Oh, the Meetings You'll Go To!: A Parody


Dr. Suits - 2017
    Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go! But before your first day of actual work, you need to meet Dr. Suits for a dose of reality. You won't learn this stuff in high school, college, or gift books by world-famous authors. But fear not!With his unique blend of hilarious verse and images, Dr. Suits can help young grads get a handle on what's really about to hit them. Oh, the Meetings You'll Go To! is a brutally honest, and ultimately uplifting, take on the struggles of post-grad life that every 20-something will relate to.Tough love never made you laugh so hard.

Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West


T.R. Reid - 1999
    A plainspoken account of living in Asia."  --San Francisco ChronicleAnyone who has heard his weekly commentary on NPR knows that T. R. Reid is trenchant, funny, and deeply knowledgeable reporter and now he brings this erudition and humor to the five years he spent in Japan--where he served as The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief.  He provides unique insights into the country and its 2,500-year-old Confucian tradition, a powerful ethical system that has played an integral role in the continent's "postwar miracle."Whether describing his neighbor calmly asserting that his son's loud bass playing brings disrepute on the neighborhood, or the Japanese custom of having students clean the schools, Reid inspires us to consider the many benefits of the Asian Way--as well as its drawbacks--and to use this to come to a greater understanding of both Japanese culture and America.

Miss Anne in Harlem: The White Women of the Black Renaissance


Carla Kaplan - 2013
    At the heart of this cultural explosion was Harlem, where everything was changing, including the influential denizens who helped define it. Among these were a little-known group of white women who for decades have been relegated to the shadows of history. In this groundbreaking cultural biography, esteemed scholar Carla Kaplan offers a captivating and full-blooded portrait of this band of independent-minded and spirited white women collectively referred to as "Miss Anne."Sexualized and sensationalized in the white press--often portrayed as monstrous or insane--Miss Anne was sometimes derided in black literature and among the Harlem community as well. While it was socially acceptable for white men to head uptown for "exotic" dancers and "hot" jazz, a white woman who embraced life on West 125th Street found herself ostracized. Miss Anne in Harlem introduces these women--many from New York's highest social echelons, many of them Jewish--who became patrons of, and romantic participants in, the Harlem Renaissance. In this superb blend of social history and biography, illustrated with black-and-white photos and two eight-page color inserts, Kaplan illuminates the myriad faces of Miss Anne, explores her motivations, and makes clear her often misunderstood choices. Returning Miss Anne to her rightful place in the interracial history of the Harlem Renaissance, Kaplan's formidable history remaps the landscape of the 1920s and alters our perception of this historical moment.

Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America


James M. Fallows - 2018
    A realistically positive and provocative view of the country between its coasts.For the last five years, James and Deborah Fallows have been traveling across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, they have met hundreds of civic leaders, workers, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, public servants, librarians, business people, city planners, students, and entrepreneurs to take the pulse and understand the prospects of places that usually draw notice only after a disaster or during a political campaign.The America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems--from economic dislocation to the opioid scourge--but it is also crafting solutions, with a practical-minded determination at dramatic odds with the bitter paralysis of national politics. At times of dysfunction on a national level, reform possibilities have often arisen from the local level. The Fallowses describe America in the middle of one of these creative waves. Their view of the country is as complex and contradictory as America itself, but it also reflects the energy, the generosity and compassion, the dreams, and the determination of many who are in the midst of making things better. Our Towns is the story of their journey--and an account of a country busy remaking itself.

White Negroes: When Cornrows Were in Vogue ... and Other Thoughts on Cultural Appropriation


Lauren Michele Jackson - 2019
    From music and fashion to activism and language, black culture constantly achieves worldwide influence. Yet, when it comes to who is allowed to thrive from black hipness, the pioneers are usually left behind as black aesthetics are converted into mainstream success—and white profit. Weaving together narrative, scholarship, and critique, Lauren Michele Jackson reveals why cultural appropriation—something that’s become embedded in our daily lives—deserves serious attention. It is a blueprint for taking wealth and power, and ultimately exacerbates the economic, political, and social inequity that persists in America. She unravels the racial contradictions lurking behind American culture as we know it—from shapeshifting celebrities and memes gone viral to brazen poets, loveable potheads, and faulty political leaders.An audacious debut, White Negroes brilliantly summons a re-interrogation of Norman Mailer’s infamous 1957 essay of a similar name. It also introduces a bold new voice in Jackson. Piercing, curious, and bursting with pop cultural touchstones, White Negroes is a dispatch in awe of black creativity everywhere and an urgent call for our thoughtful consumption.

Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War on You


Greg Gutfeld - 2014
     From politics to the personal, from fashion to food, from the campus to the locker room, the desire to be cool has infected all aspects of our lives. At its most harmless, it is annoying. At its worst, it is deadly, on a massive scale. The Cool are the termites of life, infiltrating every nook and cranny and destroying it from within. The Cool report the news, write the scripts, teach our children, run our government and each day they pass judgment on those who don t worship at the altar of their coolness. The cool fawn over terrorists, mock the military, and denigrate employers. They are, in short, awful people. From what we wear and what we eat, to what we smoke and who we poke, pop culture is crafted and manipulated by the cool and, to Greg Gutfeld, that's Not Cool. How do the cool enslave you? By convincing you that: - If you don't agree with them no one will like you.- If you don't follow them you will miss out on life.- If you don't listen to them you will die a lonely loser How do you vanquish the cool and discover your own true self? Read this book. In Not Cool, Greg Gutfeld, bestselling author of The Joy Of Hate, lays out the battle plan for reclaiming the real American ideal of cool--building businesses, protecting freedom at home and abroad, taking responsibility for your actions, and leaving other people alone to live as they damn well please. Not Cool fights back against the culture of phonies, elitists, and creeps who want your soul. It s not a book, it s a weapon and one should be armed with it at all times."

Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America's Favorite Addiction


Jake Halpern - 2006
    Traveling across the country, he visits a Hollywood home for aspiring child actors and enrolls in a training program for would-be celebrity assistants. He drops by the editorial offices of US Weekly and spends time at a laboratory where monkeys give up food to stare at pictures of dominant members of their group. Whether he is interviewing Rod Stewart or the nation's leading experts on addiction, Halpern deftly uncovers the strange working of our fame obsessed psyches. By interweaving stories from his travels with new research, including original findings from his own "fame survey," Halpern explains how psychology, technology, evolution, and profit conspire to make the world of red carpets and velvet ropes so enthralling. Fame Junkies is a provocative and insightful portrait of an America that wants nothing more than to see and be seen.

Silver Hair: Say Goodbye to the Dye and Let Your Natural Light Shine: A Handbook


Lorraine Massey - 2018
    Here are step-by-step tips on letting nature take its course—or using lowlights, highlights, blending, and toning to transition with minimal drama (and avoid a skunk line). Tips on haircuts, tricks for the best care (conditioning is crucial). Products, including the DIY variety. Plus, the most flattering clothing and makeup to accentuate any shade of gray. With unique treatments and techniques from hair guru Lorraine Massey, Silver Hair is a call for celebrating and enhancing your natural radiance, with thrilling results. Welcome to the inspiring guide for every woman who’s ready to find her true colors. Written by the authors of the national bestseller Curly Girl, here is everything you need to know, from going gray stylishly to living silver gorgeously, including Silver Lining Stories and before-and-after photos of real women. Going silver is not just about a certain look, or saving time and money at the stylist—it’s about fulfilling a deeper desire for authenticity, empowerment, and the freedom to be oneself at any age. So let’s get started.Featuring:The many perks of naturally silver hairStyle and beauty to play up the silverToners and color blendingAvoiding the skunk lineHair care routinesDIY recipes, including Lavender and Verbena Herbal Hair TonicFace-framing silver streaks

Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America


Michael Ruhlman - 2017
    The author uses two of his Midwestern hometown grocery chains, Heinen's and Fazio's, and his memories of his father's love of food and grocery shopping as the foundation for this engaging narrative. While he notes that many other writers have covered the history of the grocery store, the broken industrial food production system, and the nutritional benefits of various foods, Ruhlman delivers -a reported reflection on the grocery store in America,

Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art


Lewis Hyde - 1997
    He first revisits the old stories--Hermes in Greece, Eshu in West Africa, Krishna in India, Coyote in North America, among others--and then holds them up against the life and work of more recent creators: Picasso, Duchamp, Ginsberg, John Cage, and Frederick Douglass. Authoritative in its scholarship, loose-limbed in its style, Trickster Makes This World ranks among the great works of modern cultural criticism.

Gonzo


Will Bingley - 2010
    Thompson's extraordinary life he was publicly branded a bum, a vandal, a thief, a liar, an addict, a freak and a psychopath. Only some of which are true. Even in the 20th century crowded with celebrity, his legacy remains a brilliantly vital force.The great American iconoclast, the great American outlaw, the great American hedonist... However you choose to view him, Thompson remains the high-water mark for all social commentators the world over, and a truly fearless champion of individual liberties.This is his story... the story of a troubled kid from Louisville, Kentucky, who went on to become an international icon. This is a story that charts the legendary heights of so-called "Gonzo Journalism", plumbs the darkest depths of American politics, and presents a lifestyle beyond imagination."No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride."

Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge


Keith Kahn-Harris - 2007
    Musicians of this genre have developed an often impenetrable sound that teeters on the edge of screaming, incomprehensible noise. Extreme metal circulates on the edge of mainstream culture within the confines of an obscure 'scene', in which members explore dangerous themes such as death, war and the occult, sometimes embracing violence, neo-fascism and Satanism. In the first book-length study of extreme metal, Keith Kahn-Harris draws on first-hand research to explore the global extreme metal scene. He shows how the scene is a space in which members creatively explore destructive themes, but also a space in which members experience the everyday pleasures of community and friendship. Including interviews with band members and fans, from countries ranging from the UK and US to Israel and Sweden, Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge demonstrates the power and subtlety of an often surprising and misunderstood musical form.

The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat


Matt Siegel - 2021
    Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English?“As a species, we’re hardwired to obsess over food,” Matt Siegel explains as he sets out “to uncover the hidden side of everything we put in our mouths.” Siegel also probes subjects ranging from the myths—and realities—of food as aphrodisiac, to how one of the rarest and most exotic spices in all the world (vanilla) became a synonym for uninspired sexual proclivities, to the role of food in fairy- and morality tales.

Just to Be with You


Sheryl Lister - 2014
    So when her best friend convinces her to let loose and attend a concert featuring R & B sensation Monte, all Janae expects is an evening of music and fun. But as soon as she hears his smooth, honeyed voice and they share a moment together backstage, Janae fears her heart is in danger once again. Terrence "Monte" Campbell has been hurt by women seeking his wealth and celebrity instead of the man he truly is. So music is his only passion, until he meets Janae. He struggles to maintain emotional distance, but her tender sensuality and caring ways tempt Terrence as no other before. And one sizzling night, they both give in to their desires and explore all of the erotic promises between them. Is Janae really the one for Terrence, or just another disappointment waiting to happen? Can he finally let go of the past and embrace the idea of their loving future?

The Beauty Myth


Naomi Wolf - 1990
    In today's world, women have more power, legal recognition, and professional success than ever before. Alongside the evident progress of the women's movement, however, writer and journalist Naomi Wolf is troubled by a different kind of social control, which, she argues, may prove just as restrictive as the traditional image of homemaker and wife. It's the beauty myth, an obsession with physical perfection that traps the modern woman in an endless spiral of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society's impossible definition of "the flawless beauty."