Now that the housing boom has gone bust, get ready: There will be an infinite number of books well-timed to coincide with the increased interest in how it happened and what can be learned from it.

Last week on DailyFinance, I wrote about Edmund L. Andrews' Busted, a lame attempt to cash in on his own financial nightmare. Now comes a similar memoir-with-bits-of-current-events-research effort: Gimme Shelter: Ugly Houses, Cruddy Neighborhoods, Fast-Talking Brokers, and Toxic Mortgages: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream.

To begin with, it should be noted that this book is very, very New York City specific: That market is unlike just about any other market in the country, and if you're not familiar with New York's geography and neighborhoods, you'll probably find yourself bored for a good portion of the book.

The second problem that will limit Gimme Shelter's appeal is that it is almost entirely autobiographical, with only passing references to statistics and the broader circumstances of that era.

This has a nice "show, don't tell" flavor and for capturing what it was like to be a regular person trying to keep up with New York's ever-rising real estate market, this book is certainly successful. But the amount of ink devoted to child-rearing issues, relationship concerns, the freelance copy editing business etc. makes this a tiresome read for those of us who mostly just want to learn about the real estate market.

If you're a young couple looking to buy a home in a city sometime soon, you'll probably find a lot to relate to in this book -- even if you don't learn anything.

Being a pharmacist can pay off for women, according to a Forbes ranking of the best-paying jobs for women. Female pharmacists earn a median salary of around $86,000 a year, topping the list of the jobs that pay women the most money. About half of all U.S. pharmacists are women, who earn about 85% of what men in their profession are paid.

Forbes looked at a 2008 analysis from the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau to come up with the jobs ranking. The report also showed that women make up 46.5% of the U.S. labor force, and that a third of women worked in management, professional and related occupations.

Also, 3.5 million women are in the highest pay bracket, which means they earn a minimum of $1,500 per week. That compares with 10 million men who earn salaries in the highest pay bracket. Fewer women are at the top pay level because some of the jobs commonly held by women don't pay as much, such grade school teachers, administrative assistants and nurses.

Here's a heartwarming story of a dad who thought buying his son a pickup truck for his 16th birthday would be the best gift ever. . . And hey, so what if it was a bit of a beater?

Apparently the kid thought differently.

"You guys trying to make me look like a frickin' retard in front of all my friends. . .You guys are gonna make me look like frickin' poor kid in front of all my friends," he shouted, as he beat the truck with a baseball bat. However given that the kid weighed about 110 pounds, no serious damage was done.

Here's a video of the same kid freakin' out after his parents canceled his World of Warcraft account.

Summer is here and that means it is BBQ season. We all want to have a fun, stress-free backyard get-together without breaking the bank. Here are some tips to make you a BBQ bigshot.

• Don't buy pre-made burgers. Buy ground beef in bulk and form your own patties. They taste much better and will save you money. If you have kids around, have them help make the patties -- they love it!

• Plan your menu around what's on sale. This time of year, you can get great deals on hot dogs, chicken, ground beef and steaks. When you see a great deal, buy a lot and freeze the meat until you are ready to use it.

Disney's big new attraction this year? The same as the media's: Barack Obama.

Walt Disney World in Orlando, hunkering down for the economic storm, is in the rare position of not having any major attractions under construction. Instead, its big summer draw, opened July 3, is the addition of President Barack Obama to the climax of its seminal Hall of Presidents attraction at the Magic Kingdom.

Make love, not porn, because if you live in the Ukraine, you'll get fined and sent to jail. Tuesday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed a bill into law, making the possession of pornography a criminal offense in the country.

I first heard of the report while watching the Russian news network last night and my immediate reaction was: "WTF?" Thinking the announcement couldn't possibly be true and must have been Russia's unfunny way of mocking my birth country, I hopped onto the Internets, only to find --10 seconds later -- reports of the aforementioned law.

"But what constitutes 'pornography' in the Ukraine?" I wondered. And the only definition I could find was one claimed by XBizNewswire to have been featured in the 2003 legislation, which states, "Pornography is vulgar, candid, cynical, obscene depiction of sexual acts, pursuing no other goal, the explicit demonstration of genitals, unethical elements of the sexual act, sexual perversions, realistic sketches that do not meet moral criteria and offend honor and dignity of the human by inciting low instincts." Hmmm. Not at all subjective.

Some people think it's already pretty outrageous that a one-day ticket to a single Disney park will hit you for nearly $80. But when you're budgeting for your big summer vacation, you can't assume that's the end of your daily expenses when you're at a theme park.

Like the airlines, the amusement parks have learned that the way to pad the bottom line is to hit customers with a shower of microcharges. Prepare yourself to be taken for a ride:

Lockers
Until recently, these were optional. If you didn't use the ones by the front gate, you could usually leave your stuff in a bundle on the loading platform of whatever ride you're on and pick it up 180 seconds later when your vehicle came back into the station.

But in the past few years, seizing another income opportunity (and avoiding potential theft/bonked-head lawsuits), more parks now require riders to put their loose items in a locker. If you try entering a line at Six Flags with a bag -- or that stuffed animal you won -- you'll be directed to a bank of money-munching lockers nearby, where you'll pay $1 every time you ride something, with a two-hour limit for each.

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

With more than 3.6 million jobs lost and unemployment headed toward 10%, more and more people are considering whether or not to leave the rat race and go into business for themselves. The Dolans share some tips and a few warnings that can help you decide whether or not to take the leap.

Dear Ken and Daria,

I'm thinking about starting my own business but I'm scared -- especially in this economy. Do you have any advice for me?

--Melanie

You'll find lots of strategies for managing your career and surviving this recession at Dolans.com.

Here are this week's Five Fabulous Finds from Coupon Cravings, including free patriotic music, stuffed pizza rolls and even blizzards at Dairy Queen. Plus, get a free wild cooler at Caribou Coffee or free subscriptions to Psychology Today and Motor Trend.

As Jon and Kate Gosselin's marriage has slowly self-destructed, Kate is finding that the brand she has so carefully built is under attack. A children's clothing line that she produced with Healthtex is on hold, and her latest book, Love in the Mix: Making Meals into Memories, has been sidelined while she and her husband work out their divorce.

Reading through articles about these speedbumps, it's hard to miss the barely-concealed glee that underlies the reporting. Over the past few months, bashing Kate Gosselin has become a popular sport in America. By now, even people who haven't seen the show know that Kate can be disturbingly stern with her kids, that she is mean to her husband, and that she is greedy when it comes to snatching up the freebies of quick cable fame. Pundits have endlessly attacked her weight, her behavior, her child-rearing, and her hairstyle, until it seems that Kate isn't so much a person as the heart of a cottage industry in verbal brutality.