MAGICAL THINKING: TRUE STORIES -- Augusten Burroughs

St. Martin's Press -- hc
New York -- ©2004 -- 268pp
ISBN: 0-312-31594-5

A collection of essays/memoirs.

Acknowledgements
"Commercial Break"
"Vanderbilt Genes"
"Transfixed by Transsexuals"
"Model Behavior"
"I Dated an Undertaker"
"And Now a Word from Our Sponsor"
"The Rat/Thing"
"Debby's Requirements"
"Roof Work"
"Beating Raoul"
"Holy Blow Job"
"Mark the Shrink"
"Telemarketing Revenge"
"My Last First Date"
"The Schnauzer"
"Key Worst"
"Ass Burger"
"Life Cycle of the North American Opossum"
"Cunnilingusville"
"I Kid You Not"
"I'm Gonna Live Forever"
"Total Turnaround"
"Roid Rage"
"Magical Thinking"
"Puff Derby"
"Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch"
"Up the Escalator"

Once again, an essayist (memoirist?) whose homosexual lifestyle plays prominently in his writing. This is not a lifestyle that I am familiar with, nor is it of any interest to me -- I am not curious about how his life might be different from mine because of the sexual preference. And since few of the pieces reach me on any other level, they don't hold any intrique. The article about his dwarfish cleaning lady was amusing, as was the title piece, but nothing else would lend me to recommend this book to anyone.

MEFISTO IN ONYX -- Harlan Ellison

Mark V. Ziesing Books
Shingletown, CA -- ©1993 -- 91pp
ISBN: 0-929480-31-7
Introduction and cover by Frank Miller

A man who has the power to read minds is asked by a friend to prove the innocence of a convicted mass murderer.

Only Harlan Ellison can get away with writing a short story (not even a novelette) and have it published as its own book. And... only Ellison can add a "thank you" to three people for "their rudeness, ineptitude, short-sightedness, cowardice, ignorant arrogance, and boneheaded behavior" for not printing the story in "one of their forgettable anthologies." I'm sorry, but the days when I thought it was fun to read Ellison's arrogance, rants, and full-frontal assaults are long gone. They were good when he backed them up with powerful new works, but he's too long lived on the glory days gone by and re-issues of old works.

And then there's this "book." It's ... eh... okay. What I heard was Ellison's voice, in all three main characters. There was little, if any individuality, which made the story feel more like a personal commentary, rather than a uniquely crafted tale to disturb or awaken, or whatever Ellison wanted us to feel.

Yeah, his prose style still "rocks," but maybe I'd like to see him stretch himself a bit and give us something new.

DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM -- David Sedaris

Little, Brown and Company -- tpb
New York -- ©2004 -- 257pp
ISBN: 0-965-90483-0

A collection of essays.

"Us and Them"
"Let It Snow"
"The Ship Shape"
"Full House"
"Consider The Stars"
"Monie Changes Everything"
"The Change In Me"
"Hejira"
"Slumus Lordicus"
"The Girl Next Door"
"Blood Work"
"The End Of The Affair"
"Repeat After Me"
"Six To Eight Black Men"
"Rooster at the Hitchin' Post"
"Possession"
"Put a Lid on It"
"A Can of Worms"
"Chicken in the Henhouse"
"Who's the Chef?"
"Baby Einstein"
"Nuit of the Living Dead"

David Sedaris seemed like a "big name" in essayist. I was running across him everywhere, I thought. Then, at a friend's house, I picked up one of his earlier collections and chuckled through a few of the essays. And so it was that I was looking forward to this collection.

However, what I came away with was a personal dislike for David Sedaris himself. What I came away with was a vision of a gay man (he seemed to play up his homosexuality a bit) who was whiny, bitchy, and argumentative simply for the sake of an argument (even when he knew he was wrong).

Whether any of this is true or not is beside the point. It's the impression that I came away with. And since none of the essays left any kind of positive impression with me, I'm not looking forward to reading any more Sedaris.

I quickly donated this book to my local library. If you want to read it, check it out -- don't waste your money.

BLINK -- Malcolm Gladwell

Little, Brown and Company -- hc
New York -- ©2005 -- 277pp
ISBN: 0-316-17232-4

An account of research in to the idea that first impressions are often more valuable than lengthy study.

This was a fascinating book. For those of us who have often felt that we generally have had a good sense of acknowledging and trusting our first impressions, even when we can't explain why, this book offers credence among it's documentation. The delivery of the information here was smooth and easy to read.

It will still be difficult to convince people that "a hunch" can still be valid when we are conditioned to only accept things with a great deal of introspection and study. But the studies mentioned in this book show that often a hunch is simply our brain reacting much faster than we can comprehend, and that maybe we need to accept that.

A highly recommended read.

BLACK LIGHT -- Galway Kinnell

North Point Press -- pb
San Francisco -- ©1966,1980 -- 116pp
ISBN: 0-86547-016-2

A rug weaver in Iran commits murder and is forced to live as a wanderer.

This book is more interesting now, I believe, because of it taking place in Iran.

I have a couple of problems in trying to enjoy this book. First, I have no sympathy or empathy or care for the main character. He is who he is, and I wonder why I am following his story.

While the idea of a parent and child making love is certainly not new in literature, the description and subsequent realization as described here was revolting. And what was it's purpose? I'm not sure.

I'd have trouble recommending this book primarily because it's the sort of book that relies heavily on theme, and here I am not certain as to what the theme is.