Whenever I head to a bookstore, I make a few regular stops. Lately, I lead off with the African history section. (That usually doesn’t take very long.) I check the non-fiction new releases, then swing by travel, journalism, music, and contemporary history. I often make a stop by personal finance.

Now, I don’t know Suze Orman from Eve. (I take Scott Burns as my pers-fin columnist of choice.) I’ll admit I’m inclined to loathe her, since I see that one of her bestselling books has the pitiful title of The Courage to be Rich. (Sure, we’d all be rolling in dough — if only we had the courage! At first glance, with chapter titles like “The Courage to Have More and to Be More” and “The Courage to Make Room for More Money,” it appears to be a half-shimmy away from a Prayer of Jabez-style cloaking of greed in self-affirming garb.)

But I’m not here to make incisive social commentary. No, I’m here to point out what I noticed in a recent trip to the bookstore: In every photo on her book jackets, Suze Orman looks like a crazy woman! And not just a crazy woman — a shapeshifting crazy woman, a different sort of crazy on every jacket!

I just got back from the spa and I’m a crazy woman!

I’m a crazy woman who watched Dynasty too much in the ’80s!

I’m crazy — and I like leather!

I’ve been smiling for 19 straight hours, and it’s driven me crazy!

365 days of crazy ol’ me!

The courage to be casual — and crazy!

I hate to think what her audiobooks are like. Read by Bobcat Goldthwaite?

29 July 2003

Comments

30 July | 6:22 | kelly

I love you. Seriously. Too, too funny!

30 July | 7:47 | jeremy

I love you more! Kelly, backdaphuckoff! He's mine, ALL MINE!

30 July | 12:13 | ian

Suze is pretty crazy on her seemingly endless PBS shows. She screams constantly. The way she talks her adoring fans is akin to Dr. Laura's treatment of her callers.

30 July | 12:44 | Chuck

*looks at pictures*

<voice="Crow T. Robot">Joel ... I'm scared!</voice>

30 July | 17:22 | Jason

Josh, I'd rate this post as one of your top 10. Huh-frickin'-larious! The pictures of this insane woman are great! I didn't even know she existed until now. I feel so enlightened. In fact I think I may have found my Halloween costume...

31 July | 9:33 | Brad > M.

Dare to drool. Feel the power of cheese. Relate to me, my darlings...Help fill my pockets by buying my books. Endless financial self help is a good thing.

31 July | 14:18 | roger

This is the type of content I expect from crabwalk.com...too funny. Thank you.

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said:

Joshua Benton

Joshua Benton is the director of the Nieman Digital Journalism Project at Harvard University, among other things. Before that, he was a staff writer and columnist for The Dallas Morning News. (More.)