Books

Since You Asked: The Best of Salon.com's Cary Tennis

A great 390-page collection of readers' favorite columns, with the famous  "Index of Similes."

That Special Time of Year: Advice for the Holidays

Every year millions of families fly thousands of miles to eat holiday meals together and exchange holiday sweaters only to be reminded exactly why they moved so far away in the first place.
That Special Time of Year collects 22 of Cary Tennis's warmest and funniest holiday columns, plus a darkly hilarious account of his discharge from the hospital on Christmas day only eight days after major cancer surgery.
•Uplifting advice on social roles!
•Family drama!
•The psychological significance of unfashionable dress shirts!

Buy this book and your holidays will never be the same! Give it to friends and their holidays will never be the same, either!

Citizens of the Dream: Advice on Writing, Painting, Playing, Acting and Being collects 41 answers to penetrating questions from writers, painters, musicians, singers, designers, actors and standup artists about how to overcome creative blocks, avoid distraction, find the best medium of expression, make art-related life changes, manage relationships and make a living while staying creative.

I put this book together to help the creative person persevere and excel. I say in the introduction, "The idea behind the title 'Citizens of the Dream' is that as creative people we live in our own country with its own physics and history, its own atmospheres and rivers, its own maps. ... We are citizens of the dream. And we might as well accept that we’re different and set about establishing a way of living that meets our particular needs.”

Perhaps you are a creative person who needs a little help. Or perhaps you have a friend who needs a little help but doesn't know it. Either way, I hope this book will enrich your life and the lives of your friends and family.--Cary T.