Apparently, there is an audience for summer/ beach reading lists, “Best” of the Year lists, lists of new releases and, of course, the long lists of any number of literary awards awards. I have long ago given up tilting at the lack of imagination exhibited by that fluid aggregation that comprises the literary journalist community in exhaustingly and urgently promulgating these enumerations as significant information. At this time of year—if literary matters are of a concern to you —you are being regaled with the forthcoming titles for the next quarter. And the publication of such is treated with an ardency that suggests somehow if you fail to read the newest, for example,Tom Wolfe, you will suffer some unspoken handicap. Personally, I think not.
By now you know that Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith ,Michel Chabon and Martin Amis and so on have new novels. Through the magic of UPS and the United States Postal Service I have become aware of larger literary horizon. On a daily basis I am bequeathed a plethora of textual and pictorial gems. And here are some you probably missed in the all the recent frothing literary news:
Howard Zinn Speaks Collected Speeches 1963 -2002 edited by Anthony Arnove
Howard Zinn Speaks Collected Speeches 1963 to 2009 edited by Anthony Arnove (Haymarket Books)
The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of the New India by Siddhartha Deb
The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of the New India by Siddhartha Deb (Faber & Faber)
Mr. Collier’s Letter Racks by Dror Wahrman
Mr. Collier’s Letter Racks: A Tale of Art and Illusion at the Threshold of the Modern Information Age by Dror Wahrman (Oxford University Press)
The Delta Queen Cookbook: The History and Recipes of the Legendary Steamboat by Cynthia Lejeune Nobles
The Delta Queen Cookbook: The History and Recipes of the Legendary Steamboat by Cynthia Lejeune Nobles (LSU Press)
Parker: The Score by Darryl Cooke
Parker: The Score by Richard Stark and Darwyn Cooke (IDW Publishing)
The Ideal Museum by Philippe Daverio
The Ideal Museum by Philippe Daverio (Rizzoli)
Body and Soul by Bob Willoughby
Jazz: Body and Soul by Bob Willoughby (EMB)
Masterclass: Arnold Newman by William Ewing
Masterclass: Arnold Newman by William A. Ewing (Thames & Hudson)
What Can We Believe Where?: Photographs of the American West by Robert Adams
Elegantissima: The Design and Typography of Louise Fili with Steven Heller
In Between Days by Andrew Porter
In Between Daysby Andrew Porter (Knopf)
It, of course, should go without saying that there are many, many, many more wonderful books to come. Keep reading…
Currently reading The Cutting Season by Attica Locke (Harper)
