Wednesday, September 16 2009
Rick Rubin: In the Studio, by Jake Brown
Part of my antagonism toward this book stems from my feeling that it’s not so much as “written” as it is “researched”.
Tuesday, September 15 2009
Exiles in the Garden by Ward Just
It's the hallmark of a wonderful work that it creates a world that's messy and true, so vivid that its sadness takes a little time to sink in.
In Pursuit of Elegance by Matthew E. May
Imagine a poetic little book that synthesizes ideas about the ineffability and mystery at the heart of the concept of elegance.
Monday, September 14 2009
Radiohead and Philosophy, ed. Brandon W. Forbes and George A. Reisch
Understanding why Radiohead may be the greatest band of all time requires help from the greatest philosophers of all time. If you're still confused about Kid A, Heidegger can help.
It Feels So Good When I Stop by Joe Pernice
Pernice channels his inner Charles Bukowski by offering a tome that is totally dirty realism intact.
Sunday, September 13 2009
Last Night In Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel
There is an entire genre of fiction specializing in unreachable women: women who dissemble, lie, keep terrible secrets of pains inflicted upon them and the pains they, in turn, have inflicted on others.
Friday, September 11 2009
Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small by John Cook
Despite some generous editorializing, Our Noise is as engaging (and human) a music industry tale as you're ever going to read.
Thursday, September 10 2009
The Real Wizard of Oz by Rebecca Loncraine
A truly absorbing and thoroughly magical account of the little man behind the little man behind the curtain.
Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppell Shell
The way we define ourselves is determined by who we are as consumers, and if we are what we buy, well then, a lot of us are turning into piles of shoddy, plastic crap.
Wednesday, September 9 2009
Believer, Beware, ed. by Jeff Sharlet and Peter Manseau
How does a person live with the concepts of religious belief or non-belief without falling prey to fundamentalism or intolerance, or simply feeling foolish?
Tuesday, September 8 2009
Marcus Aurelius: A Life by Frank McLynn
Any proper biography of Aurelius must not only address his historical existence but also his philosophical beliefs, which have informed many of mankind's greatest thinkers.
Monday, September 7 2009
The Demon of Dakar by Kjell Eriksson
Kjell Eriksson shows us that when a genre novel tries to develop ideas above and beyond its confines without mastering the basics of the genre first, a real mess ensues.
Friday, September 4 2009
A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
Moore’s reputation is for mastery of the short story. This book, almost 10 years in the making, should establish her as a master of the novel, as well.
Thursday, September 3 2009
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Russo enthralls with a tale of memory and resentment, the central character sinks beneath his memories as if tied in a chain he can't untangle.
Armenian Golgotha by Grigoris Balakian
Although he was clearly affected deeply by the suffering he saw and endured, Balakian has succeeded in producing an account that provides us with a great and valuable insight into what is regarded as the precedent for modern genocide.
Wednesday, September 2 2009
Tropic of Capricorn by Simon Reeve
Reeve's explores the tension between indigenous cultures and the natural world on one hand, and modern-day demands for resources and tourism on the other.
Tuesday, September 1 2009
It’s Beginning To Hurt by James Lasdun
Lasdun's stories ease us out of our lives and pull us into the world of his characters, whose experiences at times seem more real than our own
Monday, August 31 2009
The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan by Kevin Dettmar (editor)
Aspects of Robert Zimmerman's oeuvre are pieced apart by mainly Englit minded mavens -- Dylan is very well read, it's well known, but what about the music?
Perfecting Sound Forever by Greg Milner
A well-written, meticulously researched and fantastically thought-provoking exploration of the history of recorded music.
Sunday, August 30 2009
Best Music Writing 2009 by Greil Marcus, Daphne Carr
Greil Marcus comments on the uncertainty hanging over music writing these days, which is palpable in many pieces in this volume.
