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Friday, May 27, 2011

It's Friday! What are you reading?

Oh, I thought this week would never end! But here it is, Friday! Not sure what to do with the long weekend. Movie releases are pretty meh -- no desire whatsoever to see Hangover 2, although hubby may go. Trying to pick some books to keep me busy.

At the very moment, though, I'm finishing up Jon Ronson's latest, The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry. I know I don't normally read a lot of nonfiction (foodie memoirs, mostly), but Ronson cracks me up. At this point, I would probably read just about anything he writes.

The journalist who brought us The Men Who Stare at Goats and Them: Adventures With Extremists, becomes curious about psychopaths and psychiatry when he is asked to investigate a strange manuscript that has been mailed to academics around the world. His digging leads him to a man he believes is responsible, a man he also believes may be a crackpot. At the same time, Ronson isn't sure how much faith to put into the industry as a whole. Are their diagnoses true and real?

As Ronson meets and speaks with folks inside the industry, folks labeled by the industry, and researches past treatment methods and their questionable effectiveness, the book becomes increasingly hilarious -- and disturbing!

Anyway, it's an entertaining read. Ronson is a smart man and an incredibly talented writer. I highly enjoy his written pieces (haven't seen any of his documentaries, though I'd like to).

For more on Ronson and The Psychopath Test, visit his website at: www.jonronson.com

And as an extra special bonus, here's the link to Jon Stewart's interview with Ronson.

As a side note, knowing that Ronson interviewed David Icke for Them means that I am now dying to read it. Google him, you'll see why.

1 comment:

Tez Miller said...

Am reading Kay Austin's TIME TRANSIT, but it's going completely over my head. I'm not smart enough to understand time travel! ;-)