Throw the Book at ’Em

What has the cast of The Sopranos been doing during those looooong stretches of hiatus? Putting pen to paper, apparently. About a dozen books are credited to Sopranos cast members (with a little help from ghostwriters and co-authors), from Jamie-Lynn Sigler to Frank Vincent to Steve Schirripa—and more Steve Schirripa. There are how-to books and memoirs. There are novels and cookbooks, and even a novel/cookbook. Some have wisdom. Some have violence. All have Italian food.

Schirripa is by far the most prolific, with The Goomba’s Guide to Life, The Goomba’s Book of Love and young-adult novel Nicky Deuce currently on shelves. The Goomba Diet lands in May, and a Nicky Deuce Christmas book arrives later this year. Schirripa, whose co-author is Charles Fleming, says he has some non-Goomba-related books in him, too. “I’m not done yet,” he says. “The book business hasn’t seen the last of me.”

A guide to the Sopranos literary canon: