Book Talk
WORD Presents Bob Odenkirk
Word Bookstore presents Bob Odenkirk in conversation with Alan Sepinwall to celebrate and discuss Odenkirk's new memoir, COMEDY COMEDY COMEDY DRAMA live.
Wednesday, February 28th | 7:45PM | $35
In this hilarious, heartfelt memoir, the star of Mr. Show, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul opens up about the highs and lows of showbiz, his cult status as a comedy writer, and what it’s like to reinvent himself as an action film ass-kicker at fifty.
This is a ticketed, in-person event. The price includes a signed copy of the book. Seating is limited to allow for social distancing. Masks are required throughout the entirety of the event regardless of vaccination status. Your name, address and phone number will be collected for contact tracing purposes. Do not attend the event if you are feeling ill. Location and time subject to change.
Due to the recent "Key to NYC" mandates, we will be requiring proof of vaccination to attend this event. Acceptable proof includes:
- Excelsior Pass
- CDC Vaccination Card (or photo)
- NYC Vaccination Record
- An official immunization record from outside NYC or the U.S
For more information visit https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines-keytonyc.page
About the Book
Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago to a dramatic career full of award nominations—with a side-trip into the action-man world that is baffling to all who know him—it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks! But there is just one and one is plenty.
Bob embraced a life in comedy after a chance meeting with Second City’s legendary Del Close. He somehow made his way to a job as a writer at Saturday Night Live. While surviving that legendary gauntlet by the skin of his gnashing teeth, he stashed away the secrets of comedy writing—eventually employing them in the immortal “Motivational Speaker” sketch for Chris Farley, honing them on The Ben Stiller Show, and perfecting them on Mr. Show with Bob and David.
In Hollywood, Bob demonstrated a bullheadedness that would shame Sisyphus himself, and when all hope was lost for the umpteenth time, the phone rang with an offer to appear on Breaking Bad—a show about how boring it is to be a high school chemistry teacher. His embrace of this strange new world of dramatic acting led him to working with Steven Spielberg, Alexander Payne, and Greta Gerwig, and then, in a twist that will confound you, he re-re-invented himself as a bona fide action star. Why? Read this and do your own psychoanalysis—it’s fun!
Featuring humorous tangents, never-before-seen photos, wild characters, and Bob’s trademark unflinching drive, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama is a classic showbiz tale told by a determined idiot.
About the Author
Bob Odenkirk is an actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. Odenkirk got his start in improv comedy in the motley Chicago comedy scene of the mid-eighties and went on to write for Saturday Night Live. He has starred in AMC’s Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and written and starred in the sketch comedy cult hit Mr. Show. He has written and produced a number of television shows and directed three films.
In conversation with*
Alan Sepinwall is Rolling Stone's chief TV critic. He's been covering this new golden age of TV from the beginning, first as a reviewer for Tony Soprano's favorite newspaper, 'The Star-Ledger,' and is the author of the books The Revolution Was Televised, TV (THE BOOK), Breaking Bad 101, and The Sopranos Sessions.
*Panelists subject to change

