5. The Perfect Scent

The Perfect Scent, by Chandler Burr (2007)

I don't read a lot of non-fiction for pleasure, mostly because I read so much of it for work. Maybe I should change that, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Burr, who also wrote a book I have sitting in my unread stack from Midwinter, is a really engaging writer. The book tells the stories of the creation of two different perfumes: one is Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, the other is a commission for Hermes. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between a celebrity perfume that would be mass marketed and one for a luxury brand that would be sold in much more exclusive markets. He explains the intricacies of both the way perfume is created and the way the industry works without getting so detailed as to be technical and boring.

The personalities of the people he met really come through in the story. Little details like what they wear and how they speak help flesh them out as real people, rather than caricatures. SJP seems like really smart and opinionated busineswoman, which isn't necessarily surprising, but it was a different side of her than we get to see when she acts. I also liked learning about peculularities of communication among the different groups of people--the French, PR people, perfumers, executives. Very human and funny stuff.

24. It's Not About the Money

It's Not About the Money, by Brent Kessel

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, I joined a book discussion at my yoga studio. The author of the selection had been on NPR a few days before, and I'd enjoyed hearing him speak, so I thought it would be interesting and another way to meet more people in the yoga community in Laramie.

This book didn't really float my boat. The exercises Kessel offers to get people thinking about their relationship to money are pretty good, and I like his approach to happiness and financial security. The problem is that it's too simplistic to tell people that they aren't happy or don't feel secure because they have unhealthy relationships to money. Sure, that's often true. But if you don't have enough money to pay bills, you're never going to feel secure. It's one of those middle class mindsets that always bug me.

Anyway, I realize there's a reason I don't like this kind of book, or this kind of book discussion. It feels like group therapy to me, and to me that always rings false.

14. Generation Me

Generation Me, by Jean M. Twenge (2007)

Finally, something a bit more substantive! I read this one for a book discussion on campus, which I always like. Honestly, Twenge, who's around my age, kind of lost me with some really broad generalizations that didn't ring at all true to me. Some of my fellow discussors (discussioners? discussion members?) seemed to agree.

I lent my copy to Rick, so I don't have it on hand to find examples I can point you toward. Basically, I disagreed with the entire premise that the kids just now graduating from college and those coming out of high school have a bleaker work outlook that people my age, for example. Remember the early 90s? I'm not going to argue that I walked uphill both ways, but let's acknowledge that late adolescence and early adulthood are really difficult and transitional times, and always have been. I'm thinking of my grandparents and what they had to look forward to at that age, namely the tail end of the depression and World War II.

The other thing that really bugged me was Twenge's heavy reliance on pop culture, which she frames as evidence. No. I watched Dawson's Creek, too, but I wouldn't use one conversation between Dawson and Joey as some kind of revelation about teen hopelessness. Sure, pop culture is a reflection of our society (and sometimes that reflection turns back on itself in truly scary and meta ways), but surely there's some real evidence that could shore up what I would call cute illustrations of phenomena.

Still, I liked reading Generation Me. It made me angry and I often disagreed, but it made me think. It was also the object central to one of the best discussions I've been part of here on campus. Lots of people are critically examining the experiences of our students and working hard to improve their opportunities for learning and future success. So, it was pretty cool to read this and talk about it with smart, interested people.

19. Choosing Civility

Choosing Civility (P.M. Forni, 2002)

This is another selection from a book discussion group on campus. It probably wouldn't have been on my radar otherwise. I've always been fascinated with ettiquette and have developed strong opinions on the subject, parsing out rules that I believe in implicitly and those I have no use for. Forni's book isn't exactly a primer on ettiquette; it's more a reminder of how we should treat one another. It's mostly common sense, but bears repeating. I like that Forni calls the book " a handbook for the practical use of civility." The 25 rules are a nice guidelines for all aspects of life, both in the workplace and out. It's nice to see such a well-written little reminder of the ways we can be more thoughtful, or maybe mindful of the ways we interact with others.