E-/audiobooks: Non-fiction
“No, Thursday’s out. How about never – is never good for you?” That cartoon, depicting a businessman looking at his diary, phone to ear, is The New Yorker’s most widely reprinted cartoon.
by Richard Gehr
Amazon Publishing
(e-book)
“No, Thursday’s out. How about never – is never good for you?” That cartoon, depicting a businessman looking at his diary, phone to ear, is The New Yorker’s most widely reprinted cartoon. If you recognise the work, by Robert Mankoff, the magazine’s cartoon editor, you will probably also be familiar with the other cartoons that have made it past his desk onto that of magazine editor David Remnick, who has final say on the 40-50 works shortlisted from thousands submitted every week. Mankoff is among the 12 regular cartoonists Richard Gehr profiles in this book. Others (few of them household names) include Mankoff’s predecessor, Lee Lorenz, Roz Chast, Victoria Roberts, George Booth and Charles Barsotti, who died this year. Learn about the evolution of cartoons, discover the longest cartoon caption (205 words) ever published by the magazine, and more. Some readers may agree with Gehr that The New Yorker is the only general-interest magazine that still publishes single-panel cartoons on an ongoing basis. And the world is less charming for it.
by Jimmy Wayne
W Publishing Group
(e-book)
Jimmy Wayne's memoir would have benefited from the show-don't-tell-style of omission for impact. Instead, what comes across is a story so full of awfulness that, at times, you hope not all of it is true. The country-and-western singer and his sister lived with their mother, whose mental illness made her unable to care for her children. She careened from no-good husband to no-good husband, spent her time in and out of jail and institutions, and surrounded herself with people who were violent, abusive, on drugs or drunk. Not surprisingly, Wayne moved from home to home - because he was cared for by others or when money ran out - when he was not in detention or on the street. He also spent much of his early life hungry and scared. One stepfather tried to kill him, then he tried to kill himself. The book title refers to a walk that took Wayne from Nashville to Phoenix to raise awareness for foster youth. Wayne's music perfectly suits his life of sorrow. Whether you can sit through more than a song's worth of grief will determine whether you enjoy this book.