Staff Picks

The short version: The story of a break up from the very beginning of the relationship, starring authentic characters and presented in a unique format--each chapter starts with an object from a box of mementos Min collected and is giving to her ex-boyfriend, Ed. For more details, read on.

Minerva Green is being driven to the home of her ex-boyfriend Ed by her best friend Al to deliver a box of mementos she collected over the course of their short relationship. Each chapter of Daniel Handler's Why We Broke Up begins with a painting of an object from the box and is followed by Min's written explanation to Ed of what the object and its significance is. Frequently, these objects are launching points for the narrative of their relationship. The movie ticket leads into the story of their first date and the poster Ed steals from the theater continues the story of that day. Other items are one-offs, with a single story attached to them. It's a fun and unique way to tell this story, and Handler writes very convincingly as a young woman in high school.

Despite the structure of the book around these objects, the story flows easily. Ed and Min meet at a party that Ed wasn't invited to, have an instant attraction, and exchange numbers. They are from different social circles, Ed being a captain on the basketball team and Min spending most of her time with a small group of film aficionados. She wants to be a film director. He wants to win the state championship. There are times while reading the story that Min feels like a friend who you realize cannot see that this is not a long-term relationship, which is a big credit to Handler's ability to make her, Ed, the other characters, and the details of their relationship so authentic and Min's love for Ed so genuine.

One element of Handler's writing I enjoyed involved Min withholding the information about an object until late into her writing about it. There's a suspense of curiosity that builds around the object--How does that play a significant role in her story?--and it's a fun change to the formula of a chapter.

I'm struggling to think what readers I'd recommend this to. It would appeal to both teen and adult readers who like realistic fiction, obviously, but they would also have to enjoy a story that breaks the mold.

This is definitely one of my favorites; it is not, however, a self-help book (if you peruse Amazon reviews, many readers’ expectations were defied and disappointed by that fact – most likely due to a misinterpretation of the sub-title). Rather, Redirect presents the practice of story-editing to effect successful interventions in personal and social issues. The first chapter describes story-editing and how it can help turn negative thinking patterns into healthier ones (there are clear parallels to cognitive-behavioral therapy). This act of redirecting or, in some cases, making sense of a situation, can be accomplished through three different methods: “the writing exercise, in which people reinterpret a problem by writing about it; story prompting, in which people are directed down a particular narrative path with the hope that it will bump them out of a self-defeating thinking pattern”; and the “do good, be good approach, which involves changing people’s behavior first… In other words, people’s behavior shapes the personal narratives they develop” (17). Don’t be fooled, though; this book is not positive thinking, touchy-feely fluff; it investigates numerous scientific studies and also points out the lack of a scientific framework and analysis for many popular interventions (for example, the D.A.R.E. program).

Quite notable to me in the first chapter was the author’s look at CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing), commonly used for a time with first-responders. The author points out that controlled studies have repeatedly found that CISD worsens the stress and outcomes in an individual who was peripherally or directly involved in a traumatic event. “In short, one reason CISD fails is that it makes it harder for people to take that step back and gain some perspective on what happened. Forcing people to talk about the traumatic event right after it happened can even solidify memories of it, which makes it harder for people to reinterpret the event as time goes by” (13-14; emphasis mine).

Each successive chapter focuses on one specific issue – parenting, teen violence, academic improvement, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. – and investigates current, popular interventions and their non- or even ill-effect, contrasting them with simple story-editing interventions. The author repeatedly points out the importance of scientific, validly constructed intervention strategies that incorporate control populations to produce accurate evaluations of efficacy. The story-editing interventions are designed and implemented along such guidelines, producing results that are extremely valuable and encouraging. One of my favorites was an extremely simple intervention with struggling college freshman who sat through a one-time, thirty-minute “session in which students learned that lots of people struggle academically at first but then improve their grades. [There was] no attempt to delve into participants’ academic history, inquire about their study habits, or counsel them on how to manage stress. In fact, participants didn’t even know that the purpose of the study was to help them improve their academic performance” (16). The results -- compared not only to the no-intervention control group, but also a control group enrolled in the standard, intensive study-skills program that many colleges employ for such students -- were astounding: very small measurable difference between the control group and the study skills group, but the story-editing-intervention students experienced huge academic improvement over the course of their college careers. “…These results are particularly dramatic considering how small and seemingly inconsequential the intervention was – the students took part in a thirty-minute psychology experiment in which they were shown some statistics and saw brief videotapes about other people’s grades” (17).

Other passages I found particularly interesting:

• “…If I were to give one piece of advice for how to be happier, it would be to carve out more time to spend with friends and loved ones, because, as we’ve seen, the best predictor of happiness is the quality of our social relationships” (51).
  
  
• “The next time you think about an upsetting event from your past, remember to take a step back and analyze it from a distance, and to think dispassionately about why it occurred. In short, don’t recount the event, take a step back and reconstrue and explain it” (59).
  
  
• “If you want at-risk teens to act out and become even more deviant, it turns out that one of the best things you can do is to arrange for them to hang out together on a regular basis” (142;  see also Dishion, T.J., McCord, J., & Poulin, F. (1999). When interventions harm: Peer groups and problem behavior. American Psychologist, 54, 755-764).
  
  
• “…when teens hang out with other teens who are engaged in risky behaviors, they tend to imitate those risky behaviors” (165; see also Sussman, S., Dent, C., & Stacy, A. (2002). Project Towards No Drug Abuse: A review of the findings and future directions. American Journal of Health Behavior, 26, 354-364; see also Valente, T., Ritt-Olson, A., Stacy, A., Unger, J., Okamoto, J., & Sussman, S. (2007). Peer acceleration: Effects of a social network tailored substance abuse prevention program among high-risk adolescents. Addiction, 102, 1804-1815).
  
  
• “But there is another set of issues associated with poverty and social class that is more controversial, namely, differences in child-rearing practices between lower-class and middle-class parents…” (210; see also Nisbett, T.E. (2009). Intelligence and how to get it. New York: W.W. Norton).

I’ll leave it to you to read the book if you want to know the author’s stated findings on that last bullet point.

The short version: This is an excellent collection of articles by the author of The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Psychopath Test that will satisfy fans of those books, as well as those who enjoy off-beat journalism and stories like those that air on This American Life. For more details, read on.

Lost at Sea collects past articles by writer Jon Ronson. I like Ronson, having read and enjoyed both Them: Adventures with Extremists and The Psychopath Test, in addition to enjoying his appearances on This American Life. His reading voice is infused with curiosity and mystique.

On his recent Daily Show visit, Ronson was dubbed by Jon Stewart an "investigative satirist," which is wrong. His articles and essays do carry humor, but he doesn't mock his subjects. It just happens that Ronson is drawn to odd, outside of the mainstream subjects. Like a sports writer follows sports, Ronson follows potentially cult-like groups, conspiracy theories and theorists, celebrities gone awry, and such.

A few examples from Lost at Sea. "The Name's Ronson, Jon Ronson," documents his attempt to live a James Bond film via a road trip in an authentic Aston Martin. "A Message from God," concerns the Church of England's Alpha Course, a controversial Christian conversion course aimed at Agnostics that some call brainwashing. "Stanley Kubrick's Boxes" documents his search through the deceased reclusive auteur's extensive and detailed archive. "Santa's Little Conspirators" takes him to North Pole, Alaska, shortly after a Columbine-like plot was foiled where he finds sixth graders responding to letters sent To: Santa, North Pole. "Is She for Real?" questions the authenticity of Sylvia Brown's psychic predictions, which Ronson attempts to ask Brown about directly while on a cruise with her. The title story, "Lost at Sea" is one of those investigations of potential conspiracy, as Ronson investigates Disney Cruise Lines's seeming lack of effort to uncover what happened to a young woman who disappeared from one of their ships.

Ronson's articles are fantastic. A writer who puts himself in his stories, he knows true objectivity is impossible, yet gives space for the various viewpoints he presents without mocking his subjects. There is an element of British humor on occasion, that display of cringe-worthy discomfort when he presses a question you might be thinking as the reader, but couldn't bring yourself into such a conflict in reality.

This is a very satisfying collection of Ronson's articles that will appeal to fans of his books, and those of Sarah Vowell (to whom this book is dedicated), Jack Hitt, and listeners of This American Life.

A hilarious take on a 7th grade boy's life from the pen of Tim Carvell, head writer at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The book is in diary format and follows Tad on various adventures & life lessons throughout the year.

Whether he is fighting with his younger sister, Sophie, disagreeing with his utterly uncool parents, or getting into trouble with his friends Chuck & Kevin, Tad's observations and escapades deliver solid laughter. A typical day in Tad's life goes something like this: "JANUARY 11 [mood: annoyed] Today, Mr. Parker had us diagram sentences again. I told him that I didn't want to have to keep doing this, because the only job where you have to diagram sentences is middle-school teacher, and I plan on being something better than that. He didn't say anything. He just got very quiet and gave us all a pop quiz on diagramming sentences. I got a D."

Clearly, anyone who is (or was) a teenager can relate to Tad. He is a very likable and insightful kid - without any knowledge of either trait, which makes him even more endearing. Parents, if you have a child who is a reluctant reader, especially if they are a middle or high school boy, get this book in their hands! If my review doesn't sell it to them, point out that parts of this book were originally published in MAD magazine. That ought to hook them. And if you, like me, are an adult or teen who appreciates the type of humor Carvell doles out with amazing skill, don't hesitate to read this for yourself.

Welcome to Icicle Falls, home of the Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company, which has been run by the Sterling Family for generations.  Samantha Sterling has just been given a heavy burden. Her recently deceased step-father, Waldo, has left the company near ruin and it is up to her as the eldest daughter and newly appointed CEO, to save the family business. To make things worse, there’s a new bank manager in town, the handsome Blake Preston who has given Samantha less than two months to repay the company’s debt. Can Samantha and her family save the chocolate factory in time? You will have to read the book to find out! This book has all the ingredients of a great read—humor, a bit of suspense, and a healthy dose of romance. And who can forget the chocolate, all the chocolate...

Dodger is a tosher, a cheeky, enterprising young man who knows the sewers of London like the back of his hand.  He searches in tunnels below ground to find lost treasures like coins or rings, always hoping to find the mystical Tosharoon—a  conglomeration of treasures wrapped up in mud, and worse.

One night while toshing Dodger hears the screams of a young lady in distress from the street above and rushes to her rescue, rising up from the tunnel and defeating the thugs who were beating her.  As he ministers to this well-dressed girl with a mysterious accent he meets the reformer Henry Mayhew and a writer named Charlie Dickens.   The new hero’s decision to investigate the mystery of the girl’s background so he can keep her safe leads him to become involved in the world of aristocrats, Fleet Street journalism, and the Peelers.

Terry Pratchett includes his usual satire of government, news reporting, and life at various levels of society, as well as his typical humor.  The parallels between Ankh-Morpork and Queen Victoria’s London become clearer as the story progresses.  While the characters are not as fully developed as those in the series (difficult to do in one book) it’s easy to see a connection between Sir Robert Peel (head of the Metropolitan Police) and Sam Vimes, for example. 

Fans of Charles Dickens or Terry Pratchett will enjoy this alternate history, as will those interested in English literature and Victorian London.   While listed as a teen book, adults will definitely enjoy it as well.

I listened to the audio, where Stephen Briggs did his usual outstanding job narrating the story.

Maria Semple relates the tale of where Bernadette went and why using emails, letters, reports, articles, and other short pieces created by or relating to the characters. Interspersed are passages of Bernadette's daughter Bee's narration. With all the variation in modes of writing, I was surprised at how smoothly this story read.

Bernadette lives with Bee and her husband, Elgie, in Seattle. Bernadette hates Seattle, almost as much as she hates the mothers of other students at Bee's school who pester her like gnats and talk about her behind her back via email. Bernadette clashes repeatedly with one gnat in particular who happens to live next door. In comic style reminiscent of Arrested Development, a show Semple wrote on, events escalate to the point where Elgie loses confidence in Bernadette, and she disappears.

Even with an unfortunate plot hole later in the story (evidence of a letter written in one location was actually written later in another), I loved this hilarious tale of modern suburban life populated with quirky, yet realistically complex characters. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story.

Also available as downloadable audiobook in WMA format.

I first read this book when it was hot off the press in 1977.   I finished it one morning right before going in to work at an Owensboro, KY department store. It was hard to get my mind on work after experiencing the traumatic events at the Overlook Hotel.

For those who may not know the story of the Shining, it is about a troubled family looking to find a geographical cure to their problems (including dad’s drinking) by moving to a isolated hotel where they will be caretakers over the winter.  The hotel is haunted. But the story isn’t about the ghosts; it’s about   how the evil of the hotel exaggerates and takes over the family’s emotional and psychological states.

The mom tries to hold it together, but she does not understand where her son is coming from (he is psychic, i.e.-“shines”). Dad is basically a good man, but struggles with anger. He wants to drink, but is on the wagon. The hotel bar beckons, complete with a friendly ghostly crowd. He tries to be strong, but cannot hold out. This causes him to neglect his family. Guilt (and psychosis) causes him to turn on them. But when it comes to actually killing his son, he destroys himself to save the child.  

If you have only seen the movie, well, you saw a good movie with great acting and a classic scene (even though there is no hatchet in the book).But the book delivers on a deeper level.  I highly recommend reading (or re-reading) The Shining and just ENJOYING being held captive by a master story teller.

Bergstein explains why women, in particular, absolutely love shoes. Even more than our clothing, shoes offers us a means to communicate who we are as individuals. But Bergstein goes beyond the stories of various cobblers who became famous for their footwear. She also describes the behind the scenes machinations that brought about the famous Ruby Slippers in The Wizard of Oz. They were actually silver in L. Frank Baum’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz but red would be more of a contrast against the yellow brick road filmed in Technicolor. Bergstein combines history with popular culture. For example, we’re informed that Judy Garland was subjected to a starvation diet at a time when she and her mother were unaware diet pills contained amphetamines. As a result, she was given barbiturates so she could sleep at night and did you know that The Wizard of Oz went through four directors? How did the rationing of rubber and steel during World War II affect the shoe industry? Bergstein covers that question and describes Nancy Sinatra’s boots (that were made for walkin’). John Travolta strutted on stage while wearing those famous black boots in Saturday Night Fever. So whether you own as many pairs of shoes as Imelda Marcos (1,060 according to Imelda but other people say 3,000) or you were a huge fan of Sex in the City, you will not only enjoy this book, you will never look at a pair of shoes in the same way.