Recently I seem to have stumbled onto collections of biographies and find I enjoy reading short bits about lots of people. :-)

It started with Debunking Women's History: Myths & Legends About 101 Infamous Women Exploded, by Ed Rayner & Ron Stapley. Women have always played a part in events of the past (and present, of course) but rarely received any recognition for it, or were made to sound crazy, vicious, sneaky and so on. The authors try and correct this and do a nice job, I thought. Be sure to read the preface!

Are writers more articulate about death? From Aeschylus to Roger Ebert (I was pleased to see Oscar Hammerstein II included) Final Chapters: How Famous Authors Died, by Jim Bernhard explores what 100 + authors felt (and wrote) about death.

Another book about women, this time for younger readers (teenagers, mostly) there's Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains, by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple (the Y stands for Yolen, she's the daughter) and illustrated by Rebecca Guay is a great look at great number of these, mmm, questionable women. Many were pushed into what they did by society, others just wanted to have 'fun'. There is a chapter at the back that asks, if given the changes in womens roles, would these women have been considered 'bad' today? Food for thought!

Reading Hermit With Dog