"The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting" by Rachel Shteir

Jeff Glor talks to Rachel Shteir about "The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting."

Jeff Glor: What inspired you to write the book?

Rachel Shteir: I was interested in why people who had money--movie stars like Winona Ryder, for example--shoplifted.

RS: The complexity of the topic and the polarized reactions people had to talking about it--either they wanted to confess everything or they didn't want to reveal anything.

RS: I've always wanted to be a writer, so it's hard to think about that. Maybe go to cooking school and open a restaurant.

RS: I always read a lot of books at the same time. I'm reading a novel by the film critic, David Thomson, "Suspects," which imagines the lives of film noir characters off screen, as it were. I'm also reading a book by Mary Catherine Bateson, the daughter of Margaret Mead, called "Composing a Life," which traces the lives of extraordinary women. Those are both older books. In terms of stuff that just came out, I recently read a great first novel by Eleanor Henderson, "Ten Thousand Saints."

RS: Working on some new ideas for books 

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For more on "The Steal," visit the Penguin Group website.