Notes From the Bookroom

December 10, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (3)

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 B...Read More

November 6, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Bestsellers, shmestshmellers. That's what I say. I also say: people who read bestsellers often will appreciate a book that's obscure but complimentary. So for your curmudgeonly/gift-giving pleasure, I present these options for three of the titles all your friends and family are reading:


Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
by Jessica Seinfeld
Deceiving kids so they’ll eat “good food?” What kind of a lame trick is that? If you really want to mess with your kids, try Knock Knock’s ...Read More

October 25, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Ever since strangers stopped giving me free candy everywhere I went, Halloween has always been something of a disappointment. Sure, parties are fun, but the pressure to come up with a costume that's cool or clever in a really interesting way is just too much. And besides, with all the stupid celebrity costumes people are into these days, when’s the last time Halloween gave you a really good scare? You know, the kind you got when the big kids spring out of the bushes with their fake knives, and the shock combined with a system full of sugar makes your heart just about explode, and before you know it you’re running for your life hoping your bladder won't bust open?

Well, that’s how it happened to me, anyway. And though it’s been a while since a book made me pee myself, digging into these r...Read More

August 24, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

Apparently, this bizarre, foul-mouthed, catchy-as-hell PSA parody, innocuously titled "Read a Book," is running on BET, and it's stirring up a controversy. As it involves lots of cursing, egregious stereotyping and obnoxious repetition, I can't recommend it for general work viewing, but those of you with a pair of headphones and a semi-private situation should be able to get away with viewing it.

According to the L.A. Times, "...Read More

August 16, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (10)

Ok, first amendment aside, aren't there laws against obscenity in this country? I'm no fan of censorship, but hey, if we've got the law for anything, the O.J. book is it. If there's a better example of pornography out there, I don't know what it is.

Just as a for example, here's the definition of "obscenity" as it's written in the New York state statute (which I'm assuming is typical boilerplate):

Any material or performance is "obscene" if (a) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that considered as a whole, its predominant appeal is to the prurient interest ...Read More