Hidden inside the Oquirrh Mountains and tucked away in the Summit County library lies the ugly step-cousin of official Utah history—ghostly folklore. With Halloween only a stone’s throw away, I started to uncover the stories and tales that color our great state. These stories are almost too bizarre NOT to be true. The first story
Beauty Talk & Monsters Masha Tupitsyn Semiotext(e) Native Agents Street: 05.25 Tupitsyn is no one’s fool when it comes to combining–in a po-mo blend of memoirs, astute observations witty one-liners, her life and love of her city. She combs the streets through the mitigating lens of the movies, and doesn’t question the visual dominance of
When freelance journalist Sean Thomas (who’s pushing 40 and still single) is asked by an editor of a men’s magazine to do a cover story about online dating, he was reluctant. Hell, I don’t blame him. … read more
The radical idealism of punk rock is all well and good when you’re a kid , but when you’ve suddenly got bills and rent, it’s pretty hard to smash the state. Ronen Kauffman is the kind of guy that gives me hope. … read more
Kim Gordon, co-founder of the post-punk band Sonic Youth, has written a remarkable memoir that is both as humbly conversational as it is candid about some of the more sensitive issues surrounding her remarkable life. … read more
Do you ever wonder how well Thomas Jefferson and George Washington got along, or how the other Founding Fathers played off each other during the early founding of the U.S.? I didn’t, and I’m an American History geek—hell I’m a political junkie too. … read more
L.E. Modesitt plays a long game with his Saga of Recluse series. Eighteen novels into this epic tale, Heritage of Cyador continues with the exploits of the grey mage Lerial, whose aid in the defeat of the Afritan army in Cyador’s Heirs turns out to be far from decisive. … read more
Love Child is a photo journal dedicated to the skate culture of Israel. However, the photography does not showcase skateboarding—nobody lands any tricks, and very few capture moments of the act of skating itself. … read more
While I’ll openly admit that Modesitt’s got a talent for introducing rich detail into his political plots, Madness in Solidar took some serious patience to get through. … read more
Aside from their massive tomes of knowledge, the Uncle John’s series has also had a grand catalog of oddity books that, while they may not fit into the regular series, prove to be informational and fun. Lists That Make You Go Hmmm… is a great example of an era long gone with the random fact-checking of Wikipedia and Google. … read more
Back in the day, when the Internet was a gleam in the eyes of online chess players and Simpsons fans, the conglomerate of encyclopedic information didn’t really exist yet. Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series was launched back in 1988, giving those with a thirst for knowledge and some, ahem, time to kill, an opportunity to indulge and become smarter. … read more
Let’s get one bold statement out of the way: I didn’t just watch the Attitude Era—I experienced it. I got what is considered by many—both financially and creatively—the best time to be a wrestling fan during my late teens and early adult years. … read more
