The opposite of its title...

Two quick tapes of Steve Martin's Pure Drivel left me with a lot to recommend.

The book is a series of short essays, some of which would qualify as satire some of which pretty much as pure - but thoroughly entertaining - drivel. Nearly all of the essays are humorous - the lone exception being "Lolita" - and spot on. The writing is excellent and lets Martin show off his talent for coming up with pretty wacky ideas and stretching them just far enough to be entertaining.

The NYTimes has posted the first couple of essays on their site for your perusal, and a Steve Martin interview at compleatsteve.com lets Martin explain some of the essays himself. Not every essay works perfectly, but there are enough that are great that it makes for an easy read - or listen, if you prefer.