The Royal Nonesuch (2007)

Glasgow Phillips chronicles a raucously misspent youth in The Royal Nonesuch, a drawn-out memoir set in the long-ago 1990s, when any business scheme, however preposterous, seemed capable of success. After a well-received first novel, Phillips tried and failed to produce a second, moved to ''the glittering idiot city'' of L.A., and threw himself into a series of new careers: porn star, screenwriter, promoter of fringe film festivals, corporate-branding charlatan. Though Phillips can riff amusingly on just about anything, you breathe a sigh of relief when, near the book's overdue finale, sobering life experiences put an end to his manic adventures. B