Quirky book of the week

“Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife” by Nava Atlas; Simon and Schuster; $12; 79 pages

This kitschy faux cookbook pairs ’50s-era photos of repellent-looking dinner items with tongue-in-cheek recipes that poke fun at the war-torn institution of marriage. If you’re so inclined, whip up a meal of People Pleasing Tossed Salad (1 bushel of everyone else’s needs, untold hours of catering to your children, one jar of capers); Beans ‘n’ Weenies of Sexual Tension (1 can baked beans, big chunk of mind-numbing monogamy); and Souffle of Fallen Expectations (8 large eggs, 3 pounds of long-standing myths about marriage, disillusionment as needed). Yum yum!