“Who Are You People?: A Personal Journey into the Heart of Fanatical Passion in America” by Shari Caudron
Barricade Books, 288 pages, $15

Denver writer Shari Caudron has hit the national radar with a nonfiction book that examines an interesting subject.

No, she didn’t trek across the Afghanistan desert post 9-11, log time in a foreign brothel, or go undercover with religious fanatics.

What she did was cast a probing eye toward people we see all the time, possibly at work or at family gatherings, who have interests that arouse a mixture of curiosity and embarrassment.

Caudron has examined the segment of our population often assessed as "geeks;" those among us who become so embroiled in a pursuit (usually one that staves off the real world) that it alienates friends, shoves a wedge into social interactions and even causes friction in stable marriages.

For this book, Caudron followed and analyzed people with interests in: collecting Barbie dolls, ice fishing, pigeon racing, and board games; as well as enthusiasts of the old Mayberry sitcoms, rabid fans of pretty-boy singer Josh Groban (me neither), science fiction aficionados, furries (holy shit!), record collectors and tornado chasers.

Yes, for some among us the trivial rises to an almost religious level, which Caudron documents sublimely. Apart from her investigative journalism of the aforementioned, though, Caudron begins to question why she doesn’t have any passion on par with spending every evening watching “Mayberry R.F.D.” reruns in order to bone up for the annual trivia contest.

This constitutes the part of the book that falls under the “personal journey” label. It also represents a stumble in an otherwise commendable study.

Truth be told, Caudron’s exploration is pretty entertaining and well written. The segment on New York pigeon racers is intriguing, and the chapter on ice fishing gives insight into an obscure Colorado hobby. However, most readers likely would scratch their heads at the Groban enthusiasts, who show a greater devotion to their idol than many Deadheads did with Jerry Garcia.

Caudron does unintentionally portray some of her subjects as freaks. The furries, people who dress up full-body as animal creatures, almost universally cross the line into freakishness. Despite the testimonials, I’m sure few would disagree with this judgment.

Near the end of her book, Caudron writes about “how willing Americans are to embrace their passions and broadcast them to the world, regardless of what that world might think. Geeks, in a word, have become chic.”

Not sure about that, but Caudron definitely is onto something.

While hobbies are common, most among us do not embrace a nonprofessional pursuit strongly enough to, say, travel cross-country to attend a convention. It’s odd that Caudron finds herself the misfit for not having such a fanatical interest, when in reality she falls comfortably into the mainstream.