Book Fare

Wild and Crazy Book Titles: The Latest List

Maureen Mackey — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:58:00 GMT

I can't help it: These books arrive and their titles are just too amusing, clever, amazing, or wild and crazy to ignore--which is exactly what their creators wanted them to be.

People will do almost anything to cut through the clutter. (And to a point, they certainly should--dare I state the obvious by saying there's a lot of clutter out there.)

So, without further ado, and with gratitude and other appropriate kudos to those who dreamed these up, here's another round of funny, clever, and decidedly memorable book titles:

1. WHERE UNDERPANTS COME FROM: From Checkout to Cotton Field Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy

2. HE'S HISTORY, YOU'RE NOT: Surviving Divorce After 40

3. IF YOUR KID EATS THIS BOOK, EVERYTHING WILL STILL BE OKAY: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency

4. IGNORE EVERYBODY: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity

5. CAREER SUCCESS WITHOUT A REAL JOB: The Career Book for People Too Smart to Work in Corporations

6. PEOPLE ARE UNAPPEALING: True Stories of Our Collective Capacity to Irritate and Annoy

7. FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES MALARIA: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life

8. FREEDOM'S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR PEOPLE FINDING OUT YOU'RE USELESS: A Dilbert Book

9. WOMEN ARE CRAZY, MEN ARE STUPID: The Simple Truth to a Complicated Relationship

10. FATALLY FLAKY: A Novel

11. I DIDN'T WORK THIS HARD JUST TO GET MARRIED

12. QUIRKY, YES, HOPELESS, NO

13. GO GREEN, GET LEAN

14. STEPMONSTER: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do

15. MBA IN A BOOK: Three Books in One

16. SLANTED AND ENCHANTED: The Evolution of Indie Culture

17. SELLING WHEN NO ONE IS BUYING

18. GO ASK YOUR FATHER: One Man's Obsession with Finding His Origins Through DNA Testing

19. WAGGING TALES: Every Animal Has a Tale

20. SIR CUMFERENCE AND ALL THE KING'S TENS: A Math Adventure

The Bill Gates You Never Knew

Maureen Mackey — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:48:00 GMT

It would make sense that one of the most successful and most philanthropic people of our time, Bill Gates, has been an avid reader all his life.

As a kid, he devoured books, so much so that he sometimes read at the dinner table--not a habit his parents wanted to encourage.

He often won his school's awards for "most books read over the summer." You can picture it, right? A young Bill Gates curled up with a book on the sofa, on the porch, on his bed—drinking it all in and remembering every word he read. And then moving on to the next book. (With summer just around the bend, parents, take heed...)

If you want to know more about where Bill Gates came from, the values that molded him, and the common-sense wisdom and strong principles he grew up with, check out his father's inspiring new book, Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on The Gifts of a Lifetime by Bill Gates, Sr., with Mary Ann Mackin (Broadway Books, $22).

Our current issue of Reader's Digest features a compelling short excerpt from the book, on page 23 of our June 2009 magazine.

An attorney who currently serves as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Sr., 83, has a clear, direct, and persuasive voice that quickly draws the reader in. (Bill Gates, the son, wrote the book's short and punchy foreword, which is a personal message to his father.)

A few standout bits of Gates Senior's wisdom:

1. There can be more than one valid viewpoint on any subject—and likely more than two.

2. We cannot succeed without the contributions of others.

3. No matter how old we get, we never have to stop growing.

4. Optimism triumphs over pessimism.

5. Each of us has an obligation to speak out for what we believe in—and to make life on this planet a little better.

A Treasure Trove for the Canine-Obsessed

Maureen Mackey — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:52:00 GMT

Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about dogs, along comes a book packed with fascinating tidbits of insight and information.

Do we need this?

Well, let me turn this around: Who among us can resist dipping into some very cool trivia, data, and history about the pets we're so nuts about?

There are many little goodies here.

Read on for 10 irresistible takeaways from the new book, Spott's Canine Miscellany by Mike Darton (Abrams Image, April 2009) (and yes, this little tome is modeled after the Schott's Miscellany books):

Photo Courtesy: Abrams Books

1. About 70% of dog owners in the United States, when sending birthday or Christmas cards to friends and relatives, also sign the name of their dog.

2. In 2007, the average overall cost of owning a dog in the United States (living for an average of 11 years) was $13,350. [Knowing how much I shell out for my little pooch, this actually sounds low to me...]

3. About one million dogs in the U.S. are the primary beneficiaries of their owner's will.

4. About 21% of dogs snore. (Cats do so far less--only about 7% of them snore.)

5. Dogs can normally hear and pinpoint the source of a sound at about 4 times the maximum distance that an adult human can. (On the other hand, absolute silence makes a dog nervous.)

6. One third of all U.S. dog owners admit to leaving phone messages for their pet on their answering machines—or to actually talking to their dog over the phone.

7. Two dogs—a Pekingese and a Pomeranian—survived the sinking of the Titanic because they were lucky enough to find places with their owners in the very few lifeboats that left the ship early. (A third dog, a big Newfoundland, is rumored to have survived by swimming alongside another lifeboat.) [and see next item...]

8. The Newfoundland has webbed feet and a highly water-resistant coat, which is why it can swim extremely well. The basset hound has short, stumpy legs and very heavy bones: It can't swim at all.

9. The 20 most popular names for female dogs in the U.S. in 2006: Maggie, Molly, Lady, Sadie, Lucy, Daisy, Ginger, Abby, Sasha, Sandy, Dakota, Katie, Annie, Chelsea, Princess, Missy, Sophie, Bo [sound familiar?], Coco, and Tasha.

10. The 20 most popular names for male dogs in the U.S. in 2006: Max, Jake, Buddy, Bailey, Sam, Rocky, Buster, Casey, Cody, Duke, Charlie, Jack, Harley, Rusty, Toby, Murphy, Shelby, Sparky, Barney, and Winston.

5 Reasons To Celebrate Moms, Every Day of the Year

Maureen Mackey — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:10:00 GMT

I could linger long and hard over a lovely new book called Life with Mother by the Editors of Life Books (Life Books/Time Inc.), not just for its attractive pictures but for its inspiring collection of quotes that celebrate moms, kids, and families around the world. (Guys, hang in—a follow-up book is coming out soon called Life with Father).

The book goes on sale in about a week, and if you're like me and already thinking ahead to May even as we're just about to start April (I love April, but Mother's Day is always my favorite day of the year), this makes a fine gift. Or something to enjoy any day, any time.

Here, my 5 favorite quotes on motherhood from the pages of this book:

1. "Life began with waking up and loving my mother's face." --George Eliot

2. "A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." --Sophia Loren

3. "I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." --Abraham Lincoln

4. "Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all." --Oliver Wendell Holmes

5. "There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." --Chinese proverb

10 Great Tips on Decision-Making from Suzy Welch's new book, 10-10-10

Maureen Mackey — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:20:00 GMT

Suzy Welch's new book, 10-10-10, comes out from Scribner in a couple of weeks, and not a moment too soon.

Photo Courtesy of Scribner, a div. of Simon & Schuster, Inc

If you want to take control of your decision making, and be absolutely certain why you've made a decision in your life (any decision)-—and from that point on, give up the time-wasting, energy-sucking activity of second-guessing yourself—this book is for you.

Read an exclusive interview with her, as well as glean important information about her book, in the upcoming May issue of Reader's Digest. (And then tell us what you think—I'm curious to know.)

In the meantime, here are 10 essential takeaways from the book:

1. Should you "go with your gut" when making important decisions? Yes—but that's only one small part of the equation. "Gut" alone isn't foolproof. And it's certainly not disciplined.

2. Asking a trusted friend or family member for advice is a common activity for a lot of us. But it has its dangers. As much as these folks love us, they have their own agendas.

3. If you're only thinking of the most immediate ramifications of making an important decision, think again: You're missing out on important long-range perspectives.

4. So what about dwelling on only the long-term aspects of a decision? Here again, a one-tiered way of looking at decision-making doesn't serve any of us very well.

5. When you know how to access your values, you can truly make a wise decision.

6. Good decision-making can happen as quickly as you like—as long as you understand important strategies.

7. Think you've got decision-making nailed simply by saying, "The heck with everyone else. I'm doing what feels right for me"? Guess again.

8. When you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. The author shares compelling examples from her own life, and others, as proof.

9. Good decision-making is perhaps as important today as ever, with so much on the line. We can get it right.

10. Welch's strategy, 10-10-10, is something everyone can use to his or her advantage. Dozens of people have, and their testimony and stories are clearly laid out here, for all of us to learn from.

Check out her book to truly understand what it's all about. It is so worthwhile.

I had the pleasure of interviewing and speaking with this smart, proactive, thoughtful woman. She's onto something big here. I loved her book, and I have loved working her refreshing strategy into my own life.

New and Noteworthy: 4 Great Books

Maureen Mackey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:57:00 GMT

"Do you ever run out of great books to read?" asks a friend.

No, no, and no, is my triple-decker answer.

"Well, how do separate the wheat from the chaff?"

Gut, instinct, industry intelligence, and years and years of turning the pages and seeing the good, the bad, and everything in between.

"So what should I read next?"

Depends on what moves you.

Is fast-paced crime fiction your thing?

Try the new Patricia Cornwell book, Scarpetta (Putnam). She's such an able writer and handles complicated forensic intelligence with ease and sophistication. You need to be prepared, though, for the world you're entering--this isn't for the faint of heart, let's say.

If peace and tranquility are more your thing, try Mary Pipher's wonderful new book, Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World (Riverhead). Mary is a lovely, comfortable writer who takes the reader through her personal awakening after fame and fortune came her way. Even if you've never experienced life as a bestselling writer (as she has done, in the wake of her important book of a few years back, Reviving Ophelia), you'll totally understand and sympathize with her renewed need for privacy, distance, and quiet, and even glean a few tricks on how to achieve it yourself.

What if you want a straightforward, totally engrossing read with vivid characters, set circa World War II? You cannot go wrong with Jim Lehrer's new novel, Oh, Johnny (Random House), about a young Marine whose life is changed forever when he meets a woman on his way to war. His relationship with her sustains him through danger and hardship, and there's a fabulous ending. See our interview with the prolific novelist/newsman in the current issue of Reader's Digest (March, on stands now), by the way, for insight into the very talented Mr. Lehrer and what interests him.

Well, what about something wickedly funny and totally offbeat? Does the name Carrie Fisher do anything for you? Try her vivid and outrageous new memoir of life in Hollywood and elsewhere, Wishful Drinking (Simon & Schuster). Be prepared for humor as sharp as knives and hefty doses of psychological soul-baring (and a lot more than that). Note to rabid Simon and Garfunkel fans: There is an entire chapter on her relationship with Paul. And a pic or two. Delicious.

More recommendations coming down the pike in the very next go-round. (Can't spill all the beans in one post, you know!)

A Book with Straight Talk for Your Career

Maureen Mackey — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:14:00 GMT

"Focus on the core mission of your business."

"Be exceptionally productive."

"Be visible."

How many times have you read or heard these business tips over the years?

They're much more than soundbites now. Implementing this advice can be critical to hanging on to your job. In good times and bad, it can help you be an "irreplaceable worker."

Check this advice out, and all of its underlying context and background, plus many more tips, lists, statistics, and job descriptions, in the handy and straight-talking 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs by The Editors @ JIST and Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D. (JIST Publishing, softcover, 2009).

Co-author Shatkin, with 25-plus years in the career information field, was one of the many people Reader's Digest consulted while creating an important new article in our magazine. The March 2009 issue of Reader's Digest -- on stands now -- contains a smart, savvy, and advice-filled jobs package that's a must read. We turned to dozens of experts and boiled down their timeliest and best advice on keeping a job, researching a job, and finding a job in today's tough economic market.

We spoke to people who've lost jobs, found jobs, and are still seeking jobs, to offer the very real and human sides of the story as well.

So look to this book, with its straight data and lists, as an additional resource.

Part I shares tips on recession-proofing your career and why they're important.

Part II shares a number of "best jobs" lists, including the best recession-proof jobs with the highest percentage of self-employed workers (think massage therapists, chiropractors, and psychologists). There's also a list of the fastest growing recession-sensitive jobs (computer software engineers, financial advisors, and fitness trainers, for example).

And part III offers detailed descriptions (along with growth potential, education requirements, and more) of the best recession-proof jobs -- everything from archeologists to fire investigators to nursing aides to soil and plant scientists.

FYI: The book calls a computer systems analyst the "best recession-proof job overall." The job offers earnings of nearly $70K annually, is growing at a rate of 29%, and has more than 63,000 openings each year.

Remembering Lincoln, Warts and All

Maureen Mackey — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:13:00 GMT

Abraham Lincoln has been so lauded for so long, praised with prose that practically reaches to the heavens, that it's easy to forget what a difficult life he actually led.

Never mind the log-cabin-and-learning-to-read-under-lousy-conditions stories. I'm talking about his height—that "angular and awkward" height of 6' 4", which assured that he would stick out in a crowd, especially back in his day.

Or the fact that he knew great pain, suffering the untimely loss of three of his four children at young ages. He mourned them the rest of his life.

Or the fact that his wife Mary, as the years passed, showed signs of depression and quite possibly schizophrenia.

Or that he intuited fairly early on in his presidency (if not earlier) that there would be those who would want him dead. As he remarked in 1863, "I long ago made up my mind that if anybody wants to kill me, he will do it... There are a thousand ways of getting at a man if it is desirable that he should be killed."

Reminding ourselves of this man's burdens, pains, and difficulties somehow puts his political accomplishments into even sharper relief.

If you're looking for a celebratory, attractive, and handy book about Lincoln, in which this humanity shines through, pick up a copy of Worthy of Their Esteem: The Timeless Words and Sage Advice of Abraham Lincoln by Iain C. Martin (Cider Mill Press, February 2009).

Courtesy Cider Mill Press

Yes, the Gettysburg Address is here, as are numerous excerpts from other speeches, letters, and statements. Here's one: "I have never had a policy. I have simply tried to do what seemed best each day, as each day came."

It's not a scholarly narrative work and doesn't pretend to be. But with its attractive presentation and concisely told stories, it's a vivid and true reminder of a great man's life and why we're still celebrating him to this day. I read it cover-to-cover and wished it wouldn't end.

New Book on Decluttering and Living with New Clarity

Maureen Mackey — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:50:00 GMT

You probably know the name Peter Walsh. He's appeared on Oprah and has hosted his own show, Clean Sweep. He is an expert on decluttering, and there's much to recommend about his new book, Enough Already! Clearing Mental Clutter to Become the Best You (Free Press, on sale March 3).

Why has clutter become such a problem for so many of us? Because, in too many cases, we're doing too many things and trying to accomplish too much in too short a time span, without enough help or a clear vision of where we need to be in order to truly fulfill our dreams.

Walsh's theories are simple at their core, but profound: "Work is about efficiency and productivity. You need to know where things are."

Check. If you can't find that important report, you can't act on it or create new products to help your company grow.

"You'll never clean up your career if you don't have a clutter-free environment."

Check. If your workspace isn't organized, how can you envision or plan a thriving career beyond the present?

"If a home has a clutter problem, there is a money problem not far behind."

You may be buying too much, holding onto things out of sentimentality or fear, or not facing up to the realities of your financial situation.

"Your home, your head, your heart, and your hips are intimately connected."

Collecting too much stuff and being immobilized by it means you're neglecting your health and well being.

Walsh's book is helpful, easy to navigate, and filled with real-life tips and advice for real people. He addresses relationships, work, family, money, health, and well being.

Best of all, it's upbeat: You CAN fix that clutter problem. You're bigger than your "stuff." You have a lot to offer. You have a life to live.

Go to it!

How to Pick a Peach (and Choose a Brussel Sprout)

Maureen Mackey — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:03:00 GMT

With spring on the way and fresh fruits and vegetables on our minds, here's a great book to know about: How to Pick A Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table by Russ Parsons (Houghton Mifflin).

The hardcover came out in '07 and the paperback in '08, but it is, as they say, of perennial interest.

With precision and wit, Parsons shares the inside scoop on a whole range of delicious foods and how to find them, buy them, cook them, and eat them.

I have an inexplicable interest in brussel sprouts these days (which, by the way, protect against four types of cancer). And I still have one foot stuck in winter. So I read with interest what Parsons (a multiple James Beard-award winning writer) had to say about this favorite veggie:

"Not only do they develop that distinctive smell when overcooked, but their colors fade to a uniform shade of olive drab."

Hence, the complaints from my kids recently.

Have you cooked with brussel sprouts lately? (Jupiter Images)

Seriously, Parsons goes on to share some delicious tips: "To treat brussel sprouts with respect, begin by shopping for the smallest sprouts you can find. These will cook the fastest and have the sweetest flavor."

Anyone who wants to treat brussel sprouts with respect is a friend of mine.

Parsons also recommends storing these gorgeous baby brassicas in plastic bags in the crisper drawer of the frig, and to remember that "they're at their best within the first couple of days after purchase."

Then a delicious menu follows, involving slices of bacon and more than a splash of red wine vinegar.

I haven't tried that yet, as I remain partial to my own walnuts-and-cinnamon brussel-sprout stir fry. But I'm delighted to know that these nifty little vegetables can be treated with such... creativity, care, and concern.

Every vegetable and fruit discussed in this book gets the same treatment from this author, who clearly loves what he's writing about.

Check out the sections on: eggplants; lemons and limes; peaches (of course); and tomatoes.

Then dive in, dig in, flip around, and gain new insight into foods that are good for you, easier to prepare than you think, and worth the time they take.

When Do Writers Write?: 1 Question, 3 MORE Great Answers

Maureen Mackey — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:31:00 GMT

In the interest of sharing even more insight into the creative process, I asked a few more authors to answer the question: When do you write?

Here are a few extra bits of info from names that will be familiar.

All have written extensively, and they've all contributed to or appeared in the pages of RD.

Here's A.J. Jacobs, author of the bestselling titles The Know It All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World and The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible:

"I do a lot of my writing at night, after my kids go to sleep. I write from 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Since I work from home, it's the only time of the day when there aren't a huge amount of distractions—for example, important questions from my two-year-old about the location of his Chicken Dance Elmo. I wake up early with the kids, so I've become quite the afternoon napper."

And this from Mariel Hemingway, actress and author of Healthy Living from the Inside Out as well as a number of other lifestyle books; her newest book, a cookbook, will be out this spring:

"I write in the morning and at the end of the day. It has to be very quiet, and I mean it has to have an energetic quiet. That's usually early in the day or late, after 9 p.m. Usually I just start writing and then I find myself lost in it. Sometimes I don't feel the urge to write, but once I start, it flows."

And this, from Mary Roach, whose recent book is Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (the paperback is out in April). In addition to being an accomplished humorist, she's also a terrific reporter and chronicler of popular science; her other books include Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife and Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers:

"Good question! It's out of control. I reply to most everyone who writes to me, and feel strongly about doing that. I make my living eating up strangers' time, asking for interviews, favors, etc. Thus I feel it's bad form to ignore someone who takes the time to contact me, tell me they liked my book, ask me a question—what have you. Bad, bad karmic imbalance. That said, I have regular fantasies about taking down my contact info, because I just can't ever seem to get ahead with the writing. And I'm not even on Facebook. How do all these other writers do it?"

And Mary adds: "I write whenever I can pull myself away from the distractions for a few hours. No particular time of day. Just have to say: Enough. No email for a few hours."

When Do Writers Write?: 1 Question, 3 Great Answers

Maureen Mackey — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:09:00 GMT

A colleague of mine some years back would famously put in a full day at the office—and then drive home, have a glass of wine, slide a fresh sheet of paper into his typewriter, and pound out the latest chapter of his novel.

After a couple of hours, he and his wife would sit down to a beautiful meal.

He did this five days a week, for years. (His only child was grown and out of the house by then, so there were no children underfoot.)

The routine certainly served him well, because he produced a solid body of work that sold well not only in this country but around the world.

Today, with so many demands on their time-—interviews to do, blogs to noodle around with, even Facebook statuses to update—I wondered, When on earth do writers get their work done? When are their brains clearest, their ideas freshest, their productivity the highest? When are writers writers?

So I asked a few well-known people. Their responses were fascinating.

Here's Jim Lehrer, PBS NewsHour anchor, who we interviewed for the March 09 issue of Reader's Digest about his entertaining new novel set in World War II, Oh, Johnny (Random House, out on March 24). He's published 18 novels, 2 memoirs, and 3 plays, and has already finished writing another novel that will be out next year (all this in addition to his day job). He told us exclusively:

"If you really want to do something, you can find time to do it. And I really want to do this. So I get up early, write a little every day, and make sure it's done. It's amazing what you can get done. One time a kid said to me, 'Mr. Lehrer, I'd like to write novels, but I just don't have time.' And I said, 'Well, do you have time to write one page a day?' And he said, 'Yes.' And I said, 'Well, if you wrote one page a day for 300 days, what would you have...? You'd have a book, wouldn't you?' That's the way you have to do it. If you say, 'Oh, well, I've gotta go to the top of the mountain, I've gotta go to the beach, the wind has to be right, and everything's got to be right... then I can really get into this'—well, if I did that I'd never get anything done! The good side of doing it my way is that it's with me everyday. It's like a low grade fever. When I'm working on a book, and I always am, it's there with me all the time. And I'm stunned that more people don't do it this way."

And here's Jacquelyn Mitchard, the prolific novelist and essayist who contributes to our pages, and who's just finished writing a major new novel, Starry Night, due out in 2010. This morning, she told RD:

"When do I write? Morning, noon and night. In the evening and in the middle of the night. Every day of the week except Sunday, every day of the year except Mother's Day and Christmas. I write in bed and on planes. In hotels and in the lobbies of theaters during my son's rehearsals. On the floor of the airport. Because my children's needs come first—and they have so many!—I take advantage of every free moment. For that reason, though I'm a fast writer, things tend to take me months instead of weeks. I just finished the final revision of Starry Night, the sequel to The Deep End of the Ocean. On this one, I WANTED to go slowly!"

And here's journalist Alanna Nash, who's working on a hot new book about Elvis and the women in his life (she's the author of several important books on Elvis, including the 2003 The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley, excerpted in RD as a cover story). Her thoughts:

"I write all the time, even when I'm dozing. My brain just won't shut down. I don't like to get up before the sun, as it makes me feel too out of sorts, but I don’t mind writing into the night. I think I can be more honest about my emotions as the shadows set in. As for what time of day: I don't go to my desk until about 9 a.m., and if I haven't written something by noon, I start to panic. I do my best work between 11 a.m and 2 p.m., when I break for lunch. I always go out for a bite to eat at midday, just to get out of the house and intermingle with humans. I sit there afterward for a few moments and think about the writing I have just done. Then I come back and work until about 6:30, when I go have a lite dinner with my mother. At about 8:30, I come back and either write some more, or read. I've always had my office in my basement. I like to go 'underground,' literally and figuratively. I need to escape with my thoughts, to burrow, as it were."

Now, why writers write—that is a whole other subject.

What questions would you like asked of some of today's biggest authors? Let us know—we'll aim to get answers.

Book Titles to Die For: The Latest List

Maureen Mackey — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:38:00 GMT

When you read books for a living you see a lot of titles that stick to your ribs, for one reason or another.

For the lighter side of things today, and in no particular order, here is Book Fare's latest list of fun and funny book titles.

And yes, as with all our lists on this subject, these are actual book titles... Enjoy!

1. "Is This Thing On?" A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers, Technophobes, and the Kicking and Screaming

2. Well Read and Dead: A High Society Mystery

3. The Cheap ***'s Guide to New York City: More Than 1,000 Free Listings

4. Hi, I'm Bill and I'm Old

5. Vampire A Go-Go

6. Can't Remember What I Forgot

7. Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50

8. The Bedside Baccalaurate

9. Requiem for a Paper Bag

10. Fifty is Not a Four-Letter Word

11. How to Fossilize Your Hamster: And Other Amazing Experiments for the Armchair Scientist

12. The Writing on My Forehead

13. It Looked Good on Paper: Bizarre Investigations, Design Disaters, and Engineering Follies

14. The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things (and How to Do Them)

15. Let Me Eat Cake

16. Two Cats and the Woman They Own

17. It's A Cat's World...You Just Live in It

18. What's A Mother(-in-Law) To Do? 5 Essential Steps for Building a Loving Relationship with Your Son's New Wife

19. Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys: An American Woman in World War II

20. The Portable Dad: Fix-It Advice for When Dad's Not Around

21. Mona Lisa's Pajamas

22. I Love It When You Talk Retro

23. If You Give a Mom a Martini: 100 Ways to Find 10 Blissful Minutes for Yourself

24. I'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse: Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss

25. The Bases Were Loaded (and So Was I)

Remembering John Updike

Maureen Mackey — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:23:00 GMT

Today we heard the very sad news that the world has lost John Updike to lung cancer. He was 76.

Two months ago, in our December 2008 issue, Reader's Digest ran an exclusive interview with the great novelist and writer. The occasion was his 23rd and most recent novel, The Widows of Eastwick, which picked up with the same characters introduced in a popular earlier novel, The Witches of Eastwick.

Updike won virtually every accolade available to writers, including two Pulitzer Prizes (one for Rabbit is Rich, published in 1981, and another for Rabbit at Rest, published in 1990). Born in Reading, Massachusetts, the son of a schoolteacher and a homemaker, Updike was widely respected for his large body of work, including novels, essays, short stories, and literary and art criticism. He was published widely in The New Yorker. He enjoyed writing his sequels. He enjoyed being read.

In the fall, when he spoke with our writer, Jesse Kornbluth, by phone from his home on Boston's North Shore, Updike was gracious and cordial. This afternoon, I asked Jesse to share some inside stories of that interview.

He replied:

I interviewed John Updike twice, a decade apart. Both times he called me Mr. Kornbluth. I understood that he was Old School, so I addressed him as Mr. Updike.

Updike spoke as precisely as he wrote. He dropped his guard only once, when I mentioned an affinity between my daughter, an only child, and only child John Updike: Both were afflicted with psoriasis at age six.

"The Italian word for it means 'the disease of the strong' --- she'll be fine," Updike told me.
That meant nothing to my young daughter. But to be reassured by John Updike made my week.

We shall miss him, as will his throngs of readers around the globe. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

For more on Updike, read an appraisal from The New York Times: A Relentless Updike Mapped America’s Mysteries.

A New Book About Quiet Time (Is there really such a thing?)

Maureen Mackey — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:08:00 GMT

When I first moved into the house I live in now, I couldn't fall asleep at night. I heard no cars whizzing by, no cabs honking their horns—no people talking, dogs barking, heels clicking, or anything of the sort.

None of that. All I heard was silence. And it was deafening.

Now, more than thirteen years later, while I might not view the contrast so starkly (I hear a few things, after all, and on the whole, they're pleasant to hear, providing their own sense of comfort), overall I do live in a very quiet area on a dead-end street.

I've come to adore this measure of silence at night. After active, busy days, I never take its nourishing qualities for granted.

The life-preserving tendencies of silence are very much at the heart of a lovely new book, Listening Below the Noise (Harper, on sale February 10), by author and novelist Anne D. LeClaire.

She may be leading a trend here, because at least one other book will be out this spring on the notion of silence, and finding silence, and appreciating its rare qualities in an increasingly noisy, busy, jammed world.

More than 16 years ago, LeClaire decided to experiment: What would happen if she experienced a "silent Monday"?

For a full day, she chose not to speak to anyone around her—not even her husband, who at first was perplexed and irritated, but ultimately supportive. Her goal was to nurture and appreciate a sense of quiet, of solitude and of peace, as much as humanly possible.

The Cape Cod-based author describes, in memorable prose, how it went down that first morning:

"As I stepped into the shower, the upstairs phone rang and I jumped reflexively. And then, immediately, I remembered I was not talking and had no obligation to answer it. My shoulders dropped and my body released a tension I had not even been aware of holding. Only minutes from sleep and already my muscles had been primed to meet the day's demands. I thought of the sign at a local breakfast spot that reads, 'Good morning. Let the stress begin.'"

She continues: "I realized that we live our days with ears turned outward, ready to respond, always on the alert... But for this one day both my ears would be turned inward. I had only to listen to myself."

One of the author's own friends declared, pretty early on, how "radical" the notion of a silent day was. LeClaire's children found it difficult to navigate at times.

But LeClaire pushed her way through the pessimism and the concern, and found that, after that first day, she wanted to try her time of silence again. And again.

To this day, she celebrates a "silent Monday" twice a month. Her book is an ode to its long-term benefits, its rich rewards, and the sense of personal, healing peace she's achieved over the years.

"Silence can be invaluable in providing time and space to defuse a situation," she says. "Its surrounds can provide a neutral corner in which to sit, an opportunity to reflect rather than react. It can help break patterns of habitual behavior... It is a deep resource."

She includes a list of suggestions at the back of the book for achieving even short periods of silence: "Take the television out of your bedroom...Go to a place in nature and experience the peace... Take five minutes and close your eyes, wherever you are." (To read more about LeClaire and her quest, buy her book or go to her website here.)

Whether or not any of us can duplicate this author's discipline in ways large or small, her story is fascinating to read, and it's driven by marvelous writing throughout. Overall, this is a vivid and significant book, full of insight and inspiration.