Books in My Lobby 10

Tonight I offer for your reading pleasure The Oz Principle, by Roger Connors, Craig Hickman, and Tom Smith. What's it about? How about this: "A decade ago, The Oz Principle took the business world by storm. The principle works like this: Like Dorothy and the gang in The Wizard of Oz, most businesspeople have the tools to succeed, but when things go wrong they blame circumstance or others instead of looking within for the true cause of unsatisfactory results. Once individuals learn to accept responsibility, they can use the Oz Principle to become better leaders. This philosophy can be encompassed in one word: ACCOUNTABILITY." Say no more. I'm in!

The book has been such a popular best seller that The Oz Principle is also an accountability training company. Learn how to increase revenue and profitability. Reduce costs. Impliment key innitiatives. Sounds like every writer's dream. 

Not sure if it's for you? Still in the dark about how ACCOUNTABILITY works? Do you blame others before accepting responsibility for your screw-ups? Then I leave you with this parting video:

Books in My Lobby 9

This week we have for you some Great American short stories. From Hawthorne to Hemingway. I didn't grab this one. But, what if I had? Then I'd be experiencing Amazon's mighty description firsthand:

"Beginning with well-known stories by Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe, this diverse and colorful collection includes tales by Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Sherwood Anderson, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, and Mary Wilkins Freeman. From Sarah Orne Jewett’s portraits of rural Maine to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s brilliant tales from the Jazz Age, these stories span the breadth of the American experience."

Not that I don't love a good American story, but I already have a number of great anthologies that help scratch that story itch. Like The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike. And The Complete short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, The Finca Vigia Edition. The Best Short Stories of J.G. Ballard. The Collected Stories of Richard Yates. Great Esquire Fiction: The Finest Stories from the First Fifty Years. And representing the ladies: Like Life, Stories by Lorrie Moore. That should do me for awhile.

Books in My Lobby 8

So many books, so few lobbies. Here we have a non-fiction selection, American Prometheus, the Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Those piercing blue eyes, that cigarette, that Fedora, and the history of the atomic bomb in one handy book. Winner of the National Book Critics Award for Biography. MEEEOW.

Don't feel like buying the book? Check out all you need to know about atomic bomb history here. Interested in becoming an atomic scientist yourself? Then check this out.

Books in My Lobby 7

The latest offering from my lobby. I didn't grab it, too many books in the queue.
John Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle is a fictionalized account of an apple pickers' strike in the small California town, Torgas Valley. Published in 1936, it continues Steinbeck's social criticism; his struggle to shine a light in the unseen corner of the working class.

Books in My Lobby 6

There's been quite a bit of book activity in my lobby recently. I'll start with this classic nugget, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, about Packingtown, the center of Chicago's meatpacking industry in the early 20th century. We know the horrors of how meat gets processed in 2009--imagine what it was like a hundred years ago. Gag. The cover photo of this edition tells it all.

If you don't feel like reading the book (I mean, it's long, and old, and full of ideas--it's like having to watch Battleship Potemkin for school) then check out SparkNotes. It's like Cliffs Notes ("The fastest way to learn") for the Internet, with a chapter-by-chapter synopsis, a page of historical context, and a character breakdown. Brought to you by the people who already make most of America's book buying decisions: Barnes & Noble.

Don't forget your homework:

Books in My Lobby 5

It's been months since somebody left a book in my lobby. Finally, this morning on my way out I saw this gem sitting there as if no time had passed. David Baldacci's The Whole Truth. Something tells me this is a legal thriller. But what do I know? Maybe Mr. Baldacci's website can set me straight:

"In this terrifying global thriller, ...characters’ lives will collide head-on as a series of events is set in motion that could change the world as we know it. An utterly spellbinding story that feels all too real, The Whole Truth delivers all the twists and turns, emotional drama, unforgettable characters, and can’t-put-it-down pacing that readers expect from David Baldacci -- and still goes beyond anything he’s written before."

Sounds scary. Unfortunately, I'll never find out because the book was gone when I came home this afternoon. I guess I missed my chance. Damn you lobby, damn you to hell!!!

David speaks:

Books in My Lobby 4

I've never heard of Joseph Kanon (only 181,000 google results--oh, he wrote The Good German) but I really wonder how captivating and intriguing and tense and superb it is. Let's see what the critics really say.

From TheMysteryReader.com: "What if? If Joe Kanon had remained a publisher, the mystery reading world would have been cheated the skills of a very competent storyteller." Not bad, not great. Let's see what Publisher's Weekly has to say: "Kanon's second novel, after the very well-received Los Alamos, is somewhat disappointing." Can you say Sophomore slump? I can. Sophomore slump. Library Journal says: "A treat for crime fans who appreciate blithe and brittle writing." Better, better. One more. This from Booklist: "Readers who enjoy Kanon's exciting mixture of the real and the imagined should flock to this excellent historical crime novel." Score! Well played Mr. Kanon, well played indeed.

What's the cheapest copy I can find? Sorry Mr. Kanon, but a used copy of your mass market paperback sells through Amazon for just $0.01.

Books in My Lobby 3

Most books in my lobby aren't my cup of java, but I couldn't resist picking up another J.D. Salinger, even though I have about 2 or 3 copies of each of his books already. I just knew it would go to a good home if I snatched it up. Unfortunately, when I brought it back up to my abode, I found the thing smelled of the worst industrial-strength air freshener. I did what my Dad always does when he buys some moldy old books: I aired it out. Since I don't have a porch or a patio or a yard, I propped it in one of our open windows. It took a few days, but the stink finally went away.

Books in My Lobby 2

This guy was at the bottom of a disposed boxful of last year's textbooks. I almost grabbed him (because I can't get enough of high school biology) but the poor dude's expression was a turnoff. Hopefully he found a good home.

Books in My Lobby

No, you're not in the wrong blog: I just changed the name from General Ephemera to Unreliable Narrator. Liz came up with that when I included a fiction in my post about seeing The Wedding Present. You'll have to read her comment to figure out what piece of information I twisted for my own bloggy purposes.

People in my building leave books they don't want in the lobby. Here is the first in a series of photos and commentary about these books. What's wrong with these books? Why get rid of them? Who can say? Perhaps taking photos of them and posting them online will answer these and other timeless questions.

Why does this even exist? Why not just read the damn book? These are not short books either. This CliffsNotes was probably more than half the length of the novel. It didn't last long, somebody snagged it up about an hour after I took this. Must be in high demand


Define the Phrase

Well, since nobody's biting, I'm leaving the current phrase up and running until I get some results. Just leave me a comment if you think you have an inkling of what Blunderbuss means (see previous post). Look it up if you must and put this poor word out of its misery so I can post another fun phrase for you to parse.