Duana Taha

I picked up this book because it was on the Ontario Library Association's Evergreen list, from which I read every year. It's a mix of memoir and musings from name expert/enthusiast Duana Taha. I did not care for the informal and conversational writing style at all, and some of the passages were repetitive or had low-information content otherwise. Yet, several chapters had me saying, "Yes, that's me!" or "I know friends that fit that description exactly."

Taha talks about the challenges and rewards of growing up with an unusual name, including the necessity of choosing a "Starbucks name" -- one to give to a server to avoid going through the hassle of spelling out one's name and then having to hear the mangled pronunciation. She also talks about the advantages and disadvantages of being one of a dozen Jennifers or Michaels at school. So, despite the weaknesses of this book, I found myself giving the ideas a lot of thought and discussing passages with friends and family members. It's a mediocre book but a great conversation starter.… (meer)