--Cynthia Heimel

I spent Shabbos sleeping and reading, as usual, with the emphasis decidedly on the former.

As for the latter... I zoomed through Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson, and most of But Enough About You, by Cynthia Heimel.

Thompson's book, at first glance, might serve as an example of a book in which the author manages to keep the reader on the side of a disagreeable protagonist throughout the book... except that all of the characters are so utterly one-dimensional that it's hard to really care about any of them at all. It's a fast, easy read, but I that's about all I can say for it.

Well, that's not completely true. I do think I have a deeper insight into "Duke," from Doonesbury, who simply has to have been based on Raoul Duke. And I suppose I now have a better idea of the effects some drugs can have on a person, although I have no idea why one would want to take them in the first place, which seems a fairly serious omission. But, anyway, two paragraphs is more than enough to devote to discussing this book.

Heimel, on the other hand... I love Cynthia Heimel. The fact that this book is over a decade old, and largely concerns itself with yuppies and other 80s stuff matters not a bit. She takes on fashion, pretentiousness, and the eternal battle of the sexes with ruthless, gleeful abandon, and she's very, very good at it.

(I wonder if she still writes for The Village Voice? I haven't picked up a copy of that in a while... largely because it's only free in Manhattan, and I haven't been there much lately.)

At least I'm on digest. But I may not last very long, even that way. I don't think I'm going to have the time to keep up with it.

So, from left to right:

• Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd Ed.)

  (I preferred it before they added the "Webster's" to the title. The addition seems both unwieldy, and just slightly dishonest. But I digress.) This is the most up-to-date unabridged dictionary available, and was a birthday present from my brother last year. And all it took was months of blantant hinting on my part! It has clear, easy-to-read definitions, and weighs enough to give you a decent workout if you refer to it often.

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th Ed.)

  Pretty much the closest thing out there to being the authority on American English. Like the Random House, above, this is constantly being updated. Has the best derivations of any of the dictionaries I own.

• The American Heritage College Dictionary (3rd Ed.)

  Features very clear definitions, and lots of inflected forms. Also features decisions on usage issues made by committee votes, which I have mixed feelings about.

  (That's it for the regular dictionaries, although I have a few more on my wish list. Especially the Compact Oxford, which contains the entire OED in one volume in really small letters, and a powerful magnifying glass. I am going to own that some day.)

• A Dictionary of Contemporary English Usage, by Evans and Evans.

  My favorite reference book. Published in 1957, and long out of print, alas, this book clarifies all sorts of usage issues, and has some of the best explanations of various parts of English grammar I've seen anywhere.

  In addition to being useful, it makes entertaining reading; the Evanses are opinionated -- especially about cliches, which they abhor -- and aren't afraid to show it. As with: "bone of contention, as a figure for a cause of discord, is obviously drawn from the dogs and, by overuse, has gone back to them."

  If you come across a copy of this in a used-book store, grab it.

• Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary, by Marc McCutcheon.

  This is a cute, occasionally useful, book that enables you to search for a word by its definition, rather than the other way around. Say you're trying to remember the name of the bottom part of your ear. You go to "Human Body and Mind," then find "Ears," and skim through the entries until you find...

  Hmmm. That's odd. He doesn't include "earlobe." Which, I suppose, illustrates the main problem with this book; it's good at times, but its vocabulary is too limited. Although it does have "anvil," "cerumen" (ear wax), "eardrum," "otology" (the study of ear diseases), and other fun stuff.

  Not a bad book for brainstorming purposes, though.