Everything and a Kite
Ray Romano'sEverybody Loves Raymondis the most important TV comedy sinceSeinfeld. Now he makes his debut as an author with a reported seven-figure book deal. Some of what makes his show great is captured between the covers ofEverything and a Kite--it boasts the same affectionate, yet not cheaply sentimental, comedy that conveys actual insights about family life, an experience Martin Mull has likened to "having a bowling alley installed in your brain." The show is likeMarried... with Childrenwith a heart orHome Improvementwith a brain.In book form, Romano is kind of like Dave Barry. Barry is funnier on the page, but Romano writes a good spritz-of-consciousness monologue. And Barry dared not utter the wordprostateinDave Barry Turns 50, but Romano provides a state-of-the-art prostate-exam reminiscence. There is no shame he shuns--not his fear of spiders, exacerbated when he splooshed one off his windshield with the washer button through the moonroof into the car while driving, nor his sexual-conquest count ("one less than the number of times I've been stung by a bee...greaterthan the number of times I've put a pet to sleep...exactly equalto the number of times I've been crapped on by a bird"). But Romano stole his title: when he asked his 4-year-old son what he wanted for his birthday, the kid said, "Everything and a kite."--Tim Appelo