These days, there’s a lot less of comedian Lisa Lampanelli that meets the eye — after weight-loss surgery last year, she lost 102 pounds. But that wasn’t the only high point of the year: “I made it through ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ for 16 weeks without murdering anyone,” she marvels. “I looked at Donald Trump’s hair for 16 weeks and I STILL can’t figure out what’s going on there. I think it’s a ferret.” Coming up next is her debut Wednesday night at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theater. “Isn’t it every young white girl’s dream to play the Apollo?” asks Lampanelli, who worked at Popular Mechanics and heavy-metal magazines before finding her niche in comedy. “Thanks to affirmative action, I can.” Here’s what’s in her library.
The Castaways
by Elin Hilderbrand
Every one of Hilderbrand’s books is set in Nantucket, and reading this made me feel like I was back on the beach, even when I was in North Dakota in winter. It’s about a couple who dies in a boating accident and how their friends and family pick up the pieces. I learned more about grieving in this book than in any other.
Off the Menu
by Stacey Ballis
I love to eat, and Stacey loves to eat good food. This novel, about a chef assistant to a Gordon Ramsay type, is based loosely on her life: someone who’s happy as a single chick and meets a guy out of the blue who throws her life into mayhem. I found my husband when I wasn’t looking, so I could relate. In the back are recipes for all the food in the book.
Women Food and God
by Geneen Roth
This is the book that Oprah said, after reading it, “I’ll never diet again.” It explains that how you eat is how you live, and how to handle your emotional eating, and learn to eat [only] when you’re hungry. It’s not a cure; it’s a tool. I’m going to reread it today. I came too far to gain the weight back.
Here I Go Again
by Jen Lancaster
I’m a comic — it’s hard to make me laugh. This is the only book in 20 years that made me wipe my eyes. Jen Lancaster’s like a modern-day, bawdy Erma Bombeck. It’s so relatable — it’s a novel about a girl who grows up such a bitch, but she has to relive her life as a nice, decent human being. I couldn’t wait til the next chapter. I couldn’t put it down!