which you can read in her new book. That book, Employee of The Month and Other Big Deals, is available through Amazon.com.
A native of Minnesota, Mary Jo lives in Austin, Texas with Total Husband Ron and Total Dog Seymour.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 28, 2019
4 stars. I love Mary Jo Pehl. Love, love, love her. She's great on MST3K, Cinematic Titanic and Rifftrax. She's just a naturally funny person. As soon as I saw that this book was available through KU I knew I needed to read it immediately. I was not disappointed. It's well written and humorous and a very quick read. I was thoroughly entertained and I particularly loved the last chapter because it's the only chapter that she really mentions MST3K so that was awesome. A lot of the cast members of that show have books out so I'm excited to read them.
January 28, 2025
I love Mary Jo! Loved MST3K, Riff trax and of course on Dumb industries. I knew of Dumb, Dumb, Dumb but hadn't come across this one till Gail Simone mentioned it! I immediately bought it. It was lots of fun.
May 31, 2021
I wanted to like this book more but her writing can best be described as "David Sedaris, but not as funny." I also thought it was way too short--she's a professional comedy writer but only has 121 pages worth of funny stories?
January 6, 2018
Funny book!
February 18, 2018
Funny stories from a funny lady!
June 24, 2018
If you don't know Mary Jo Pehl (from "Mystery Science Theater 3000," "Cinematic Titanic" or "RiffTrax"), these essays are delightful. If you DO know her, there are even extra levels of awesome.
January 27, 2020
It's only sin is it isn't 372 pages
Ok and not read by Will Wheaton, who is really a expenses version of Phil Thron for people who don't know who the fonk is Phil Thron.
Ok and not read by Will Wheaton, who is really a expenses version of Phil Thron for people who don't know who the fonk is Phil Thron.
May 10, 2020
Good short book
This is a funny series of vignettes in the life of the author. It's worth reading if you like MST3K.
This is a funny series of vignettes in the life of the author. It's worth reading if you like MST3K.
May 25, 2022
More than just the show
We get to know what Mary Jo is really like when not hassling BoBo. Wonderful stories of her growing up and her career before and after MST-3K.
We get to know what Mary Jo is really like when not hassling BoBo. Wonderful stories of her growing up and her career before and after MST-3K.
March 22, 2023
Am amusing array of short stories. The one of how she and her husband met was adorable.
December 14, 2023
Tickled my funny bone; tugged at my heartstrings. Made me wish I could be friends with the wonderful and talented Mary Jo Pehl.
April 9, 2016
A version of this review appeared on my blog, drinkingandink.
Popsugar 2016 Reading Challenge: A book you can read in a day.
If you're reading my reviews, you probably know me, and if you know me, you probably know the following things.
You know when I reviewed Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? I suggested that she writes like everyone’s best friend, while recognizing that she would probably not actually be my best friend. Here is another book that reads like it’s written by somebody who could be your best friend, but the difference is, I actually now want to be Mary Jo Pehl’s friend. We both love books! We both hate shopping! We both have a deadpan humor that could easily be misunderstood!
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is my favorite TV show. See, in this, my final year of grad school, I have a pretty awful schedule. Three days a week I’m in an internship, the next day is for classes, then the following three days (the weekend, I might add) I work evening shift at what may be one of the more stressful part time jobs out there. Then after a few hours of sleep I roll right back into the internship at 8:30 a.m. I knew in advance that my schedule was going to be awful, and my husband and I agreed that it would help to plan in advance a good relaxing activity, something safe and comforting. So we decided to watch all of Mystery Science Theater 3000 from the beginning. We started in Season 1 in September, and now in April we’re partway into Season 9 of 10. I’m a big fan of MST3K. And being a big fan of Mary Jo Pehl has been part of that.
So what I’m saying is I was probably in this book’s target audience.
Let me say, though, you should no more read this book for MST3K stories than you should read Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking for Star Wars stories. Mary Jo devotes very little of a very little book to that phase of her life. What she offers instead are brief vignettes about growing up, employment, aunt-hood, dating, parents, etc. that range from pretty funny to hysterically funny (and one conversation with her sister that’s not funny, but poignant, and may conceivably make you cry instead). The deadpan humor that makes her amazing on MST3k and Cinematic Titanic is present in written form, and there’s something in the dry, self-deprecating wit that reminds me pretty strongly of Dorothy Parker, albeit a fairly happy Dorothy Parker. It’s incredibly Midwestern, too, but not in the Garrison Keillor kind of way (in that it makes me want to visit Minneapolis instead of running as far from the Twin Cities as possible). This book is short, funny, and full of life, and I liked it.
Popsugar 2016 Reading Challenge: A book you can read in a day.
If you're reading my reviews, you probably know me, and if you know me, you probably know the following things.
You know when I reviewed Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? I suggested that she writes like everyone’s best friend, while recognizing that she would probably not actually be my best friend. Here is another book that reads like it’s written by somebody who could be your best friend, but the difference is, I actually now want to be Mary Jo Pehl’s friend. We both love books! We both hate shopping! We both have a deadpan humor that could easily be misunderstood!
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is my favorite TV show. See, in this, my final year of grad school, I have a pretty awful schedule. Three days a week I’m in an internship, the next day is for classes, then the following three days (the weekend, I might add) I work evening shift at what may be one of the more stressful part time jobs out there. Then after a few hours of sleep I roll right back into the internship at 8:30 a.m. I knew in advance that my schedule was going to be awful, and my husband and I agreed that it would help to plan in advance a good relaxing activity, something safe and comforting. So we decided to watch all of Mystery Science Theater 3000 from the beginning. We started in Season 1 in September, and now in April we’re partway into Season 9 of 10. I’m a big fan of MST3K. And being a big fan of Mary Jo Pehl has been part of that.
So what I’m saying is I was probably in this book’s target audience.
Let me say, though, you should no more read this book for MST3K stories than you should read Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking for Star Wars stories. Mary Jo devotes very little of a very little book to that phase of her life. What she offers instead are brief vignettes about growing up, employment, aunt-hood, dating, parents, etc. that range from pretty funny to hysterically funny (and one conversation with her sister that’s not funny, but poignant, and may conceivably make you cry instead). The deadpan humor that makes her amazing on MST3k and Cinematic Titanic is present in written form, and there’s something in the dry, self-deprecating wit that reminds me pretty strongly of Dorothy Parker, albeit a fairly happy Dorothy Parker. It’s incredibly Midwestern, too, but not in the Garrison Keillor kind of way (in that it makes me want to visit Minneapolis instead of running as far from the Twin Cities as possible). This book is short, funny, and full of life, and I liked it.
November 9, 2011
If you are a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and obsessive enough to look up obscure riffs, this collection of short personal essays from Mary Jo Pehl will tell you the following:
* Who Rick and Julie are
* How glamorous it was to be the daughter of the Mayor of Circle Pines
* What it means to be Employee of the Month at a temp agency
* How much MJ loved Roddy McDowell
* What MJ learned from late night movies she watched while babysitting
* How we fans are perceived by the MST Alumni, well, MJ anyway
* The truth about Krusher Kowalski
and so much more, including what MJ was up to between MST3K and Cinematic Titanic. The New York stories were my favorites, including some truly horrific dating stories that made me worry much less about being single myself. I also share her ergasiophobia, and her work stories put my mid-going-on-late 20s crisis into perspective.
But MSTies are not the only people who should read this book. Aspiring writers and comedians may find inspiration in the conciseness of these narratives, often but not always leading up to a punch line of a tiny moment at the end. You will marvel at how much story and comedy Mary Jo can extract from just one moment at a circus or the discovery of pepper jack cheese on burgers.
Whether you love to laugh at pop culture, or you just like to people watch sometimes, this book is for you.
* Who Rick and Julie are
* How glamorous it was to be the daughter of the Mayor of Circle Pines
* What it means to be Employee of the Month at a temp agency
* How much MJ loved Roddy McDowell
* What MJ learned from late night movies she watched while babysitting
* How we fans are perceived by the MST Alumni, well, MJ anyway
* The truth about Krusher Kowalski
and so much more, including what MJ was up to between MST3K and Cinematic Titanic. The New York stories were my favorites, including some truly horrific dating stories that made me worry much less about being single myself. I also share her ergasiophobia, and her work stories put my mid-going-on-late 20s crisis into perspective.
But MSTies are not the only people who should read this book. Aspiring writers and comedians may find inspiration in the conciseness of these narratives, often but not always leading up to a punch line of a tiny moment at the end. You will marvel at how much story and comedy Mary Jo can extract from just one moment at a circus or the discovery of pepper jack cheese on burgers.
Whether you love to laugh at pop culture, or you just like to people watch sometimes, this book is for you.
April 28, 2012
When Mary Jo Pehl replaced Frank Conniff and eventually Trace Beaulieu as a "Mad' on the cult tv show Mystery Science Theater 3000, not everybody was happy. Many show message boards hated her character, especially replacing two icons.
On a recent release of her newest venture, Cinematic Titanic, Pehl drew more applause from the audience than Beaulieu and Conniff. The message boards talk of how much they love Mary Jo, her charming, friendly personality is winning people over.
This collection of essays reveals why we love Mary Jo. Funny, sad, overwhelmed, but persevering through this thing called life. Mary Jo is lovable and laugh out loud funny. Read it and fall in love with this wonderful lady.
On a recent release of her newest venture, Cinematic Titanic, Pehl drew more applause from the audience than Beaulieu and Conniff. The message boards talk of how much they love Mary Jo, her charming, friendly personality is winning people over.
This collection of essays reveals why we love Mary Jo. Funny, sad, overwhelmed, but persevering through this thing called life. Mary Jo is lovable and laugh out loud funny. Read it and fall in love with this wonderful lady.
September 30, 2013
Perhaps it is just me, but I am utterly and completely under the humorous spell Mary Jo weaves in this book. I fear to drink liquids while reading this for fear of doing a spit-take. I won't say everyone will connect with the humor the same way I have, but I think everyone should at least check it out just in case.
February 9, 2012
As always, Mary Jo Pehl is hilarious! Ms. Pehl always finds humor in ordinary and mundane aspects of life and retells them with wit and charm. This book is on par with authors like Sedaris and Vowel, so if you like their work Employee of the Month...will be right up your alley.
June 15, 2012
I didn't fall totally in love with this like I thought I would. I thought I would be rolling with laughter, but instead I only chuckled aloud a handful of times.
It did make me want to watch MST3K on netflix though, so there's that.
It did make me want to watch MST3K on netflix though, so there's that.
February 7, 2014
I gave this book to my husband for Christmas and we ended up reading it out loud to one another. It's absolutely delightful. Pehl is both hysterical and at times deeply moving. An absolute gem that will please both MST3K fans and those who just love great storytelling.
January 5, 2016
If I have a complaint about this book, it's that its too short. I love her writing; while the book made me laugh out loud more than once, there's also some poignancy to it and some melancholy which makes the humor all the more affecting. Great stuff!
December 30, 2011
Fun and personal essays from Mary Jo Pehl of MST3K and Cinematic Titanic. Some real laugh out loud moments here. Self-published, so support her so she can write more!
February 24, 2012
Oh that Mary Jo lived in my neighborhood and could keep me in witty banter and snide remarks all through the year. In exchange, I would buy her lunch every few weeks.
April 10, 2012
This was a super quick read. Mary Jo Pehl was Pearl in MST 3000. This book may not contain enough stories about MST 3000 for hardcore fans, but it was funny.
January 13, 2013
I loved her on MST3K....and she's still funny.
February 26, 2014
Bountiful smiles between the covers.
July 6, 2016
Mary Jo Pehl is a really enjoyable writer, with a wonderful and self-deprecating sense of humor.
December 14, 2015
Fun and heartfelt but a touch shallow.
February 23, 2020
Re-read of a book by one of my favorite funny ladies. Just as funny as it was the first time!
May 14, 2012
Short (very short!), funny stories by Mary Jo Pehl of MST3K fame. I really wish they were longer!
March 17, 2015
Very enjoyable read offering snippets into Mary Jo Pehl's life, pre- and post-MST3K.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews