Since having seemingly killed off his alter ego, Kinky Friedman, the curmudgeonly singer turned curmudgeonly crime solver of 17 novels, the Kinkster has not rested on his laurels. Instead, he has been busy running for the governor of Texas (he lost with more than 12 percent of the vote); selling cigars (Kinky Friedman Cigars, or, KFC); and writing columns for Texas Monthly. Now, in his latest effort, Kinky proffers advice. Not “direct good advice” but, instead, “lots and lots of common Zen bullshit” on such topics as writing, traveling, “life, death, and everything in between.” Really an excuse to expound again on his favorite obsessions (politics, Hank Williams’ death in the back of a ’52 Cadillac, and his favorite lunatics who’ve gone mad or “stepped on a rainbow”), this compendium allows Kinky to recall his Peace Corp days in Borneo, where he ate monkey brains; explain why he (and other authors) killed off their creations; profile personal heroes of his like Don Imus, Bob Dylan, Jack Ruby, Willie Nelson, and various animals who’ve saved lives; and, most importantly, share his special brand of Texas wit and wisdom again. --Ben Segedin