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They Went Another Way: A Hollywood Memoir
A darkly comic memoir about being a working creative person in a world that is growing ever more dysfunctional, by acclaimed New Yorker cartoonist and television writer Bruce Eric Kaplan.
In January 2022, Bruce Eric Kaplan found himself confused and upset by the state of the world and the state of his life as a television writer in Los Angeles. He started a journal to keep from going mad, which eventually became They Went Another Way.
The book’s through line traces his attempt to get a television project set up in the increasingly Byzantine world of Hollywood. But as he details the project’s ups and downs, Kaplan finds himself ruminating not only on show business but also on today’s political and social issues, on old movies and TV shows and music, on his family, on his friends, on his past, on his failing heating system, and on all the dead birds that keep showing up in his backyard.
This hilarious and surprisingly moving book is about life—about art, about love, about alienation, about connection, about ugliness and beauty, about disappointment, wonder, and hope. In short, it is about everything.
In January 2022, Bruce Eric Kaplan found himself confused and upset by the state of the world and the state of his life as a television writer in Los Angeles. He started a journal to keep from going mad, which eventually became They Went Another Way.
The book’s through line traces his attempt to get a television project set up in the increasingly Byzantine world of Hollywood. But as he details the project’s ups and downs, Kaplan finds himself ruminating not only on show business but also on today’s political and social issues, on old movies and TV shows and music, on his family, on his friends, on his past, on his failing heating system, and on all the dead birds that keep showing up in his backyard.
This hilarious and surprisingly moving book is about life—about art, about love, about alienation, about connection, about ugliness and beauty, about disappointment, wonder, and hope. In short, it is about everything.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published October 22, 2024
26 people are currently reading
5993 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Eric Kaplan
19 books93 followersBruce Eric Kaplan, known as BEK, is an American cartoonist whose single-panel cartoons frequently appear in The New Yorker. His cartoons are known for their signature simplistic style and often dark humor. Kaplan is also a screenwriter and has worked on Six Feet Under and on Seinfeld (funnily enough, one of his most well-known episodes is one where Elaine becomes increasingly frustrated over what she takes to be an utterly nonsensical cartoon in The New Yorker). He graduated from Wesleyan University where he studied with Professor Jeanine Basinger.
Kaplan joined the crew of Six Feet Under during the first season in 2001 as a supervising producer. He scripted two episodes of the first season – "The Foot" and "The New Person". He was promoted to co-executive producer for the second season in 2002 and wrote a further two episodes – "The Invisible Woman" and "The Secret". He remained a co-executive producer for the third season in 2003 and wrote a further episode entitled "The Trap". He was promoted to executive producer for the fourth season in 2004 and wrote another episode "The Dare". He served as executive producer during the fifth and final season and wrote his last episode "The Silence". Kaplan wrote seven episodes in total for the series.
He has authored and illustrated six adult titles for Simon & Schuster: the cult classic The Cat That Changed My Life; the collections, I Love You, I Hate You, I'm Hungry, No One You Know and This is a Bad Time; and Every Person on the Planet and Edmund and Rosemary Go to Hell, both featuring the wonderfully neurotic Brooklyn couple, Edmund & Rosemary. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.
Kaplan joined the crew of Six Feet Under during the first season in 2001 as a supervising producer. He scripted two episodes of the first season – "The Foot" and "The New Person". He was promoted to co-executive producer for the second season in 2002 and wrote a further two episodes – "The Invisible Woman" and "The Secret". He remained a co-executive producer for the third season in 2003 and wrote a further episode entitled "The Trap". He was promoted to executive producer for the fourth season in 2004 and wrote another episode "The Dare". He served as executive producer during the fifth and final season and wrote his last episode "The Silence". Kaplan wrote seven episodes in total for the series.
He has authored and illustrated six adult titles for Simon & Schuster: the cult classic The Cat That Changed My Life; the collections, I Love You, I Hate You, I'm Hungry, No One You Know and This is a Bad Time; and Every Person on the Planet and Edmund and Rosemary Go to Hell, both featuring the wonderfully neurotic Brooklyn couple, Edmund & Rosemary. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
November 12, 2024
Full disclosure: I won a free ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
Kaplan's name wasn't immediately familiar to me, though it wouldn't surprise me if I've seen something he wrote at some point in my life. I know I've probably seen a few of his New Yorker cartoons. But Hollywood memoirs, especially by writers and producers, are usually entertaining. And this one was billed as “darkly comic,” which intrigued me.
It was definitely an entertaining book. There aren't really any laugh-out-loud funny moments, but there are scores of wry and ironic observations of everyday life. I definitely smiled a lot. Winced sympathetically a few times, even. Life is frequently absurd, and Kaplan is more than ready to highlight those moments for us.
The book is a memoir, covering a little over half a year as Kaplan tries to get several projects going including a sitcom. Each project involves endless Zoom meetings and texts and delays and ups and downs and days of nothing happening, interspersed with scheduling repairs on his house, taking his children to and from various appointments, scheduling a cross country move … it all sounds exhausting, but there are also moments of relaxation and appreciating sunsets and enjoying good food and the company of friends. The pace of life is rarely constant.
Kaplan takes a somewhat bemused authorial tone. I picture him watching his own life on some sort of playback and gasping, chuckling, and saying “Oh dear!” and “Wow!” and “Oh my!” in all the right places.
The book flows well. At first, I thought it was going to be boring, with not a lot happening, but then I caught his rhythm, and realized how everything was building on previous incidents and gaining momentum. A through line emerges, and it even manages to reach something of a logical end, which I was not expecting from a memoir.
All in all, an entertaining book. I'm glad I read it. Recommended!
Kaplan's name wasn't immediately familiar to me, though it wouldn't surprise me if I've seen something he wrote at some point in my life. I know I've probably seen a few of his New Yorker cartoons. But Hollywood memoirs, especially by writers and producers, are usually entertaining. And this one was billed as “darkly comic,” which intrigued me.
It was definitely an entertaining book. There aren't really any laugh-out-loud funny moments, but there are scores of wry and ironic observations of everyday life. I definitely smiled a lot. Winced sympathetically a few times, even. Life is frequently absurd, and Kaplan is more than ready to highlight those moments for us.
The book is a memoir, covering a little over half a year as Kaplan tries to get several projects going including a sitcom. Each project involves endless Zoom meetings and texts and delays and ups and downs and days of nothing happening, interspersed with scheduling repairs on his house, taking his children to and from various appointments, scheduling a cross country move … it all sounds exhausting, but there are also moments of relaxation and appreciating sunsets and enjoying good food and the company of friends. The pace of life is rarely constant.
Kaplan takes a somewhat bemused authorial tone. I picture him watching his own life on some sort of playback and gasping, chuckling, and saying “Oh dear!” and “Wow!” and “Oh my!” in all the right places.
The book flows well. At first, I thought it was going to be boring, with not a lot happening, but then I caught his rhythm, and realized how everything was building on previous incidents and gaining momentum. A through line emerges, and it even manages to reach something of a logical end, which I was not expecting from a memoir.
All in all, an entertaining book. I'm glad I read it. Recommended!
November 3, 2024
I’m the middle of the bullseye of this book’s demographic.
May 6, 2024
If you want to know what it’s really like to be a television writer, this book speaks the truth. I am a television writer and as I read this I swung between PTSD and rueful laughter.
Kaplan is trying to sell a show, juggling the egos of actors and producers, trying to get meetings scheduled, and doing an inordinate amount of work for free over the course of a year. At the same time, Covid is happening, and he’s dealing with family stuff, endless trips to the grocery store, and a possible move across country. Oh, and the stress of potentially getting offered a job on a show he hates and wondering if he can make that work.
It’s all extremely real as Kaplan veers between optimistically finding meaning in small things to wanting to quit everything forever.
Advanced copy received from NetGalley.
Kaplan is trying to sell a show, juggling the egos of actors and producers, trying to get meetings scheduled, and doing an inordinate amount of work for free over the course of a year. At the same time, Covid is happening, and he’s dealing with family stuff, endless trips to the grocery store, and a possible move across country. Oh, and the stress of potentially getting offered a job on a show he hates and wondering if he can make that work.
It’s all extremely real as Kaplan veers between optimistically finding meaning in small things to wanting to quit everything forever.
Advanced copy received from NetGalley.
December 19, 2024
Diving into this book without any prior knowledge turned out to be my best choice, as it allowed me to appreciate the writing without any preconceived notions. Kaplan writes this memoir as he would a diary and his thoughts and feelings are unfiltered and straightforward, with much of his writing relatable and solid. I enjoyed the moments when his emotions and the situations of his life were starting to affect him. "I spent a lot of time screaming in my car today". He writes about his career and house struggles with things breaking down in his home and he is living the never-ending hamster wheel of things breaking down and hiring different contractors to fix something in the house then those contractors couldn't fix the different appliances and things without someone doing something else to fix something making the whole endeavor expensive and time-consuming.
"It's a real reminder. Everything that happens to us only happens to us"
The author's struggle and his family life are relatable, and I believe this book is a reminder to everyone that when we view things from the outside we seem to think that everything is for them and that their life is easy street. However, everyone has struggles with life, career, and family. I enjoyed this book, it was a quick easy read.
"It's a real reminder. Everything that happens to us only happens to us"
The author's struggle and his family life are relatable, and I believe this book is a reminder to everyone that when we view things from the outside we seem to think that everything is for them and that their life is easy street. However, everyone has struggles with life, career, and family. I enjoyed this book, it was a quick easy read.
March 16, 2025
3.5 maybe, I enjoyed it and there were some great insights
October 10, 2024
Bruce Eric Kaplan is an acclaimed New Yorker cartoonist and television writer in LA. It's early 2022, and his career and world feel very uncertain. He decided to keep a journal to process his thoughts, and it became They Went Another Way. The book takes the reader through the creative process of getting a television project up and running in the complicated world of Hollywood. Kaplan ponders not only the world of entertainment but also the issues occurring around the world: politics, social discourse, and war, and also the frustrations we all face in our day-to-day lives.
This is my kind of memoir. The journal format gives the reader a fly-on-the-wall view of what it takes to get a show into production in Hollywood. The term "jumping through hoops" does not even do it justice. The meetings, the people who want to add their input, the madness of the streaming culture, I can't even imagine trying to navigate this world. I loved how Kaplan mixed in his "behind the scenes" life. When appliances go bad left and right, and you're trying to get Pete Davidson to attend a meeting simultaneously, life can feel like a sitcom you are starring in. In a whirlwind world, readers can relate to the struggle of finding success personally and professionally.
This is my kind of memoir. The journal format gives the reader a fly-on-the-wall view of what it takes to get a show into production in Hollywood. The term "jumping through hoops" does not even do it justice. The meetings, the people who want to add their input, the madness of the streaming culture, I can't even imagine trying to navigate this world. I loved how Kaplan mixed in his "behind the scenes" life. When appliances go bad left and right, and you're trying to get Pete Davidson to attend a meeting simultaneously, life can feel like a sitcom you are starring in. In a whirlwind world, readers can relate to the struggle of finding success personally and professionally.
October 28, 2024
Thank you Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read and review They Went Another Way A Hollywood Memoir by Bruce Eric Kaplan on NetGalley.
Published: 10/22/24
Narrator: Bruce Eric Kaplan (Author)
Stars: 3
Three stars is my standard for memoirs that are written for the author. I didn't learn anything. I won't remember the name of the book or the author. I found this to be a telling of his job. The day-to-day tasks and all the waiting that goes along with a Hollywood writer trying to sell or cast his work.
I wasn't interested in the subject matter; however with that said, Kaplan as a writer and narrator held my attention.
Published: 10/22/24
Narrator: Bruce Eric Kaplan (Author)
Stars: 3
Three stars is my standard for memoirs that are written for the author. I didn't learn anything. I won't remember the name of the book or the author. I found this to be a telling of his job. The day-to-day tasks and all the waiting that goes along with a Hollywood writer trying to sell or cast his work.
I wasn't interested in the subject matter; however with that said, Kaplan as a writer and narrator held my attention.
Read
March 11, 2025This memoir is from a short period of time from the author’s journal entries. There were some interesting behind the scenes aspects of being a TV writer but it wasn’t the best style fit for me. I think this won’t work for everyone, but if you are interested in the BTS of the entertainment industry and like a blog style journal I’d say give this a try.
January 24, 2025
They Went Another Way seems like a much better blog than a book.
Written in journal entries over a year, the text details the author's day to day, which mostly seems to involve house cleaning and repair, trips to the grocery store, cooking and baking, and a meeting every now and then. He mentions starting to be concerned about the financial ramifications of not working once. There are many references to the state of the world and how it's upsetting; after several chapters I was internally screaming at him to spend some of his time volunteering. Be the change, Bruce.
And yet I couldn't look away. I was fascinated by a moment in which his friends agreed that, after talking to Bruce about his work life for five minutes, anyone would quit the business. Really? I know a great many people who'd love to spend their days cooking, cleaning and running errands at their leisure, just keeping an eye on their phone/email, instead of sitting on their computer 8-9 hours a day. At the same time, his described anxieties made me feel like I shouldn't ever quit my job because my own neuroticism needs an outlet.
The author narrated the audiobook and did a fine job at it, though I did prefer reading text messages via a physical copy of the book.
Note: there are three "jokes" about killing himself and two about the book maybe actually being his suicide note. Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support. It's confidential, free, and available 24/7/365. Call or text 988. Chat also is available at 988lifeline.org.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for a free ALC and Holt for a free physical copy of this book.
Written in journal entries over a year, the text details the author's day to day, which mostly seems to involve house cleaning and repair, trips to the grocery store, cooking and baking, and a meeting every now and then. He mentions starting to be concerned about the financial ramifications of not working once. There are many references to the state of the world and how it's upsetting; after several chapters I was internally screaming at him to spend some of his time volunteering. Be the change, Bruce.
And yet I couldn't look away. I was fascinated by a moment in which his friends agreed that, after talking to Bruce about his work life for five minutes, anyone would quit the business. Really? I know a great many people who'd love to spend their days cooking, cleaning and running errands at their leisure, just keeping an eye on their phone/email, instead of sitting on their computer 8-9 hours a day. At the same time, his described anxieties made me feel like I shouldn't ever quit my job because my own neuroticism needs an outlet.
The author narrated the audiobook and did a fine job at it, though I did prefer reading text messages via a physical copy of the book.
Note: there are three "jokes" about killing himself and two about the book maybe actually being his suicide note. Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support. It's confidential, free, and available 24/7/365. Call or text 988. Chat also is available at 988lifeline.org.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for a free ALC and Holt for a free physical copy of this book.
August 23, 2024
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. I almost didn’t finish the book as I found it challenging to follow the trains of thought and musings of someone else when my own brain never stops.
But I stayed with the memoir and found it an interesting view into Hollywood writing and the process of creating entertainment.
But I stayed with the memoir and found it an interesting view into Hollywood writing and the process of creating entertainment.
September 8, 2024
My thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for an advance copy of a look at the way that modern Hollywood works, following the arc of a creator trying to sell his latest production in an landscape that seems distant, decaying, and wandering in many different ways.
I count as a very strong acquaintance a writer who specializes in working as a ghost writer for celebrities. This person, I shall call the Ghost, has quite a few best sellers to their name, and is currently working with three diverse celebrities, and soon maybe a fourth. The Ghost likes to share with me the travails of being a writer for hire, as I care little for the gossip, but love the inside stuff, the publishers the deals, how the Ghost takes a person words, and crafts them to sound so good. The Ghost cares little about this, its a job. What the Ghost loves to talk about is the problem with reaching these people to get words. 90% of the Ghost's time is making, waiting breaking appointments, dealing with agents saying the celeb is busy or have you talked to the celeb, how are they doing. Writing is the least of the Ghost's problems. Communication is the worst. No one wants to take responsibility. Put off today what needs to be done yesterday. In this time of great technology, we have lost the ability to share honestly, To call out those in power, be it bosses, celebrities, those who need to be canceled, and those who are running for president and could cancel us. Bruce Eric Kaplan writes about this in his book They Went Another Way: A Hollywood Memoir, a book about trying to sell a show in the post-COVID world, a world that is showing signs not just of rust, but of disintegration in many different ways.
Bruce Eric Kaplan has worked in Hollywood for almost 30 years. Kaplan began as a writer for Seinfeld, moving up executive producer of the shows Six Feet Under and Girls. In 2022 Kaplan began a journal detailing the selling of an idea that he had to streaming and network companies. As he wrote he expanded the idea of the journal, as it became a sort of a way of meditating, a way to deal with problems, and a way to keep sane. Kaplan is also a cartoonist, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, though he has stepped away from art. From the beginning there are numerous plans to Zoom, but no one can make the time to confirm appointments. So Kaplan cooks for his family, or deals with the many things that seem to be falling apart in his house. As the deal takes one step forward, somehow it takes three steps back, leaving him with lost of time to cook, and think about the state of the world. Actors join, leave, streaming services show interest, suddenly lost 300 employees, and lose interest. Only Kaplan's family keep him from losing his mind as months pass, and people who would love to meet, never seem too.
I wasn't sure what I expected from this book, but I really enjoyed this. I thought it was really just a book about selling a show and all that went with it. Nope. This book is far more. Kaplan offers a look at creativity, the problems that we as humans are having communicating, what we are allowing as a society to happen. How we are making things that don't last, and a look at the current state of the arts and entertainment. The book is written as journal entries, and are quite personal, and list a lot of real people, in sometimes not the best of light. However it wasn't till about a quarter of the way through that I realized the book was written like a sitcom. Or a Dramedy. Funny thing on Zoom, something breaks in the house, Kaplan has to go to the store twice to buy things. Volleyballs hit people in heads, with consequences And yet the book tells a really good story about a guy just wanting to tell his story. And brag about his kids and his wife.
I really enjoyed this book. Not just the entertainment stuff and the way people have to pretend to care about what more powerful people say that is stupid, but I loved the way that Kaplan wrote. I really enjoyed his family, and how not only did Kaplan love them, but they seemed to get along. There is a part talking to his son, about not getting a writing job, that brought tears to my eyes. The world can be changed so quickly. That is something else Kaplan details. I great book about entertainment, and about being alive in this time. I hope he sold the shows he was working on. I think I really need to watch them, and read more by Bruce Eric Kaplan.
I count as a very strong acquaintance a writer who specializes in working as a ghost writer for celebrities. This person, I shall call the Ghost, has quite a few best sellers to their name, and is currently working with three diverse celebrities, and soon maybe a fourth. The Ghost likes to share with me the travails of being a writer for hire, as I care little for the gossip, but love the inside stuff, the publishers the deals, how the Ghost takes a person words, and crafts them to sound so good. The Ghost cares little about this, its a job. What the Ghost loves to talk about is the problem with reaching these people to get words. 90% of the Ghost's time is making, waiting breaking appointments, dealing with agents saying the celeb is busy or have you talked to the celeb, how are they doing. Writing is the least of the Ghost's problems. Communication is the worst. No one wants to take responsibility. Put off today what needs to be done yesterday. In this time of great technology, we have lost the ability to share honestly, To call out those in power, be it bosses, celebrities, those who need to be canceled, and those who are running for president and could cancel us. Bruce Eric Kaplan writes about this in his book They Went Another Way: A Hollywood Memoir, a book about trying to sell a show in the post-COVID world, a world that is showing signs not just of rust, but of disintegration in many different ways.
Bruce Eric Kaplan has worked in Hollywood for almost 30 years. Kaplan began as a writer for Seinfeld, moving up executive producer of the shows Six Feet Under and Girls. In 2022 Kaplan began a journal detailing the selling of an idea that he had to streaming and network companies. As he wrote he expanded the idea of the journal, as it became a sort of a way of meditating, a way to deal with problems, and a way to keep sane. Kaplan is also a cartoonist, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, though he has stepped away from art. From the beginning there are numerous plans to Zoom, but no one can make the time to confirm appointments. So Kaplan cooks for his family, or deals with the many things that seem to be falling apart in his house. As the deal takes one step forward, somehow it takes three steps back, leaving him with lost of time to cook, and think about the state of the world. Actors join, leave, streaming services show interest, suddenly lost 300 employees, and lose interest. Only Kaplan's family keep him from losing his mind as months pass, and people who would love to meet, never seem too.
I wasn't sure what I expected from this book, but I really enjoyed this. I thought it was really just a book about selling a show and all that went with it. Nope. This book is far more. Kaplan offers a look at creativity, the problems that we as humans are having communicating, what we are allowing as a society to happen. How we are making things that don't last, and a look at the current state of the arts and entertainment. The book is written as journal entries, and are quite personal, and list a lot of real people, in sometimes not the best of light. However it wasn't till about a quarter of the way through that I realized the book was written like a sitcom. Or a Dramedy. Funny thing on Zoom, something breaks in the house, Kaplan has to go to the store twice to buy things. Volleyballs hit people in heads, with consequences And yet the book tells a really good story about a guy just wanting to tell his story. And brag about his kids and his wife.
I really enjoyed this book. Not just the entertainment stuff and the way people have to pretend to care about what more powerful people say that is stupid, but I loved the way that Kaplan wrote. I really enjoyed his family, and how not only did Kaplan love them, but they seemed to get along. There is a part talking to his son, about not getting a writing job, that brought tears to my eyes. The world can be changed so quickly. That is something else Kaplan details. I great book about entertainment, and about being alive in this time. I hope he sold the shows he was working on. I think I really need to watch them, and read more by Bruce Eric Kaplan.
August 28, 2024
This book made me more empathetic towards the writers in Hollywood (and everywhere) and very thankful for all they put up with just to get their art out there and into the world. I will never again take for granted my favorite shows, movies, songs, etc. because I see what a battle it can be to “shoot your shot” if you will.
This book had it all, I loved hearing what Bruce was cooking for his family, how he exercised and took care of his mind and body to try and remain peaceful, and how he graciously dealt with the HVAC people who kept having to come back to his home to fix the issues present there (this is SO relatable). Also, may I say, this guy pays a lot of attention to the birds around his home and had a lot of very strange run-ins or happenings with birds (dead and alive) for a while there…kind of comical but also a little strange and just interesting and out of the ordinary. I loved hearing him reflect on family life and raising his two children (this especially spoke to me as I am in the early days of raising my own two kiddos). I also really appreciated hearing his point of view on many things, specifically how he was personally affected by the COVID pandemic and the aftermath and how his experience shaped him and his family in the years since.
As a music lover who really appreciates all genres, I also really loved knowing what Bruce and his son Henry were listening to and furthermore all the memories that Bruce had with certain music. Rhiannon, Nadia’s Theme, etc. His music library of mentions allowed me to discover a few new (to me) pieces as well which I love.
One of my favorite parts comes at the end and not because it was the end (because I was sad that this book had to finish) but he references the Wizard of Oz of which I am a fanatic…so many parts of this book made me gasp in appreciation and basically shout- “wait, you too!?”. I kept reaching for this book and was honestly absolutely enthralled with it…I found it very interesting and eye opening. I got to learn a lot more about a world I know next to nothing about. Thank you, Bruce Kaplan, for opening your heart and your world up for us to read about! There were times I felt like I was sneakily reading a siblings’ journal or the like but most of the time I felt like I was hanging out with you and just visiting with a long-time friend.
All your talk of cooking also gave me some great ideas of things to try making for me and my family…and as a busy young mother and wife I really appreciate that!
I will be forever grateful that I read this book, and I thank @holt and @bruceerickaplan for allowing me to read and review this title early.
THEY WENT ANOTHER WAY publishes on October 22nd
This book had it all, I loved hearing what Bruce was cooking for his family, how he exercised and took care of his mind and body to try and remain peaceful, and how he graciously dealt with the HVAC people who kept having to come back to his home to fix the issues present there (this is SO relatable). Also, may I say, this guy pays a lot of attention to the birds around his home and had a lot of very strange run-ins or happenings with birds (dead and alive) for a while there…kind of comical but also a little strange and just interesting and out of the ordinary. I loved hearing him reflect on family life and raising his two children (this especially spoke to me as I am in the early days of raising my own two kiddos). I also really appreciated hearing his point of view on many things, specifically how he was personally affected by the COVID pandemic and the aftermath and how his experience shaped him and his family in the years since.
As a music lover who really appreciates all genres, I also really loved knowing what Bruce and his son Henry were listening to and furthermore all the memories that Bruce had with certain music. Rhiannon, Nadia’s Theme, etc. His music library of mentions allowed me to discover a few new (to me) pieces as well which I love.
One of my favorite parts comes at the end and not because it was the end (because I was sad that this book had to finish) but he references the Wizard of Oz of which I am a fanatic…so many parts of this book made me gasp in appreciation and basically shout- “wait, you too!?”. I kept reaching for this book and was honestly absolutely enthralled with it…I found it very interesting and eye opening. I got to learn a lot more about a world I know next to nothing about. Thank you, Bruce Kaplan, for opening your heart and your world up for us to read about! There were times I felt like I was sneakily reading a siblings’ journal or the like but most of the time I felt like I was hanging out with you and just visiting with a long-time friend.
All your talk of cooking also gave me some great ideas of things to try making for me and my family…and as a busy young mother and wife I really appreciate that!
I will be forever grateful that I read this book, and I thank @holt and @bruceerickaplan for allowing me to read and review this title early.
THEY WENT ANOTHER WAY publishes on October 22nd
November 25, 2024
Infuriating, disastrous "book" that's really just a bunch of rambling nonsense diary missives mixed in with a few moments about the author trying to sell a TV show. I love a good book about trying to sell a series to a network, but this isn't one of them. Instead he fills every page with depressing nonsense, horrible writing, and his leftist anti-American rants (and the time period covered is during the Biden administration!). I have no idea what "talents" this guy is supposed to have, but communicating in the written form is not one of them. He sounds like a clueless 14-year-old throwing together a crappy paper at the last minute and somehow bragging about it!
I hated the book from the start because of his lax, sloppy writing style and refusal to edit. In the first dozen pages alone: 1. He often contradicts himself, first accurately pointing out that "we are our problems. The only solution is for us to do something different," then doing the exact opposite by blaming others for his problems; 2. Offers trite phrases that aren't true, like "We are all doing our best, even when it doesn't look that way;" and 3. Wanders off on dumb tangents, like two pages regarding birds pooping in his yard. This is the kind of person that Hollywood rewards for being "creative" and "funny"? He's a total loser.
Then there are the ridiculous political jabs. He sees a "Let's Go Brandon" sign in the window of a nearby home and says (in all seriousness), "It's like we are living in German in the 1930s." Huh? Is this guy so clueless and part of the socialist lop-sided intolerant American media that he can't use his brain to welcome other views of what's going on in the world as being part of American freedom? What he wrote was the OPPOSITE of truth, as is the case of most liberals in the media today.
By page twelve he is STILL talking about bird poop and, in plans for a meeting with actress Glenn Close for a possible TV series, says, "I am going to pitch the idea of shooting in Canada, as a way to escape the insanity of this country."
Then he moves on to speculating why his toilet bowl is dirty that day (really?) and how heeds to leave because the country is at Civil War (it's not, there have been other times even 50 or 60 years ago when it was much more divided). All the while he wants to sell a TV show based on "truth." Right. He wouldn't know it if it hit him in the face.
Bruce Kaplan is arrogant, dismissive, unintelligent, uninspiring, mentally handicapped, and disgusting. When it comes to anything written by him we should, just like the network executive that turned him down, all go another way.
I hated the book from the start because of his lax, sloppy writing style and refusal to edit. In the first dozen pages alone: 1. He often contradicts himself, first accurately pointing out that "we are our problems. The only solution is for us to do something different," then doing the exact opposite by blaming others for his problems; 2. Offers trite phrases that aren't true, like "We are all doing our best, even when it doesn't look that way;" and 3. Wanders off on dumb tangents, like two pages regarding birds pooping in his yard. This is the kind of person that Hollywood rewards for being "creative" and "funny"? He's a total loser.
Then there are the ridiculous political jabs. He sees a "Let's Go Brandon" sign in the window of a nearby home and says (in all seriousness), "It's like we are living in German in the 1930s." Huh? Is this guy so clueless and part of the socialist lop-sided intolerant American media that he can't use his brain to welcome other views of what's going on in the world as being part of American freedom? What he wrote was the OPPOSITE of truth, as is the case of most liberals in the media today.
By page twelve he is STILL talking about bird poop and, in plans for a meeting with actress Glenn Close for a possible TV series, says, "I am going to pitch the idea of shooting in Canada, as a way to escape the insanity of this country."
Then he moves on to speculating why his toilet bowl is dirty that day (really?) and how heeds to leave because the country is at Civil War (it's not, there have been other times even 50 or 60 years ago when it was much more divided). All the while he wants to sell a TV show based on "truth." Right. He wouldn't know it if it hit him in the face.
Bruce Kaplan is arrogant, dismissive, unintelligent, uninspiring, mentally handicapped, and disgusting. When it comes to anything written by him we should, just like the network executive that turned him down, all go another way.
September 17, 2024
When I signed up for a giveaway for this book, I didn't understand that it would be an ACTUAL journal, with day-to-day entries chronicling the author's professional and personal life. It appears unedited, or at least lightly edited.
I have written several journals through my college and adult life, some assigned by professors, others self-initiated to sort my thoughts & feelings. Sometimes I read sections to reconnect with my thoughts as a younger self. Lots of my entries are cringeworthy for their naivete and self-doubt. NEVER have I considered publishing them or even passing them along to the next generation. BURNING them, yes...or shredding them.
I recognize that I am not the audience for this book. I do not know the vast majority of people mentioned, and the author doesn't bother to explain who they are. It's left for me to discover, for example, that some people named are members of his family. I do not need to know what the man did or didn't do day-to-day, nor do I need the recipes he includes, the number of birds that died in window strikes at his house (Note to author: there are window treatments and decals that can help prevent these!), nor his musings on why one particular toilet needs cleaning the most often. As the book blurb says, the author wrote these entries during an emotionally difficult time. The only reason I can come up with for actually turning the journal into a published book was that he needed the money. I can't fathom why the publisher thought this was a good & marketable idea.
It reminds me of the first time I encountered a blog online in blogging's early days. I came across the blog of a young man at a Southern college and was astounded that he thought that the world might be interested in his innermost thoughts. It seemed so narcissistic! Now I understand the blogosphere better, stay away from most social media (except Goodreads, of course), and I will admit to following a tiny number of well-written blogs, actually written to inform and entertain a public audience.
I take it seriously to read, rate and review Goodreads Giveaways, but on the rare occasion, I simply have to abandon a book. Life is short: so many books, too little time. Again, I am clearly not the audience for this book! Other reviews appear to have come from members of the target audience.
I am happy for you all! I can't recommend the book. I'm going another way.
I have written several journals through my college and adult life, some assigned by professors, others self-initiated to sort my thoughts & feelings. Sometimes I read sections to reconnect with my thoughts as a younger self. Lots of my entries are cringeworthy for their naivete and self-doubt. NEVER have I considered publishing them or even passing them along to the next generation. BURNING them, yes...or shredding them.
I recognize that I am not the audience for this book. I do not know the vast majority of people mentioned, and the author doesn't bother to explain who they are. It's left for me to discover, for example, that some people named are members of his family. I do not need to know what the man did or didn't do day-to-day, nor do I need the recipes he includes, the number of birds that died in window strikes at his house (Note to author: there are window treatments and decals that can help prevent these!), nor his musings on why one particular toilet needs cleaning the most often. As the book blurb says, the author wrote these entries during an emotionally difficult time. The only reason I can come up with for actually turning the journal into a published book was that he needed the money. I can't fathom why the publisher thought this was a good & marketable idea.
It reminds me of the first time I encountered a blog online in blogging's early days. I came across the blog of a young man at a Southern college and was astounded that he thought that the world might be interested in his innermost thoughts. It seemed so narcissistic! Now I understand the blogosphere better, stay away from most social media (except Goodreads, of course), and I will admit to following a tiny number of well-written blogs, actually written to inform and entertain a public audience.
I take it seriously to read, rate and review Goodreads Giveaways, but on the rare occasion, I simply have to abandon a book. Life is short: so many books, too little time. Again, I am clearly not the audience for this book! Other reviews appear to have come from members of the target audience.
I am happy for you all! I can't recommend the book. I'm going another way.
October 28, 2024
Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
I read a lot of memoirs. I love learning about other people, their experiences, how they think, what makes them tick, etc. There have only been a few in my entire reading life that I’ve not enjoyed… but this is one of them, and it really takes the cake. It’s not a memoir — it’s a journal, and a lightly edited one at that. I would not have finished this book if I hadn’t received a free copy of the audiobook from the publisher. I take my responsibility as a reviewer seriously and felt the need to finish it to give it a full and fair review.
More specifically what didn’t work for me:
1. Memoirs need to have a theme, a throughline, a narrative voice. This one sort of has it — it’s about waiting to hear whether a project he’s writing will get off the ground in Hollywood. But there’s so much random, unfunny, agonizingly boring stuff included here that has no purpose other than to show how bored our narrator is. Things like how many birds visited today, how many of them died. This is a journal and a recounting of the day-to-day of the narrator’s average, privileged life.
2. There are a number of off-handed comments the author makes that come off defensive against a charge we don’t see leveled at him… like he’s defending himself against “woke”ness.
3. The tone is overwhelmingly negative and complainy. I get that this the point — waiting is hard — but if I’m going to read a memoir that brings me down, it’s going to be about something more serious and important than a Hollywood writer unsure how Glenn Close and Pete Davidson really feel about his work.
4. This whole book feels like it should have been discussed in a therapy session (or twenty) rather than published. He even acknowledges this at one point… but still makes no mention of going to therapy.
I’m just one reviewer — what doesn’t work for me might be fascinating to someone else. I expect this might speak to fellow Hollywood types or those in the biz who can sympathize with the narrator.
I will add that if you're interested in reading this, audio is a great way to go. It's narrated by the author and he's gives a solid performance that is professional and engaging (even if the content isn't).
I read a lot of memoirs. I love learning about other people, their experiences, how they think, what makes them tick, etc. There have only been a few in my entire reading life that I’ve not enjoyed… but this is one of them, and it really takes the cake. It’s not a memoir — it’s a journal, and a lightly edited one at that. I would not have finished this book if I hadn’t received a free copy of the audiobook from the publisher. I take my responsibility as a reviewer seriously and felt the need to finish it to give it a full and fair review.
More specifically what didn’t work for me:
1. Memoirs need to have a theme, a throughline, a narrative voice. This one sort of has it — it’s about waiting to hear whether a project he’s writing will get off the ground in Hollywood. But there’s so much random, unfunny, agonizingly boring stuff included here that has no purpose other than to show how bored our narrator is. Things like how many birds visited today, how many of them died. This is a journal and a recounting of the day-to-day of the narrator’s average, privileged life.
2. There are a number of off-handed comments the author makes that come off defensive against a charge we don’t see leveled at him… like he’s defending himself against “woke”ness.
3. The tone is overwhelmingly negative and complainy. I get that this the point — waiting is hard — but if I’m going to read a memoir that brings me down, it’s going to be about something more serious and important than a Hollywood writer unsure how Glenn Close and Pete Davidson really feel about his work.
4. This whole book feels like it should have been discussed in a therapy session (or twenty) rather than published. He even acknowledges this at one point… but still makes no mention of going to therapy.
I’m just one reviewer — what doesn’t work for me might be fascinating to someone else. I expect this might speak to fellow Hollywood types or those in the biz who can sympathize with the narrator.
I will add that if you're interested in reading this, audio is a great way to go. It's narrated by the author and he's gives a solid performance that is professional and engaging (even if the content isn't).
August 26, 2025
A little bit of an odd book—it was written in diary form as the author, a fairly well-known New Yorker cartoonist and television writer—waits to get the greenlight on one of the many projects he has in the hopper.
There is the usual Tinseltown f__kery, with bizarro meetings that go nowhere, clueless studio execs who say stupid things, actors who are completely detached from reality yet call all the shots, etc. The most interesting parts for me were the behind the scenes efforts to get a sitcom off the ground that sounds like a reworking of "Harold and Maude" starring Glenn Close and Pete Davidson which, frankly, just gave me the heebie-jeebies.
Author Kaplan is also working on several other projects that sound equally as unenticing, including a new version of Gilligan's Island.
The best parts of the book are Kaplan slowly going mad as he waits on tenterhooks to figure out if any of his projects will end up a reality—and he seems to have no compunction being brutally honest about his feelings about Glenn Close and Amy Schumer's series Life & Beth. It's not too often anyone in Hollywood wants to burn bridges in this manner so it was entertaining.
Unfortunately, half of the book is Kaplan's family life, which is terribly boring. Kaplan cooks a lot and drives his kids to and from school and around to various activities. I think his kids are teens but it is really hard to tell. There are times I thought the son, Henry, was a toddler—for instance, his parents have to teach him how to brush his teeth and gargle. (???) But then his son will insult his father in some way that makes it clear he's a teen. I guess he's a teen that they've infantilized. The son is really obnoxious but Kaplan waxes on about how "unique" he is. He's unique, alright.
At one point, Kaplan lists everything his son Henry ate that day. WHY???? Kaplan makes clear he is liberal, which is fine, however, he also drives to the grocery store twice a day—and seems to have no awareness that he is contributing to global warming with his insistence on driving back to the grocery store if he forgets ONE thing. (Infuriating.)
I REALLY wish the family portions had been excised and we heard more about the Glenn/Pete projects, which sounds so fascinatingly horrible.
There is the usual Tinseltown f__kery, with bizarro meetings that go nowhere, clueless studio execs who say stupid things, actors who are completely detached from reality yet call all the shots, etc. The most interesting parts for me were the behind the scenes efforts to get a sitcom off the ground that sounds like a reworking of "Harold and Maude" starring Glenn Close and Pete Davidson which, frankly, just gave me the heebie-jeebies.
Author Kaplan is also working on several other projects that sound equally as unenticing, including a new version of Gilligan's Island.
The best parts of the book are Kaplan slowly going mad as he waits on tenterhooks to figure out if any of his projects will end up a reality—and he seems to have no compunction being brutally honest about his feelings about Glenn Close and Amy Schumer's series Life & Beth. It's not too often anyone in Hollywood wants to burn bridges in this manner so it was entertaining.
Unfortunately, half of the book is Kaplan's family life, which is terribly boring. Kaplan cooks a lot and drives his kids to and from school and around to various activities. I think his kids are teens but it is really hard to tell. There are times I thought the son, Henry, was a toddler—for instance, his parents have to teach him how to brush his teeth and gargle. (???) But then his son will insult his father in some way that makes it clear he's a teen. I guess he's a teen that they've infantilized. The son is really obnoxious but Kaplan waxes on about how "unique" he is. He's unique, alright.
At one point, Kaplan lists everything his son Henry ate that day. WHY???? Kaplan makes clear he is liberal, which is fine, however, he also drives to the grocery store twice a day—and seems to have no awareness that he is contributing to global warming with his insistence on driving back to the grocery store if he forgets ONE thing. (Infuriating.)
I REALLY wish the family portions had been excised and we heard more about the Glenn/Pete projects, which sounds so fascinatingly horrible.
May 30, 2025
I read a pre-publication blurb about this book and thought—what fun! So I placed it on hold at the library. One of many holds, which all arrived at the same time. So there it sat on my bookcase in a stack of new books waiting to be read next to all the books I own but never read because without a deadline, what’s the rush? When I finally started reading it, for some strange reason I thought the book was a novel. Obviously, I hadn’t read the subtitle at the bottom of the cover that points out: “A Hollywood Memoir.” As a novel…I’ve gotta be honest…a few pages in it just wasn’t working for me. When I checked the inside flap to read the description and realized it was a memoir, suddenly it was the greatest book ever. So, while it isn’t a great novel, it’s a great memoir.
This book isn’t trying to be anything other than what it is: a daily journal of a Hollywood screenwriter trying to keep his sanity while waiting for his projects to see the light of day. The author has the kind of dry sense of humor that makes me want to be his best friend for life, or at least read everything he’s ever written. He’s vulnerable about his everyday anxieties and his sadness over the state of the world and doesn’t hold back on his opinions of certain celebrities. When sales on this book--a humorous take on a television writer (and cartoonist)--skyrockets (one can hope!), those idiots who ghosted him on his scripts will start calling again with great and sudden interest.
This book isn’t trying to be anything other than what it is: a daily journal of a Hollywood screenwriter trying to keep his sanity while waiting for his projects to see the light of day. The author has the kind of dry sense of humor that makes me want to be his best friend for life, or at least read everything he’s ever written. He’s vulnerable about his everyday anxieties and his sadness over the state of the world and doesn’t hold back on his opinions of certain celebrities. When sales on this book--a humorous take on a television writer (and cartoonist)--skyrockets (one can hope!), those idiots who ghosted him on his scripts will start calling again with great and sudden interest.
June 13, 2025
Bruce Eric Kaplan is hysterical. What I mean is: the dude, Kaplan, verges on hysteria much of the time and manages to convey it to the reader in journal form so that we feel his anxiety, but at just enough remove that we don't have to endure the agony of being him. I say that not as a perjorative. Kaplan's book lets us in on the creative mindf**k that is working in television in the 2020s. It's hairy stuff.
Kaplan's coping mechanisms -- many of which involve the kitchen, but not in the expected way. He cooks, and he tells us about cooking, and the multiple trips he makes to the market because he keeps forgetting the one thing he drove there to get. In other words, Bruce Eric Kaplan is one of us.
In many ways, this book is about waiting, and what we do while we're doing it, and how we manage our minds when there's nothing we can do until other people get their s**t together. And though it's very much a Hollywood memoir, you don't have to know a thing about the industry to relate. I mean, don't we all just wish other people would do what we want when we want them to do it? And don't we all (I hope) have to watch ourselves so that our frustration doesn't just take off on its own and punch people in the face? No? Just me? Okay, then.
What I'm trying to say is: read "They Went Another Way." And if you happen to be in the entertainment business, it's a thriller.
Kaplan's coping mechanisms -- many of which involve the kitchen, but not in the expected way. He cooks, and he tells us about cooking, and the multiple trips he makes to the market because he keeps forgetting the one thing he drove there to get. In other words, Bruce Eric Kaplan is one of us.
In many ways, this book is about waiting, and what we do while we're doing it, and how we manage our minds when there's nothing we can do until other people get their s**t together. And though it's very much a Hollywood memoir, you don't have to know a thing about the industry to relate. I mean, don't we all just wish other people would do what we want when we want them to do it? And don't we all (I hope) have to watch ourselves so that our frustration doesn't just take off on its own and punch people in the face? No? Just me? Okay, then.
What I'm trying to say is: read "They Went Another Way." And if you happen to be in the entertainment business, it's a thriller.
December 6, 2024
An attempt to extract comedy from the mundane of everyday life delivered through the form of a daily journal entry fell flat; it didn't end up being very funny. The theme of someone trying to get their work recognized but keep facing disappointments is one that I can relate to. However, the story was told in an extremely repetitive way, filled with inconsequential details. I get that these details were for comedic effect, but they weren't very funny. In fact, the whole story can probably be told in about half an hour. I did laugh on a couple occasions, so I'll give credit where it's due. But that didn't happen until two thirds of the way through. The writing is essentially a rambling stream of thoughts. I understand that's the point, but it just doesn't make me care about what the author is going through. The end when the author tries to attach a broader significance to the whole experience did not land. It felt rushed and manufactured. Overall, interesting concept, but would not recommend.
February 21, 2025
Being a TV writer myself, I found this memoir very, very therapeutic. It was quite comforting to read of another writer going through the exact same struggles, the exact same triumphs, the exact same setbacks, etc. It is a crazy business and Kaplan does an excellent job sharing all of it - the creativity, the wit, the ugliness, the pettiness - it shows that is almost a miracle anything does get made, let alone something good. Writing by committee is what kills so many good projects, everyone chimes in and notes an original idea to death - they have a knack for finding the one true thing that makes the project original and they peck and peck away at that until it's just like everything else. Kaplan is a terrific writer and this is a helluva read. For those who don't know, he is also a brilliant cartoonist for the New Yorker.
January 20, 2025
I've always enjoyed Kaplan's New Yorker cartoons and felt a kinship with him. I also really enjoyed the one other book of his I read, "Edmund and Rosemary Go to Hell."
This book is good, but not great. But everything that's not great about it is also what's not great about me. I relate to Kaplan quite a bit and when something he repeatedly does becomes a bit annoying, it's because I recognize myself in it.
An example: the school shootings and repeal of Roe v. Wade that occur in 2022, when this memoir was written, depress Kaplan again and again but lead to no action on his part. It me!
For this I am grateful. As well as for Kaplan's mixture of deadpan hopelessness and extreme joy, which makes me feel seen.
This book is good, but not great. But everything that's not great about it is also what's not great about me. I relate to Kaplan quite a bit and when something he repeatedly does becomes a bit annoying, it's because I recognize myself in it.
An example: the school shootings and repeal of Roe v. Wade that occur in 2022, when this memoir was written, depress Kaplan again and again but lead to no action on his part. It me!
For this I am grateful. As well as for Kaplan's mixture of deadpan hopelessness and extreme joy, which makes me feel seen.
September 20, 2024
I would like to thank Net Galley and Holt Publishing for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I was intrigued by the blurbs for this book- "darkly funny, thought provoking and entertaining ,funny riveting, honest and shocking." Sorry, to me it was wildly self indulgent and whiny. It is in journal form and details the writers attempts to sell his work. He name drops a lot, and complains. A lot.He complains about his house, his work, teh people he works with , and of course the state of the country post 2016. He complains about it a lot. This was written in 2022, but he is still whining about politics. I am sorry, I guess I am not the target audience for this.
November 15, 2024
Holy Hollywood, what a terrible book! I guess “book” is being generous. It’s more like an endless rant about being an entitled, performative liberal whose victim complex is only eclipsed by the dullness of his prose. With writers like these, it’s no wonder 99% of the stuff on TV is utterly unwatchable. I have never been less inclined to give an author the benefit of the doubt as he whines about everything from Glenn Close to people who watch Fox News. I guess if there’s any silver lining to Trump’s recent election, it’s that it will make people like this go absolutely fucking crazy. BONUS TORTURE: listen to the audio book, read by the author in all his listless misery.
November 18, 2024
I love a good memoir and dark comedy, too? Sign me up!
Kaplan is an acclaimed New York cartoonist and an LA television writer. Two things I know nothing about and sadly after finishing, I don't know much more.
There were a few funny moments and name dropping (I want more!) sprinkled in, but ultimately the format for this book fell short. His experiences during the pandemic weren't unique. it was what we were all experiencing. I appreciate the time it took to pull this book together and this is only my opinion, and it may gel with other readers.
thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co for an early copy.
Kaplan is an acclaimed New York cartoonist and an LA television writer. Two things I know nothing about and sadly after finishing, I don't know much more.
There were a few funny moments and name dropping (I want more!) sprinkled in, but ultimately the format for this book fell short. His experiences during the pandemic weren't unique. it was what we were all experiencing. I appreciate the time it took to pull this book together and this is only my opinion, and it may gel with other readers.
thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co for an early copy.
February 5, 2025
I gave 4 stars because it was very interesting and hard to put down.
I still have mixed feelings about what is revealed about the author. He seems like a decent guy, good dad, etc. He tries to center himself by connecting to larger realities like the earth. But like many of us, he is being battered around by the changing world.
There aren't three TV networks anymore. Hollywood is in tatters and writers are just content providers. But Mr. Kaplan can't stop harping on radical Christians, or God forbid --deal with someone at the hardware store that might like Trump.
If this is the attitude of his clique of writers, then they should just learn to code.
I still have mixed feelings about what is revealed about the author. He seems like a decent guy, good dad, etc. He tries to center himself by connecting to larger realities like the earth. But like many of us, he is being battered around by the changing world.
There aren't three TV networks anymore. Hollywood is in tatters and writers are just content providers. But Mr. Kaplan can't stop harping on radical Christians, or God forbid --deal with someone at the hardware store that might like Trump.
If this is the attitude of his clique of writers, then they should just learn to code.
April 5, 2025
This was a fun read, very breezy and insightful. It documents a year or so in the life of a Hollywood writer/TV producer that coincides with some history shaking events politically and personal earthquakes too for the author. It's written as a daily journal or diary. You get a peek behind the curtain at just how projects are assembled in this chaotic town. Networks, streamers, difficult celebrities, and agents are like a parade of players through his year. I read this on my iPad while on a business trip. I recommend it for anyone with aspirations in this industry.
November 17, 2024
I’ve always known that it is difficult to be a TV writer, but this short entertaining read really drives it home. We get to experience the kafkaesque way his Glenn Close project keeps getting pushed back and altered and pushed back. Intermingled we get sardonic observations on a wide variety of topics and I frequently read funny sections aloud to my wife. If the streaming networks are reading this, please let Bruce make more TV shows. Five stars because I laughed a lot.
December 12, 2024
It took a bit for me to get comfortable with BEK’s style but I’m glad that I stuck through the first 10-15 pages and then blew through this book. What seemed a bit tedious and annoying at first turned into an incredibly honest, no holds barred account about the life of a writer in today’s convoluted TV business world. No self pity but just his unedited thoughts. And I need to check out Vicente Foods the next time I’m in LA.
March 8, 2025
Bruce Eric Kaplan (BEK to fans of his New Yorker cartoons) published a diary of his efforts to get his television shows from development to production. Between difficult celebrity entertainers, hard-to-reach agents and managers, and the general vicissitudes of the industry, Kaplan attempts to navigate a path to success. Along the way, he offers vegan recipes and other odd and amusing asides. Much of the book is hilarious, thanks to Kaplan's flat delivery.
November 23, 2024
Less (or maybe more?) than a memoir — it’s really a mediation on human life that bears flashes of all its peaks and valleys: the absurdity, ennui, good and bad fortune, deep insight, despair and paralyzing fear. I can see how it might be polarizing but those who can commit will likely love it (as I did).
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