Hour Books: Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself

Written after his near death experience in Chile, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself chronicles Alda's thoughts on a variety of subjects through many of the speeches he's given over the years at commencements and other life events. He opens the book with his daughter's commencement and from there weaves a tale that just enjoys the twists and turns that life brings.

It really is a book of questions and answers. He questions the choices he made and the choices he didn't make. It's as if Alda sees life as a maze of choices, if I go left this will happen but if I go right will I hit a dead end or is it the way through? In some ways his ponderings made me ponder some of the questions in my life and whether or not it's worthwhile to go in whatever direction I'm thinking of at the time. I like his writing "voice", it's almost as if I can hear him narrating the book in my head.

I would suggest reading his biography Never Have Your Dog Stuffed before reading this book, because I think it will help fill in some of the gaps where it felt like Alda assumed we knew the back story of his life at a particular moment in time.

Make sure you check out Alan Alda's interview on The Hour in November 2007, he gives a very good foundation for this book. Also check out an extra clip from the interview on More with Alan Alda.