Literary Livewire

Entries categorized as ‘Nonfiction’

What Would MacGyver Do?

June 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment

What Would MacGyver Do?: True Stories of Improvised Genius in Everyday Life

by Brendan Vaughan

Oh how I love MacGyver movies.  This petite book contains anecdotes by laymen and journalists alike about their solutions to diverse problems.  Almost Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul-esque, you can read in short doses about predicaments strange and silly, solutions genius and obvious.  I think my two favorites are the guy who fixed the clutch mechanism with a knitting needle on an 8-hour drive and the guy who forgot his anniversary and pulled a present out of thin air that was better than most guys do with a month and 100 bucks.  Or the handy guy whose name is pronounced… MacGyver.

This is quick read, great to pick up for a laugh.

Categories: C+ · Nonfiction · Short Stories
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Freakonomics

August 19, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Shoot, had to return this one to the library before I was done reading it.  It was very interesting, you can bet I will pick it up again probably during Christmas vacation.

Levitt and Dubner also have a blog keeping the conversation going:
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/

Categories: Nonfiction
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