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In the spirit of the new “recession-ista” chic (to quote our ever loquacious editor, Kymberli Hagelberg) welcome readers to the first installment of a column dedicated to the latest and greatest in books, e-books, CDs, movies, live performances and other cool happenings taking place throughout the Stark and Summit county library system – and eventually beyond.
In other words, how much fun can one have when ones library card has become the thickest item in ones wallet?
So, being former colleagues, Kym knew two things about me: I have been performing and writing about music and arts-related events in Northeast Ohio for nigh on 16 years and, that being the case, I have more than learned my way around a good freebie.
Books
Not to belabor the point, but being a musician does mean that, among other things – and in spite of my relatively broad exposure to literature – I invariably still find myself drawn to the young adult section of the library. Likely the natural result of a misspent youth (or eighth grade English class) that finds me forever on the trail of something worthy to share shelf space with my dog-eared copies of “The Chocolate War,” “The Outsiders” and “Red Sky At Morning.” Either way, I promise I won’t subject anyone to comic book reviews – unless they are really good comic books.
I will, however, highly recommend Sean Beaudoin’s new novel “You Killed Wesley Payne,” a story that masterfully manages to cast an engagingly (and at times, borderline offensively) sarcastic eye upon the subject of public school violence. An hilariously over-the-top smorgasbord of iconic pop culture idioms, think Don Quixote visiting the set of “The Vampire Diaries,” with the characters and narrator all speaking in a nouveau “Clockwork Orange” vernacular – if the Anthony Burgess classic had instead been written by Dashiell Hammett.
In fact, “Wesley Payne” is such a fun romp of a book that its destination actually matters less than the trip – like all great vacations. Along the way, the often overt messages about peer pressure and individuality – of the teenage and adult variety – are signposts well worth paying attention to.
Music
Undoubtedly one of the most underrated singer-songwriters in the world right now, Nicole Atkins’ latest release “Mondo Amore” should be required listening for any self-respecting fan of gorgeously symphonic yet Jersey-girl-next-door accessible rock-n-roll.
In the spirit of the new “recession-ista” chic (to quote our ever loquacious editor, Kymberli Hagelberg) welcome readers to the first installment of a column dedicated to the latest and greatest in books, e-books, CDs, movies, live performances and other cool happenings taking place throughout the Stark and Summit county library system – and eventually beyond.
In other words, how much fun can one have when ones library card has become the thickest item in ones wallet?
So, being former colleagues, Kym knew two things about me: I have been performing and writing about music and arts-related events in Northeast Ohio for nigh on 16 years and, that being the case, I have more than learned my way around a good freebie.
Books
Not to belabor the point, but being a musician does mean that, among other things – and in spite of my relatively broad exposure to literature – I invariably still find myself drawn to the young adult section of the library. Likely the natural result of a misspent youth (or eighth grade English class) that finds me forever on the trail of something worthy to share shelf space with my dog-eared copies of “The Chocolate War,” “The Outsiders” and “Red Sky At Morning.” Either way, I promise I won’t subject anyone to comic book reviews – unless they are really good comic books.
I will, however, highly recommend Sean Beaudoin’s new novel “You Killed Wesley Payne,” a story that masterfully manages to cast an engagingly (and at times, borderline offensively) sarcastic eye upon the subject of public school violence. An hilariously over-the-top smorgasbord of iconic pop culture idioms, think Don Quixote visiting the set of “The Vampire Diaries,” with the characters and narrator all speaking in a nouveau “Clockwork Orange” vernacular – if the Anthony Burgess classic had instead been written by Dashiell Hammett.
In fact, “Wesley Payne” is such a fun romp of a book that its destination actually matters less than the trip – like all great vacations. Along the way, the often overt messages about peer pressure and individuality – of the teenage and adult variety – are signposts well worth paying attention to.
Music
Undoubtedly one of the most underrated singer-songwriters in the world right now, Nicole Atkins’ latest release “Mondo Amore” should be required listening for any self-respecting fan of gorgeously symphonic yet Jersey-girl-next-door accessible rock-n-roll.
True, that may be a narrow market. But after witnessing the subdued ferocity of “You Come To Me,” the wistful vulnerability of “This Is For Love” and the sexy blue-eyed soul of “Cry Cry Cry” the toughest thing about checking this CD out at the library is the fact that you have return it in two weeks.
movies
As I recently caught up to the current season of “Dexter” via complete-season DVD releases, and I continue to try and figure out what the devil is going on in “Fringe” land this year, go ahead and file this one under weird-stuff-I-never-thought-I’d-see. Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Entertainment have released the two-disc complete series collection of the 1977 TV cult classic “The Man From Atlantis.”
Although I have yet to pore through the entire collection, I cannot wait to see if my adult mind can wrap itself around things I simply couldn’t fathom as an 8-year-old. Like, for instance, how Patrick Duffy kept those webbed fingers hidden from the non-Atlantian world, or how he came up with that wicked cool fishy-swimming thing years before Michael Phelps was even born.
