Julie Schumacher, "Dear Committee Members" (2014)

A genuinely good hoot, this book will particularly be appreciated by anyone who has lived or worked in academia above the undergraduate level.

Essentially, it tells the tale - through a series of recommendation letters and requests for help - of a tenured Creative Writing professor at some East Coastish mid- to small-sized US university. He struggles with his own underperformance, as well as with the apparently diminishing respect for his department within the university. The letters tell the tale of romantic failures (his ex-wife and his ex-girlfriend both work for the university), his resistance to technological communication (he writes letters rather than emails, perhaps due to a messy and embarrassing 'reply all' incident where he strives to reignite one of his relationships), students - good and bad - seeking his help in doing everything from gaining publishing contracts to getting jobs at restaurants.

All in all, I laughed out loud multiple times. Schumacher has accurately captured the fish-bowl narcissism and bitterness that contemporary academia feeds. I'm tempted to recommend this book to all students who consider asking me for letters of recommendation.