Dick for a Day: What would you do if you had one? Edited by Fiona Giles (Villard, $12.95).
Synopsis: A variety of feminist writers and performance artists speculate on what it would be like to have a penis. Most find it nasty.
Representative Quote: “If I woke up one morning to find myself transformed into a penis person, my first response would be a mixture of disappointment and anger. The transformation would feel like a violation. I enjoy being a woman, albeit a woman who does a lot of things that many people think are male.”
Noteworthy Flaw: Inexplicably contains contributions from two men.
Hello From heaven! by Bill and Judy Guggenheim (Bantam Books, $5.99).
Synopsis: The fact that some recently bereaved people consider butterflies and rainbows to be messages from their lost loved ones and sometimes even hear their voices means there is life after death and communication from the netherworld.
Representative Quote: “It was like ‘Wow! My grandfather came all the way from the other side to cheer me up!’ Nobody around me did that, nobody alive. I felt cared for.”
Noteworthy Flaw: Death seems to improve one’s diction. After being killed by a car, a six-year-old says: “I’m giving you a message. Tell my mom and dad that I’m okay. I want them to know that I’m safe. I know they’re hurting.”
Wealth on Minimal wage, by James Steamer (Dearborn Financial Publishing, $16.95).
Synopsis: While working for the last ten years at low-income jobs, Steamer and his wife managed to accumulate a personal worth greater than their entire combined incomes over that period. You can too!
Representative Quote: “Learning to cut children’s hair is easy and spouses can sometimes cut each other’s hair as well. One friend of mine has learned to cut his own hair, even in the back.”
Noteworthy Flaw: While the book suggests people do things like sell their blood and become paid participants in medical experiments, it never suggests anyone try to get a better-paying job.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): book covers.