LIS 722: Week 14

Awwww, yeah...I can see the end from here. Nice.

Week 14: How-to Guides
Books: The Social Climber's Guide to High School by Robyn Schneider & Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life by Linda Sivertsen & Tosh Sivertsen

The best thing I can say about these books is that I'm done with them. Really. I seriously dare you to read The Social Climber's Guide to High School and come out the other side with 1) all your IQ points intact, and 2) without hurling it across the room. Can't be done, I'm telling you.

The Social Climber's Guide to High School is billed as "Tongue in Chic" on the cover. Unfortunately, it's shelved in the 646's, alongside real how-to books. It's all about how to become an "A-lister" in high school. Well, isn't that special? I think if it must be in a library, it should be over in the 828's (humor/satire)...it's much like the 1980's The Preppy Handbook. I'm more alarmed with the thought that someone might take the book seriously. A better target audience would be people who are already done with high school, and who might better recognize the humor. I know when I was picking it up at the library, my kid was carrying my pile of books, and when I tossed this on the top, she refused to carry it, "Someone might think I'm reading it." So, if you really really really just must read The Social Climber's Guide to High School, knock yourself out. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

As for Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life, I was hoping for more of a practical how-to guide than this was; it wasn't really a beginner guide, but more of a 'here's how to take it further'. It was kind of depressing, actually...kind of, "Dude, we're all so screwed anyway, but here's some things you should be doing anyway." We have to start somewhere, doing something, this is true. There's a Generation Green companion website, but it pretty much rehashes the book from what I can tell.

I'm just not convinced these are good "How-to" books, unless they're more of a "how-to-make-your-head-asplode-while-reading" how-to books, in which case, Mission Accomplished.