Christmas Comes Early November 23, 2007 Jill You know you’re a nerd when this is your favorite part of the holiday season (and yes, it is mine).
I’m also a fan of that list, even though reading the descriptions of the books on it makes me not want to read them: THROW LIKE A GIRL: Stories. By Jean Thompson. (Simon & Schuster, paper, $13.) The women here are smart and strong but drawn to losers. Smart and strong, but drawn to losers? Awesome! WINTERTON BLUE. By Trezza Azzopardi. (Grove, $24.) An unhappy young woman meets an even unhappier drifter. Two unhappy people meet? Sounds like a winner!
The only things on that list that even remotely interest me are a handful of the nonfiction books. That list is so painfully limited in scope it’s not even funny. Though it IS fun to look through. Book lists are one of my guilty pleasures – they annoy me so much, I really shouldn’t read through them, but I swear to God they’re addictive.
I haven’t read most of the books on the list but I can unreservedly recommend Alex Ross’ The Rest is Noise. He’s listened to almost everything, he’s excellent (I think) at relating music to its historical context without trying to explain it away as a mere “superstructural expression,” he’s generous and eclectic but severe where severity is appropriate (a few sharp digs at Brecht and Adorno, always welcome) and he’s even witty–I never had the sense of gnawing my way through a thick rind of generic dissertation prose in order to get at the tasty morsels within. Really fine stuff, and you can go to his blog “also called The Rest is Noise) and listen to a fine collection of sound samples that illustrate the book, chapter by chapter.
Sound files to accompany Alex Ross’ discussion of 20th century composition: http://www.therestisnoise.com/2007/01/book-audiofiles.html