What It Is, by Lynda Berry

"Do You Wish To Write?" Cartoonist and writer Lynda Berry poses this question in her visually stunning how-to guide that's almost impossible to put down or fit into any genre or category. Part collage/scrapbook, part autobiography, part graphic novel, What It Is uses memories, imagination, dreams, hopes, fears, past experiences, future maybes, and the mundane-ness of day-to-day life to stimulate the mind inspire writing ideas. Read it cover to cover or open it at random. Either way, you're sure to find that cure for writer's block.

If nothing else, What It Is makes for a very entertaining read.

Sacred Stiff!

Everyone's afraid of something! There are the usual suspects like fear of heights (Acrophobia), clowns (Coulrophobia), thunderstorms (Astraphobia), the dark (Nyctophobia), or insects (Entomophobia). There are some truly unusual fears, like fear of buttons (Koumpounophobia) or of left-handed people (Sinistrophobia). There are even fears that only cropped up recently, like Nomophobia (fear of going anywhere without your cell phone).

Curious? Check out Scared Stiff: Everything You Need to Know About 50 Famous Phobias. Inside this insightful and interesting volume you'll find a list of common and not-so-common phobias, an explanation of each (and the history behind them), and famous phobic moments in history (and the famous people behind them). There's even a special section on how to treat the various phobias. 

Whether you're looking for information about your own phobia or are just curious, you'll definitely want to check this one out! Unless, of course, you're a Bibliophobe! --AJB