Many must-reads

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Thank You Power: Making The Science of Gratitude Work For You
by Deborah Norville
Deborah Norville, the "Inside Edition" host and ousted co-host of NBC's "Today," argues in her new book that gratitude is "the secret key to unlocking your full life potential."

Katie: The Real Story
by Edward Klein
This unauthorized biography of Katie Couric presents the "CBS Evening News" anchor as a "folksy charmer, loving single mother, cunning businesswoman, feminist icon and notorious diva."

Peter Jennings: A Reporter's Life
by Kate Darnton, Kayce Freed Jennings, Lynn Sherr
Friends and fellow reporters provide an oral history tracing the long and noteworthy career of ABC anchorman Peter Jennings, who died from lung cancer in 2005.

Reality Show: Inside the Last Great Television News War
by Howard Kurtz
Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz argues that the broadcast networks need to rescue the "creaky franchise" of the evening news, which is under threat by mulitple news and entertainment options.

Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of WB and UPN
by Susanne Daniels, Cynthia Littleton
Former WB exec Susanne Daniels reveals the "big money, big egos and corporate power plays" behind the launch of the WB and UPN networks and their eventual merger into the CW.

When Television Was Young: The Inside Story with Memories by Legends of the Small Screen
by Ed McMahon, David Fisher
Ed McMahon interviews Dick Clark, Andy Griffith, Art Linkletter, Walter Cronkite, Merv Griffin and other broadcasting legends, providing an oral history of the pioneering days television.

I Heart TV: Your Ultimate Companion to 100 Essential Shows
by Editors of TV Guide
The editors and writers of TV Guide present their 100 favorite shows, ranging from the icons of yesterday, such as "I Love Lucy" and "All in the Family," to current hits like "Lost."

NBC: America's Network
by Michele Hilmes
This collection of original articles by leading scholars and industry insiders provides a both a history of the NBC network and a timeline of the development of broadcasting.

Celebrity Detox
by Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell discusses her life after she walked away from her television show in 2002, her reasons for returning to the airwaves in 2006, and speaks candidly about cohosting ABC's "The View."

I Am America (And So Can You!)
by Stephen Colbert
The complete transcript of Stephen Colbert's infamous speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner is included in this first book by Comedy Central's wildly popular "fake" news pundit.

Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of The Planet Earth, 73rd Edition
by The Onion
Today's news-parody consumer is unable understand made-up current events without the context of fake world geography. "That is why The Onion is publishing a world atlas: to help us."

The Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media
by Gawker Media
The guide promises to reveal all the secrets needed for "climbing to megawatt power in the media world," with the same "biting irreverence and insider dish that's made Gawker.com addictive."

Welcome to Michael's: Great Food, Great People, Great Party!
by Michael McCarty
Michael McCarty presents recipes from his New York restaurant, a favorite haunt of media execs. Michael's is like a great magazine, says Playboy boss Christine Hefner. "The magic is in the mix."

Starring You!: The Insiders' Guide to Using Television and Media to Launch Your Brand, Your Business, and Your Life
by Marta Tracy, Terence Noonan
This media primer for businesspeople by two veterans television show producers promises to help readers market their businesses, products, points of view, even themselves.

My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley
by Ben Casnocha
At 12, Ben Casnocha started his first company. At 14, he founded a software firm called Comcate. At 17, Inc magazine named him "entrepreneur of the year." Now 19, Casnocha offers life advice.

Valley Boy: The Education of Tom Perkins
by Tom Perkins
The memoir by Tom Perkins, the renowned venture capitalist and Silicon Valley pioneer, is "a heady mix of picaresque adventure and high finance," says "Den of Thieves" author James B. Stewart.

Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs, a Parody
by Daniel Lyons
The "Fake Steve Jobs" (Forbes senior editor Daniel Lyons) serves up a parody of the life of the Apple founder that is described as a "funny send-up of the go-go culture of Silicon Valley."

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Timothy Ferriss
Timothy Ferriss advocates limiting the use of e-mail and RSS feeds to simplify one's life. "BlackBerrys aren't inherently bad," says Ferriss. "It's just like medicine: It's the dose that makes the poison."

The Eyes Have It: How to Market in an Age of Divergent Consumers, Media Chaos and Advertising Anarchy
by Kevin Lee, Steve Baldwin
Paid-search expert Kevin Lee explores digital marketing issues. "Kevin has built a reputation as one of the smartest folks in search marketing," says Federated Media chief John Battelle.

Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes
by Mark Penn, E. Kinney Zalesne
From "Soccer Moms" to "Late-Breaking Gays," Burson-Marsteller CEO Mark Penn studies America's "ever-splintering societal subsets, and what they mean," says Publishers Weekly.

Print Is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age
by Jeff Gomez
This "groundbreaking exploration" delves into the changing nature of publishing, media and the Internet. A tie-in Web site, PrintIsDeadBook.com, includes a blog by author Jeff Gomez.

-30-: The Collapse of the Great American Newspaper
by Charles Madigan
This collection of essays by journalists and observers enumerates the forces driving the decline of U.S. newspapers, from the rise of the Internet to the decline of family ownership.

Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech
by Craig Silverman
Regret The Error blogger Craig Silverman provides a collection of amusing and sometimes disturbing journalistic slip-ups, some of which have had "tragic and calamitous consequences."

Blogging Heroes: Interviews with Thirty of the World's Top Bloggers
by Michael A. Banks
Thirty of the best-known bloggers -- including Robert Scoble, Peter Rojas and Chris Anderson -- are asked what makes their sites influential, ground-breaking and singularly successful.

Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography
by David Michaelis
This controversial biography of "Peanuts" comic-strip creator Charles Schulz reveals the full extent of his depression and explores how he sometimes inserted his own life story into the cartoon.

Adland: A Global History of Advertising
by Mark Tungate
British journalist Mark Tungate explores the history of the advertising industry. Tungate has written "a highly readable yarn that would also make a good textbook," says Jonah Bloom of Advertising Age.

Media Work (Digital Media and Society)
by Mark Deuze
Mark Deuze, a telecommunications professor at Indiana University, studies the changing nature of work for professionals in advertising, journalism, film and television production, and game development.

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Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here: Inside the 300 Billion Dollar Business Behind the Media You Constantly Consume
by David Verklin, Bernice Kanner
Co-author David Verklin, CEO of Carat Americas, aims to provide "a front row seat to the media revolution, exploring the current landscape and future shape of the media we constantly consume."

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Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet -- Better, Faster, Easier
by Mark Frauenfelder
Boing Boing founder Mark Frauenfelder has asked dozens of leading bloggers to share their favorite tips on getting the most out of the Web.

Blog Schmog: The Truth About What Blogs Can (and Can't) Do for Your Business
by Robert W. Bly
Copywriter Bob Bly takes a look at the blogging phenomenon and its impact on politics, writing, marketing, public relations and journalism. The book promises to "cut through the hype surrounding blogging."

The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture
by Andrew Keen
Andrew Keen attacks what he calls the "cut and paste" ethic of Web users, who he says are robbing professionals of their livelihoods. (One I Want Media reader e-mails in that the book contains "many errors.")

Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home
by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe
Yes, e-mail writing needs its own how-to book. This one is described as "funny and engaging," and authors David Shipley and Will Schwalbe are called the "Miss Manners for the digital age."

Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
by David Weinberger
In this twist on the Internet-has-changed-everything book, David Weinberger "joins the ranks of thinkers striving to construct new theories around the success of Google," says Publishers Weekly.

The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to Social Media
by Paul Gillin
Word of mouth is losing its opinion-forming power to blogs, says IDG chairman Patrick McGovern. Author Paul Gillin provides an "insightful guide on how to effectively benefit from these changes."

It's Not News, It's Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off Crap As News
by Drew Curtis
Drew Curtis, founder of the community Web site Fark.com, where readers submit news stories, examines why "mass media" keeps churning out "inane stories that are supposed to look like news."

Stop the Presses!: The Inside Story of the New Media Revolution
by Joseph Farah
Joseph Farah, founder of the conservative news site WorldNetDaily, looks at how "new media superstars" -- Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Matt Drudge -- are changing the news industry.

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