complimentary to padma lakshmi.

Also, "The Stupids Die" by  Harry G. Allard, which is a lot more instructive than it seems.

A friend of mine recently recommended "The Dead Bird" by Margaret Wise Brown, so I'll pass it on here. I won't say too much about it—just a simple, sweet story that's touching and strangely practical and realistic in dealing with mourning.

Richard Dawes-kins

Brainiac? (3RA1N1AC?)  Or did they release 3 albums? Though how influential they were, I find it hard to guess.

I'm pretty surprised Foer isn't universally reviled here at the AV Club. Rather, scanning the comments, he seems to get quite a bit of love.

not to say this book uses it as a gimmick…I haven't read it yet.

This book is written in the first-person plural (We did this, we were that, etc.), not the third-person plural (They did this, they were that, etc), as the article describes.