Super Pop!

May 1, 2013
For anyone who has ever felt the slightest bit deficient in their pop-culture expertise, here is the ultimate guide, guaranteed to fill any void. Harmon has put together a quirky, fun, wide-ranging guide to nearly 500 different books, films, podcasts, songs, television episodes, video games and more, sorting them into kooky top 10 lists. "Stop Being Such a Philistine: Easy Access Points to the World of High Art" includes Exit through the Gift Shop, a Banksy documentary directed by the subject; Amadeus (the movie); Barry Lyndon; a 2009 ad campaign for Levi's; and Beyonce's "Countdown" video, among others. "Eat, Pray, Love, Spelunk: Tag Along on a Life-Changing Vacation" recommends the VICE Guide to Travel, a Web-based collection of video guides to such vacation getaways as Doha and Karachi; The Darjeeling Limited; David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (1997); and The Amazing Race Australia. Each entry receives a paragraph or two of annotation. It is particularly entertaining to see what seemingly completely disparate things wind up on the same list. Evil Dead and The Sound of Music? Field of Dreams and Persepolis? The bizarre choices will prompt many double takes and lots of laughter. A weird, witty, endlessly entertaining compendium for the budding pop-culture aficionado. (Nonfiction. 14 & up)

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October 1, 2013

Gr 7 Up-Highbrow mixes easily with lowbrow in this lively compilation of film, book, TV show, and video-game references. The "Cheat on Your Homework" list includes unlikely matched movies, Anna Karenina and Clueless. Ben Franklin, Richard Feynman, and Tina Fey make an appearance on the "Stand on the Shoulders of Giants" list. Scattered black-and-white cartoon illustrations don't support or detract from the text. Occasional themed spreads offer amusing dialogue bubbles, such as "Ten Essential Catchphrases for Use at Dinner Parties" (quoting the likes of Homer Simpson and Bugs Bunny), and "The Smartest Inanimate Objects in the History of Pop Culture," such as garden gnomes and couches. An extensive index might prove helpful in preparing for trivia meets, but the joy here is in wandering through these browsable lists. Fun and witty, historical and current, this volume will find an appreciative audience.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2013
Grades 7-12 This book of annotated lists reads like an effective study guide for your next trivia night. Compilations such as Survival Lessons from Ten Works of Literature and Film and Life as an Aristocrat manage to find the commonalities between Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Downton Abbey. However, the book's humorous trivial content is actually far more substantial than first impressions would imply. Using familiar categories of pop culture, such as music, television, movies, and the Internet, Harmon manages to touch on both high-brow and broad cultural ideas, classical art, watershed historical events, and literature. The content encompasses a wide range of genres, eras, and topics, and the hundreds of jumping-off points for exploring facts beyond the lists have great potential to inspire the curiosity of readers. This is a go-to resource for teens looking to bone up on pop culture, sound interesting at a party, or craft the perfect playlist for a workout.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)