Wednesday, May 23 2012
America’s Funny Book Filter: ‘Comic Books and American Cultural History: An Anthology’
The comics medium has long been as broad as fiction, a mode of expression which reflects the deepest parts of an artist’s self to a corporation cashing in on a trend.
In ‘‘Rain Dragon’, a Couple Move Together but Drift Apart
Rain Dragon strikes me as true lad lit: It’s the story of a relationship in crisis, told from the point of a view of a guy who doesn’t think like a girl. At all.
Tuesday, May 22 2012
If You Take Film Noir Seriously, You’ll Want ‘Film Noir: The Directors’
Film Noir: The Directors offers two great pleasures: the chance to discover new films and directors, and the chance to see films you already know, but through new eyes.
Moviemaking Insights: Conversations at the American Film Institute With the Great Moviemakers
Pieces of history — capturing moments and moviemakers in time — is exactly what this book does best, creating a treasure-trove to flip through and savor.
Monday, May 21 2012
‘Exit Music’ Starts Strong, But Punts on Radiohead’s Later Music
A revised edition of Randall's history of Radiohead provides an excellent summary of the band's genesis in Oxford, but provides diminishing returns when it comes to examining the quintet's most recent releases.
‘The Superhero Book’ Makes for an Entertaining but Spotty Overview
This isn't a bad book. It's nicely designed and laid out, and there are plenty of full-color movie stills and comics covers. For a reader who can get over what isn't included, there are plenty of trivia nuggets to be had.
Friday, May 18 2012
‘People’s Pornography’: The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture
People's Pornography attempts to situate a new Chinese subject amidst the proliferation of DIY porn videos and sexual expression on the internet.
Thursday, May 17 2012
Fat, Drunk, and Stupid: by Matty Simmons
"In Chicago that night, Lampoon editor John Hughes sat alone in a jammed movie theater watching the film. He’s stood in line for a half hour or so to get in. When the picture ended, he later told me, 'I said to myself, I’m going to make movies.'"
In ‘My Cross to Bear’, Gregg Allman Recalls Fame and Shame
The book’s tone is so open and engaging, My Cross to Bear could appeal even to readers whose knowledge of the band begins and ends with “Ramblin’ Man”.
Wednesday, May 16 2012
What Was She Without Charles Dickens? ‘The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth’
The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth -- it’s definitely not what Charles Dickens would have wanted us to be reading on the 200th anniversary of his birth.
An Enigma, Wrapped in Glitter: ‘Prince: The Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon’
A philosophical collection of essays dissecting the works and poses of Prince proves simultaneously fascinating and frustrating: their points are evocative, but the authors' personal weight in the matter breaks down subjectivity in the long run, hurting their cause.
Tuesday, May 15 2012
Brief and Bizarre Encounters Come Knocking In Etgar Keret’s ‘Suddenly, a Knock on the Door’
Etgar Keret’s satire may be local, but his ironies are global; this is a master storyteller, creating deep, tragic, funny, painful tales with scarcely more words than you’ve read in this review.
What Do You Get When You Mix Yeast & Flame Retardant? ‘White Bread’
White bread might be bland, but White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf is not.
Monday, May 14 2012
History as a Witness to Murder: ‘Midnight in Peking’
Peking, on the edge of World War II, couldn't have been more fraught with tension. The brutal murder of a young Englishwoman was the proverbial match struck to this powder keg of a city.
‘Elizabeth I’: Thick Book, Thin Characters
This comprehensively researched portrait of Elizabeth I falls short of capturing the Virgin Queen
Friday, May 11 2012
A Well-Written Working Class Hero: ‘Waterline’
The stark rhythms in Ross Raisin's prose form a kind of poetry that is as unexpected as it is beautiful. This is a superb story, detailing one man's downward spiral.
The World Is Your Oyster: ‘1,000 Places to See Before You Die’
First published in 2003, this updated edition has added 28 additional countries, including Ghana, Qatar, Latvia and Vanuatu, and 200 new entries, for those who might think that Earth, and its attractions, are finite.
Thursday, May 10 2012
Where the Bodies Are: David Harvey’s ‘Rebel Cities’
As the world passes the tipping point where more than half of its population now lives in urban areas, David Harvey condemns the idea of the capitalist machine.
Tom Gauld’s ‘Goliath’ Is Interesting Enough, but Thin
Depth of engagement + duration of experience = importance to the audience.
Wednesday, May 9 2012
‘Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone by Johnny Ramone’ Reads Something Like a Ramones Song
Direct, ascerbic, occasionally thoughtful or breathtakingly thoughtless -- like the man himself -- this is a quick, riveting read.
