Rating: 
Summary: Very pleasantly surprised!
Review: I've always loved Steve Martin and when I saw that he was writing books, my heart sank. "What if they're no good?" I thought to myself. Surely he couldn't be the comedic genius he is on stage AND write well. It's one thing to have zingy one-liners but another to sustain the complex and lengthy aspects of a book. But somehow the master genius has pulled it off, for "The Pleasure of My Company" is nothing short of brilliant! I'm usually one to stick with tried and true bestsellers like "Da Vinci Code" or "Bark of the Dogwood" but decided to give Martin's book a shot. And I'm glad I did!
Rating: 
Summary: Many talents of Steve Martin
Review: I bought this book because I saw Ellen D. recommend it on her show. I got into the book very quickly, it was entertainting and interesting.
The main character Daniel, who's compulsive obsessive goes through a series of funny encounters with people at his appartment building as well as his case worker. In spite of all his rules and quircks Daniel falls in love 3 times, wins an essay contest (well actually 2 since his "alter" ego writes the other essay), baby sits for a little boy, learns to walk across a curb and figures out his life through mathematical squares.The book is quite entertaining with Daniel having to follow all the rules in his head. However, it seems like the ending was cut a little short. The whole story unfolds slowly and then the ending seems like it was written in one hour and only takes a page and a half to explain what happens to Daniel. I recommend this book, however if you do not like endings cut short you might want to steer clear of this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Surprise! Don't Miss It!
Review: Daniel Pecan Cambridge is a man with problems. Not only is he an obsessive-compulsive, unemployed, Mensa reject, but he is also a murder suspect, a near seducer of his only male friend's girlfriend, in love with one of three women (he hasn't decided which) and the winner of the Most Average American essay contest. Daniel embarks on a journey of self-discovery without the apparent advantage of being able to cross the street anywhere except where two driveways line up, the ability to travel any distance without restricting himself to words missing the letter "E," or speak to a woman without the horrifying image of himself as a murder suspect showing upon the television. Can Daniel pull himself together? Which woman will decide his faults are not as serious as they first appear? Will he ever be able to cross the street at a curb? These and many more burning questions are answered in Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company. Told in a very intimate first person viewpoint, The Pleasure of My Company is compelling, amusing, enlightening, and tender. Somehow Martin manages to take a man doing very little with his life and grip the reader. It is a trick worthy of a veteran novelist. This is a short book without any extra padding and is, therefore, a very easy read. There are no wasted words, no unnecessary scenes. The pace is fast, the characters lively. From a peroxide and plastic female real estate agent to an angelic shrink with more problems than her patients, the supporting cast is wild and wonderful. The setting is as odd as the main character, and the self-discovery is believable, well done, and very tender. The ending felt a tad rushed, but not bad. Generally speaking, I avoid books written by celebrities, but this one is frankly amazing. At various points, I laughed out loud; I empathized; I cried; I questioned my own sanity. This is not at all common for me. I hope you will enjoy this one too. Another offbeat Amazon quick-pick I recommend is "The Losers Club" by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: How many more dimensions of true talent can this man master. This work is much better than Shopgirl and would make a great film. The only thing disappointing about the book is that it was not longer. It is fiction that captures OCD like a first hand case study.
Rating:
Summary: tour de force
Review: Martin is a comic genius and this book is just as good as his last warm character study, Shopgirl. Actually, the guy is getting better and better, which is a surprise because he was pretty great when he started.
Rating: 
Summary: Portrait of a young obsessive-compulsive
Review: Steve Martin is without a doubt one of America's top, multi-talented entertainers over the past four decades. His best films ("Roxanne," "L.A. Story") are warm, funny, uplifting portraits of regular (okay, slightly irregular) folks. I enjoyed "Shopgirl", finding it to be a touching true-to-life story of people connecting amidst the paradoxical loneliness of life in a crowded modern day American city (Shopgirl has the potential to make a very good movie). "The Pleasure of My Company" explores similar themes, yet since the main character is so obviously mentally disturbed, I could not develop a deep attachment or identification with him, which prevented the story from affecting me as deeply as Martin's best work. Although almost everyone has episodes of shyness, which handicap them from directly obtaining the object of their desires, the protagonist of TPOMC handicaps himself to such extremes that it is hard for the reader to know how to react. Martin spends a significant portion of the book describing these self-afflictions, in painful detail in many cases. Some of them are terribly sad, some are just plain stupid, and some are quite funny (my favorite was when the main character decides, for several days, to avoid saying any words with the letter "E" in them - the slightly convoluted sentences that he devises to converse with others who don't know about this self-imposed limitation show off Martin's subtle humor at its best). So, while humor is definitely one of Martin's intents, at other times I felt as if I was being asked to laugh at the truly mentally ill. Or, more likely, Martin did want to invoke more complicated feelings of pathos in the reader. But whatever his intent, it did prevent me from identifying with the main character, which in turn made it hard to apply the lessons from the book. There are a few other more minor flaws in TPOMC. There is a diversion in the plot whereby the main character enters an essay contest and gets invited to speak at fictional "Freedom College", modeled after evangelical colleges here in the U.S. Yet the essays submitted are so awful (as the main character states, every sentence in his essay contradicts the prior one) and the people at the college so wooden that Martin fails to concede even an iota of intelligence to the target of his satire. But no one is that stupid, so it is too easy to dismiss the points Martin was trying to make. TPOMC does have a redeeming message to convey: even a painfully shy, afflicted individual can, if they open their hearts widely to others and open their lives a tiny bit to social interaction, find a true, healing love. And there are some warm and humorous passages. However, for those who have not yet read any Steve Martin, I would recommend "Shopgirl" over TPOMC, and I would urge some caution before spending time and money on TPOMC.
Rating:
Summary: A superbly crafted character study
Review: Steve Martin's, 'The Please of My Own Company," reads like an exquisitely crafted character study that a top-notch actor would create while prepping for a role. Readers are treated with colorfully fleshed out character portrayal, smidges of interesting backstory and a skeleton of a story that manages to keep things just interesting enough without bogging down the light, effervescent flow of Martin's prose. Martin also proves that he's quite adept at culling the inner-voice of his characters as he meticulously brings to life everey bit of minutiae involved in the thought process of an OCD riddled character attempting to overcome obstacle after obstacle (in this case figuring out how to cross the street, the right amount of light bulb wattage to keep lit, etc.). The end of the tale might come across as a bit too Hollywood in its payoff but nonetheless it satisfied and made for a great read on a 2 1/2 hour flight across 4 states.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the book instead
Review: Listening to Steve Martin tell the story makes it difficult to imagine the main character as someone other than himself. I kept picturing Steve Martin in these situations, since he was the one speaking. That said, the story is funny, touching and very enjoyable. But you might want to read the book instead.
Rating:
Summary: Like "Bright Lights Big City"
Review: There has been great comparison of "Pleasure of My Company" (Steve Martin) to "My Fractured Life" (Rikki Lee Travolta). Although I enjoyed both books I am more inclined to compare "Pleasure of My Company" to a modern version of "Bright Lights Big City" (Jay McInerney) while "My Fractured Life" I would compare as our decade's "Catcher in the Rye" (JD Salinger). Martin is playful with his melancholy; you always know the tongue is firmly in place even if he will never invite you to laugh out loud with this one. I think those who like Travolta's "My Fractured Life" will fully enjoy Martin's "Pleasure of My Company" but in the same way that those who like "Catcher in the Rye" also appreciate "Bright Lights Big City."
Rating:
Summary: What A Delight!!
Review: I loved this! Having read "Shopgirl" previously, I already knew I'd enjoy Martin's cool, quirky style.
Much better plot here. Daniel (main character) almost jumps to life from the pages. I loved the endless drone of his days, his "affections", his grand sense of humor. Oh, and how darling his love for Kinko's!
Such a tiny book, it reads effortlessly, yet I found myself reading slower, savoring each morsel.
Without giving anything away, read this book. You will be totally satisfied! Bravo, Mr. Martin. You have yet another gift!
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