The Minus Times Collected edited by Hunter Kennedy
This book is a compilation of 20 years of the Minus Times zine, which was essentially an experimental fiction mag that also incorporated some interviews, playlist recommendations, etc. It was an incredibly varied magazine and featured some contributions from the likes of Stevn Colbert, Harmony Korine, and Sam Beam. Definitely a weird read, but if you're into experimental fiction or weird short stories, maybe give it a shot.
This book focuses a lot on the song 'Dancing in the Street' and its role in the civil rights movement. It also goes into a lot of early Mo-Town history and the history of the early '60s, which is pretty cool for those interested. There's also an extensive list of all the acts that have covered the song. There's a lot more than you would have thought.
Zachary Lazar approaches some of the dark parts of the late '60s in a very interesting way, essentially blending fact into fiction to portray the lives of The Rolling Stones, Bobby Beausoleil, Kenneth Anger, and Charles Manson around the time Lucifer Rising was in early development. For those who are interested in that time period and gobble up all the info on that era, it might be worth it to check out this novel.
David Evans contributes a book length essay on the Manic Street Preacher's Holy Bible album. It's less of a track by track review, and more of a personal reflection combined with its overall look at the band and Richey Edwards around this time, as well as the band's Welsh heritage and culture. As a huge fan of this album, I was very excited to see the addition of the record to this long running book series.
What do I say about Dune that hasn't been said a million times before? It's essentially the greatest science fiction novel ever written, and I'm ashamed to finally just now getting around to reading it. Herbert's scope and level of detail in his world building is incredibly intricate, and I'd say only surpassed by the likes of Tolkein (I didn't see him invent languages from whole cloth is all I'm saying).
I'm not super into Fleetwood Mac, so I thought I might give this autobiography by the founder and drummer a read. It's pretty in depth into the history of the band and gave me a lot of insights as a relative newcomer that I would not have had otherwise. It actually expounds a lot on the pre- Buckingham Nicks period (yes they existed almost a decade before, get over it), but unfortunately it was published a little to early to comment on Lindsey's firing from the band. That would've been pretty interesting.
Stephen King is an author I'm pretty late to the party on, which is a bit of a blessing because I can pick up his books in Goodwills and free book bins all over the place and not go broke. I feel like he's at his best when he's given a little restriction in shorter works like this collection. King has a nasty habit of overwriting , and this short story collection keeps things concise and on point. This is pretty early King, and his Lovecraft influence is fully on display, which for a fan of Lovecraft, is a good thing.
I saw this book used and figured I should know what this fuss is all about. Having first heard of it through Kurt Cobain's interpretation of it as 'Scentless Apprentice', I gave it a read and was sucked into the world Suskind created. Inever knew how evocative a book could be, as the author tries very hard to convey smell, taste and other sensory qualities through written word. I'm looking forward to watching the film adaptation and the new TV series and seeing where they take the material.
Though by most this is given up as the most accessible Pynchon novel, its intricate plot, hallucinogenic haze and overall sense of confusion has me intimidated going into my next Pynchon novel. This book reminds me a lot of The Big Lebowski on steroids, in that it's a detective story with a clueless drugged out hero, but the twists and turns this story goes through and the extensive cast of characters puts that movie to shame. I've picked up the Paul Thomas Anderson movie, but I've yet to give it a watch. Movie review, perhaps?
Check back in soon for more of the year end 2019 lists. Next up, top 5 disappoiting albums of the year, followed by (re)discoveries and the top 2019 albums.
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