Summer Reading

I made this list for a friend, and thought it might be of interest to anyone else who doesn't know what to read next. If that's you (or if you, like me, are always looking to increase your reading list), here are 10 books (in no particular order) you might like to check out this summer: 

1. I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive by Steve Earle. [If you only read one novel this summer, make it this one. It's extraordinarily lovely.]

2. archy and mehitabel by Don Marquis. [Marvelous light reading if you've a fondness for century-old pop-culture witticisms and wickedness disquised as whimsicality.]

3. The End of the Line by Charles Clover. [If you only read one work of nonfiction this summer, make it this one. Fascinating, motivating, and tragically relevant. Please read it (and make everyone else read it, too).]

4. The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler. [A prime example of why Mr. Chandler remains, for many of us, the king of the detective novel. I recommend reading this in a hammock while sipping a highball.]

5. Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation by Michael Zielenziger. [This is really interesting - especially if you've any interest in psychology, East Asia, global economics, and/or the really f*cked-up bits of modern societies and how they make sane people act crazy.]

6. Thousand Cranes by Kawabata Yasunari. [Probably my personal favourite Japanese novel (so far, anyhow). Slender, elegant, and bittersweet - a perfect read for a cool summer evening spent outdoors and alone.]

7. Kill Your Boyfriend by Grant Morrison, Philip Bond, & D'Israeli. [This is my all-time favourite comic book. Stylish, snappy, horrifying, hilarious, and, weirdly, kinda heartwarming. Strong storytelling and beautiful artwork.]

8. Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner. [A classic adventure novel. Smugglers, treasure, backgammon, England, scoundrels, thieves, rats, and the sea... If you love Treasure Island, don't miss this! An especial favorite of my Dad and myself.]

9. Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner. [If you happen to like fantasy novels, this one is particularly good. Kushner is an elegant stylist and a masterful storyteller.]

10. Lost Horizon by James Hilton. [This appeared rather mysteriously on my bookshelf, and, not one to turn my nose up at magically appearing books, I have been thoroughly enjoying it. Another classic, best known for originating 'Shangri-La,' this is surprisingly thoughtful for a paperback adventure romance. Delightfully '30s, and charmingly British in a slightly antiquated sort of a way.]

Film: 'Versus' (2000)

Despite this film's near-total lack of acting, dialogue, and a plot, it remains one of the most compulsively watchable I've seen. Is it the zombies? The thugs? The zombie thugs? All I can say is that I've seen this movie more times than I'm willing to admit, and will be seeing it at least that many times again. I watch it whenever I'm feeling down; how could anyone fail to feel better when faced with swords, guns, and leather-clad prettyboys kicking zombie heads off? This is comfort cinema at its very best.

Despite the fact that, lacking a plot, the movie goes from one fight scene to the next with almost nothing in between, the beautiful and rather dreamy choreography makes it feel like an arty Yakuza-themed ballet rather than non-stop murderous violence. Endearingly sweet-faced tough guy Sakaguchi Taku stars as an amnesiac escaped convict with an unerring eye for fashion (even if he has to rob a corpse or three to complete his 'look'), who never loses a fight and has no compunctions whatsoever about hitting girls. Toss in a reincarnated megalomaniac, a bizarre duo of extraordinarily dumb detectives, and a creeptastic 'Forest of Resurrection' where even the dead keep on fighting, and somehow that all adds up to the most enjoyable action movie since - um - actually, I can't think of any other action films as enjoyable as this one (not even Terminator 2, or the countless Van Damme and Lundgren flicks that were my bad-day blanket movies before I discovered Versus). I think this is as good as the genre gets.

Record: Rhonda Smith 'Intellipop' (2000)

It's no secret that, as a rule, I harbor grave suspicions regarding 'funk' and the so-called and much-maligned 'mainstream' popular music. Rules being made to be broken, I wasn't particularly surprised when singer & bassist Rhonda Smith smashed that one to pieces with her mighty Mesa-powered tone and almost miraculous ability to look gorgeous even while clad in bright yellow. [Seriously. How does she even do that?! No one looks good in yellow.] Despite the unavoidably funky pop style of this record, I find myself unable to turn it off (or stop hitting 'replay'). The unusually tasteful arrangements and even more unusually tasteful lyrics keep me coming back for another listen, as do the skillfully complex basslines lurking in the background of the deliciously atmospheric mix. Though a few loudmouthed (and tasteless, and possibly hearing-impaired) critics have disparaged her naturalistic, unpolished singing style and relative lack of vocal pyrotechniques, I would argue that the understated vocal lines and slightly unusual timbre of her voice are all the more captivating for their (minor) imperfections.

Check this classy lady out: