Speed Reads
a gate at the stairs by lorrie moore, out sept. 1 moore's first novel in 15 years is a coming-of-age story set in a midwestern college town, half a continent away from new york but still living in the shadow of 9/11. to sound in the know: known more for her short stories, moore published her first collection at the age of 26.
sense and sensibility and sea monsters by jane austen and ben h. winters, out sept. 15 in the follow up to pride and prejudice and zombies, austen's dashwood sisters search for love on an island after their father is killed by a shark. to sound in the know: winters didn't write p and p and z. that was by seth graeme smith, who apparently is too busy working on abraham lincoln: vampire hunter to pen another austen.
velvet underground: a walk on the wild side by jim derogatis, out sept.15 an illustrated history of the band founded by lou reed and john cale, guided by andy warhol and worshipped by generations of musicians and fans. to sound in the know: derogatis' previous work includes a biography of famed music critic lester bangs. where men win glory: the odyssey of pat tillman by jon krakauer, out sept.15 like in his best-seller into the wild, krakauer follows a young man on an improbable (and ill-fated) journey, this time that of nfl-star-turned afghanistan-bound army ranger pat tillman. to sound in the know: the original publication date for the book was oct. '08, but krakauer withdrew it to rewrite the manuscript.
our noise by john cook with mac mccaughan and laura ballance, out sept. 15 even at 20 years old, merge records is still putting out important indie rock, releasing albums from bands like wye oak, conor oberst and spoon. in this fact-packed book, the label's history is thoroughly explored alongside delicious extras like old photos, postcards and an awesome compilation cd. to sound in the know: both mccaughan and ballance play in superchunk, one of merge's best-known bands.
bicycle diaries by david byrne, out sept. 17 musings and reflections on urban life all across the world as witnessed by the musician whose main mode of transportation is his bike. to sound in the know: byrne takes a fold-up bicycle on tour with him so he can ride wherever he goes.
generosity: an enhancement by richard powers, out sept. 29 in this novel, a young algerian woman who seems unnaturally happy is fought over by a dour writing teacher and a genetic enhancement specialist who wants to create a genome for human happiness. to sound in the know: powers' last book, the echo maker, won the national book award.
drunk edited by michael ogilvie, sean russell and michael todoran. out late sept. a collection of 25 graphic artists contributed to this collection, which features 128 pages of funny, disturbing, alcohol-inspired art. whether it's the comic-book-style work of ivera pennant or sean russell's "true stories of the vfw," your own tales of one too many won't hold a candle to these. to sound in the know: a boy's guide to arson author jarret keene, who wrote the book's foreword, has edited both las vegas noir and the underground guide to las vegas; dude knows his drunken debauchery.
the wild things by dave eggers, out oct. 1 this novel, loosely based on maurice sendak's where the wild things are, centers around a boy in a wolf suit who escapes his family and sails to the island of the wild things where denise richards and neve campbell tempt him (or something like that). to sound in the know: eggers, along with spike jonze, recently wrote the screenplay adaptation of sendak's classic children's book.