I've grown into a habit now of listening to memoirs during my daily commute. I pulled Al Franken's story off the CD shelves of the local library -- albeit, with a hesitant hand -- because I thought, in hindsight, that it could make for an interesting tale. The book had obviously been published "before everything happened," shall we say, and before Franken resigned from the Senate. As a result, we now have an unfair advantage by listening to or reading it, afterward. We know more than he did, when he wrote the book. How would this work? How much of a difference would the timing make? I was curious.

Of course, Franken begins by telling us stories from his family life and his childhood, growing up in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. Soon enough, though, he and school friend Tom Davis become a duo, creating and performing funny skits and routines. As they get older, they take their comedy shows on the road. Their efforts eventually lead them to be among the cast and crew of Saturday Night Live. Talk about being in the right place at the right time! Franken winds up working with the show for 15 of its first 20 years, contributing either as an actor or as a writer. We are reminded that comedians, at their cores, are indeed writers. And he is a good wordsmith and storyteller.

Fans of SNL will enjoy hearing a few tales from those times. Franken is honest too about celebrity drug use and addictions. Unlike many, he falls prey to this situation mostly as a bystander and a concerned friend. He even chooses to attend Al-Anon meetings to learn more about how to deal with the addictive behaviors of others. This is an admirable choice.

In addition to finding the funny in any circumstance, Franken is also intrigued by ferreting out public lies. He likes to do the research and to point out how wrong the statements are. Especially in politics. When the seat of Minnesota's popular Senator Paul Wellstone is taken by ineffectual Republican successor Norm Coleman, the resulting outrage prompts Franken to consider running for the office himself. Which, oddly enough, he does. And he wins! But his campaign is not without its challenges. He tells you about them here.

Franken enters the realm of the federal government with the unique perspective of the outsider, the commoner, which makes him relatable to many of us. Suddenly someone who is used to coming up with his own material is forced to follow official procedures that have been in place for decades, if not centuries. He explains these new-to-him legal complexities in simple and understandable ways. And yet he still tries to find the funny, and he still tries to make friends and to be a friend, all while duly representing the people of Minnesota.

Yes, we can catch a few foreshadows of what lies ahead for him: a few events whose ramifications he didn't know at the time would come back to haunt him. This includes his surprise and anger when another politician that he knows has to resign his position because of his current or past inappropriate behavior. It's also interesting too that Franken wrote this book just after the Obamas left the White House and another family moved in. We know how this tale turned out, too.

Naturally, Franken is a captivating speaker; which is good, because the book translates into 12 hours of narration on 10 CDs. And he doesn't just read the text here. He actually addresses the audio audience at the beginning to explain why he -- at the time, a sitting Senator -- wouldn't be saying certain words aloud. Throughout the story, Franken also impersonates some of the people he quotes and makes what must be personal asides to us, away from the standard manuscript. What fun! His style is more personal and conversational than that of many author-readers. If you like this approach and want to hear more of it, you can find his ongoing podcast or his radio show online. Or vice versa. Maybe his show prods some folks to additionally pick up his books.

I still can't forgive Al Franken for what he did in the old video footage that drove him out of office. But I was right. His story IS a good one to listen to. And if you want to learn more about his comedy background AND listen to his detailed yet understandable explanations about the inner workings of our government, you could do no better than to hear the stories right from him.

Giant of the Senate won't appeal to as many readers now as it could have, once upon a time. Yet, it's not yet ready for the recycling bin, either.