The two-time Booker Prize-winning author was known for “Wolf Hall” and two other novels based on the life of Thomas Cromwell. Read more
What the Music You Love Says About You
This Is What It Sounds Like is a journey into the science and soul of music that reveals the secrets of why your favorite songs move you. But it’s also a story of a musical trailblazer who began as a humble audio tech in Los Angeles to became Prince’s chief engineer for Purple Rain, and then create other No. 1 hits as one of the most successful female record producers of all time. Now an award-winning professor of cognitive neuroscience, Susan Rogers leads readers to musical self-awareness. She explains that we each possess a unique “listener profile” based on our brain’s natural response to seven key dimensions of any song. Are you someone who prefers lyrics or melody? Do you like music “above the neck” (intellectually stimulating), or “below the neck” (instinctual and rhythmic)? Whether your taste is esoteric or mainstream, Rogers guides readers to recognize their musical personality, and offers language to describe one’s own unique taste. Like most of us, Rogers is not a musician, but she shows that all of us can be musical–simply by being an active, passionate listener. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Spotify Makes a Bet on Audiobooks
The streaming service that transformed the music industry is expanding into audiobooks, and will offer more than 300,000 titles on a pay-per-book model. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Black Sparrow Press Is Back
Joshua Bodwell is glad he doesn’t have to personally deal with Charles Bukowski. Or Wanda Coleman. Or Paul Bowles. Or, for that matter, any of the late, legendary writers synonymous with Black Sparrow Press — the avant-garde publishing house established by John and Barbara Martin in 1966, in Los Angeles, and shuttered in 2002, in Santa Rosa. Bringing the long-dormant Californian imprint back to life is already more than enough pressure.
“It would be a lot of anxiety if one were tending to some of those legacy authors,” admits Bodwell, who, after being appointed editorial director of Boston-based publisher Godine in the winter of 2019, began working that July to relaunch the imprint under its umbrella. Starting with the spring 2020 publication of Coleman’s Wicked Enchantment, he’s tried to quietly oversee the release of 10 new additions to Black Sparrow’s 600-plus-title catalog. He’s held off on making a big announcement about the press’s rebirth, choosing to build up a body of work he could be proud of first. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
How to Battle Book Banning in Your Community
Christopher M. Finan has been involved in the fight against censorship for 35 years. He is executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship and the former president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Irish Stars Unite to Celebrate Overlooked Poet Patrick Kavanagh
Celebrities including Bono and Liam Neeson hope to bring their homeland’s bard to a global audience with an album of read poems. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Pre-Revolution Chinese Detective Fiction
On China’s Golden Age of crime writing. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
‘Confess, Fletch’ Coming to Theaters & Digital On September 16th
In this delightful comedy romp, Jon Hamm stars as the roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit – from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch’s Italian girlfriend. Watch trailer
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Chokepoint Capitalism by Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow
Melbourne Law School professor Giblin and Boing Boing cofounder Doctorow deliver a lucid and damning exposé of how big business captured the culture markets. Contending that anticompetitive practices are hollowing out the music, literature, video game, journalism, film, and TV industries, the authors untangle the complex web of contracts, regulations, and legal arguments deployed by corporations to maximize their profits and prevent new competitors from entering their markets … The book’s broad scope, expert policy recommendations, and flashes of wit (Disney executives are “cartoon villains” for refusing to honor science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster’s contracts) make it a must-read for anyone involved in these industries. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
ICYMI Merriam-Webster Added 370 Words and Phrases to the Dictionary
ICYMI, “lewk,” “pumpkin spice” and “janky” are among the 370 new entries that have made it into the latest update of the Merriam-Webster dictionary … Notable additions include COVID-19-era words like “subvariant,” “booster dose,” “emergency use authorization,” “false negative” and “false positive.” The dictionary also prepared a full plate of food-centric words, such as omakase, birria, oat milk and bahn mi. Meanwhile, some of the slang-sourced words might need a little more explanation. Sus (“suspicious” or “suspect”), baller (“excellent, exciting or extraordinary, especially in a way that is suggestive of a lavish lifestyle”) and cringe (“so embarrassing, awkward, etc. as to cause one to cringe”) all made the cut, as well as abbreviations like FWIW (“for what it’s worth”), and ICYMI (“in case you missed it”). Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
