Fabulous Finds Friday: August 14: Pop Culture Essays Edition

The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination Of The Boy Who Lived - Neil Mulholland, Robin S. Rosenberg, Wind Goodfriend, Misty Hook, Richard E. Heyman, Danielle M. Provenzano, Karl S. Rosengren, Emily C. Rosengren, Carol Nemeroff, Peter A. Hancock, Michelle K. Gardner, Nancy Franklin, Susan Engel, Jessica Leigh Murakami, E. David Klon Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale - James B. South, William Irwin Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside - Courtland Lewis, Paula Smithka, Mark Wardecker Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly - Glenn Yeffeth, Jane Espenson Seven Seasons of Buffy: Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Discuss Their Favorite Television Show (Smart Pop series) - Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test - Mark D. White, William Irwin, Christopher Robichaud, Jacob M. Held, Anthony Spanakos, Joseph Keeping, J. Robert Loftis, James DiGiovanna, Christopher M. Drohan, Robert Arp, Aaron Meskin The World of the Golden Compass: The Otherworldly Ride Continues - Scott Westerfeld, Maureen Johnson, Diana Peterfreund, Elizabeth Wein, O.R. Melling Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts - David Baggett, Shawn E. Klein

One of my favorite sub-genres is the pop culture essay collection, especially collections about favorite book series and television shows. I recently bought a copy of one of my favorites, Mapping the World of Harry Potter, and realized that it was actually produced by an imprint that specializes in just these sorts of things, called Smart Pop books, a division of small publisher BenBella Books. Out of curiosity, I went to their site...and ended up adding at least 10 books to my TBR. But I also stopped in at my local used bookstore- and found some of them for fifty cents apiece (free, if you take into account I used store credit instead of cash)! Of course, they aren't the only publisher in the genre-- Open Court also does those popular titles that incorporate philosophy into pop culture (The Simpsons and Philosophy, Harry Potter and Philosophy, etc) which I've enjoyed immensely and have started collecting. And I'm sure I've grabbed some others from other publishers I haven't bothered to research.

 

This Fab Finds Friday is a bit different, in that I'm combining things I found at the used bookstore this week with books I've rediscovered on my own shelves.

 

I'm hoping to get my hands on ones about Supernatural and Narnia soon, as well as Batman.

 

If anyone has some good suggestions for ones I should look out for, please let me know!