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Unassuming Substitutes for Boring Bestsellers
December 10, 2007

Sure, these three bestselling titles are sure to please your bibliophilic giftees. But where's the surprise? Instead of reinforcing that reading rut, why not foist these horizon-expanding alternatives on your loved ones?

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Currently getting jiggy with the mass market and trade paperback bestseller lists, this reissue is bolstered by sci-fi filmdom's favorite hero, Will Smith. As a follow-up, consider the reissue of Ray Bradbury's little-known novella Somewhere a Band is Playing, a subtle, disturbing look at a utopian society. It's available in two flavors: for newcomers and casual SF readers, there's William Morrow's Now and Forever, a hardcover that bundles Somewhere with Leviathon '99; for the hardcore fanboy, Gauntlet Press is offering two collector's editions--limited, signed and numbered for $75, add leather binding for $300--of Somewhere a Band is Playing that includes early drafts, story fragments, an unfinished screenplay and Bradbury's own cover art.



Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
Yes, this no-nonsense guide to dieting is probably effective--one of the first steps, after all, is cutting out all meat, dairy, sugar and caffeine--but it's also rigid, difficult and, well, kind of mean (though looking over my dating history it's possible to conclude I'm a little sensitive to the verbal abuse of bitches). Plus, Freedman and Barnouin don't have a lot of credentials between them (though formal model Freedman does have a "Master of Science degree in holistic nutrition"). For a more compassionate, flexible and trustworthy guide, check out Eat, Drink and Be Gorgeous by registered dietician (and go-to nutrician expert) Esther Blum. Not only is Eat, Drink fun and funny, it's actually encouraging, sensible and written with the average (change-averse, willpower-deficient, sweet-toothed) person in mind.



Guiness Book of World Records 2008
Sure, the kids all love this annual coffee-table-sized book full of the bizarre, freakish, obsessive (and occasionally dull ) extremes of human achievement. But has that much happened since last year's edition? Instead of inviting yet another stomach-turning photograph of 28-year fingernail-length record-holder Lee Redmond into your home, why not gift Take Me To Your Leader, a curious title from DK that takes the glossy, coffee-table-sized format of the Guiness Book, as well as its far-ranging curiosity and appetite for the weird, and then goes full-throttle in every direction at once. It's a far more random, eclectic and consistently engaging volume than Guiness, and sets itself apart with some novel touches; for instance, chapters aren't themed or even numbered correctly. It's like the edititorial equivalent of ADHD.

Posted by Marc Schultz on December 10, 2007 | Comments (4)