Still no definitive study of stamp collectors, but until then…

Obituaries and the people who love them: sounds like a bucket of fun, hm?

Actually, yes.

In The Dead Beat, Marilyn Johnson takes what could be a dry and depressing topic and crafts a lively (pardon the pun) yet respectful study. Her wonderfully quirky look at the world of obituaries–the writers who create them, the readers who collect them, the departed who appear as the subjects–is humorous and though-provoking, often in tandem. Johnson pontificates on wildly different obituary styles and the social mores behind them. She probes the reasoning of those who are drawn to the obit section as writers, or as consumers. While the book occasionally feels repetitive, it is ultimately enlightening and satisfying. One can only hope that ones obituary is written with a fraction of the care that went into this work.

PS: Only kidding, philatelics.

~Angela, Grabill branch