Consider yourself a music aficionado? These captivating biographies offer an insider’s glimpse into the lives of iconic musicians spanning the past eight decades, traversing genres from pop and jazz to rock and beyond.
“Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters” edited by Paul Maher Jr.: Through over 50 interviews, delve into the enigmatic world of gravel-voiced singer-songwriter Tom Waits, where mysteries abound and intrigue ensues.
“Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter” by Randy L. Schmidt: Uncover the poignant story of Karen Carpenter, the drummer girl with a voice like warm velvet, whose tragic demise left an indelible mark on music history.
“Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music” by Burt Bacharach with Robert Greenfield: Join legendary pop songwriter Burt Bacharach on a journey through his remarkable life and prolific career.
“Memoirs of a Super Freak: The Confessions of Rick James” by Rick James: Explore the colorful life and musical legacy of Rick James, the iconic figure behind hits like “Super Freak.”
“George Michael: A Life” by James Gavin: Delve into the definitive biography of George Michael, the 80s pop sensation whose struggles with identity and fame led to a tragic unraveling.
“Miles on Miles: Interviews and Encounters with Miles Davis” edited by Paul Maher Jr. and Michael K. Dorr: Gain insights into the enigmatic mind of jazz icon Miles Davis through interviews with leading journalists spanning his illustrious career.
“Rocks: My Life In and Out of Aerosmith” by Joe Perry with David Ritz: Guitarist Joe Perry shares his captivating journey from aspiring marine biologist to rock legend as a founding member of Aerosmith.
“Let’s Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies” by Pamela Des Barres: Step into the world of rock ‘n’ roll with Pamela Des Barres as she reveals intimate secrets shared by groupies and rock stars alike.
“It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll: 30 Years Married to a Rolling Stone” by Jo Wood: British model Jo Wood offers a candid account of her tumultuous life as the wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.
“Moguls, Monsters and Madmen: An Uncensored Life in Show Business” by Barry Avrich: Join Barry Avrich on a wild ride through the glamorous yet cutthroat world of show business, where he encounters iconic figures and uncovers the industry’s most scandalous secrets.
Let these insightful books serve as guiding lights in the often challenging journey of parenthood. Striving to be the best parents we can be is a universal aspiration, yet navigating the complexities of raising children can be daunting, especially without a manual or rehearsal. Fortunately, these books offer invaluable assistance, drawing upon the collective wisdom and experiences of experts and fellow parents.
Within these pages, you’ll discover a wealth of knowledge and advice, ranging from practical strategies for setting boundaries and managing consequences to profound insights into parent-child dynamics. Each book provides a unique perspective, offering diverse approaches to nurturing children from infancy through adolescence.
From “Joyful Courage: Calming the Drama and Taking Control of Your Parenting Journey” to “Parenting in the Screen Age: A Guide To Calm Conversations,” these resources equip us with the tools and understanding necessary to navigate the intricacies of modern parenting. “Discipline Without Damage: How to Get Your Kids to Behave Without Messing Them Up” offers a compassionate yet effective approach to discipline, while “Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines” explores the intersection of activism and nurturing.
“Happy Parents, Happy Kids: Parenting Advice for the Twenty-First Century” underscores the importance of parental well-being in fostering a harmonious family environment. Additionally, “How To Deal With An Angry Teenager” provides invaluable guidance for navigating the turbulent teenage years with empathy and grace.
In essence, these books serve as companions on the journey of parenthood, offering support, encouragement, and actionable insights to help each of us become the parent we aspire to be.
Discover Ukraine through the compelling narratives of novelists, scholars, and poets intimately acquainted with the country’s intricacies and nuances.
Non-fiction:
“Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine” by Anna Reid: English journalist Anna Reid delves into Ukraine’s history from the Mongol invasion in 1240 to its emergence as an independent state in 1991. Updated to reflect contemporary events, Reid examines Ukraine’s struggle for national identity amidst Russian hostility, culminating in the recent conflict.
“Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine” by Anne Applebaum: Historian Anne Applebaum exposes Stalin’s deliberate starvation of millions during the Holodomor, arguing that it was a genocidal tactic to suppress Ukrainian resistance. Drawing on extensive research, Applebaum uncovers the harrowing truth behind one of history’s greatest atrocities.
“Our Others: Stories of Ukrainian Diversity” by Olesya Yaremchuk: This book provides insights into Ukraine’s diverse ethnic minorities through interviews, photographs, and academic analysis, shedding light on their historical significance and contemporary experiences.
“The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine” by Serhii Plokhy: Harvard professor Serhii Plokhy narrates Ukraine’s tumultuous history, portraying it as a continuous struggle for independence against encroaching empires. Exploring Ukraine’s pivotal role as a cultural and geopolitical crossroads, Plokhy offers a comprehensive understanding of its past.
“Hip Hop Ukraine: Music, Race, and African Migration” by Adriana N. Helbig: Music professor Adriana Helbig explores Ukraine’s hip-hop scene, where African immigrants and local Ukrainians converge to create a new form of cultural expression. Through vivid narratives, Helbig unveils the role of music in articulating social issues and fostering cross-cultural dialogue.
Fiction & Poetry:
“The Ukraine” by Artem Chapeye: Artem Chapeye captivates readers with 26 pieces of writing that blur the lines between fiction and non-fiction, offering a sensory journey through Ukraine’s landscapes and culture. His evocative prose captures the essence of the country, inviting readers to immerse themselves in its beauty and complexity.
“The Orphanage” by Serhiy Zhadan: Set in occupied eastern Ukraine, Serhiy Zhadan’s novel portrays the lives of civilians amidst the constant threat of military conflict. Regarded as a literary masterpiece, “The Orphanage” illuminates the human cost of war and resilience in the face of adversity.
Delve into these captivating works to gain profound insights into Ukraine’s history, culture, and contemporary realities, as seen through the eyes of those who know it best.
Whether you’re contemplating your inaugural eReader purchase or seeking an upgrade to a stylus-compatible or color eReader, we’ve conducted a thorough comparison of available models and their current features to assist you in determining the ideal eReader for your needs.
eReaders have evolved significantly since their mainstream debut in 2009. Today’s high-definition E Ink touchscreens offer a glare-free and paper-like reading experience, with the added benefit of adjustable type size for enhanced comfort. Unlike traditional books, eReaders abstain from running apps or inundating you with notifications.
The latest color eReaders boast displays suitable for various book genres, yet remain as lightweight as a paperback. Equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity, ample built-in storage, and the option to borrow library books, eReaders ensure you always have reading material at your fingertips.
All eReaders under review here facilitate highlighting and note-taking in eBooks, with many supporting stylus use for unrestricted annotation across eBook “pages.” Some eReaders even allow you to create different types of notebooks that sync to cloud storage, transforming them into productivity tools. Additionally, there’s a growing emphasis on environmental sustainability, with manufacturers incorporating recycled and ocean-bound plastics in eReader production.
Key features to consider when selecting an eReader include:
Color or monochrome display
Screen size
Waterproofing
Storage capacity
Bluetooth for audiobooks
Stylus compatibility
Library borrowing
Certain features such as battery life, eBook purchasing, and app syncing are standard across most modern eReaders and therefore don’t require specific consideration.
For those who anticipate extensive note-taking, particularly in eBooks, PDFs, and notebooks, a larger stylus-compatible eReader may be preferable. These eReaders provide ample screen space for highlighting and scribbling.
Additional features to prioritize in an eReader include library borrowing capabilities and wish list functionality for tracking desired reads. Support for other reading materials, such as saved online articles from the Pocket app, can also enhance the eReader experience.
Finally, if you’re torn between purchasing an eReader or utilizing an iPad, Android tablet, or smartphone for reading, it’s essential to recognize the disparities between reading on a multi-purpose device versus a dedicated eReader.
Stephanie Wrobel is the author of Darling Rose Gold, a USA TODAY and international bestseller that has sold in twenty-one countries and was shortlisted for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Wrobel grew up in Chicago and now lives in London. This Might Hurt is her second novel.
Can you describe This Might Hurt in three words?
Belonging. Belief. Betrayal.
This Might Hurt centers around a cult. What research did you do for this book and why do you think people continue to be fascinated with cults?
I spent a good amount of time looking into mentalism, magic, pain, and fear. I also researched everything I could find on real-life cults, including survivors’ memoirs, leaders’ biographies, details about rules and terminology, and the perspectives of abandoned loved ones. Human beings are drawn to stories; we make sense of the world through narrative. That’s why I think cults fascinate us: you have your own mini society. Conflict is inherent, given the power imbalances and social isolation.
Your previous novel, Darling Rose Gold, dealt with a mother-daughter relationship while This Might Hurt deals with the relationship between sisters. Why do you think female relationships are so fascinating to readers and often used in thrillers?
Historically, men have assumed the role of villain in novels much more frequently than women. I think readers are eager to see women depicted in all our gory glory, to confirm that we can be just as manipulative and/or beguiling as men have always been allowed to be.
Who would you like to see play Natalie and Kit in an adaptation?
I would love to see Anne Hathaway as Natalie and Florence Pugh play Kit.
What are some books you would recommend to someone just discovering thrillers?
Tana French is a beloved thriller author for a reason; her prose and plots are equally wonderful throughout the Dublin Murder Squad series and beyond. The Likeness is my favourite of hers so far. I’d also recommend anything by Gillian Flynn to beginner thriller readers. Her characters are deliciously disturbed, the books impossible to put down. And you can never go wrong with Shirley Jackson. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is one of my favourite novels of all time.
It’s National AccessAbility Week! To mark the occasion and learn more about how lBooks makes reading more accessible to readers everywhere, we sat down with Wendy Reid, lBooks Accessibility and Publishing Standards Lead.
Tell me about your role as Accessibility and Publishing Standards lead.
That means I’m in charge of everything to do with accessibility, and I’m responsible for everything to do with publishing standards.
Everything? That sounds like a lot. How does a typical day look for you?
On any given day I’ll be consulting with whichever team needs me most at the moment. That can be sitting down with the web development team to talk about something they’re about to implement. I’m part of the UX [user experience] team so I spend a lot of time there talking about design elements like does this fit, and is the colour contrast correct—that kind of thing. Our self-publishing platform lBooks Writing Life is working on improvements for the publisher dashboard, including a new date-picker calendar function, and I was able to help guide that development so the final product was something that would work just as well for someone interacting entirely through their keyboard as for someone using a mouse or touchscreen.
Then there’s a bit of planning ahead, like do we need training to tackle any upcoming goals, do we need to be running tests with partners, and are we ready to handle things like new legislation that will require us to do certain things.
On the publishing standards side I work mostly on EPUB [a widely-used eBook publishing standard] with the W3C [World Wide Web Consortium] where we’re working on the next generation of publishing standards affecting all kinds of digital books, including audiobooks and eBooks. One of the more recent things we’re working on there is improving documentation of the standard so publishers are better able to produce highly visual eBooks like comics and picture books that can be enjoyed by readers with different accessibility needs.
How did you get into this highly specialized role?
By being annoying. [laughs]
“I got into publishing technology in the first place because I’m a reader, and I saw how much digital reading was able to open the door for other people to enjoy reading.”
I actually started learning publishing standards in depth on the side thanks to a colleague who brought me into the W3C at a time when they were working on something called “web publications” and fell in love with it. And I learned not just about publishing standards, but about accessibility from people who were already working in it and cared about it deeply. Their enthusiasm rubbed off on me, and it made me think about the impact I could have at lBooks. I think we’ve always valued accessibility as a principle, but didn’t have professionals on staff to guide our user experience with that in mind, running tests, conducting audits, that kind of thing. That’s when I started playing around and testing things for myself, and I found we had some problems—and I was able to turn that into a mandate and a whole job by being persistent about the need to fix some things.
What is it about the field of accessibility that gave you the drive to be that persistent?
It’s the impact. I got into publishing technology in the first place because I’m a reader, and I saw how much digital reading was able to open the door for other people to enjoy reading, whether it was a return to something they used to enjoy or if the technology made it possible for them to enjoy reading for the first time. But focusing on accessibility specifically, that just amplifies the impact you can have by lowering barriers for people who haven’t been able to read at all or have been limited in what they could read by technological limitations.
When I thought about lBooks opportunity to make people’s lives better by letting them spend time reading, I was hooked. I wanted to help people and I felt strongly that this was how I could make an impact.
Can you explain a bit about how digital books make reading more accessible?
It’s the little things that are easy to take for granted in digital. Being able to change your font size or the typeface to suit how you need to read. Hearing from customers who would say they were losing their eyesight and couldn’t read print anymore, but because their eReader could increase the font size they’ve been able to continue to read.
Publishers do a great job of getting print books into stores and wherever customers need them to be. But it gets a lot more challenging across multiple formats. Not every book gets published in a large print edition, or in braille, but for someone partially-sighted they can make an eBook readable by moving a slider.
What about the physical form factor of an eReader? I think most weigh less than a hardcover.
That’s a big consideration. A lot of customers will tell us they’ve had a stroke, or through aging or health concerns have lost a bit of hand strength or have developed a tremor, so they just can’t comfortably hold a print book anymore. But they find their eReader is really light or easy to read when it’s sitting on a table.
Can you tell me about what lBooks has done to make reading easier for people who have dyslexia?
One of the biggest things dyslexic readers need is consistency—especially with fonts. While we do support the OpenDyslexic font on most lBooks apps and devices, it’s not everybody’s preferred font. But we do make things fairly consistent once the user has chosen a font that works for them, and we offer a wide variety to choose from with many different attributes.
“When I thought about lBooks opportunity to make people’s lives better by letting them spend time reading, I was hooked. I wanted to help people and I felt strongly that this was how I could make an impact.”
And we also offer the ability for the user to adjust the margins, the space between the text and the edge of the page, as well as the space between lines. All of that is important for helping readers with different needs read comfortably.
Of course audiobooks are a huge help for readers with dyslexia. Where it might take a long time and a lot of physical effort to read a book on a page or screen, with a pair of headphones they can actually enjoy the reading experience rather than having to work through it.
There’s still a lot of potential here for us to make reading for dyslexic readers and readers with other disabilities even better.
It’s funny how you name all of these features as aids to accessibility, when they’re things I use and benefit from as a reader without a disability.
I like to think of curb cuts as a good example of this kind of thing, where a feature is added, such as cutting out a piece of a curb and ramping the sidewalk down to the road, to help people with a specific mobility need. But then it turns out that this thing that was done specifically to help wheelchair users makes things easier for a lot of other people who don’t see themselves as having the same need, like anybody pushing a stroller or a shopping cart.
Captioning is a good digital example, where people want to watch a TikTok or Instagram story but we don’t want to listen or aren’t in a situation where that’s possible. Captioning makes it possible to me to choose to read instead, even though it’s a necessary feature for someone who’s deaf to enjoy the content at all.
There are a lot of features like this that come from work in the field of accessibility, which the broader market regards as just another thing that makes a piece of technology easier to use.
This is it—the last load-in of new books of the year! So here’s your rapid-fire overview of what’s landing at the end of 2022…
The holidays are a great time for picking up factoid-packed non-fiction that lends itself to looking up and telling whoever’s in ear shot, “hey did you know…?” Heather Radke’s Butts: A Backstory is just such a book, packed with curious insights about the cultural history of the derriere, from fashion’s attempts to maximize or minimize our hindparts to the evolutionary biology of our glutes as distinctly human features.
Speaking of human quirks, Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire will give you a fresh perspective on how our constructed environments have created demarcations between animals who we welcome and ones we seek to exclude or even eradicate—and how those animals have adapted to survive despite us.
Stella Maris, the sequel to Cormac McCarthy’s still brand-new novel The Passenger, picks up in a setting adjacent to the first book, but strikes a mournful tone with the story of Alicia Western, a brilliant young woman who checks herself into a psychiatric hospital. If two McCarthy novels in rapid succession feels like more than you can handle, note that Stella Maris is more of a long novella and will fit entirely into a lazy late December afternoon.
Each of the books in rocket scientist-turned-novelist Susan Kaye Quinn’s Nothing is Promised self-described “hopepunk” series would also fill out a block of leisurely winter days. The latest is Yet You Cry When It Hurts.
Crime novelist S. A. Cosby’s 2021 breakthrough Razorblade Tears prompted a republishing of his earlier, overlooked work including My Darkest Prayer, a story about a small town vet and ex-sheriff’s deputy who everyone trusts to get to the bottom of a beloved local minister’s murder—even if the authorities would rather sweep it under the rug.
In 2016 comedian Rob Delaney’s son Henry died at the age of three from a brain tumour—an illness that grew in severity while Delaney was working on the TV series Catastrophe which he co-wrote and co-created. Delaney was open about his grief on twitter (a medium in which Delaney excels) and we now have his heartfelt reflections on the loss of Henry and the emotional storm that raged in the aftermath in his book, A Heart that Works.
Sadly, the nearly year-long war in Ukraine is unlikely to end before the new year is rung in. As conflict rages, the first books attempting to document the events are beginning to be published, such as Invasion: The Inside Story of Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival by Luke Harding, a journalist who has worked as a foreign correspondent for The Guardian newspaper and was based in Russia until being deported for his critical writing. Also out now is A Message from Ukraine: Speeches 2019 – 2022 by Volodymyr Zelensky, through which readers can get a view of the mindset of the Ukrainian president during the military aid scandal that led to the impeachment inquiry of US President Trump through to the current invasion by Russia.
Piper Rayne’s The Greene Family pauses to celebrate the season in A Greene Family Christmas, the 9.5th book in the romance series.
Kosoko Jackson’s A Dash of Salt and Pepper is a rom-com about single-father chef Logan who needs help being the manager his short-staffed restaurant kitchen needs, and recently-dumped Xavier needs a job. At first they can’t stand each other, but then the sparks start to fly…
Finally, in the spirit of setting New Year’s resolutions you’ll want to keep, there are several self-help books that emphasize self-acceptance, such as How to Meet Your Self: The Workbook for Self-Discovery by Dr. Nicole LaPera, How to Be Love(d): Simple Truths for Going Easier on Yourself, Embracing Imperfection & Loving Your Way to a Better Life by Humble the Poet. And for those of you who like your self-compassion to feel like exercise, there’s The Self-Talk Workout: Six Science-Backed Strategies to Dissolve Self-Criticism and Transform the Voice in Your Head by Rachel Goldsmith Turow.
