I am a child of the '80s. More particularly, my musical heyday was the '80s. So I was delighted to see that our library system had acquired
Please: Music Inspired by the Smiths, the Smiths being one of my favorite bands. Stories are named after Smiths songs like "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", & the website
PopMatters says "many of the best pieces capture a bit of The Smiths' spirit in way that will send you back to listen all over again."
This isn't the first time that fiction has dealt with rock music. Just this year, Nick Hornby gave us
Juliet, Naked, about the fictional Tucker Crowe, a has-been American musician, destined to fade into obscurity save for a handful of devoted listeners like the musically obsessed Duncan Thomson.
We only have
Music from Big Pink (which I haven't read) in the catalog, but the 33 1/3 book series has some very interesting titles available.
A subject search under "
musical fiction" brings up a bevy of titles, including those that might be of interest to jazz aficionados (
1929 by Frederick Turner, a story involving Bix Beiderbecke), polka lovers (
The Clarinet Polka by Keith Maillard), & opera fans (Anne Rice's
Cry to Heaven is fascinating).
The Kreutzer Sonata by Margriet de Moor "traces narrative arabesques around the terrible romantic jealousy suffered by a blind music critic" according to Publisher's Weekly.
Divine Music by Suruchi Mohan deals with Hindustani music.
On a non-fiction note,
Da Capo Press has given us some writings to consider, such as
The Show I'll Never Forget: 50 Writers Relive Their Most Memorable Concertgoing Experience &
Da Capo Best Music Writing; & I highly recommend music geek Rob Sheffield's
Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time & Nick Hornby's
Songbook. I can't recommend Patti Smith's new memoir
Just Kids highly enough.
Have you read any fiction or non-fiction about music? I'm always looking for recommendations in that direction!
Winners of the 2010 prize have been announced! Put your hold now on titles like:
I am a child of the '80s. More particularly, my musical heyday was the '80s. So I was delighted to see that our library system had acquired Please: Music Inspired by the Smiths, the Smiths being one of my favorite bands. Stories are named after Smiths songs like "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", & the website PopMatters says "many of the best pieces capture a bit of The Smiths' spirit in way that will send you back to listen all over again."
Here are the first two books we've read for our reading challenge: Wild Penance by Sandra Ault This is the fourth book in the series featuring Jamaica Wild, Bureau of Land Management agent. Jamaica Wild is looking for a killer who's tossed a body off the Rio Grande Gorge. We enjoyed the read because it was set during Easter, and as suspicion falls on Los Penitentes, readers are introduced to their beliefs & customs. Interesting for those unfamiliar with their practices, as we were! Blind Eye by Jan Coffey This novel of suspense will hook readers as the action moves back and forth between New Mexico and Connecticut. Scientist Marion Kagan is the sole survivor after assassins attack the underground facility where her team was working on a top secret project (so top secret, she doesn't even know where she is). Wounded and trapped in a collapsed building, Marion must stop radioactive test samples from leaking out and killing millions. We found the novel not so believable, but fun & interesting due to its local setting & references to WIPP. But shouldn't the characters have been flying out of Carlsbad (where U.S. Department of Energy's Field Office is) & not Roswell? Have you been reading for our 10 in '10 reading challenge? Let us know what you've read!
