Punk Literature

It doesn’t take name-dropping Black Flag or writing a scene where a character gets her first mohawk to know that the book you’re reading is influenced in some way or another by the punk scene.
~Jason Diamond, "An Essential Punk Literature Reading List"

Earlier this year, New York's Metropolitan Museum had an exhibit called "Punk: Chaos to Couture" which focused "on the relationship between the punk concept of 'do-it-yourself' and the couture concept of 'made-to-measure'...organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with the anti-establishment style".  Wikipedia defines the punk ethos as "primarily concerned with concepts such as rebellion, anti-authoritarianism, individualism, free thought and discontent".  Guardian writer Rob Woodard, referring to the New York punk scene of the 1970s, said it featured "an amazingly eclectic collection of styles and personalities...this scene produced some of the most strikingly original rock'n'roll ever made. And it's these wide-open values that make its still expanding literary wing so fascinating."  Its literary wing includes such luminaries as Richard Hell, Patti Smith, and Jim Carroll.

We are interested in punk subculture here at abcreads, and we're happy to point out that you can find items about punk culture, punk rock music, and more, all within the library catalog (don't miss The Punk Rock Fun Time Activity Book, which includes activities such as a Velvet Underground Connect the Dots, Draw Tattoos on Henry Rollins, Match the Johnny Rotten Quote with Its Subject,  Punk Libs, Give Ian MacKaye Hair, and Find the Two Matching Social Distortion Logos).  We are drawn to the booklist format to recommend some books from or influenced by the punk scene, but we've tried to represent our slice of punk in the most anarchic possible way, including modern punk-themed fiction, rule-breakers of the 1970s, and "total assault on the culture" [William S. Burroughs]. 


Zazen by Vanessa Veselka

Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Paradoxia: A Predator's Diary by Lydia Lunch

Neuromancer by William Gibson

The Petting Zoo by Jim Carroll

I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp: An Autobiography by Richard Hell

Woolgathering by Patti Smith

Carved in Rock : Short Stories by Musicians edited by Greg Kihn [includes stories by Jim Carroll, Richard Hell, Lydia Lunch and Ann Magnuson]

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski

Word Virus: The William S. Burroughs Reader edited by James Grauerholz and Ira Silverberg

Fug You: An Informal History of the Peace Eye Bookstore, the F*** You Press, the Fugs, and Counterculture in the Lower East Side by Ed Sanders

The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard


Links

Punk Ideologies

The Literary Legacy of New York Punk

Goodreads Punk Book Lists

Featured Author: Sheila Kohler

"When my sister died a violent death thirty years ago in apartheid South Africa, my writing took a new turn.  I was driven to explore the reasons for violence within intimate relationships, in particular, the abuse of power and privilege. Since then I have published nine novels, three collections of short stories, and several others not yet collected, all of which focus in some way on this theme. They represent my attempt to delve into the mysteries of hate and anger, and of love and compassion, as well.  I am hoping that you will share them with me."
~Sheila Kohler, from her website


Author Sheila Kohler's books reflect her own life's journey, set as they are primarily in contemporary South Africa or in France (during the Revolution, WWII, and the end of the 20th century) - Kohler was born in Johannesburg, studied and married in Paris, and moved to the United States only after her children were grown.  Her first story was published in 1987, and her first collection of short stories was published in 1990. Kohler's third novel, Cracks, was made into a feature film in 2009 starring Eva Green. She has won the O. Henry Prize, the Willa Cather Prize, and the Antioch Review Prize, and has been published in O Magazine, the Yale Review, and the Boston Globe. Kohler teaches at Bennington College and Princeton University.  Her books have been called "mesmerizing", "tender", "elegantly disturbing", "graceful", "subtle and sharp"; NoveList Plus compares her to Claire Messud, Michael Cunningham, and Tolstoy. You can see videos of her reading from her books and being interviewed on her website and also read some of her published articles.

Cracks
Set in a girls' school in a remote corner of South Africa in the early 1960s, Cracks is a haunting, mesmerizing story of young girls caught up in a drama of passion, longing, and identity...a singular and stunning tale of the passion and tribalism of adolescence, an explanation of time and memory, and of the carnal violence that lies at the heart of the most innocent. [from the blurb]

Children of Pithiviers
In Children of Pithiviers, a pair of young sisters escape deportation and find shelter with a local aristocratic couple known to all as Madame and Monsieur. Seventeen years later, a beautiful young Sorbonne student arrives to spend the summer as a "paying guest" of Madame and Monsieur, whose fortunes have diminished considerably since the war. Eighteen-year-old Deirdre discovers a diary kept by the two Jewish girls. In doing so, she not only learns their fate, but reawakens old suspicions, and old appetites on the estate. [from the blurb]

Bluebird, or, The Invention of Happiness
A sweeping historical novel, Bluebird, or The Invention of Happiness is based on the life of Lucy Dillon, an eighteenth-century French aristocrat. Wrenched from the court of Marie Antoinette by the Reign of Terror, the brave and resilient Lucy escapes with her family to the freedom and hardships of a newly independent America, where, on a dairy farm in the Hudson River Valley, she discovers a new life - and her true self. [from the blurb]

Becoming Jane Eyre
A beautifully imagined tale of the Brontë sisters, Becoming Jane Eyre delicately unravels the connections between one of fiction's most indelible heroines and the remarkable woman who created her.

Love Child
The compelling story of a forbidden marriage, a baby lost, and a love triangle gone horribly wrong, Love Child centers on Bill, a slightly disreputable white woman in Johannesburg who came of age, married, had children, and was widowed, all within the confines of South Africa's English enclave.

The Bay of Foxes

In 1978, Dawit, a young, beautiful, and educated Ethiopian refugee, roams the streets of Paris. By chance, he spots the famous French author M., who at sixty is at the height of her fame. Seduced by Dawit's grace and his moving story, M. invites him to live with her. He makes himself indispensable, or so he thinks. When M. brings him to her Sardinian villa, beside the Bay of Foxes, Dawit finds love and temptation—and perfects the art of deception.

Note: all book descriptions are taken from the "More Details" section of the book's record in the library catalog, unless otherwise noted.

Authors Affected by True Crime

Anne Perry's first book The Cater Street Hangman was first published in 1979.  Since then she has published more than 40 books, most recently Blind Justice, the latest in her William Monk series.  She won the Edgar award in 2000, and has been called one of the 20th century's "Masters in Crime".  However, in 1954, when she was 15, she was tried and convicted of the murder of her best friend's mother. 

At the time Anne Perry was known as Juliet Hulme, and she was living in New Zealand, with her British parents.  When they told her they were sending her to stay with relatives in South Africa, she and her friend Pauline Parker hatched a plot to murder Pauline's mother, hoping to be able to live with each other.  Hulme served five years in prison for her role in the murder, and when she was released she set off for a new life in England.  She worked as a flight attendent, became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and changed her name.  The story of the horrifying murder, and her relationship with Pauline Parker, is the subject of a book released earlier this year called Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham.  It was also the inspiration for Peter Jackson's 1994 film Heavenly Creatures which features Kate Winslet in her first movie role. 

Anne Perry is not the only author to have headlines take over her personal life.  In December of 1926 British author Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days, leading to a country wide manhunt.  She was eventually found unharmed, living in a spa hotel under a false name.  To this day there are many theories as to why exactly she vanished, and why she did not come forward when she heard of her own disappearance.  Although she does not address this in An Autobiography, other writers have discussed it in other biographies such as Agatha Christie: A Biography by Janet Morgan.

Lois Duncan is best known for writing suspense novels for young adults such as I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Killing Mr. Griffin.  In 1989 suspense came into her own life when her daughter, Kaitlyn, was found in her car, killed by a gunshot wound to the head.  Lois and her family were living in Albuquerque at the time, and to this day, the killer has never been found.  Her book, Who Killed My Daughter? was written to encourage informants to come forward, and was featured prominently in the media at the time of its publishing. 

James Ellroy has become most famous for his books LA Confidential, and The Black Dahlia, and the movies they inspired.  In 1996 he published My Dark Places: An LA Crime Noir which detailed the murder of his mother which had happened when he was ten years old.  The crime was never solved, and for years Ellroy investigated her murder on his own without any results. 

Some of these backstories to author's lives can be something interesting to keep in mind while reading their books.

Zinio

ABC Library is offering another new eResource, free with your valid library card - Zinio! Zinio offers full digital copies of your favorite magazines, plus some issues include features like video, audio and live links. Zinio allows you to download the magazines to your computer, tablet or mobile device, including Kindles and Nooks, iPhones and iPads, Androids, PCs and Macs. Magazine issues are not checked out so they're always available any time. Browse through genres such as Automotive, Crafts, Food & Cooking, Literary, Men, Teen, or search by title, such as Working Mother, ESPN the Magazine, Woodworker's Journal, or National Geographic Traveler.

There are just a couple of easy steps involved to get you using Zinio. First, set up a library account at the ABC Library Zinio Authentication page.  Once your account is created, you will get a confirmation notice in your email inbox with a link - simply click on the link, and you will be able to view available magazines.  The first time you select a magazine, you will be taken to a new window to create a Zinio.com account. (Your ABC Library Zinio account and Zinio.com account must have the same email address.)  Bingo, you're in! All magazines must be checked out via web browser, even if you choose to read them on an app, but you can read your magazines on the app even if you are offline. Now you don't have to kill time reading whatever magazines are on the table in the doctor's waiting room - not when you have Zinio!

For more info, including printable instructions and some upcoming Gizmo Garage classes for Zinio, check out our Zinio Digital Magazines Help page.  Note: The Zinio app cannot be used to browse the Library's collection of free magazines.

Medical Histories & Biographies

We're not saying that there weren't any medical histories written before Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the story of a Southern tobacco farmer whose cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine, but the runaway success of that 2010 title certainly has invited a wholesale expansion into the field.  If you want to know more about medical history or what it's like to be a doctor (whether in the wilderness or in a hospital), the library catalog has ample titles for you to choose from!  Here's a sampling:

Living and Dying in Brick City: An E.R. Doctor Returns Home by Sampson Davis with Lisa Frazier Page

One Doctor: Close Calls, Cold Cases, and the Mysteries of  Medicine by Brendan Reilly

What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine by Danielle Ofri

JFK's Secret Doctor: The Remarkable Life of Medical Pioneer and Legendary Rock Climber Hans Kraus by Susan E. Schwartz

God's Hotel: A Doctor, A Hospital, and A Pilgrimage to the Heart of  Medicine by Victoria Sweet

County: Life, Death and Politics at Chicago's Public Hospital by David A. Ansell

Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker

Intern: A Doctor's Initiation by Sandeep Jauhar

In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta A. Ahmed

Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature by Christopher Van Tilburg

Strange Medicine: A Shocking History of Real Medical Practices Through the Ages by Nathan Belofsky

Country of Ash: A Jewish Doctor in Poland, 1939-1945 by Edward Reicher

The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, Frédéric Lemercier  [into war-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders]

Doctors of Medicine in New Mexico: A History of Health and Medical Practice, 1886-1986 by Jake W. Spidle, Jr

Revolutionary Medicine: The Founding Fathers and Mothers in Sickness and in Health by Jeanne E. Abrams

Kill or Cure: An Illustrated History of Medicine by Steve Parker

The Medical Book: From Witch Doctors to Robot Surgeons - 250 Milestones in the History of Medicine by Clifford A. Pickover

Witches, Midwives & Nurses: A History of Women Healers by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English 

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

Frontier Medicine: From the Atlantic to the Pacific, 1492-1941 by David Dary

The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine by Anne Harrington

Impotence: A Cultural History by Angus McLaren

Medic!: How I Fought World War II with Morphine, Sulfa, and Iodine Swabs by Robert J. Franklin
 

Featured Author: G. Willow Wilson

It is thus unsurprising that secret identities form the axis of Wilson’s fast-paced, imaginative first novel, “Alif the Unseen” — a book that defies easy categorization. Is it literary fiction? A fantasy novel? A dystopian techno-thriller? An exemplar of Islamic mysticism, with ties to the work of the Sufi poets? Wilson seems to delight in establishing, then confounding, any expectations readers may have.
~Pauls Toutonghi, "App for the Ancients"

One of our favorite new authors here at abcreads is G. Willow Wilson.  Her website sums her up as "[p]rofessional genre-bender, casual gamer, student of religion, author of critically acclaimed [Eisner Award-nominated] books and comics", but what that doesn't tell you is that Wilson, a child of atheist parents, "spent her early and mid twenties living in Egypt and working as a journalist" and during this time converted to Islam.  All her books are infused with Eastern mysticism in addition to fantasy elements, and her memoir, The Butterfly Mosque, deals directly with her conversion.

Our intrepid abcreads readers came to G. Willow Wilson via her moving memoir, but have been delighted to continue with her imaginative, exciting graphic novels and playful, genre-bending fiction. We hope you will consider checking out this author - definitely one to watch!

Graphic Novels

Cairo

In bustling modern-day Cairo, the lives of a drug runner, a down-on-his-luck journalist, an American expatriate, a young activist, an Israeli soldier, and a genie are interwoven as they navigate the city's streets and spiritual underworld to find a stolen hooka sought by a wrathful gangster-magician. [from the library catalog]

Air 1: Letters from Lost Countries; Air 2: Flying Machine; Air 3: Pureland; and Air 4: A History of the Future

Blythe is a flight attendant with a philosophy degree-- and a fear of heights. And as odd as her career choice might be, it's nowhere near as strange as her life's about to get. She'll fall in love with a mysterious traveler who's either an ordinary frequent flier-- or a terrorist. In search of him, she'll travel to a country that doesn't exist on any maps, become targeted by a violent anti-terrorist group, and inevitably find herself at the center of a race to find an artifact that may change the science of flight forever. Suddenly Blythe's life is headed for the most exotic destination of all: the unknown. [from the library catalog]

Memoir

The Butterfly Mosque

Documents the author's conversion from all-American atheist to Islam, a journey marked by her decision to relocate to Cairo, romance with a passionate young Egyptian, and her efforts to balance the virtues of both cultures. [from the library catalog]

Fiction

Alif the Unseen

In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients, dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups, from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind. The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince chosen by her parents, and his computer has just been breached by the State's electronic security force, putting his clients and his own neck on the line. Then it turns out his lover's new fianceé is the head of State security, and his henchmen come after Alif, driving him underground. When Alif discovers The Thousand and One Days, the secret book of the jinn, which both he and the Hand suspect may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death, aided by forces seen and unseen. [from the library catalog]

Courtesy

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines courtesy as "polite behavior that shows respect for other people; something that you do because it is polite, kind, etc.". September was National Courtesy Month - did you celebrate? If you did, let us know your random acts of kindness (or just politeness!) in the comments.  If, like us, you missed this monthly observance, have no fear!  The library catalog has several books you can peruse to make sure your manners are up to the modern standard, plus a couple of books detailing the history of etiquette's changing mores.  Here are some courtesy books that will enlighten and hopefully entertain:

An Uncommon History of Common Courtesy: How Manners Shaped the World by Bethanne Patrick

What Would Grace Do?: How to Live Life in Style like the Princess of Hollywood by Gina McKinnon

Miss Manners Minds Your Business by Judith Martin and Nicholas Ivor Martin

What Your Mother Should've Told You and Nobody Else Will by Natalie Reilly [eBook]

Miss Jane Austen's Guide to Modern Life's Dilemmas Answers to Your Most Burning Questions About Life, Love, Happiness (and What toWear) from the Great Jane Austen Herself by Rebecca Smith [eBook]

Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?: A Modern Guide to Manners by Henry Alford

Real Life Downton Abbey: How Life Was Really Lived in Stately Homes a Century Ago by Jacky Hyams [eBook]

The Grumpy Girl's Guide to Good Manners by Rachel Aboukhair [eBook]

Social Q's: How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries, and Quagmires of Today by Philip Galanes

The Art of the Visit: Being the Perfect Host, Becoming the Perfect Guest by Kathy Bertone

Armchair Travel: A Well-Grounded Sense of Place

Great travel writing consists of equal parts curiosity, vulnerability and vocabulary. It is not a terrain for know-it-alls or the indecisive. The best of the genre can simply be an elegant natural history essay, a nicely writ sports piece, or a well-turned profile of a bar band and its music. A well-grounded sense of place is the challenge for the writer. We observe, we calculate, we inquire, we look for a link between what we already know and what we're about to learn. The finest travel writing describes what's going on when nobody's looking.
~Tom Miller, "Under the Skin of a Locale: Tucson's Tom Miller Explains What Makes Great Travel Writing"

There's truly an art to writing about travel. The books listed below seek to be more than a guide book, but less than a scholarly treatise about a place; more fleshed out than a journal, more cohesive than a selection of essays (although there are some great travel essays out there). None of the books listed were recent blockbusters, but they all have literary merit. Many are windows, not only to another place, but back in time to another era. All have in common the author's immersion into local cultures. As the author Roxanne Reid says, "A traveller moves among real people in their own milieu and learns from them, soaking up their wisdom and philosophy, their way of being in the world. A tourist simply hops from one tourist highpoint to another, skimming across the surface, cramming in quantity rather than quality, and comes away with his soul and imagination unchanged, untouched by the wonder of a life lived differently." 

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia by Rebecca West

The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia by Paul Theroux [eBook]

Nowhere is a Place: Travels in Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and Paul Theroux

Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell

An Area of Darkness by V. S. Naipaul

As They Were by M.F.K. Fisher

The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat by Ryszard Kapuciski

Letters From Egypt: A Journey on the Nile, 1849-1850 by Florence Nightingale

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson   

Great Plains by Ian Frazier

The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain

"The Muses are Heard", from Portraits and Observations: The Essays of Truman Capote

"Sea and Sardinia", from D.H. Lawrence and Italy by D.H. Lawrence

A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople - From the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube by Patrick Leigh Fermor

An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie

West With the Night by Beryl Markham

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakaeur

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

Wrong About Japan: A Father's Journey with His Son by Peter Carey

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald

My 'Dam Life: Three Years in Holland by Sean Condon

Marrying Anita: A Quest for Love in the New India by Anita Jain


List compiled with assistance from the article "35 Great Travel Books That Will Take You Around the World Without a Plane Ticket".

Pronunciator

"May's library card has always opened up a world of knowledge, but now it also opens up a world of language. May, meet Pronunciator, the world's largest language learning service, available for free at participating libraries."
~from the introductory video

 

ABC Library recently got a new language learning eResource called Pronunciator.  Using pronunciation analysis, virtual coaches, simulated conversations, scored quizzes, and downloadable audio lessons, Pronunciator can help you with pronunciation and to teach you to create communicate in 75 languages, from Amharic to Italian, Korean to Urdu, and including English as a Second Language (ESL).  Each language's course begins with a Welcome screen with a little background about the language - is it a Germanic language? Where are its roots?

The first section is Postcards, which takes you through some important introductory, or "powerful", phrases (each language starts with "Please").  Listen to the reader - at normal or slow speed - while looking at some pleasant pictures.  You can bookmark pages to go back to them.

The Postcards section has a review section, plus culture & business notes, telling you a little about cultural traditions and business practices in the country where each language is spoken.

The second section contains drills - listening, flash cards (essentially another review of vocabulary learned before), voice comparison, pronunciation analysis (you can record your voice!) - including a section that lets you correct your pitch by playing a voice alongside musical notes - and a written review to help you learn the correct spelling.

You will learn core vocabulary for a number of different topics and essential verbs, including apologize, buy, feel, invite, and write.  Core vocabulary subjects include business/finance, directions and positions, film genres, lodging, people/interpersonal relations, and more!  There are also vocabulary sections for kids, such as home/bathroom, numbers, and time/days of week.

The third section quizzes your vocabulary; spelling and writing; listening comprehension; and reading comprehension.  You have minimal control over the settings - you can change the number of times the speaker repeats a phrase.

As you learn languages, Pronunciator keeps track of your stats.  You can choose to look at your stats by course, by level, or view your stats for all courses. Areas for improvement in different categories (reading, writing, pronunciation) will be indicated  Most language courses allow you to stream or download audio lessons, but not all.  All language courses include a downloadable 32-page PDF phrasebook.

 

Give Pronunciator a try and let us know what you think! 

Magazine Articles that Became Something More

One of the books currently on the New York Times bestseller list is Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death at a Storm Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink, which tells the events that happened at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans in the days following Hurricane Katrina.  This book was expanded from an article by Sheri Fink that appeared in the New York Times Magazine in 2009 called, "Deadly Choices at Memorial." 

It may surprise you to know that several books and movies have been made based on articles published in national magazines and newspapers.  Here are a list of books and movies (and in some cases both!) that were published or produced after the success of a magazine article.  Most of these titles are available to check out.  


The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
"Orchid Fever" was the title of the article Orlean wrote for The New Yorker, which was published in 1995.  The Orchid Thief was an expansion of the article, and was later adapted into a movie, Adaptation.

The Butler: A Witness to History by Wil Haygood
In 2008, just after the presidential election of Barack Obama, The Washington Post published an article called, "A Butler Well Served by this Election", by Wil Haygood.  Five years later a book and movie based on the article was released. 

The Bling Ring
This film, directed by Sofia Coppola is based on a Vanity Fair article by Nancy Jo Sales called "The Suspects Wore Louboutins".  It stars Emma Watson, and Leslie Mann.

Argo
The book this movie is inspired by is Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History by Antonio J. Mendez and Matt Baglio, but before the book was published, an article by Joshuah Bearman called "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran" appeared in a 2007 issue of Wired.

Dog Day Afternoon
"The Boys in the Bank" by P.F. Kluge was an article that appeared in Life magazine in 1972.  It was the basis for the movie directed by Sidney Lumet.

Bernie
After the success of his article, "Bernie" which was published in Texas Monthly in 1998, writer Skip Hollandsworth co-wrote the screenplay of the movie, which stars Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine.

Saturday Night Fever
Suprisingly, this iconic film was based on a New York Magazine article written by Nik Cohn called "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night", about the disco craze sweeping the nation.  Vincent, the main character of the article became the basis for John Travolta's character, Tony Manero.  In 1997 Nik Cohn admitted to making up the entire article, and the all the people who appeared in it. 


You can research newspaper and magazine articles by visiting ABC Library's research data bases.  Check out Newsbank, or Academic One File to get started.