#46: Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt

Patton Oswalt's first book Zombie Spaceship Wasteland revealed him as an Earth-2 version of myself, growing up on Dungeons and Dragons and sci-fi movies; his latest collection of essays, Silver Screen Fiend, only cements his status as a lost brother.

In this, Oswalt talks about the transformative power the New Beverly Cinema had on him as he struggled as a standup comedian, writer, and actor.  The New Beverly showed classic and cult double features, and Oswalt became obsessed with the venue and movies in general.

Most interestingly, Oswalt talks about the idea of a "Night Cafe"--a room you go into (real or figurative), and come out forever changed.  How these "Night Cafes" steered his career in various ways was fascinating, to me.

I listened to this on audiobook, read by the author, and that may be the best way to enjoy Oswalt's musings.  This copy was on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

Recommended for fans of nerd culture of all stripes.

#36: Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt

I was only tangentially aware of comedian Patton Oswalt (mostly from the movie Big Fan, which I learned about at the Traverse City Film Festival) but by the end of this collection of personal essays and humorous stories felt as if we were brothers under the skin.   

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland is largely about a misspent youth of Dungeons and Dragons, comic books, b-movies, and the like, written in a darkly humorous vein.  I especially liked an essay about working in a movie theater in the 80s, one about working at the bottom of the comedian food chain, and an epic poem written to his last D&D character.  The title comes from an essay about how every young dude will write a story that either involves zombies, spaceships, or wastelands; I had all three in me as a teen.

I would recommend this book by and large to a narrow audience of nerds about the same age as me and Patton Oswalt, but I think it would have some general appeal.  I checked this out from the Morrison-Reeves Public Library after the title caught my eye and read the slender tome at a good clip.