One of my obsessions and true pleasures in life is reading obituaries. It’s an odd fascination, but not if I really think about it. I love history—both the bang-the-drums watershed moment and that which is less known but far more personal. My preferred outlets for these mini-histories are the obit sections in the Sunday editions of the San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times. Steaming cup of coffee in hand, I comb through these one minute summations of lives energetically (or unceremoniously) lived in utter fascination. Obits are, essentially, human interest stories at their most mesmerizing and least time consuming—a must for those whose schedules require a thumbnail sketch opposed to 500-page novel. Too often we do not see history beyond the timeline. But a well-written obit—one with cadence and poetry that is equal parts hilarious, sentimental, mysterious, wacky, and sometimes, near criminal—considers history from a more personal POV. And did I mention the near-nothing time commitment?
Learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about everyone you’ve never met—but probably should have—in three of my favorite books on the fascinating and oddball world of obituaries and those who write them.
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