Booknotes and other notes

Been several months since I've had time and ideas to blog about here ... A lot of other life stuff took over during the fall. So I'm just back on now to give a couple quick recommendations of comedy or comedy-related books, in lieu of full reviews, since these books have been out a couple months already.

Richard Belzer's "I Am Not a Psychic!" is his follow-up pseudo-detective novel, where he in effect plays himself solving a case, this time related to a decades-old murder and political scandal that swirled through Las Vegas. With this book, Belzer stakes a claim to making this concept or formula into a long-running series.

Tracy Morgan's "I Am the New Black," an autobiography, shows the serious side and struggles of the SNL and "30 Rock" star. Morgan lets his offbeat and loopy side, which is put to such good use on "30 Rock," come through in the pages. Morgan's got a strong point of view about being true to oneself in life, not just in comedy, and that also comes through in this book, which is what really makes it a compelling read.