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Three Books to Consider

*"Ben Hecht: Fighting Words, Moving Pictures." Yale's "Jewish Lives" series is a treat: short, incisive books about major figures in history. I loved Molly Haskell's volume--a brief consideration of the life and work of Steven Spielberg. (In my view, "a brief life" is always a good idea. Who really wants to read four hundred or five hundred pages on a historical figure?)

Ben Hecht wrote "The Front Page" and "Notorious," among other classics, and apparently his actual life was as colorful as his writing career. There's another book on Hecht out, but I'll take the short, beginner's-guide volume.

*"Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault." Cathy Guisewite wrote and drew the comic "Cathy" for something like thirty years. When she stopped (by giving the title character, "Cathy," a baby), she took a respite from creative expression. But she said the urge to write started to build up inside her--it had the force of a tsunami--and then a memoir spilled out.

I love the title, and I expect that this book will partly be a shrewd assessment of various issues arising from gender inequality in the U.S.

Beyond the political stuff, this book also offers a personal story about aging (from what I gather). I was never wild about the cartoon "Cathy," but give me someone smart writing honestly about major life transitions--putting a parent in assisted-living care, sending a child to college--and I'm hooked.

*"Life Will Be the Death of Me." I just admire Chelsea Handler's slightly corny titles. "My Horizontal Life," on her one-night stands. "Uganda Be Kidding Me," on her history of world travel.

Say what you want about this writer: She's no dummy. She made herself "a name" through force of will. Her career was not handed to her. There's no shame in picking up this bestselling book!
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