(cue “I don’t see what’s so great about it” jokes)
Hey, remember everything that ISN’T the Oscars Death Race? Me neither! Awesome! …I’m so sorry about the protracted service interruption, guys. I’ve missed you, and all …

Plagues and Bible-thumpers hang on from our last poll, plus the Fug Girls, VJs, and a brick of a book about Nixon and Carter. Pick us out a good one!

William Poundstone is pretty good with a low-pH zinger. In Bigger Secrets, a book I’ve reread a hundred times thanks primarily to Poundstone’s “…seriously?” prose, he gives this account of Scientology’s handling of Hubbard’s death:
Finally …

“Why is magic still a secret in Edmonton? Good PR.”

On this episode of the Tomato Nation Read-Along: Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion, by Janet Reitman. It’s available in print and Kindle formats, as well as on audio, which is how …

It’s that time again, boys and girls. We’ve got two books about religion from the last poll, plus a bunch of other goodies to choose from; celebrate Election Day by voting for our next book!
 

I know it’s not Tim’s way to dish bitchy dirt — except that 1) he has an obligation to dish it because he obviously has access to the best and most comprehensive Project Runway dirt …

By the time I turned twenty, I had come to despise Zelda Fitzgerald. It was no fault of hers. I knew nothing about her, really, except that she had married F. Scott and lost her …

I’m pretty excited to say that our next read-along tome is Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work. I think it’s available in every possible edition; let’s read and discuss starting Thursday …

Gunn and Grann return for another shot at group-reading glory, along with Scientologists, my baseball grandpa, and “incon-thee-vable!”‘s brother. Pick us a good one! Poll’s open until next week.