As one of the biggest fans of Department of Speculation, I could not wait for Weather to come out...and I was not disappointed. Written in her signature style of scenes as vignettes--little slices of life reported in the way we actually live them--this book chronicles the end of the world as we will (probably) know it: at the hands of climate change. Weather is smart, funny, and emotional, with just the right amount of paranoia to make it utterly relatable to us all.
Packed with pop culture, feminist history, and a lot of good humored snark, The Book of Jezebel (Grand Central, $27) is an excellent companion to the popular website Jezebel.com. Want to know about Bella Abzug, Planned Parenthood, or Zits? The information is right here. We dare you to find better entries for Tube Tops, Sheryl Sandberg, or Xena, Warrior Princess. Nothing is sacred, and Lady Gaga shares the page with Gaia, Gardasil, and Indira Gandhi. With witty illustrations and photographs throughout, this encyclopedia, edited by Jezebel founder Anna Holmes, is the perfect gift for ladies of all ages.
With his fourth book in the help-for-writers series, Roy Peter Clark, “America’s Writing Coach,” has given us another indispensable guide to the written word, one especially suited to today’s under-140-characters attitude. In How to Write Short (Little, Brown $20) Clark, never the stern grammarian, gives invaluable instruction on the best ways to communicate a lot of information with few words. His guide for short-form writing, from Tweets to headlines to dating profiles, will be a useful tool for all writers.
