Hey All - After months of way too much work and a draught of even vaguely recommendable reads, I finally have some new titles! My breakthrough from months of mediocrity (hey, who put Starting Your Own S Corp and Moss Gardening on my library list? Oh yeah, that was me) came from MIke H. Thanks Mike! So... on to the new good reads

American Nerd: The Story of My People by Benjamin Nugent

This excellent recommendation from Mike H is one of my favorite class of books - pop culture sociology. In American Nerd, Nugent takes a look at "his" people - nerds of many colors. While I do agree with my friend Meg's assessment that Nugent does tend to portray his experience being a nerd as the definitive definition (with little or no reference to female nerds) he does cover a lot of ground. In addition to the standard D&D playing, Star Trek watching highly academic nerd, Nugent also touches are some of the more ...robust nerds, such as the Society for Creative Anachronism nerds who make weapons and armor, then fight in them. Nugent also touches on groups like Asperger's, computer geeks, cosplay nerds and other subsets. Whether they are your people, familiar but foreign or completely out of your realm of understanding, I think Nugent gives a pretty good overview of the genre along with plenty of amusing anecdotes.

The Gum Thief  - Douglas Coupland

The Gum Thief lives up to Coupland's usual excellent standard. While the formula may be quite familiar - outcast/losers from different backgrounds band together - Coupland once again manages to make the sad and mundane beautiful. Set in a Staples store, Coupland tells the story of the middle-aged, pathetically washed-up Roger, a fellow employee, chubby goth Bethany and her mother, with whom she lives. Like many of Coupland's books, the characters are mired in dull and meaningless lives. Through their interaction and friendship with the other characters they manage to find a modicum of happiness, forward moment and hope in life. In addition, the snippets of Roger's masterpiece Glove Pond add an extra, lovely, surreal note.

The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things (and How to Do Them) - Peter Sagal

Host of NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!, Sagal's voice is all that a good liberal midwesterner should be. Whether discussing attending a swinger's party, gambling, eating a 24-course gourmet meal or studying pornography, Sagal sounds wry, amused and slightly embarrassed, with strains of the midwest "well, to each their own... I guess" attitude. Interspersed with witty, snarky commentary Sagal and his wife daintily dip a toe into naughtiness of all types. While they rarely join in he naughtiness, they do study it with rapt attention - mostly. "Beth and I looked for some other way to pass the time There was an unused backgammon set, but the only thing duller than not having sex at a sex party was playing backgammon at a sex party." Though Sagal's immersion in vice could be compared to a fine spray from a sprinkler, he does offer a number of excellent theories on why people are drawn to their various vices. Why gamble when you are almost sure to lose? Why watch porn or pay for lap dances when you can get the real thing for free? Why pay for single mouthfuls of exotic foods when you could get two burgers for $2? A great laugh and nicely naughty tour of vice with a kind and funny guide.

The Full Body Project - Leonard Nimoy

I heard a lovely interview by Nimoy months ago on his new book and the fear of working in this "new" medium. Unlike his past works (and most other photographers) Nimoy used plus-size models for his project. After being approached by a member of the Fat-Bottom Revue, a larger-than-life burlesque troupe, Nimoy agreed to shoot a group of obese women. Modeling his shots after other famous photo shoots and paintings, Nimoy presents a collection of strangely beautiful, almost sculptural, images. While the vast majority of the population is much more likely to be the size and shape of the women in the book, we so rarely see so much as a bulge or hair out of place. The models in Nimoy's book have everything that society disapproves of - rolls of fat, dimpled thighs, droopy breasts, tons of tattoos and a full-on challenging eye-contact with the viewer. Nice chutzpah, ladies! http://www.leonardnimoyphotography.com/7body.htm