Cara Freie
This is a Midwest-specific version of Stuff White People Like. Targeting our likes with snarky accuracy, Freie pokes fun at our love of Ranch Dressing (on anything), comfortable Dockers, novelty sweaters, Cracker Barrel and having your wedding reception at the VFW. Hey, that’s not funny! Oh wait, yeah, …
Joshua Ferris
Anyone who has worked in an office will feel a strong sense of understanding, if not deja vu, when reading Then We Came to the End. Written in a chatty, meandering stream-of-consciousness style the narrator shares stories of coworkers and their jobs as they are downsized one …
Dr. Sam Gosling
Gosling presents a quick and dirty overview of his snooping research. Learn how to tell how introverted, neurotic, conscientious, agreeable or narcissistic your friends, family and coworkers are. What is a messy desk the sign of? What message is a coworker sending when their family photos face …
This trio of true adventure books are completely gripping. The Lost City of Z, written by New Yorker columnist David Grann, chronicles his obsession with Victorian explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett. Trained by the Royal Geographical Society in London, Fawcett undertook numerous trips exploring the Amazon basin. Based on pottery …
T
erry Bennett
The actual text of this book is dull beyond words. It chronicles the various European photographers who first photographed Japan, along with later European and Japanese photographers and their studios. Yep, dull.
The images are magnificent. They show an exotic and beautiful world, now long gone. Narrow …
Peter York, forward by Douglas Coupland
It would seem that, out there somewhere, there is a checklist and letter that your average dictator is sent when they reach a certain level. “Yes,” this letter says, “you may rule with an iron fist and have your every bloody whim met. But …
Berkeley Breathed
I was kind of shocked when Breathed killed off Opus earlier this year. I understand his rationale that the world is really just too messed up for an Opus, no matter how feisty he is. However, I think Breathed did a great disservice by taking away a gently …
Retro Hell – Life in the ’70s and ’80s, from Afros to Zotz – by the editors of ben is dead magazine and The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures: 1,001 Things You Hate to Love – by Sam Stall, Lou Harry and Julie Spalding
These two tomes are wonderfully awful collections …
Traudl Junge – Ed. Melissa Muller
Like the accounts written by Hitler’s best friend August “Gustl” Kubizek, Until the Final Hour shows the weirdly human side of Hitler. There is something so very disconcerting about the idea of a madman having friends, normal conversations, afternoon tea and all the …
Gregory Crewdson
Crewdson’s new photo book hits the perfect note between eerie familiarity and creepy confusion. Unlike his past books, the images in this collection don’t have the theatrical, almost unbelievably staged, look. Instead, the images are shot in small towns perfect for their generic blandness. Every page gave me …
Guillame de Laubier
WHOA! It’s library porn! Seriously, there are huge center fold out with *drool* spiral staircases, grilled shelves, tromp l’oil ceilings and (oh baby!) rare manuscripts housed in little nooks and alcoves. I think I need to lie down.…
Jeanette Fulda
I have long been a fan of the blog pastaqueen.com and loved every minute of Fulda’s book. Topping out at nearly 400 lbs, Jeannette decided to loose over half her body weight. However, instead of the usual attempts – weight loss surgery, liquid diet, WeightWatchers/Atkins/Grapefruit Diet – she …
Roger Bennet and Jules Shell
Yes, another thrilling tome from the authors of Bar Mitzvah Disco! As in their previous book, you don’t need to be a wealthy east-coast Jew to enjoy this collection of stories and pictures from late 70s and 80s sleep-away camps. If you’ve been …
Paco Underhill
What is wrong with the mall? Well, everything, according to consumer behavior specialist Underhill. And, he adds, the rise and fall of the mall has been almost entirely avoidable. Going through a standard mall visit, Underhill points out the numerous ways malls fail to satisfy the consumer. From …
Claire Lewis
This collection of teeth-grittingly awful stories make me so grateful I never became a wedding photographer. Jam-packed with horrendous Bridezillas, venomous mother-of-the-brides, gad-awful ministers and other fiascos Exposed will make even the most painful wedding seem a painful pleasure cruise in comparison. There are a few stories of …
Terry Pratchett
Yes, the new Pratchett is very different. For one thing, it is a great deal more serious* than many of his past books. It also takes place (kind of) in our world, rather than the disc world. Still, it is a very good story and told well. With …
