A.J. Jacobs
The Puzzler is the best new book from Jacobs since The Year of Living Biblically. Less of a personal experiment than his past titles, Jacobs delves into the world of puzzles – be it crosswords, jigsaw, sudoku, puzzle boxes or scavenger hunts. Fortunately for the Jabobs family, …
Text and captions by Donald J Johnson
Old photos are always fun to look at, but this collection is especially fun as so many locations in Madison (WI) are still in existence. The collection starts at the very earliest days of Madison’s history and follows it through major events, such …
Dean Jobb
While the name Jack the Ripper still resonates over a century later, Dr. Cream has fallen into obscurity. Yet, in his day, he was as infamous a murderer as Jack. Like his predecessor, Dr. Cream primary targeted prostitutes. However, his crimes were more subtle, as they were done …
A Food Adventurer’s Guide
Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras
Fans of the website Atlas Obscura, a guide to the world’s many bizarre and hidden wonders, will love this huge collection of food novelties. While in theory, you can eat or drink everything in this collection, many are definitely unappealing. …
Inside the Homes of the World’s Most Creative People
Sam Lubell
This solid collection is a slow read to carefully work your way through. The content itself is not dense – one to three pictures of a home interior along with a page description. But nearly every room and its …
The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities from History
Edward Brooke-Hitching
There are some really weird books in the world. Some, like the Voynich Manuscript and the Egyptian Book of the Dead are somewhat familiar. But these are only the tip of the iceberg. Brooke-Hitching examines categories of unique …
My Remarkable Life in Show Business
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks has been an icon of comedy for 70+ years. From his early Borscht Belt days, through years as a tv comedy writer and into his movie career, Brooks has brought us some of the biggest laughs in show biz. His …
Brent Spiner
Brent Spiner, the actor best known for his part as Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, has written a…thing. Don’t get me wrong, it is a totally enjoyable…thing. But it definitely defies categories. Perhaps “whackadoodle” would be the best word to describe it. Imagine if Spiner had …
Caroline Cox
“Street” fashion, the organic creation of style influenced by location, culture, politics, religion, social unrest and availability of materials, has always influenced “high” fashion. And vice versa. Author Cox makes an excellent attempt to cataloging and describing some of these various “strains” of fashion that have developed over …
Amanda Montell
Cults, like porn and art, are something we feel we’ll know when we see. There is no agreed upon definition and the line of cult-land is nebulous. Montell, a linguist, suggests the core of a cult is driven by language. A vocabulary of inclusion (the way WE talk) …
Alison Bechdel
Cartoonist Bechdel’s The Secret to Superhuman Strength is the story of her life-long fascination with fitness and strength. Interwoven in this memoir are her experiences coming out, various obsessions with types of physical fitness, and her grinding anxiety over the need to perform and produce. Gripping, sometimes funny, …
Andria Lo & Valerie Luu
Fashion and Wisdom from Chinatown’s Most Stylish Seniors
Anyone who is a fan of visiting Chinatown – be it Chicago, San Francisco, or New York – will recognize these elderly citizens. Always bundled to the nines, these are long-time residents of their own small cities …
Few things are as intriguing as finding a photo with no caption. Filmmaker Lee Shulman bought a box of old slides and became fascinated into these glimpses of the past. His collection soon grew to include thousands of these images. There’s a short introduction to the book …
Kirk Anderson
You may be familiar with Anderson’s political cartoons from such notable publications at the NY Times, Washington Post, Forbes and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Now, Anderson has released his his coup de gras. This scrupulously researched anthropological masterpiece will tell you all you need to know when …
Robert Thorogood
The most advanced policing usually needed in Marlow, England (a real town, now due for some major tourist traffic) is directing traffic around swans in the road. So when a string of murders occur, it grabs the attention of three residents. Using their own unique skills (and innate …
Anne Glenconner
Glenconner’s first fiction book is a fascinating blend of experience and fabrication. A real-life Baroness, former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, and former owner of the Caribbean island Mustique, Glenconner sets her book on this very familiar location. With a clear-eyed look at the “haves” (the rich, famous socialites) …
