Howard Jones asked the musical question...

...What Is Love? and since it's Valentine's Day, I thought I'd offer a few suggestions for some great love stories.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Rob loves Laura, no doubt, but unless he grows up, he'll never really know the depths of love.  Hornby hits a homer here. 

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I've said it a million times but I think this is the most romantic book, perhaps ever, and it made me want to hug Mrs. Next.  Ignore the movie (even though I find it most difficult to ignore actress Rachel McAdams--yowza!) and read this stunning debut novel. 

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

One of my absolute favorites of the last twenty years, I can't say enough about Krauss or this challenging read but the payoff is gigantic.  There is great love, loss, and pain in these characters.  Be patient and you will be amply rewarded. 

Now go love a book.

Of Office Girls, Honey Badgers and How To Be Black

There are several new books about which you should be aware.  Most have just published and one is forthcoming but they are all likely to be of interest to 'reeders' of this blog.  And so:

Out now

How To Be Black by Baratunde Thurston

http://www.baratunde.com/

Several years ago, while I was promoting a book entitled Your Negro Tour Guide, I had the good fortune to meet Baratunde, at the time a self-published author, stand-up comic and political blogger.  He continues to blog and perform stand-up but he has gotten bigger, especially since becoming digital director of The Onion and making himself a presence on Twitter, on campuses, on TV and all over the Web.  Imagine how thrilled I was to hear him interviewed on Fresh Air this week to discuss How To Be Black from bigfamouspublisher, Harper Collins.   

(Listen here: http://goo.gl/ILnMu)

His history is an amazing amalgam of culture clashes--raised in DC during the heyday of crack by a crunchy, pan-Afrikan mother, his father killed in a drug deal, Baratunde attended the tony Sidwell Friends school and later Harvard.  Needless to say, he is smart and insightful and, best of all, funny.  I so look forward to reading the book in its entirety.  The author photo alone is worth the price of the book.  

Honey Badger Don't Care: Randall's Guide to Crazy, Nastyass Animals

YouTube phenom Randall has had millions of hits since last spring with the hilarious Honey Badger video.  Now comes the inevitable, cross-platform book. Dangerous waters here since how is a video with narration going to succeed as a book? 

Voice, baby.  That distinctive Randall voice.  You can almost hear the lisping, dramatic Randall describing the assemblage of strange creatures through words and color photos.  It's funny and informative and a great gift for the legion of Honey Badger devotees.  (Thanks to the good folks at NetGalley and publisher Andrews McMeel for online access to the book)

The Coincidence Agent by Sam Leith

From the sound of the summary, this could be a Jasper Fforde-like romp and I am all for Jasper Fforde-like romps.  We need all the Jasper Fforde-like romps we can get these days.  So let's romp, Fforde-like or otherwise.  

http://www.akashicbooks.com/officegirl.htm

Coming Soon: 

I love Joe Meno and you should, too.  He writes with an honesty and a sadness I find remarkable.  Office Girl won't be out until this summer but check out his other work in the meantime, especially The Boy Detective Fails.  The good folks at Akashic Books will be glad to help you out.

What It Is Like To Go To War by Karl Marlantes

I have never had to serve my country nor was it something I ever considered.  When I was of age, the Cold War was winding down and the pain of Vietnam was still divisive and hurtful.  Unlike veterans of previous generations, these men were disparaged and misunderstood and left to the fringes by a society that was embarrassed and lacked the appropriate compassion and understanding to help them heal.  

Fast forward to the current era when we have recently fought two wars on two fronts.  Suddenly, young men were going off to war again with some returning home whole, others maimed, still others not at all.  It is a rare person who hasn't been touched by this recent round of national service.  Perhaps it is my age that allows me to consider matters differently but these young soldiers were fighting a very different war than my father did in the 1940's.  

In his book, Marlantes examines the warrior as both an ideal and an all-too-real figure.  Through his own experience and insight, he explains who the warrior is, how the warrior must prepare and how he or she must be brought back into the fold of non-military life after their service.  This book has great power and important lessons.  It should be required reading for soldiers, their superiors, politicians, and the American people.  

In the parlance of rap duo Eric B. & Rakim, Karl Marlantes "ain't no joke".  He went to Yale, was a Rhodes scholar and a highly decorated combat veteran of Vietnam.  Those decorations include the Navy Cross and the Bronze Star among others.  His first novel, Matterhorn, was championed by both the critics and the bookstores when it was published in 2010.  His non-fiction follow-up is remarkable.  

It has been at least six weeks since I finished the book but hardly a day has gone by that I have not found myself still ruminating on it.  Marlantes is so unflinching in his honesty, so straightforward about his own mistakes, including his participation in what he describes as a "massacre", it has left me haunted.  After reading What It Is Like To Go To War, I have gained an even greater respect for those who choose to serve primarily because Marlantes makes me understand not only how awful it can be but also how glorious it is for a soldier who can finally put into practice all they have been trained for.  

At the beginning of the first Gulf War, when Tom Brokaw announced on the nightly news that AWACS were in the air, my friend, who had spent years in the naval reserve, wanted to re-enlist because he had been trained to be a warrior but never got to use what he learned.  It boggled my mind.  "You want to go to war?  Why in hell?"  After reading What It Is Like To Go To War, I think I can begin to understand.  

3 Books, A Tune and Michael Kun

Happy 2012.  I'm deep in the throes of several books but to start the year off, I'm alternating my attention on three music books: Horace Panter's Ska'd For Life (which I posted about right before Xmas), I Want My MTV: the uncensored story of the music video revolution and Everything Is An Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson.  

Panter's Ska'd For Life is a look back on his time with The Specials and I'm at the part that is familiar to all the viewers of VH1's Behind the Music--the constant touring is starting to create rifts within the band.  Obviously, I know how the story ends but I've learned a ton about a band whose work I've always admired and look forward to reading Panter's take on it

I Want My MTV is an oral history from everyone involved in the creation of MTV and the whole video explosion--execs, musicians, directors, VJs, the whole bit; lots of behind-the-scenes stuff, sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll (of course).  Not only am I going to YouTube to watch videos I'd forgotten about but authors Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum make clear the huge cultural effect music videos had not only on TV but commercials, movies and the music industry.  What I didn't know was how MTV and videos as an art form gave a lot of women music biz opportunities they never had before.   

As for Paul Nelson, I never knew I knew his work until Everything Is An Afterthought arrived as a gift from my dear friend Rocky.  Thirty years ago, I read a piece in Rolling Stone about Warren Zevon that I thought was among the finest pieces of journalism I'd ever read (and I still do).  Turns out it was written by Paul Nelson.  Another one on Neil Young has stayed with me all these years.  Yup.  Penned by Paul Nelson. I'm absolutely fascinated by The New York Dolls.  Who signed them to Mercury?  Paul Nelson.  Naturally, I'm eager to read on.

Another book I'm about to begin (because I need to be reading even more books simultaneously!) is Everybody Says Hello by the delightful and insightful Michael Kun.  It is a follow-up to The Locklear Letters, a hilarious epistolary novel starring Sid Straw who is as schleppy as he is endearing.  I can't wait to see where we find Sid these many years later.  The book doesn't pub until April so it will be a while until I post my thoughts but please put this on your Spring reading list.  Better still, get a copy of The Locklear Letters now so you're up to speed. 

Ska'd For Life: A Personal Journey with The Specials

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!  On my trip to the record store to purchase a little Xmas something for Mrs. Next (shhh.  Don't tell), this little black and white gem caught my eye: a memoir by the bass player from one of my 80's faves, The Specials. 

While I know their music quite well, I must confess to knowing little about the inner workings of the band aside from the basics--originally called the Coventry Automatics, they helped launch the English ska revival and created the upstart 2 Tone label. The problem with most musical memoirs is that musicians simply aren't writers so they are teamed up with a rock journalist who does the heavy lifting but mixed results are usually the end product.  In this instance, Sir Horace is listed as the only author so I'm being cautious with my expectations and hopeful he passed his A levels. 

Still, The Specials were an influential outfit whose mix of pop and politics (thank you, Billy Bragg) not only topped British charts but have remained somewhat intact through the years with several different names (Special AKA, the Special Beat, and others) and line-ups.  I'm sure their youthful angst has gone the way of the Thatcher administration but I'm eager to learn what it was like to be Special during such a tumultuous political and inspired musical era.  

Fingers crossed as I turn to chapter one.  

My Top Ten of 2011

Below are my favorite books from the past year.  A good mix I'm happy to have read and pleased to recommend--seven fiction, three non-fiction, a mix of male and female authors, contemporary and historical settings, debut and established authors.  



Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
 
Great House by Nicole Krauss
 
The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
 
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
 
A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
 
Bullfighting by Roddy Doyle


Life by Keith Richards 

Just Kids by Patti Smith

What It Is Like To Go To War by Karl Marlantes

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

This was such a wonderful surprise of a book and will make my top ten for 2011.  

Harrison Opoku is a most memorable character just on the edge of puberty and his naivete is captured perfectly and without affectation.  He struggles with the murder of an older classmate from his London neighborhood (the novel's centerpiece) and seeks to find the killer in a young-boy-who-watches-too-much-CSI manner.  

Harri is a young man with a foot in two worlds: that of an immigrant in a new land, a wide-eyed schoolboy turning into a teenager (his budding romance is one of the best accounts I've read in ages), and from childhood to manhood.  

Initially, the pigeon motif confused me but once I caught on, it added a layer to the story and to Harri's character that I found quite beautiful.  Harri's use of slang terms (his own pigeon English) was also a little tough to follow at first but it was a realistic depiction of a boy of that age.  It was a pleasure to read and has stayed with me since.