POPLORICA

Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads, Mavericks, Inventions, and Lore That Shaped Modern America, by Martin J. Smith and Patrick J. Kiger: An assortment of short essays about important historical moments that influenced modern culture, including the invention of the air conditioner, the introduction of permanent-press clothing, the creation of the disposable diaper, and the first product placement. It was full of the same nuggets of trivia and broad analysis of social-history trends I used to love about the books I edited at my former job—that sense that even the smallest things can have far-reaching effects and that everything is connects. It was still a relatively light read, though. I did notice some small errors that started to irritate me by the end of the book: for instance, in a single chapter, E.T. was described as “a green alien” (he's brown...right?) and Reese’s Pieces as “chocolate and peanut-butter candies” (GAH THERE IS NO CHOCOLATE!).

MR WILSON’S CABINET OF WONDER

Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology, by Lawrence Weschler: I finished this great little book while brushing my teeth this morning. (Do you do that? I always read while tooth-brushing.) It’s about the Museum of Jurassic Technology in L.A., one of the most memorable and perplexing places I’ve ever been, and where I will most certainly drag any out-of-town visitors at the slightest provocation. I really liked the author’s thesis that the MJT is simultaneously a premodern and postmodern museum—it emulates the unscientific collections of oddities popular in the Renaissance, while at the same time playing with subjectivity and perception, commenting on itself, and parodying (though sincerely) the whole concept of museums. Plus, there really are mice on toast.

NEVER MIND THE POLLACKS

I’m reading Neal Pollack’s Never Mind the Pollacks: A Rock and Roll Novel right now, and it’s pretty darn funny. I was afraid I wouldn’t really get the music in-jokes, and suspected it wouldn’t be as good as The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature (it isn’t), and it gets a bit repetitive, but it still makes me giggle. It follows a fictional rock critic, “Neal Pollack,” through his life and career from the 1950s to the 1990s, during which he is of course conveniently in the right place at the right time to participate in all the great moments in rock history (Elvis plays at his bar mitzvah, he has a brief career as “Smokey, the elusive fifth Ramone,” etc.). I particularly love that he has a brief affair with Wanda Jackson:

“I love you, Wanda,” he said one night as they lay beneath the stars because they couldn’t afford a hotel.

“I know you do, baby,” she said. “Could you pass me the bourbon?”