self improvement, and failing that, laughter...okay, laughter either way

March 1-15, 1975, I was reading:

The Past Through Tomorrow, Robert Heinlein
The Short Stories of Saki, H.H. Munro
Seduction and Betrayal, Women and Literature, Elizabeth Hardwick
W.C. Fields and Me, Carlotta Monti & Cy Rice

Helping Yourself with Self-Hypnosis (I neglected to note the author--not sure whether I helped myself with this book!)

It's all Arranged, 15 Hours in the life of a Psychiatrist, Campbell

Dossier, the Secret Files they keep on you, Neier
The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?


March 1-15, 2005, I read:

Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway, Dave Barry

Dave Barry makes me laugh out loud repeatedly--this is worth infinitely more than the price of admission. My neighbor pointed out that this is a book probably published in early 2001, pre-911. But his insights on politics are just as funny now as then--and I needed to laugh.

Seven Strategies in Every Best-Seller: A 186-Page Guide to Extraordinarily Successful Writing, Tam Mossman

This book put into words concepts that most authors learn over decades--e.g., start the action as late as possible. It also resolved the mystery of why so many protagonists are orphans--I'd never thought of that, but I accept his explanation, and I had to laugh at the cute scene with:
...widow, Martha Wayne (having survived the bullets that killed her husband, Thomas) [having] a heart-to-heart with her son, Bruce: "I just know that batcowl restricts your vision. And keeping all those toxic chemicals in your utility belt--is that wise?" (Seven Strategies , etc., p. 61)

Frankly I don't know if reading Mossman's book will create best-selling writing, but I'm willing to test it out and let you know.