New Books In Popular Culture

Looking for a cheery, encouraging guide to improving your life? A reminder that nothing is really all that bad, and you can still pick yourself up and make a big success of yourself? Look elsewhere! In their new book You Blew It! (Penguin, 2015), writers Josh Gondelman and Joe Berkowitz dash those dreams against the rocks of reality, and instead point out that you’ve seriously blown it already, in every aspect of life from love and sex to roommates and career choice. And don’t forget family. Oh, how we sometimes wish we could forget family. We’re kidding. Kind of. Gondelman and Berkowitz have hardly ruined their own lives – Gondelman is a stand-up comedian and Emmy-nominated writer for “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” and Berkowitz is a writer and editor for Fast Company. Their book is a fast and funny guide to the many pitfalls of everything from parties to Facebook. They list out friendships to avoid (the “Never Carries Cash Friend” and “Suddenly Go