This is a great book for kids! It includes a single page on each of the hundred dangerous things with a few fun facts, a simple explanation of what to do if you find yourself in the situation, a risk and survival rating, and a couple of pictures. Dangers are split into categories like natural disasters, lost in the wild, and dangerous animals.

I think the explanations give a good overview and could definitely inspire kids to check out more detailed books on some of their favorite dangers. I would be wary of recommending this to kids who are natural worriers, as they may find even more situations to be concerned about. However, it could also assuage their fear if the risk and survival ratings are low/high for their particular fear (though a new fear could replace it). The only detraction is that the author doesn't include where she got her information (especially how the survival and risk factors were calculated), and does not include any recommended books for additional information.

Chuck Klosterman is my favorite author, best known for Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs among many other similar works. I Wear the Black Hat is his latest book published in July of this year. Klosterman's work is a bit hard to explain (the book jacket says, "Klosterman continues to be the only writer doing whatever it is he's doing") but he essentially gives thematic insight to major pop culture events - past subjects have included why Kurt Cobain's death affected so many people and the impact of the events in Waco, Texas, with the Branch Davidians. He also wrote an entire book about classic heavy metal (Fargo Rock City).

I Wear the Black Hat takes a focus on villains and villainous behavior - the subtitle is "Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined)." Klosterman's achievement in all of his works, including this one, is that he is able to pair intellectual ideas and theory with pop culture events and references. He began as a rock writer, so that is of course going to influence what he chooses to write about, but he is also incredibly smart, funny and insightful in how he writes about these topics. In one chapter he manages to tie together Rocky and Bullwinkle, Machiavelli and the Penn State scandal with Jerry Sandusky and Joe Paterno - cartoon, 16th century politics and 21st century sports scandal. I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy intellectual commentary on contemporary popular culture and/or have an interest in villains.

I borrowed this book from my dad, and we are both big AC/DC fans. Of course he was around when they are coming up, so he already knew several of the facts in the book that I did not know. For example, I knew Bon Scott (the original lead singer) had died early in their career, but I didn't know at what point (right of the cusp of stardom) nor how he died (mysteriously). The authors constructed this book from examining what seems like every piece of press ever published about the band (around 1300 interviews) as well as 75 new interviews. The book has a heavy focus on the band's beginnings and rise to the top, which is interesting and useful for fans who already know about AC/DC as a world-famous group. This book showcases what they were like before they reached that status and how they got to that point, dispelling many myths along the way.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the band but with one caveat - sometimes you can get lost in the many minute details that the authors include. I found myself consistently wondering what year it was because between the time they stated the year and the time we got to February there was information overload! But if you love AC/DC, you will love this book, that is for sure!

I've been wanting to read this for a while, and I'm so glad I decided to get it on audiobook, because as funny as I'm sure the book is to read, it is truly hilarious to have Tina Fey read it to you herself. The chapters are short and interesting, and there's a nice balance of humor and serious thought about issues like the double-standard that female comediennes must put up with. It also includes a clip of her first SNL appearance as Tina Fey in the '08 presidential campaign - I hadn't watched that for a while, and I had forgotten how hilarious it was until I listened to it again on the audiobook. Anyway, my main conclusion is that I think we should all try to be best friends with Tina Fey.

The graphic part of this graphic novel was beautiful: beautiful colors and pictures that are the perfect combination of realistic and cartoon. However, the story moved way too quickly, with Siena moving from flat-footed child in ballet class to dancing at a prestigious New York ballet academy. Because it is so short, there is not a lot of discussion of Siena's feelings or conflicts, only the events that occurred in her progression. Still, it is nice to see a graphic novel autobiography and one that is more geared to girls. And I have to say, the ending is quite cute, showing the author leaping across the beach with her young daughter, mirroring the opening beach scene where the author states "big, empty spaces always make me want to dance".

This book tells the story of the Titanic both pre and post iceberg. It includes the stories of multiple people on board, including the hard working crew members, snobby first class passengers who jumped in the first lifeboat and never looked back, and heartbreaking stories from children who lost parents, and wives who lost husbands. Though all of these accounts create a well-rounded story, it is hard to keep track of who is who. Also, because the story is told chronologically, there is a lot of jumping from story to story, which makes the book feel scattered, but also show the urgency of the various parties as the ship began sinking. The author used pictures well, including many early shots taken during the first legs of the trip, before it crossed the Atlantic (which is how the photographs survived, the photographer got off the ship at one of these ports). Though it dragged a bit at the beginning with too many extraneous details included - does anyone care what furniture was in the guestrooms - it definitely picked up once the action started. There is plenty of information at the end too with mini biographies, various timelines, and a bibliography and links to additional information.

Part memoir and part self-help book The Tao of Martha is Jen Lancaster’s answer to Eat, Pray, Love and others of its ilk. Lancaster tries to spend a year living like Martha Stewart, complete with Easter egg hunts and handmade baskets. Along the way she picks up a few house-keeping tips and a whole lot of interesting stories.

As much as I love both Martha Stewart and Jen Lancaster, I couldn’t get into this book. Lancaster spends a great deal of time talking about her dog’s health which makes this already slow memoir float by at a glacial pace. What could have been an interesting look at a “real persons” attempt to do Martha falls short and becomes a discussion of mundane life.