Books Aloud!
Issue 239 / November 2008 More from this Issue
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In Persuasion Nation
George Saunders
Riverhead Books [Street: 11.01.05]
There is a lot of talk concerning George Saunders' status as the next Vonnegut.To review an author in this way is a disservice to both the comparative and thecompared. Saunders is just as brilliant a writer as the late Mr. Vonnegut, but in theway of all authors destined for greatness are. Like Vonnegut, Wallace, Twain orTolstoy, his work combines the timely with the timeless, the sardonic with the saintlysweet and the unknown with the familiar. With the chameleon-like mastery of voice inMy Flamboyant Grandson, the terrifying insight of My Amendment and heart-breakingcharacterization in Christmas, George Saunders' book In Persuasion Nation is thebest collection of short fiction in a decade, and will remain important for many yearsto come (Hard Boiled Book Club; Sam Weller's 11.25). JR Boyce
New York Dolls
Photographs by Bob Gruen
Abrams Image [Street: 09.01]
It seems only obvious that the story ofone of the most, if not the most, visualbands in the history of pop music wouldbe best told through photographs. TheDolls really wanted to give the audiencesomething they hadn't seen before. I'msure that many people had never seen aband dress all femmy before, (glam, as itwould later be called) but the Dolls weremore than thatthey were dangerous.They were the band that if your dad sawthe album cover, you might get a beatingfor it. These photos by Bob Gruenshow that this was a band that wascoming after you. Whether it was DavidJohansen's make-up or Johnny Thunders' teased out hairthe Dolls intended tointrigue or repulse. Gruen met the Dolls less than a year into their journey as a bandand recognized that they were going to show the world something. He was smartto capture all these moments on his camera. This book is the first photo collectionof the New York Dolls, and includes interviews with band members, a forward byDavid Johansen and an afterword by Morrissey. No matter what you want to labelthe Dolls, this book shows the band for what they truly wererock and roll.James Orme
Please God Save Us
Derek Hess and Kent Smith
Strhess Press [Street: 07.08]
We're all irritated with U.S leaders and the Christian right telling us how to vote onProposition 8, but do we say anything more about it than "this sucks"? Fortunately,Kent Smith can, and does so in an educated and rational manner. He addresseseverything from Dick Cheney's Halliburton debacle, the cost per day of the Iraqwar, the perversion of Christianity's original message, reasons behind the continualveto of stem cell research and lighter topics such as why Santa and SpongeBobwere blacklisted, and Jimmy Buffett being as evil as Slayer in Tipper Gore's eyes.More than just a complement, Derek Hess's brilliantly messy and melancholic AshleyWood meets Bill Sinkiewicz-style paintings, sketches and collages (often usingthe Red Elephant as his subject) appear on each page, echoing Smith's words(and vice-versa). If the publishers of Ad Busters worked in cohesion and employeda shit-hot illustrator, the result would be this book. Dave Madden
You Idiot: The First Book
Nate Gangelhoff
Arsenic Books [Street: 09.22]
Are you the type of person who jolts awake atnight to think about products such as the Armorof God pajamas and who would come up withsuch an idea? Do you delete spam messagesthat detail how to make terrific sums of moneythen sulk over your lack of faith? Have youpassed on pyramid schemes then sulked forweeks over the "what if" of the matter? Were youa kid whose extracurricular activities were guidedby anti-Satanic parents and teachers who foundBeelzebub at every turn (i.e. Journey albums)?Or are you just searching for the lyrics to theanti-drug rap, "Zip Zap Rap," by Devastatin'Dave (a.k.a. The Turntable Slave)? Compiledfrom Nate Gangelhoff's 'zine of the same name,You Idiot explores these topics, the author oftenplunging head firsteven trying his hand asa diet pill salespersonso you won't have to.Dave Madden
George Saunders
Riverhead Books [Street: 11.01.05]
There is a lot of talk concerning George Saunders' status as the next Vonnegut.To review an author in this way is a disservice to both the comparative and thecompared. Saunders is just as brilliant a writer as the late Mr. Vonnegut, but in theway of all authors destined for greatness are. Like Vonnegut, Wallace, Twain orTolstoy, his work combines the timely with the timeless, the sardonic with the saintlysweet and the unknown with the familiar. With the chameleon-like mastery of voice inMy Flamboyant Grandson, the terrifying insight of My Amendment and heart-breakingcharacterization in Christmas, George Saunders' book In Persuasion Nation is thebest collection of short fiction in a decade, and will remain important for many yearsto come (Hard Boiled Book Club; Sam Weller's 11.25). JR Boyce
New York Dolls
Photographs by Bob Gruen
Abrams Image [Street: 09.01]
It seems only obvious that the story ofone of the most, if not the most, visualbands in the history of pop music wouldbe best told through photographs. TheDolls really wanted to give the audiencesomething they hadn't seen before. I'msure that many people had never seen aband dress all femmy before, (glam, as itwould later be called) but the Dolls weremore than thatthey were dangerous.They were the band that if your dad sawthe album cover, you might get a beatingfor it. These photos by Bob Gruenshow that this was a band that wascoming after you. Whether it was DavidJohansen's make-up or Johnny Thunders' teased out hairthe Dolls intended tointrigue or repulse. Gruen met the Dolls less than a year into their journey as a bandand recognized that they were going to show the world something. He was smartto capture all these moments on his camera. This book is the first photo collectionof the New York Dolls, and includes interviews with band members, a forward byDavid Johansen and an afterword by Morrissey. No matter what you want to labelthe Dolls, this book shows the band for what they truly wererock and roll.James Orme
Please God Save Us
Derek Hess and Kent Smith
Strhess Press [Street: 07.08]
We're all irritated with U.S leaders and the Christian right telling us how to vote onProposition 8, but do we say anything more about it than "this sucks"? Fortunately,Kent Smith can, and does so in an educated and rational manner. He addresseseverything from Dick Cheney's Halliburton debacle, the cost per day of the Iraqwar, the perversion of Christianity's original message, reasons behind the continualveto of stem cell research and lighter topics such as why Santa and SpongeBobwere blacklisted, and Jimmy Buffett being as evil as Slayer in Tipper Gore's eyes.More than just a complement, Derek Hess's brilliantly messy and melancholic AshleyWood meets Bill Sinkiewicz-style paintings, sketches and collages (often usingthe Red Elephant as his subject) appear on each page, echoing Smith's words(and vice-versa). If the publishers of Ad Busters worked in cohesion and employeda shit-hot illustrator, the result would be this book. Dave Madden
You Idiot: The First Book
Nate Gangelhoff
Arsenic Books [Street: 09.22]
Are you the type of person who jolts awake atnight to think about products such as the Armorof God pajamas and who would come up withsuch an idea? Do you delete spam messagesthat detail how to make terrific sums of moneythen sulk over your lack of faith? Have youpassed on pyramid schemes then sulked forweeks over the "what if" of the matter? Were youa kid whose extracurricular activities were guidedby anti-Satanic parents and teachers who foundBeelzebub at every turn (i.e. Journey albums)?Or are you just searching for the lyrics to theanti-drug rap, "Zip Zap Rap," by Devastatin'Dave (a.k.a. The Turntable Slave)? Compiledfrom Nate Gangelhoff's 'zine of the same name,You Idiot explores these topics, the author oftenplunging head firsteven trying his hand asa diet pill salespersonso you won't have to.Dave Madden
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