Books

So I'm pretty sure that most people would agree that it's a good thing for people to read. It's generally seen as a sign of intelligence to read a book; after all people may boast or measure themselves by how many books they've read, not by how many episodes of Friends they've watched.

But I'm really starting to wonder about the quality of books out there. I mean sure there are good books out there, but good is a subjective measure. I'm not saying that the only books worth reading are those deemed to be of great literary value; sometimes it's just nice to read a story about a child wizard or some hidden treasure or even a period piece full of Victorian incest and intrigue. But a line needs to be drawn somewhere. I was starting to worry about it when I noticed a lot of bloggers getting book deals. Yes some have talent but to me a blog belongs as a blog, not a book. Yet I'm not concerned by that, what has me worried is that music stars are getting into the mix. And not just any stars, they are the masters of lyrical marvels that clearly take their inspiration for the bard himself: rappers!

That's right folks, in a book store the other day I saw books from none other than 50 cent. Ok, so he was co-author, I'm guessing he was in charge of dotting the 'i's and crossing 't's, the 'j's were left up to the other author after some confusion involving 'g'. Seriously though, the might be mensa material for all I know, but I'm pretty certain that his main fan base is not. When was the last time you heard of some wannabe thugs talking about books?

On a related note I also saw a large pile of "Dummies" books for sale; they really have expanded the products that they offer. Below I've listed some of my favorite "Dummies" book titles:

• Improving Your Memory for Dummies
  
• Alzheimer's for Dummies
  
• Anger Management for Dummies
• Depression for Dummies
  
• Overcoming Dyslexia for Dummies
• Getting Your Book Published for Dummies
• Smart Homes for Dummies
• TiVo for Dummies (under the hobbies section)
• Athletic Scholarships for Dummies (a.k.a. football)
  
• Mortgages for Dummies
• eBay for Dummies
• Baby Names for Dummies

Interestingly enough they are on the third edition of "Sex for Dummies" and only the second edition of "Pregnancy for Dummies". And the best sequence I saw on the rack was "Dating for Dummies", "Relationships for Dummies" and "Divorce for Dummies". I never would have thought that there would be such a demand for "Dummies" books, but clearly they are aiming at the largest sector of the population.