In pre-Internet days, when the caterwaul of a dial-up modem was an impossibly annoying dream, books were the place to go when we wanted to explore provocative material.
Like lists. (What did you think I meant?) Lists are provocative for the following reasons: 1) What’s on them; 2) What has remained.
Then when you needed a present for someone you didn’t know well or you just didn’t want to walk more than five steps into the store, there were books—sometimes small and narrow, sometimes squat and overflowing—filled with the kind of empty factoids that we now google and find on the internet: things like theme lists, “fun” facts, world records, 5 or 9 or 117 data points you need to know about that thing you like. Or something about golf.
Type something completely random into your browser these days, like “best books on bacon,” and there’s plenty to choose from (including, oddly enough, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead’s nonfiction book on poker, “The Noble Hustle,” because , I assume, the subtitle calls beef jerky).
Or if you need a list, there are so many online that there’s even a joke list of the 100 best lists — and it comes from that flirty clickbait trap known as The New Yorker.
In the original pre-Internet, the Guinness Book of World Records, the standard listing text for vacation rentals and guest bathrooms, was regularly slammed into the backseats of moving vehicles to keep kids occupied before things like computer tablets or iPhones came along.
We don’t need that sort of thing anymore, do we? Or so I thought.
On a recent Saturday, despite the roughly 47,000 books I already have or want or need to read, I stopped into the busy Lost Books in Montrose (down the street from another good bookstore, Once Upon a Time) to scan the shelves. .
Then I came across a book that I had to sniff, I’m ashamed to admit (and yet I still admit it), kind of.
The book, let me add, is not funny or bad or silly. No, it was like seeing an old friend. I remembered how many framed books I had browsed and enjoyed with friends and realized that the internet had probably destroyed most of these kinds of books, the kinds you always found in stores.
The one I found was called “Books: The Essential Insider’s Guide,” edited by poet Mark Strand, which was part of the City Secrets series edited by Robert Kahn. Linen-bound with heavy white pages and silk bookmarks sewn into it, the cover promised: “Award-winning novelists, poets, journalists, humorists, critics, and booksellers — among many others — reveal great but little-known works of literature.”
“Books” reminded me of the books I remember at the cash registers of retail chains such as Borders, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks and maybe even Crown of B. Dalton. Books for people who may not have liked books, but other things: books with pictures of animals for animal lovers, books with pictures of race cars for race car enthusiasts, books with pictures of houses for people who wanted houses that usually had no books in them ( except for a blob of art books tastefully peeking out from under a side table).
Interestingly, this book of lists published in – believe or not – 2009, long after the internet has supplanted tomes like the very real “The 500 World’s Greatest Golf Holes,” is great as far as I’ve scrolled through. Writers like Anne Applebaum, Jim Harrison, Oscar Hijuelos, Radhika Jones, Peter Orner, Jane Smiley, Calvin Trillin, and more (including what many magazine journalists seem to be) offer favorites I’ve heard of more often than not.
There are suggestions to read works by Charles Willeford, Rebecca West, Tove Jansson, Josephine Tey, Julio Cortázar, June Jordan, and many more.
There’s even Buck Henry, the screenwriter of “The Graduate” and co-creator of “Get Smart,” who writes about Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem — and I probably would have bought it just for that.
It was the kind of book I thought I didn’t care about, or even liked, but I did.
Is this slightly retro must-have book? No. Is it a book that I will read cover to cover? I doubt it. Am I glad I picked it up for $5? Yes. (And used booksellers seem to have many more, should you decide to look for them.)
Perhaps there is always something appealing about lists of things you like, online or in physical form. (Although maybe not for stuff you don’t, like the very real “The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said” and its sequel, which I also saw on a used bookshelf but didn’t feel the urge to rhapsody about.)
But hey, a thoughtful list curated by smart people? That might have some staying power.
Do you have any recommendations for me? Send them to epedersen@scng.com and we can include them in the column.
Debut LA Author Jeff Bishop Shares the Power of Tina Fey’s ‘Bossypants’
Los Angeles writer Jeff Bishop is the author of the first comic novel, “A Heavy Dose of Allison Tandy,” about an injured teen whose medication causes him visions of his comatose ex-girlfriend. Bishop will be talking to Suzanne Park at Chevalier’s Books on July 12 at 7:00 PM.
Q. Is there a book or books that you always recommend to other readers?
Everything from Samantha Irby. No other writer makes me laugh like she does. We both went to Evanston Township High School, just north of Chicago. So unfortunately I will never bear the title “Funniest Wildkit”. (Our mascot was the Wildkits) (Evanston is where Northwestern University is located) (They’re the Wildcats) (You get it)
Q. How do you decide what to read next?
At the moment I am at the mercy of the BookTokkers. They recommend; I read as I am told.
Q. Do you have any favorite book covers?
Except mine? (Pause for laughter) Erica Waters’ “The River Has Teeth” is pretty sweet. “Exit, Chased by a Bear” by E.K. Johnston is another one I’ve always really liked.
Q. What genre do you read the most and what would you like to read more of?
I like whodunnits because I definitely don’t have the brain to write them. It’s the only genre I can really relax while reading, because my brain doesn’t constantly compare it to my own work.
Q. Do you have a favorite book or books?
“How to Talk to a Widower” by Jonathan Tropper
Q. What books do you plan or hope to read next?
Got “The Agathas” by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson in line. Then Casey McQuinston’s new book, “I Kissed Shara Wheeler.”
Q. Is there one person who has had an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian, or someone else?
Two teachers stand out; the first, Mrs. Mull, was my third-grade teacher and the first person (other than my family) to encourage me to pursue a career in writing. The other was my freshman English teacher, Mrs. Hartley, who urged me to start writing in my own voice.
Q. What do you find most appealing in a book: the plot, the language, the cover, a recommendation? Do you have examples?
If there is a character named Jeff. I don’t know what it is, but I find something very recognizable in it.
Q. What’s a memorable book experience you’d like to share?
Somewhere in my parents’ house is a copy of Tina Fey’s “Bossypants” full of notes. I stopped writing as a teenager and didn’t pick it up again until I was in college. I was an Econ Major; we didn’t really learn the joke structure in class. So “Bossypants” became my de facto textbook.
Q. What is it about writing your book that no one knows about?
I almost scrapped the project in 2020 when I couldn’t figure out how to fix the plot. Fortunately, my agent and my editors believed in me more than I believed in me. And so today we have “A Heavy Dose of Allison Tandy.” And it’s good as hell.
How LA Influenced Author Gabrielle Zevin’s Latest Novel. READ MORE
“American Detective” TV star Joe Kenda talks about the book “Killer Triggers”. READ MORE
“Friends” and “Cheers” TV director James Burrows reflects on TV career in new book. READ MORE
The best-selling books at your local independent bookstores. READ MORE
Sign up for the next free Bookish event coming on July 15th – it’s the 2nd anniversary edition of the greatest hits! — with host Sandra Tsing Loh.
Rough diamond definition: A diamond with exceptional qualities or potential, but without refinement or polish.
What is the coolest book ever?
12 novels considered the â€greatest book ever written†On the same subject : Did you know that you can afford to travel? Here’s How.
- Anna Karenina. Greta Garbo in Anna Karenina. †
- To kill a mockingbird. To kill a mockingbird. †
- The Great Gatsby. f. …
- One hundred years of solitude. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. †
- A passage to India. E.M. Forster. †
- Invisible man. Ralph Ellison. †
- Don Quixote. Don Quixote. †
- Lover. Ton Morrison.
What is the best-selling book of all time? According to Guinness World Records of 1995, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed.
What is the #1 book in the world?
The most widely read book in the world is the Bible. Writer James Chapman listed the most widely read books in the world based on the number of copies of each book sold in the past 50 years. He found that the Bible sold far more than any other book, with a whopping 3.9 billion copies sold in the past 50 years.
How much gem of a person you are?
A gem of a person refers to a person who is well behaved, studies well, is kind hearted, smiles, has a helpful nature and is loved by all for his goodness. On the same subject : Prohibited books: What titles are counted and why. Such a person is considered an asset to his family, school or any organization where he works.
Can we use gems for a person? member. I have read in my dictionary that the word “gemstone” can be used for “a person or thing that is considered extremely good or special in some way”.
What is the meaning of a rare gem person?
6 shows unusual excellence; exceedingly good or just fine.
What a gem of a person you are?
A person’s jewel refers to a person who is well-behaved, is a unique person, has a helpful nature, kind-hearted, and the person is loved by all people for his goodness. The person is considered a precious possession because of his good qualities.
What do you mean by gem?
Gemstone Definition (Entry 1 of 3) 1a: Jewel. b: a precious or sometimes semi-precious stone cut and polished for ornament. 2a: something that is especially valued for great beauty or perfection. b: a highly valued or loved person.
What is the #1 book in the world?
The most widely read book in the world is the Bible. Writer James Chapman listed the most widely read books in the world based on the number of copies of each book sold in the past 50 years. He found that the Bible sold far more than any other book, with a whopping 3.9 billion copies sold in the past 50 years.
