UNTIL RECENTLY I was an audiobook virgin. Oh, I suppose there was an ear half-cocked as LibriVox recordings of "Alice in Wonderland" aired during long car trips for the children, a respite from the Lord God Our iPad, but I was hardly paying attention. My virginity has now been taken from me - forcefully, though not disagreeably - by Amy Schumer: the 35-year-old comedian who parlayed a surge of showbiz success into a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster worth many millions of dollars more than one she had canceled with HarperCollins. Schumer is not shy, but rather an introvert, she stresses in the ensuing product: an insouciant mélange of memoir and feminist treatise that commences with an open letter to her vagina. This is a boundary previously breached by Nancy Friday ("My Secret Garden"), Eve Ensler and Naomi Wolf. Bold women, they were hardly tiptoeing through the tulips, but Schumer is more of a gleeful trampler. On better days her genitalia smell of "a small barnyard animal," perhaps "a freshly washed goat or something of that size and potency," she shares during one graphic account of a sexual encounter; on worse ones, "an unwashed shark tank." Her suitors' nether parts are not spared scrutiny either, and while she regularly performs such material before crowds of thousands, there's a special quality to hearing her "work blue" - flaming blue - in the confidential tones of a new friend huddled next to you on a pleather couch. In short, and it is long (though broken up by neo-Nietzschean epigrams, interludes and annotated journal entries), "The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo" is about as suitable for minors as the waning days of the 2016 presidential election were. And possibly more topical, including an exhortation for gun control impelled by the murder of two women at a screening of Schumer's movie "Trainwreck" in Lafayette, La., last year, There are also cautionary tales about domestic violence and bodily trespass while under the influence (her term for not-quite-rape is "grape") and a nod to the modern choose-your-own-gender adventure. "Whatever she does will be fine," Schumer says of her 2-year-old niece during a segment about her own penchant for stuffed animals. "Or he. Damn, it's hard to write a book and not get yelled at." Most of the issues addressed by the author, however, are not the Republic's but her own. Money! (After reduced circumstances in childhood following the failure of the family business, young Amy enlisted her little sister in a spree of grand larceny; she now freely gives away six-figure checks.) Mommy! (The senior Ms. Schumer used sign language to announce to her older daughter that she had fallen in love with a schoolmate's father.) And looming as he tends to do in a woman's life, Daddy, a onetime party animal who built Amy's confidence during body surfs in the Atlantic but has long suffered from multiple sclerosis, the scatological debilitation of which is not elided here. Despite admissions of binge-eating and heavy drinking - on occasion boxed wine through a straw - Schumer herself seems afflicted mostly with what she calls "the disease of being a comic." At least it is a well-managed case. A dissolute, flaky, noisy persona may have made Amy famous, but underneath are fierce loyalty and enviable discipline, conveyed in a librarian's hush. But will she have the enduring appeal of Carol Burnett? Could anybody? TWO GENERATIONS BEFORE Amy Schumer, Carol Burnett began down and out in a one-room Hollywood apartment with her grandmother Nanny, longing to star on Broadway, which she pronounces on her new audiobook in a way that lets the listener visualize the white lights popping on. She does not describe bedding dudes, but falling asleep while performing in the original production of "Once Upon a Mattress." Folksy without being prissy, Burnett has already written three memoirs, including a tribute to her eldest daughter, Carrie, who died of cancer at 38. This one is more of a Thanksgiving, to the cheerleaders and collaborators on her most successful vehicle, "The Carol Burnett Show." It was broadcast for over a decade by Bill Paley's CBS, going off the air before Comedy Central's "Inside Amy Schumer" was even a licentious gleam in a cable TV executive's eyes. While I greatly enjoy Schumer's sketch comedy when pals hurl it to me in YouTube links, I must admit that Burnett's used to be appointment television, when that regal hour of self-indulgence still existed. She reminded me cozily of a family friend who had forgotten to put the top on the blender when making pumpkin-pie filling, and her subjects included some favorite literary classics. "Rebecky," after Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca," with Mrs. Danvers's ominous ubiquity mocked by her head popping up after the dome was lifted on a silver serving dish. "Went With the Wind," after Margaret Mitchell, with "Starlett O'Hara" appearing in a dress by Bob Mackie incorporating a curtain rod. "I saw it in the window and I just couldn't resist it." Not rape jokes but drape jokes; not parodies but spoofs orchestrated by a self-described kook that were a goof and a hoot. Burnett's well-loved voice can sound a little wooden reminiscing about "back in the covered wagon days," as she calls them, but it's the creaky, comforting wood of a favorite Shaker rocking chair, greased with salvaged audio of the supporting players Vicki Lawrence (her young doppelgänger), Harvey Korman and the zany Tim Conway. Explained is the somewhat routinized process of putting out a variety show, back in a brass age of them that somehow stretched to accommodate both Dean Martin and the Muppets. Burnett's schedule allowed her to catch "All My Children" at lunch hour and be home for dinner with her children at 6:30 on the nights she wasn't taking guest stars out to Chasen's. She made the entire A-list do cartwheels, with the exception of Joan Crawford, who tolerated "Mildred Fierce" but not "Torchy Song." In between a Who's Who of that era in entertainment, Burnett slips some reflection about what it meant to be a female comic then, having to act besotted with her handsome announcer and soft-pedaling direction to the male writing staff. "I would somehow find a way to ease into expressing an opinion and still be 'ladylike,' thus avoiding being a 'bitch,'" she says ruefully, And later: "I was totally nonconfrontational. Actually, you could say I was chicken." But this is poppycock. Burnett was a brave pioneer of prime time who enabled women like Schumer to go forth and scramble the very concept. And though only one of their narratives is suitable for playing to the children, the fact is they are both Alices in Wonderland, through the looking glass, flabbergasted at living their dreams. There's a special quality to hearing Schumer 'work blue' in the confidential tones of a friend huddled next to you on the couch. ALEXANDRA JACOBS, an editor for the Styles sections of The Times, is writing a biography of Elaine Stritch.

It's a real treat to listen to comedian Burnett reminisce on her variety show, from its early days, through its height, to its end. As Burnett traces the show's history, she explains the challenges and issues that the show faced but also the cultural context in which it developed, as well as its legacy. No one could narrate this book better than Burnett, not just because of her professional experience, but because of the enthusiasm, love, and sheer joy that emanates from her performance. Her slightly warbly voice brims with amusement and self-deprecation as she recalls her obstacles, her follies, and her successes. Accompanying her story, Burnett includes the first person accounts of are a handful of firsthand narrations from cast, crew, and friends of Burnett who share their stories in working on the show. Altogether, the production adds depth and meaning to Burnett's memoir that the prose alone cannot match. A Crown Archetype hardcover. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Carol Burnett turned the musical-comedy variety shows of television's Golden Age in the 1950s platinum between 1967 and 1978 with her eponymous hit show, which racked up 25 Emmys. With 267 episodes broadcast during those 11 years, The Carol Burnett Show became the mainstay of must-see TV long before that was even a thing. Burnett tells the story of this high-caliber ensemble show as only she can, sharing all kinds of behind-the-scenes tales as she profiles her rock-star-famous cast of supporting and supportive comedians: look-alike Vicki Lawrence, invaluable sidekick Harvey Korman, ad-libbing genius Tim Conway, and heartthrob announcer Lyle Waggoner. Together, they formed the comedy foundation for appearances by the reigning TV and movie stars of the day as they participated in the show's cutting-edge sketch format. Burnett illuminates the backstories for such unforgettable characters as the Charwoman and Mrs. Wiggins and famous sketches such as Went with the Wind and The Family. Burnett and company are legends in American humor, and die-hard fans and everyone interested in classic TV comedy will enjoy Burnett's keen and funny recollections.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2016 Booklist

Carol Burnett is as much loved today as she was during the 11 seasons she ruled the airwaves and was widely considered one of the nicest people in an industry in which cutthroats outnumber the good guys. In her familiar voice, she narrates her best-selling book, giving listeners an inside view of what it was like to be part of the often chaotic, but always professional, Carol Burnett Show. Free of any artifice or flamboyance, Burnett talks about her favorite sketches, the many A-list stars who appeared on her show, and, of course, her talented cast members. She addresses her flubs, her desire to give her live audiences a real variety show, and her heartfelt feelings about many of her guest stars. Particularly in an entertainment culture where talent is often measured by how outrageous someone can be, all libraries should make this audiobook available and give their patrons an unvarnished, insider's look at what a real television program looked like. VERDICT This is a must-purchase for all collections as well as a treat for all who listen to it. ["This quick trip down memory lane and great behind-the-scenes look at a truly one-of-a-kind production will have strong appeal for fans and readers who remember that era": LJ 7/16 review of the Crown Archetype hc.]-Joseph L. Carlson, Vandenberg Air Force Base Lib., Lompoc, CA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.