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The books of Alan Kohler…

ABC finance guy is keeping viewers entertained with wry commentary through book titles on his desk.

In case you hadn’t heard, ABC News finance guy Alan Kohler has been entertaining viewers with his book stack, sitting on his desk beside a pot plant.

Since broadcasting from his home office during the pandemic, his book titles have not gone unnoticed.

Last night his three chosen books were “A Damsel in Distress,” “The Indiscretions of Archie” and “Money for Nothing” all by classic UK author and playwright P.G. Wodehouse.

In August he had “Who Killed Channel 9?” by Gerald Stone, “End this Depression Now!” by Paul Krugman and “All the Devils Are Here” by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera.

There have been books on Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed and Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, books on Fairfax, Rupert Murdoch, a book called “Media Circus” by Howard Kurtz and “Report of the Committee of Economic Enquiry” led by 1963’s Vernon Committee.

Last week after Budget night he had “In Search of the Big Bang,” by John Gribbin, “The Great experiment” by Shore Talbott and “The New Financial Order” by Robert J. Shiller. Then later in the week, “A History of the American People” by Paul Johnson, side by side with Tina Fey’s “Bossypants.”

Kohler recently told The Guardian, “I use an app on my iPhone and connect live to the studio. My laptop is the autocue and my wife, Deb, is floor manager and autocue operator. Changing the books developed later, but it’s a bit of fun. Only problem is I think people are too busy looking at the books to listen to what I’m saying.”

5 Responses

  1. Every night I check out what he’s got but his segment isn’t in HD so I often struggle to read the book titles. I was delighted to see he had a biography on Ian Curtis recently (a personal hero).
    I’ve never understood finance at all and have no idea what the heck he’s on about half the time but Alan is so engaging and reminds me of Chollaterly Sisters from (early 90s Chris Morris news satire) ‘The Day Today’.

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