Books That All Journalists Should Read, With a Disclaimer

Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives  by Thomas French

This is on the list of books recommended by members of the CMA listserv as a book that all journalists should read. For its depth of reporting, I would agree, but I find the writing style to be a bit over the top in places, really reaching to be clever or make a point.

Yes, I realize who Thomas French is. He’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who won his Pulitzer for feature writing. Yes, I understand that he’s the perfect person to basically write an extended feature story. But just because he’s a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist doesn’t make what I’ve said about over the top writing less true. To me, that makes it even more important to point this out.

When I teach reporting, especially when covering disasters, fires, and the like, one of the first things I tell reporters is to watch for overwriting. With disasters and new reporters, that’s the tendency—to make it the worst disaster of all time. At times, French slips into the line of writing with hyperbole, exaggeration and just plain over-the-top analysis of the setting, the animals and the people, anathropomorphizing his way through the zoo. While this should probably be expected in a book about a zoo and its animals, it’s very difficult to explain to the students who will be reading this book why it’s okay to do the things they’ve been taught not to do.

French is great at story flow. This story moves pretty seamlessly from Africa to Tampa, but then it stops. While the elephants start the story, the only ones we learn more about are the ones in Tampa. 

I wanted to hear about the other elephants headed for San Diego. How did they fare? French spent so much time getting me concerned about all of these elephants flying to the United States that I was disappointed when I didn’t get the whole story.

As a piece of non-fiction writing, I’d say this book has some things to teach beginning students of journalism—the importance of storytelling to enfold your reader in your writing, the importance of reporting to get details and color. But I’d say young journalists should read this book with a word of caution from professors of journalism: Simple writing is best.

Up next, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

Must Read for Journalism Students, No; Cultural Must-Read, Yes

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

This is on the list of books recommended by members of the CMA listserv as a book that all journalists should read.

A memoir of her life as a Somali refugee, Muslim, former Muslim, political activist, Dutch politician and advocate for freedom from oppression for Muslim women, this book tells the story of a woman who went through radical changes in her life. While I value this book for the cultural richness it provides, I don’t see this as a must-read for its superior reporting or writing. Memoirs rarely provide great examples for aspiring journalists who are studying reporting and writing skills. However, this book does provide Westerners with a view of the Muslim world that we rarely, if ever read about.

Ali’s upbringing in a Muslim society alone provides the reader some insights into life as a Muslim woman as seen through the eyes of someone who grew up Muslim, then questioned her faith and turned away from it. While that doesn’t provide for an objective look at Muslim life, it does provide some food for thought that runs counter to what many in the West see, hear and read.

An especially interesting and eye-opening aspect of the book for me is Ali’s illumination of two countries—Somalia, her country of birth, and the Netherlands, her adopted country. These two countries figure prominently in Ali’s story, but along the way she also describes other countries, in particular the religious aspects of Saudi Arabia and Kenya. For anyone unfamiliar with these countries, their histories and beliefs in terms of tolerance, especially Somalia and the Netherlands, give a wonderfully personal view of how history and tolerance play out in religion, politics and war.

People who are interested in the Muslim religion would also find this book interesting. Formerly a devout Muslim, Ali became an atheist after fleeing to the Netherlands. Now, she actively speaks against the Muslim religion, thus sealing her position as an Infidel.

Infidel may not provide the depth of reporting of other books I’ve reviewed, but I would say it is a definite must-read for all people who want to learn more about the world around them. So you probably want to read Infidel for its illumination of Somalia and the Netherlands and to give you another perspective on what it’s like to be a woman in a Muslim country.

Up next, Thomas French’s Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives.

Books That Journalists Should Read, Definitely

The Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway

This is book is on the list of books recommended by members of the CMA listserv as a book that all journalists should read under the heading “anything by Ernest Hemingway.” A note: I am not an Ernest Hemingway fan, but in this case, I would agree: The Green Hills of Africa is definitely a must read.

Hemingway’s direct description, tight writing and thorough storytelling make this book a good example of travel reportage.

Many years ago, I read  Death in the Afternoon by Hemingway for a Spanish class. I found it to be tiresome with its minute details about each bull. I also found the bloodsport associated with bullfighting to be personally repulsive. It didn’t keep me from seeing a bullfight myself, however.

The Green Hills of Africa, which details Hemingway’s game hunting trip, contains some of the same bloodsport, so if you can’t stomach hunting, this book isn’t for you. But unlike Death in the Afternoon, there are aspects of The Green Hills of Africa that provide descriptive and captivating prose about Africa, wild animals and the trackers who help Hemingway and his wife throughout their hunting travels.

It is clear in this book that Hemingway’s drinking is problematic, but this isn’t the only book where alcohol consumption is also a major part of the drama.

Hemingway as a character is no more or less developed than many of his characters in his foray into fiction. You do get a sense of Hemingway’s love of hunting in his description of this and other hunts.

Overall, this book can offer the reader great lessons in writing—clearly stringing words together to make short, simple yet not simplistic sentences and paragraphs, and how to weave details and description into a story. 

As always, it’s Hemingway’s clipped writing style that prevails moving the storyline forward at a good pace but never hurrying the action. To see how a writer can accomplish that is worth the read.

Up next, Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick.

Books Everyone Should Read, Really

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson


This is book is on the list of books recommended by members of the CMA listserv as a book that all journalists should read, and I would agree.

While this book is celebrating its 50th anniversary, the ideas it contains are still just as fresh as they were when Carson introduced them—our planet is still imperiled by the overuse of toxic chemicals to kill weeds, bugs and other such pests, and people have a general carefree attitude about said herbicides, insecticides and other such toxic chemicals. But that isn’t the reason why all journalists should read this groundbreaking book.

All journalists, all communicators, should read this groundbreaking book because it contains great examples of well-written prose that use many different rhetorical devices to move the reader to action. This book was the beginning of the environmental movement because it stirred people. It moved them to action. It took disparate and complex ideas, broke them into simple language, used analogy, facts, stories and statistics to explain the ideas and challenged people to think differently and ultimately to act. That’s why Silent Spring was so controversial when it was published, and that’s why it continues to resonate with people today.

Carson proved that complex topics such as chemistry, biology and entomology, just to name a few, don’t have to be written about in complex language. She showed that simple, direct and eloquent writing could be applied to science so that the masses could understand. That idea lives on today in some of the best science writing. Take Jon Franklin's Pultizer Prize winning feature articles for example, specifically Mrs. Kelly's Monster.

So why should you, humble communication student, read this book? For two reasons:
1) It’s a great example of well-researched and thorough reporting that supports a well-written and eloquent thesis. In other words, it’s good writing.

2) You will like it, or you won’t like it, depending on your view of the environmental movement. Chances are, you won’t like it, because it will make you angry, but Silent Spring will make you feel. And that, is the most important reason you should read this book.

Up next, Earnest Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa.

Books That Journalists Should Read, Absolutely

Slouching Towards Bethlehem  by Joan Didion

This book is on the list of books recommended by members of the CMA listserv as a book that all journalists should read, and I would agree.

I’ve read some of Joan Didion’s most recent books, including the previously reviewed The Year of Magical Thinking, but this is the first one of Didion’s early books that I’ve read. This book is a compilation of essays Didion wrote, mostly about 1960s California.

For those who were children, or rather teens and young adults of the 1960s, this book will remind them of life during the days of drugs, alcohol, rock ‘n roll and free love. Since I don’t really remember those days, this collection of essays gave me another view of the counterculture movement, but what this really gave me was an indication of the lyrical writing style that Didion developed.

While her latest books display a fully developed writer undertaking some of the most difficult subjects anyone has to deal with such as death, dying and the grief process, this book shows Didion in the early stages of her craft but with talent to spare.

Didion’s use of language and style to display tone and mood are superior. Her finely tuned reporting ability gives you the feeling that you are there with her as she interviews Joan Baez, John Wayne and “average” people with the hopes of getting to the heart of life in 1960s America.

This collection gives a great perspective on the history of the United States and the history of a great writer and reporter. Didion shows a keen eye for detail, facts and lyrical voice, providing some of the best narrative writing you will ever read.

A must read for journalists—I’d say absolutely. Unlike the crazy antics and writing of Hunter Thompson, who also wrote about this time period, Joan Didion provides facts and truth, describing the world as it exists and dissecting its meaning, something that all journalism students would be advised to learn.

Up next, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.

Books Journalists Should Read, Definitely

Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis


This is the second Michael Lewis book I have read, with a previous review of Moneyball.

Lewis is a bestselling author and journalist, specializing in business journalism. His forte from the two books that I’ve read is transforming complex economic and business issues into easy-to-understand prose. Lewis also displays a wicked sense of humor in this book, sometimes veering toward scathing, but always entertaining. The title alone demonstrates his sense of the absurd. Look at the table of contents and the countries covered—the new Third World includes Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany and the United States.

If you’ll notice, three of the five countries Lewis includes in his list have already experienced severe financial meltdown, and some would probably argue that all five are headed in that direction, which is why Lewis considers them part of the new Third World.

This book details his travels into this new Third World to discover why financial meltdown has occurred or is occuring.

Boomerang shows a top-notch reporter’s skills at their best. Using statistics and personal anecdotes, this book details the economics behind the global financial meltdown and the cultural imperatives that drove it.

Whether it was the unregulated ability for Icelanders to become investment bankers—the overconfidence of the traditional fishermen to learn anything quickly—or the idea that Irish from throughout the world would find their way back to Ireland to buy the massive numbers of second homes being built, it’s easy to see how cultural imperatives, lax loan standards and just plain delusion led many of these countries and to financial disaster.

While this book wasn't on the CMA list of books journalists should read, I think it should be added. Lewis tells a compelling story, using great reporting and clear analysis. If that isn't a great example of good communication, especially for young journalists, I don't know what is.

Up next, the previously promised review of Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem.

Check out my latest presentation at AEJMC 2012 in Chicago.
Hang on for upcoming reviews of additional books as well. I've been vacationing from blogging this summer but not reading! Coming soon: A review of Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem.

In the mean time:

http://www.slideshare.net/klcolley/best-practices-in-student-media-marketing

Books Journalists Should Read, No. Definitely No.

The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan

This is the second Amy Tan book I’ve read. The first one was The Joy Luck Club, which was very similar to the movie of the same name. However, it was easier to understand when you were changing narrators in the movie. Again, Tan uses this device of changing narrators without giving the reader a clear indication of the change. Truly confusing at times.

While Tan gives some great insight into Chinese culture, traditions and history, this book really reads like The Joy Luck Club. Especially in the beginning. After the first few chapters, I had to close the book, look at the cover and make sure I wasn’t reading The Joy Luck Club. Does that make the book repetitive? Well yes. I believe it does, which is one of the biggest problems I see with this book. It just seems like a rehash of The Joy Luck Club in parts, which is why I wouldn’t recommend this book as a must read for journalists. Although not on the College Media Advisers list of books that journalists should read, Tan is an accomplished writer who gives a different perspective from the male-dominated, white, middle-class perspective offered in so many of the books on CMA’s list. But just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s better.

Tan does give some great visual images, and I would recommend The Kitchen God’s Wife to my International and Intercultural Communications class. It would also be a good read for a Women’s studies class. But the storytelling and writing don’t rise to the levels of must read.

Books That Writers Should Read, Yes

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Note: I have not seen the movie based on the book.

A New York Times #1 bestseller and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book is a memoir from Frank McCourt. It gives a vivid description of the poverty and resultant disease that he endured growing up as a child in Ireland.

Even though McCourt wasn't a journalist, he was an English teacher, he provides a very powerful lead and nut graph on the very first page of Chapter 1. After this, it's just the details:

"My father and mother should have stayed in New York where they met and married and where I was born. Instead, they returned to Ireland when I was four, my brother, Malachy, three, the twins, Oliver and Eugene, barely one, and my sister, Margaret, dead and gone.

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."

Wow--that says it all. The poverty, the senselessness, the hopelessness, the omnipresent, yet foreboding Catholic Church in Ireland, the death and the unhappiness. But what makes this book worth the reading is the little boy that McCourt uses to tell his story. Little Frankie McCourt tells a tale as only a child can, and it is this voice that makes the misery bearable.

Along the way in Angela's Ashes, McCourt buttresses almost every Irish stereotype, providing real-world examples from his family: a father who drinks and drinks and drinks. A family subservient to the Catholic Church, often to their detriment. Potatoes...lots of potatoes. And of course wonderful stories and singing. This book has it all. But first and foremost, it is a great story, well-written. And that my friends, is why Angela's Ashes is a must-read book for all communicators.

Books Journalists Should Read, Definitely No, Unless You're a Hunter Thompson Fan

The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

Disclaimer: I have not watched the movie The Rum Diary starring Johnny Depp.

Instead, I read this book because it was on the list…yes the list of books compiled by members of the College Media Advisers listserv. The list that all journalists should read.

In this case, I’d have to disagree. While The Rum Diary is entertaining, and Hunter S. Thompson is a talented writer, this isn’t a must-read book for all journalists. This book is a loving and longing reflection on a time that was the height of romantic journalism—lots of drinking, hamburgers for breakfast, lunch and dinner, easy, beautiful women who fall for journalists, and party, party, party on the beach. Who wouldn’t want to lovingly remember such a lifestyle? Unfortunately, the glamorized world of Paul Kemp is more Earnest Hemingway than reality. Too bad, because it’s wildly entertaining.

Thompson does work in some gems of writing throughout The Rum Diary. Like this bit on writers:

“Most people who deal in words don’t have much faith in them and I am no exception—especially the big ones like Happy and Love and Honest and Strong. They are too elusive and far too relative when you compare them to sharp, mean little words like Punk and Cheap and Phony. I feel at home with these, because they’re scrawny and easy to pin, but the big ones are tough and it takes either a priest or a fool to use them with any confidence.”

Cuts right to the quick doesn’t it.?

Much of The Rum Diary gives some similar cheap shots at luck, friendship, Puerto Rican media, Puerto Rican police, journalists and flacks. Allusions to famous films, gangsters and lazy natives abound in this thin novel, with ascerbic commentary and booze-filled nights.

If you’re a journalist’s journalist, Thompson provides all of the cynicism and worldly pleasures expected, including a shot of rum with a get-out-of-jail chaser. That’s probably the charm associated with The Rum Diary, and probably one of the reasons that anything by Hunter S. Thompson was included on this list. Some more discerning listers specified Thompson’s Fear and Loathing books. I’ll be reading those next.

Books Everyone Should Read, Really

The Shining by Stephen King

Disclaimer: I have watched the movie The Shining starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.

Okay, so this book veers from the list of books compiled by members of the College Media Advisers listserv, but I’ve never read The Shining and a girl needs some entertainment every now and then.

And entertaining this book is. A hotel that basically comes to life, including blood, guts on the wall and murdered gangsters and their girlfriends (and sometimes boyfriends too). Hedge animals that move, bite, tear and grab, but ultimately fall prey to gasoline and fire. But scariest of all, the tightly-wound father who comes unraveled based on imaginary liquor and over-inflated sense of self.

Of course in the movie, the tightly-wound father is the character to watch, so aptly played by Nicholson, but the true focus of this book is The Shining, those people with the ability to read minds and see the future. In this case, Jack’s son and namesake, who sees and hears much scarier things in the book than he does in the film. I’ve found this to be the case with all Stephen King book’s I’ve read: They’re much scarier than the movies.

I’m not a big scary movie, scary book person, but Stephen King is one of the best writers of our time. He’s also one of the most prolific, delving into the psyche and plumbing the depths of what makes each of us get the skin-crawling sensation that gives us bad dreams, or keeps us up at night.

As usual, King’s writing is something to be emulated by all good communicators. Direct and descriptive, King cuts to the heart of the matter.

The story, while creepy, is a bit out there as believability goes. However, it still induced a couple of wide-eyed nights as I read some of the most supernatural and unbelievable parts.

Recently, I told several students at Texas A&M University, that the best way to improve as a writer is to read. Well here’s a chance for students to read something that may be of more interest than their textbooks. While you’re reading, enjoy the entertainment, but pay attention to the writing. It’s so good, you’ll forget to pay attention. Now that’s what I call a great writer.

Books Everyone Should Read, Really

Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin


Okay, so this book isn’t on College Media Adviser’s list of books journalists should read, but this is definitely a book everyone should read—journalists, communications professionals, educators, athletes, musicians, you name it. Everyone will find the tools needed to be the best in this book. And as the title indicates, it isn’t talent.

So what is it that separates the so-so performer from the good to the truly excellent world-class performer? Deliberate practice.

Yes I know. We’ve all heard the axiom, “Practice makes perfect.” But that’s not what Colvin means. What Colvin means is deliberate, meaningful, planned, systematic and difficult practice that allows you, the performer to practice a skill over-and-over-and-over.

It’s doing as Benjamin Franklin did to practice his writing…It’s finding prose superior to anything he had seen. In this case, the Spectator by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. He read an article. Took brief notes on the meaning of each sentence. A few days later, he would look at the notes and try to express the meaning in his own words. He would then compare his words to the original to discover his faults. His discovery: a poor vocabulary.

Franklin discovered that he could improve his vocabulary by writing poetry, which required a large stock of words with extensive knowledge of meaning and hue. So he rewrote the essays from the Spectator into verse. Then, he would rewrite the verse into prose after he had forgotten the meanings.

Not content to just work on vocabulary, he discovered a method to improve his organizational skills. He would write notes on each sentence in the essay on separate pieces of paper. After a week, he would put all of the pieces together to form the essay and compare to the original. Each time, Franklin would review his work for faults and start all over again. Sounds like a lot of work.

This is precisely why most of us don’t make it to expert. It’s a lot of work. Work isn’t fun.

Deliberate practice isn’t fun, but it does produce the truly world-class performer, with or without talent.

Another such example of deliberate practice at work was one of the most prolific professional football players of all-time, Jerry Rice, who played until age 42. His personal training regime was one that the 49ers’ trainer wouldn’t release for fear that others might hurt themselves.

Here were the hallmarks of Rice’s training regime, as analyzed by Colvin:
• He spent very little time playing football.
• He designed his practice to work on his specific needs.
• It wasn’t fun.
• He defied the conventional limits of age.

So according to Colvin, deliberate practice changes people in fundamental ways, turning people into experts who exhibit these qualities:
• They understand the significance of indicators that average performers don’t even notice.
• They look further ahead.
• They know more from seeing less.
• They make finer discriminations than average performers.
• And they remember more.

What does this mean for all of us? Well we can be superstars without talent.

All it takes is several hours (read about 8 hours per day if you haven’t started in your youth) to become prodigies. Good to know I can still become a world-class concert pianist.

Well, maybe I’ll just learn to play cool music…Maybe that won’t take as much practice time. So pull up a bench. Where’s my metronome?

Books Journalists Should Read, Not Really

Never Let Them See You Cry: More from Miami, America's Hottest Beat by Edna Buchanan


This book is a continuation of Buchanan's life as a police beat reporter with the Miami Herald and all of the strange tales she experienced in America's Hottest Beat. A reminder: I am an Edna Buchanan fan.

Buchanan wrote this book after the publication of her first novel, so this book is likely designed to play on the popularity of The Corpse Had a Familiar Face, her first nonfiction book about life as a police beat reporter in Miami.

And Buchanan doesn't disappoint, providing some of the trademark razor-sharp writing and observations that keep her the reigning queen of the police beat despite more than two decades of absence from her domain.

In describing a victim of crime:
"Ethel Lottman, a no-nonsense Miami Beach widow, seventy-two, handled her heart condition, her arthritis and a homicidal maniac with the same aplomb."

A description of the new South Beach:
"Sleepy South Beach, once famous for its senior citizens, now throbs through the soft nights with a healthy and and youthful energy, more lusty and alive than it has ever been."

While this book covers familiar ground in stories of murder and mayhem in Miami, it does break new ground. The last chapter also goes into Buchanan's struggle to embrace her new life as a novelist and drop her old journalistic habits.

This book marks the end of Buchanan's nonfiction, journalistic writing as she becomes what she had always dreamed of--a writer. A great loss for journalism.

The Corpse Had a Familiar Face was vintage Edna Buchanan at her journalistic best. Never Let Them See You Cry doesn't reach that level of journalistic technique in writing, analysis and reporting. It does foreshadow the crime novel career of Buchanan, one that is still going.

Never Let Them See You Cry is a must read if you are an Edna Buchanan fan. Otherwise, stick with The Corpse Had a Familiar Face. It provides more journalistic juice from the world's best police beat reporter, which is a crying shame.

Books Journalists Should Read, Definitely

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis


Disclaimer: I have not watched the movie Moneyball, but I did pick up this book because of the movie. Let me explain.

I was reading books that had been made into movies just for pleasure-reading, when I saw this book in my local library. It was near Friday Night Lights, which is a brilliant book. I saw the cover for Moneyball, so I picked it up. What a great idea, because this book is a wonderful example of great reporting. Another plus--it's a great example of good reporting, and it's about sports, tapping into a student journalist audience that often needs some push to read books.

But this book is about more than just baseball--this book is about how different views, new ideas and a move from the "tried-and-true" to the "cutting edge" can provide surprisingly effective results (stereotypical sports cliches aside now.)

Michael Lewis, a journalist of Blind Side fame, which I did watch, Lewis tells the story of the Oakland As and their management Billy Beane-style. Yes, he tells the story, which is one reason why this book is so compelling--it's great storytelling, often at its best.

We see Beane stalking around the locker room, wheeling and dealing for undervalued players from his office, talking with and dismissing the wisdom of old-school scouts, and relying on the new wizardry of computer analysis and massive amounts of statistical data to maximize the little bit of salary monies the As have.

At heart, this is an economics book, no different than many of Lewis' other economics books, just don't tell the sports nuts. But in practice, Moneyball is a great story, brilliantly told, with colorful and vibrant characters. It's clear that exhaustive reporting and hours of research went into this book, including much detail about the history of baseball statistics. It's also clear from the critical reviews by sports junkies that this book hit a nerve.

I read this book after reading Geoff Colvin's Talent is Overrated, which I will review next week. So I read Moneyball through that filter, a filter that had me thinking about talent quite differently. Maybe that's why I found Moneyball so powerful--because it chronicles the new way that Billy Beane viewed baseball. It reminds me of how other industries need some new thinking, in particular two of interest to me: journalism and higher education.

While this book wasn't on the CMA list of books journalists should read, I think it should be added. Lewis tells a compelling story, using great reporting and clear analysis. If that isn't a great example of good communication, especially for young journalists, I don't know what is.

Books Communicators, Not Just Journalists, Should Read, Absolutely

The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway


On the College Media Advisers list of books journalists should read, this book falls under the category, "Anything by Earnest Hemingway."

A short tale of bad luck, good luck and love, this story is too long to be a short story, but too short to be a true novel, yet it is perfectly told. Young and not so young journalists will see the importance of good storytelling, tight writing and clear direction when they read this novella.

Critics and literature professors have picked this story apart, much like the sharks pick the meat off the Old Man's monstrously large catch. One theory is that the story of the Old Man and his wondrous catch is about Jesus Christ, a parable of sorts written by Hemingway. An interpretation easy to see as Hemingway alludes to crucifiction in the tale as the old man's hands become torn and bloody as if hammered with nails.

Another theory is that in the story, Hemingway is the fish, being torn apart by critics, who were literally picking apart every piece of writing he produced.

There may be other theories as well, but Hemingway himself said the story was about an old Cuban fisherman and the giant fish he caught then lost to scavengers as he was adrift at sea.

No matter what the true intent, The Old Man and the Sea is a wonderful story, in and of itself. This little book sealed Hemingway's fame as a master storyteller and writer. I would agree even though I have never been a real Hemingway fan.

The Old Man and the Sea is a must-read book for aspiring communicators, not just journalists. It shows how clarity of thought, focus, tight writing and superb storytelling can be accomplished with limited adornment. And how a story, well told, stands the test of time. The Old Man and the Sea is as fresh today as it was the day Hemingway finished it.

Next up, a veer from the CMA list as I review Michael Lewis' Moneyball on Friday.

Books Journalists Should Read, Yes

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

So I'll make a confession: This is the first Joan Didion book I've read. Ever.

I know, I know. Hard to believe for someone who teaches journalism courses, but there it is. I've said it.

Now on to more important things. Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking is a literary memoir following Didion for the year after her husband's death. As a good journalist, she copes with the grief by searching for knowledge and then writing about that knowledge and analyzing what happens.

This book plumbs the depths of grief and mourning. In this case, the grief and mourning for a spouse of many years, 40 to be exact. You see the true partnership through Didion's eyes, and how great love and great friendship can cause the greatest pain when a partner dies.

As Didion goes through the year researching grief and mourning, she also lives it, giving this book the raw emotion and insightful deductions that oftentimes clarify and confuse as you see things through Didion's confused mind. But through the year, the clarity with which Didion illuminates the acts of death and grief touches anyone who has experienced the death of someone close.

An example of some of Didion's magical thinking:

"We do not expect this shock to be obliterative, dislocating to both body and mind...we do not expect to be literally crazy, cool customers who believe that their husband is about to return and need his shoes."

While the book provides a thorough investigation of the literature on grief and death, it also explores the more personal nature of the subject, coming to some startling, yet inevitable conclusions:

"Grief turns out to be a place none of us know until we reach it."

And in the final chapter and final pages of the book:

"I know why we try to keep the dead alive: we try to keep them alive in order to keep them with us. I also know that if we are to live ourselves there comes a point at which we must relinquish the dead, let them go, keep them dead."

As a must read book for journalists, this book tackles a difficult subject, uses beautiful language and style, clear description, strong reporting, and insightful analysis that demonstrates the kind of critical thinking we all want our students to understand and practice. For this, The Year of Magical Thinking won the National Book Award.

As a must read book overall, I'd recommend this book for it's thoughtful, brutal, sensitive and frank portrayal of grief and mourning. 

We may not truly know grief until we get there on our own, but The Year of Magical Thinking can certainly help us understand the passage a little bit better and not feel so alone as we take the journey.

Books Journalists Should Read, Yes Indeed

The Corpse Had a Familiar Face by Edna Buchanan

Another one of the books recommended by the CMA listserv members as it falls under the category any book by Edna Buchanan.

Again, a reminder, I’m an Edna Buchanan fan. I've used parts of her stories in my classes as examples of thorough reporting. I've used her philosophy as what makes a great journalist, and I’ve read this book before.

With all of that said, I was again floored by Buchanan’s thorough review of her crime reporting. This book is a page-turner with lots of great examples and pithy one-liners. That’s what I really enjoy about Buchanan’s journalism—the thoroughly distilled yet crisp writing that makes you think: “Where did she ever come up with that line?”

Some examples:
When referring to the an editor's insistence that Buchanan report only 'major murders':
"Every murder is major to the victim."
Why she gets the urge to empty out her purse, glove box and dresser periodically:
"It is not because I am basically neat--I am not--but I am reminded from time to time that if I am hit by a bus or gunned down by some irate reader, the cops will routinely inventory the contents of my handbag. I don't want them to find the aging granola bar at the bottom..."

Of course there are others, but I don't want to ruin the entire book for you.

I must say, however, I was a bit distressed by a few comments regarding gays and lesbians. While Buchanan’s sympathetic mantra for families seems to be genuine, her view of gays and lesbians seems to be a bit dated and stereotypical. While Buchanan was a practicing journalist during less enlightened times, she was a practicing journalist in Miami, a veritable haven of homosexuality. I expected more.

While this book is clever and readable, I would never recommend it as a textbook. I know some universities have used it as a text; however, it doesn’t really give you the practical tips needed to use as a text.

It is a great read and a great example of how one reporter, probably the best at what she did, actually did her job. For that, I’d say The Corpse Had a Familiar Face is a must-read journalism book. So go out and read it my journalism friends. You won’t be disappointed.

See also Never Let Them See You Cry, the second installment of Edna Buchanan’s reporting books, and see my previous review on Legally Dead, also by Edna Buchanan.

Books Journalists Should Read, Maybe Not

Legally Dead by Edna Buchanan

This book is another one of the books recommended by the College Media Advisers listserv members as it falls under the category any book by Edna Buchanan.


I must admit that I was a huge fan of Edna Buchanan the crime reporter. I've used parts of her stories in my classes as examples of thorough reporting. I've used her philosophy as what makes a great journalist, but I don't think I'd use her crime novels as an example of either one of those things or as an example of a great crime novel.

In particular, Legally Dead has an interesting premise and some good writing, but it seems to have an ending that doesn't really fit with the intricate plot line. There's a great buildup of tension then a very unlikely bad guy with an even more fantastical reason as to why the bad guy is doing what he's doing. I just don't buy it.

None of that means that my opinion has changed about Edna Buchanan the journalist. She's one of the best and likely the best crime reporter. Some journalists are just better with the literal, and in the case, I would say Legally Dead could benefit from a dose of reality.

See also The Corpse Had a Familiar Face, Never Let Them See You Cry and Nobody Lives Forever also by Edna Buchanan.

Look for an upcoming review of The Corpse Had a Familiar Face.

Books Journalists Should Read, Maybe But Probably Not

The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

Last semester, a wonderful listserv that I'm on through College Media Advisers, was abuzz with the books that you must have read if you're a journalist. It wasn't just the books, it was authors as well. So being the dutiful student of journalism that I am, I undertook some of this list.

Here are some of my comments on some of these books and authors. I'll be posting the list as well, just in case you want to become a dutiful student of journalism too.

I finally finished reading The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer. I started this before Christmas, but had to take a break, since the book was hurting my hands it's so weighty. I went back to it after the first of the year, and finally finished it in February. Whew...

What can I say about this book: Plodding...In need of editing.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and major motion picture aside--the microscopic look at the execution of Gary Gilmore, the state of Utah and the Mormon Church were just as weighty as the book that left me pushing to stay involved. Not that I don't like weighty material...I do. However, there are some portions of this book that just need to be tightened.

The beginning is where I'd start the whittling. Take out some of the interminable description of Gilmore and his family. One or two anecdotes could really tell the tale. The number of anecdotes and details left me not even liking these people much less wanting to go on reading the book.

The ending did whiz by a bit better, but still, I could find some room to edit here as well.

While Mailer's writing is strong, he needed a more critical editor. Good writers really need good editors so they can continue to be good writers.

That may sound a bit confusing, but writers love their writing so much, it's often difficult to kill a single word, much less thousands of words.

While my CMA colleagues might differ with me on this--some may even call for my ban from the listserv for saying this, I'd say this book isn't a must-read book for aspiring journalists.

It does give great examples of exhaustive research, but what it doesn't do is show aspiring journalists, especially young ones, the importance of picking and choosing really stirring information that tells your story. This story seems to air it all. Not my idea of well-written and well-edited journalism. But then again, I'm an editor at heart.

Up next: a quick veer from the CMA list of books journalists should read: A review of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Books Journalists Should Read, Maybe

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad follows a similar story-line as Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Instead of someone going to kill Kurtz, as is the case in Apocalypse, the company has sent a steamboat to retrieve Kurtz in Heart of Darkness.

Conrad's Heart of Darkness is at the same time the jungle that surrounds the river and the person that Kurtz has become in the wilds of Africa, miles from civilization. Africa itself becomes a verifiable character in the book, closing in on the crew, killing those with a weak resistance and coming alive with sound, light, darkness and deadly natives hidden in its depths.

While Marlon Brando's hoarse mumblings of the phrase, "The horror. The horror;" make for a much quoted part from the movie Apocalypse Now, the setup or interpretation of that famous quote comes later than when the quote is uttered in the book.

Kurtz has just died, and the narrator Marlowe is commenting on life:

"Droll thing life is--that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of yourself --that comes too late-- a crop of inextinguishable regrets. I wrestled with death. It is the most unexciting contest you can imagine. It takes place in an impalpable grayness, with nothing underfoot, with nothing around, without spectators, without clamor, without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great fear of defeat, in a sickly atmosphere of tepid skepticism, without much belief in your own right, and still less in that of your adversary. If such is the form of ultimate wisdom, then life is a greater riddle than some of us think it to be."

Marlowe contends that he was within the last breath of life and realized that he would have nothing to say, which is why he admired Kurtz, who uttered the famous line before dying. When Marlowe visits Kurtz's intended, he lies and tells her that Kurtz's last words were her name. In this exchange, we see that Marlowe has escaped the heart of darkness, taking into account another person's feelings instead of the dark truth, providing Kurtz's intended with the humanity with which Marlowe protected Kurtz's image.

In the end, is the heart of darkness within the geographical heart of Africa, or is it within each of us? Conrad seems to say that the latter is the case,but each of us also has the capacity to spread light, much like Marlowe did in the conclusion of the book, sparing Kurtz's intended's feelings and preserving Kurtz's image.