Jon Stewart Is Back!

John Oliver has received universal praise for his stint as host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, filling in for Jon Stewart, who was off directing his first film, Rosewater, but his attention to books and authors has not been up to the regular host’s.

Stewart returned last week and the book business again heard the magic words, “You gotta get this book now. It’s brilliant,” causing holds to jump in libraries and the title to rise on Amazon sales rankings.

In this case, the book was Mario Livio’s Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein – Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe, (S&S; Brilliance Audio; published in May).

Stewart really steps it up this week, with an author featured every night of the show:

Tonight — Sheri Fink, Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, (RH/Crown; RH Audio/BOT) — holds are already rising on this one, based on earlier media attention

Tuesday — Bill Dedman, Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune, (RH/Ballantine) — also reviewed in the NYT Book Review

Wednesday — David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, Hollywood Said No!: Orphaned Film Scripts, Bastard Scenes, and Abandoned Darlings from the Creators of Mr. Show,  (Hachette/Grand Central)

Thursday —  Billy Crystal, Still Foolin’ ‘Em, (Macmillan/Holt; Macmillan Audio) — the author is getting heavy media attention

Comments are closed.