I’ve never been to the popular PostSecret.com site, a phenomenon Frank Warren started as a project inviting people to send confessions — secrets they’ve never told anyone — to his post office box. What followed is now a global brand comprised of the website, lecture series and, of course, books.
POSTSECRET: CONFESSIONS ON LIFE, DEATH, AND GOD is an oversized postcard-format book that’s easy to gobble up in one afternoon, not only because it’s easy reading with pictures and captions, but because the confessions are thought-provoking and occasionally shocking and sad. It’s a literary potato chip: You can’t read just one postcard. With the theme of its subtitle, one might expect secrets of suicidal thoughts, faith gone awry and relationships ending in tragedy — all juicy stuff.
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When I first saw the cover of THE MICHAEL JACKSON TAPES: A TRAGIC ICON REVEALS HIS SOUL IN INTIMATE CONVERSATION, with the ominous shadow of Jackson’s face above the bold byline of Rabbi Schmuley Boteach, I thought there had to be some kind of mistake. Was this some sort of joke? You know, where a rabbi, a king of pop and a kid with cancer walk into a bar? (No, that’s not quite right, but the three of them did walk into Neverland Ranch together. Perhaps the trio isn’t as unlikely as I first suspected.)
Turns out, the rabbi was Jackson’s mentor for nearly two years in 2001 and 2002, just a year before the singer’s accuser, Gavin Arvizo, came forward with allegations of child molestation. The first of many shockers in the book is that the rabbi and his family were staying at the ranch the night the first instance of alleged abuse happened. One gets the sense that Boteach doesn’t believe Michael is guilty, but then again, he did catch him in a few lies during the tapings.
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Sometimes timing is everything. With the case of Mary Elizabeth Williams’ memoir, GIMME SHELTER, the timing is perfect. We can’t turn on the news or flip open the paper without hearing something about the current housing problem. HGTV has made a nice niche for itself with reality shows detailing people’s search to find the perfect home, as well as flip ‘em, fluff ‘em and fill ‘em with stuff.
Her book goes deeper than the headlines, because as desensitized as we might be to the housing boom and bust if it doesn’t directly affect us, it’s a big damn deal if you’re in the middle of it. If you’ve bought a home, you know the kajillion and one questions and details that go along with it. It’s stressful, and yet, because it represents “the American dream,” we forge on, hoping we can grab the brass ring. This is why I loved GIMME SHELTER.
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The subtitle and cover art of THE REAL OFFICE: ALL THE OFFICE QUESTIONS YOU NEVER DARED ASK tell us a lot about what you’ll get in Lucy Kellaway’s book, with sticky note questions such as “Should I tell my boss what I think of him?” and “Is it okay to date a co-worker?” Yes, some of the answers seem rather obvious … unless you’re the person who is doing the asking. It’s much harder when we are, in fact, the one in the scenario. What makes THE REAL OFFICE a winner is not just the relatable situations and the witty and logical answers, but the responses from other commenters who help keep things in pespective and help us to see there is no one right answer for real life in a real office. This is for anyone who works in an office and needs help muddling through, and for those of us who don’t, to help us appreciate being out of that rat race. —Malena Lott
Buy it at Amazon.
