Mirrors on the Celing, and Pink Champagne on Ice

Do you guys know of a comedian* named Rita Rudner? My sister and I had a thing for her years ago, when she was in an HBO special with Ellen Degenerous, Paula Poundstone, and Judy Tanuda called "Women of the Night". One our favorite lines from that show was, "Yes, we can have dinner at my place. What kind of cold cereal interests you?" Another was when she was talking about how expensive movie theater food is, when she mentioned that, "Popcorn costs 13 cents a silo." Maybe you had to be there, but my sister and I still laugh when we say them to each other, nearly 20 years later.

I haven't really thought about Rita Rudner in any other context since then, but it turns out that, among other things (like being a very successful Vegas comedian), she's an author. I just read Turning the Tables, which smiled out at me from among the newer fiction at the library, and I have to say it's quick and funny and definitely worth a read.

The story is set in Vegas (and veers off into Thailand and Australia), and is filled with sex, scandal, plotting, betrayal, and other such fun things that rarely happen to people who aren't fictional. I liked the main character a lot, and I laughed out loud more than once.

It's not great lit-ra-cha or anything, but it's great fun.

*[My first footnote!] I hate the word comedienne, and refuse to use it. I don't care if you're a man or woman--if you get paid to make me laugh, you're a comedian.