"Cabin Boy" Writes a Book

Bostonist has been enjoying Chris Elliott's humor ever since our parents let us stay up late one night back in the 80s and we saw him on Letterman. Elliott has continued to appear on Dave's show for years, and he went on to star in his own sitcom with his real father, Bob Elliott, on Fox back in 1990. Starring as a 30-year-old man who works as a paperboy living with his parents, Get A Life was hilarious but alas, only lasted two seasons (the DVDs have been released though). Then came his roles as the camera man in Groundhog Day, the skin-disease afflicted pal of Cameron Diaz in There's Something About Mary, and a recent stint on "Everybody Loves Raymond" as an annoying brother-in-law. Well, at age 45, Elliott has decided to add "author" to his comedic resume with the book, "The Shroud of the Thwacker."

The book follows Elliott's quirky journey as a researcher who is studying Jack the Jolly Thwacker, a serial killer in 1882 in New York City. The murder mystery has Elliott jumping from modern day to the past as he tries to catch the Thwacker; while the plot sounds far-fetched, Publisher's Weekly magazine gave it a positive review and referred to it as "an Americanized Monty Python skit."

Elliott will be in town on Wednesday this week to share the Thwacker with Bostonians. He'll be appearing at the Coolidge Corner Theater at 7p.m. to do a reading, with a viewing of his 1994 flick (hated by critics, appreciated by devoted fans), "Cabin Boy." Tickets are $5 and available at Brookline Booksmith. If you want even more Chris Elliott, he'll be on Tuesday's Conan O'Brien show.