Showing posts with label pop culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pop culture. Show all posts
May 12, 2018
Mar 6, 2018
Jul 1, 2016
Oct 1, 2015
Armada - Ernest Cline
Summary: It's just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. He's daydreaming through another boring math class, with just one more month to go until graduation and freedom--if he can make it that long without getting suspended again. Then he glances out his classroom window and spots the flying saucer. At first, Zack thinks he's going crazy. A minute later, he's sure of it. Because the UFO he's staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada--in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders. But what Zack's seeing is all too real. And his skills--as well as those of millions of gamers across the world--are going to be needed to save the earth from what's about to befall it. Yet even as he and his new comrades scramble to prepare for the alien onslaught, Zack can't help thinking of all the science-fiction books, TV shows, and movies he grew up reading and watching, and wonder: Doesn't something about this scenario seem a little too... familiar?
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Cline's first novel, the irresistible gamer quest, Ready Player One (2011), became a big best-seller now slated for a movie adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg. In his second geek-coming-of-age tale, Cline presents Zack Lightman, a teen with anger issues obsessed with his late father, who left behind some rocking mixed tapes and notebooks delineating a wild conspiracy theory about the truth embedded in popular science fiction novels, movies, and videogames. When Zack looks out a school window and sees an alien spacecraft just like those he shoots down so decisively while playing the online alien-invaders videogame, Armada (he's ranked sixth best player in the world), he fears he's losing his mind. Readers, however, will feel confident that they're in for another hard-charging adventure that blasts open the barrier between the actual and the virtual. And indeed, Cline once again brings crackling humor and fanboy knowledge to a zesty, crowd-pleasing, countdown-clock, save-the-planet tale featuring an unlikely hero, adrenaline-pumping action, gawky romance, and touching family moments. If the interactions among characters tend to be as predictable as fast food, Cline's sly, mind-twisting premise and energetically depicted and electrifying high-tech battles make for smart, frenetic, and satisfying entertainment. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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Dec 1, 2014
En el clóset - Guadalupe Loaeza
En el clóset - Loaeza, Guadalupe Summary: Recognizes the lives of gays with influence in society and culture. Includes Leonard Bernstein, André Gide, Oscar Wilde, Gabriela Mistral, Federico García Lorca, Andy Warhol, Rock Hudson, Marlene Dietrich, Sara García, Dirk Bogart, and current figures like Juan Gabriel and Ricky Martin.
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Aug 1, 2014
One summer: America, 1927 - Bill Bryson
Summary: Recounts the story of a pivotal cultural year in the United States when mainstream pursuits and historical events were marked by contributions by such figures as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and Al Capone.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* On May 21, 1927, when Charles Lindbergh set off to be the first man to cross the Atlantic alone in an airplane, he profoundly changed the culture and commerce of America and its image abroad. Add to that Babe Ruth's efforts to break the home-run record he set, Henry Ford's retooling of the Model T into the Model A, the execution of accused anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, and Al Jolson appearing in the first talkie, and 1927 became the pivot point when the U.S. began to dominate the world in virtually everything—military, culture, commerce, and technology. Bryson's inimitable wit and exuberance are on full display in this wide-ranging look at the major events in an exciting summer in America. Bryson makes fascinating interconnections: a quirky Chicago judge and Prohibition defender leaves the bench to become baseball commissioner following the White Sox scandal, likely leaving Chicago open for gangster Al Capone; the thrill-hungry tabloids and a growing cult of celebrity watchers dog Lindbergh's every move and chronicle Ruth's every peccadillo. Among the other events in a frenzied summer: record flooding of the Mississippi River and the ominous beginnings of the Great Depression. Bryson offers delicious detail and breathtaking suspense about events whose outcomes are already known. A glorious look at one summer in America. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Bryson is the author of such best-selling books as A Walk in the Woods (1998) and A Short History of Nearly Everything (2008) and is sure to make a repeat appearance on the best-seller lists with his newest work. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.
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Apr 3, 2014
The moth
Summary: "In the tradition of book anthologies created from public radio programs such as StoryCorps and This I Believe, THE MOTH collects the best storytelling moments--most in print here for the very first time--straight from their archive of more than 3000 shows since the first Moth Evening in 1997. From James Braly's struggling with what to do when his three-year-old son wants a pink bicycle to Dr. George Lombardi's flying to India to save Mother Theresa's life, from former U.S. Press Secretary Joe Lockhart'soversleeping after a long night in a Moscow bar and missing Air Force One on his first international trip, to Ed Gavagan's surviving being stabbed by a gang and then testifying at their trial, these 40 stories range from sublime to heartbreaking to hilarious, and this collection will feature the very best. Backed by The Moth's own efforts and their expanding syndication and live event efforts in 2012-2013, this book will be an important and cherished read for existing fans of the program, literary fans of some of the featured storytellers, and oral history buffs coast-to-coast"-- - (Baker & Taylor)
Kirkus Reviews
Storytellers from a diverse array of backgrounds present true tales via a New York–based organization broadcasting at themoth.org. For all its vital cultural roots, storytelling makes a strange bedfellow with the printed page. In this self-congratulatory volume--readers can plow through a preface, a foreword and an introduction before even getting to the first story--stories originally told before live audiences are transcribed and edited to no discernible purpose, considering that they are all available in their original formats on the website. The stories run the gamut from childhood memories to love and marriage to illness, crime, war and family secrets, with several epiphanies thrown in for good measure. Some are quite moving--e.g., rapper Darryl "DMC" McDaniels' account of how Sarah McLachlan's music saved him from depression and geneticist Paul Nurse's discovery that the woman he had thought was his sister was actually his mother. Malcolm Gladwell's "Her Way" manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking in its evocation of a friendship's end. Others that should pack a punch, including writer Jillian Lauren's "The Prince and I," about her stint as a courtesan to the Sultan of Brunei, fall flat on the page. Therein lies the problem with this anthology: These stories are meant to be experienced in a live venue, where listeners can immerse themselves in each teller's unique sense of tone and timing. Unlike personal essays, stories require give and take from an audience, which prompts the question: Why bother printing these in an age when people who couldn't attend the original sessions can easily access live footage online? Other contributors include A.E. Hotchner, Adam Gopnik, Sebastian Junger and Nathan Englander. Comes across as a vanity project that does little credit to the storytelling process. Copyright Kirkus 2013 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
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Feb 1, 2014
Ye-ye girls of 60s French pop - Jean Emmanuel
Summary; Yé-yé is a delightful style of pop music featuring young female
singers that influenced France, Québec and other European countries with its
"camp" style throughout the 1960s.
This collection by pop music expert Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe includes many
interviews with the original singers and producers, and hundreds of visual
examples of record covers, magazines, and a teenaged fan’s scrapbook from
the period.
This book includes the famous Yé-Yé practitioners Sylvie Vartan, France Gall, Françoise Hardy, Chantal Goya, Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin and dozens of others, including perverse Serge Gainsbourg.
Yé-Yé had secondary explosions in the 1970s and 1990s in Japan and Europe
through the likes of Lio (who provides this book’s foreword), and in the
United States through singers like April March, whose Yé-Yé number "Chick
Habit" was heard in the Quentin Tarantino film Death Proof. Interest in Yé-Yé
exploded again when Megan Draper sang the Yé-Yé number "Zou Bisou Bisou,”
originally made famous by Gillian Hills, in the 5th season of Mad Men.
Be prepared to be immersed in this beloved but cruelly neglected pop
music genre.
- (Perseus Publishing)
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Nov 1, 2013
Grumpy cat: a grumpy book - Grumpy Cat
Summary: "Internet sensation Grumpy Cat's epic feline frown has inspired legions of devoted fans. Celebrating the grouch in everyone, the Grumpy Cat book teaches the fine art of grumpiness and includes enough bad attitude to cast a dark cloud over the whole world. Featuring brand new as well as classic photos, and including grump-inspiring activities and games, Grumpy Cat delivers unmatched, hilarious grumpiness that puts any bad mood in perspective"-- Provided by publisher.
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Feb 1, 2013
Rookie yearbook one - Tavi Gevinson (Ed.)
Rookie yearbook one - Gevinson, Tavis (Ed.)
Summary: A collection of articles, interviews, photo editorials, and illustrations from the highly praised and hugely popular online magazine RookieMag.com.
Booklist Online Reviews
Editor Gevinson, known to fans, friends, her parents, and teachers simply as Tavi, is way, way cooler than the coolest kid you went to high school with. Last year, with a little help from her friends, she launched online magazine Rookie. This title compiles the site's "very best" offerings through May 2012. In the book's welcome note, she asks, "Isn't this weird, with no Cheeto-crumb-covered keyboard or Netflix streaming window between us? I'm really into it." Though Rookie chalked up one million page views in less than a week after its launch, this eye-catching large-format paperback will be an exciting first exposure to this new brand of young, girl-power feminist journalism. Contributions and interviews by Gevinson, staff writers, Rookie readers, and stars address topics both silly and serious. Rotating "Literally the Best Thing Ever" and "How To" columns showcase, for example, Joni Mitchell and "Approach the Person You Like without Throwing Up," respectively. The included pullout record, designer-made paper crown, and sheet of stickers will necessitate special care for circulation, but with wit and reason, Rookie combats the often ridiculous or destructive advice aimed at its audience, and it is a beacon for a smarter, more sensitive generation of young women. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.
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May 1, 2011
Halfway to Hollywood - Michael Palin
Summary: A second volume of diaries by the Monty Python comedian traces the years during which the iconic troupe completed their final group performance before Palin segued to such productions as "A Fish Called Wanda."
Staff Review
If you're a Monty Python fan at all, you'll love the second volume of Michael Palin's diaries. Hilarious, sweet and cheerful, I really enjoyed it.
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Mar 2, 2011
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. - Sam Wasson
Summary: Depicts the making of the iconic film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in the late 1950s, drawing on interviews with those involved in the film's production, including the actors, producer Richard Shepherd, and Truman Capote's biographer. Sam Wasson takes the reader from pre-production to on-set feuds and conflicts, while also noting Hepburn's impact on fashion (Givenchy's little black dress), Hollywood glamour, sexual politics, and the new morality.
Library Journal Reviews
Wasson (A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards) traces Audrey Hepburn's life and career leading up to Breakfast at Tiffany's and describes how her role inspired women as they emerged from restrictive 1950s cultural, social, and sexual stereotypes. At the same time, he weaves in the story of Truman Capote, author of the book that was the basis for the film, and examines the complex sources for his famous character Holly Golightly. By the time Wasson arrives at the shooting of the film, readers will have a solid understanding of Hepburn and Capote as well as many others in their spheres and involved with the film—from director Blake Edwards and composer Henry Mancini to costumer Edith Head and screenwriter George Axelrod. The anecdotes are numerous and deftly told, and Wasson does not shy away from relevant interpersonal challenges. VERDICT This well-researched, entertaining page-turner should appeal to a broad audience, particularly those who enjoy film history that focuses on the human factors involved in the creative process while also drawing on larger social and cultural contexts.—Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ
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Dec 1, 2010
Losing my cool - Thomas Chatterton Williams
Summary: Describes how the author outwardly embraced self-effacing aspects of hip-hop culture that radically contrasted with his book-loving father's academic prep service and endless pursuit of knowledge, revealing how the father-son bond eventually overcame the genre's rebellious messages. - (Baker & Taylor)
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Growing up in Westfield, New Jersey, with a father who loved wisdom and ran an SAT prep business in a home crammed with books, Williams blithely ignored all that in favor of the hip-hop culture he heard and saw on BET. He spent his youth meticulously studying and imitating images of cool and thuggishness and listening to music that glorified misogyny, violence, and bling. The objective was to be "authentically black," despite his white mother and erudite father. He modeled the thug life with a hair-trigger temper that led to fights and a ghetto-fabulous girlfriend, living on the margins of drug dealing. At Georgetown, he continued the cool persona until he began to gradually face up to evidence that it would lead to failure and that a more interesting life might be available to him. Only then does he acknowledge the gift of his father's efforts to get him to appreciate the value of being able to truly and deeply think for himself. This is more than a coming-of-age story; it is an awakening, as Williams blends Dostoyevsky and Jay-Z in a compelling memoir and analysis of urban youth culture. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.
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Aug 3, 2010
Regretsy: where DIY meets WTF - April Winchell
Regretsy: where DIY meets WTF - Winchell, April
Summary: HANDMADE? IT LOOKS LIKE YOU MADE IT WITH YOUR FEET!
A chicken poncho. A painting of a corn dog. A clock made out of an old “mostly clean” cheese grater. All this and more await you in the pages of Regretsy, a veritable sideshow of handcrafts gone wrong. Based on the eponymous hit blog and arranged in categories such as Dead Things, Pet Humiliation, and Garbage, Regretsy showcases the best of the worst from Etsy.com, ranging from the hilariously absurd to the purely horrifying. Each page of this jaw-dropping volume features the actual seller’s listing with a light coat of hostile commentary to give it a good shellacking. So join us as we descend into handmade hell and gawk, gasp, and marvel at the disturbingly odd artifacts that Regretsy has collected for your viewing pleasure, proving that you can never have too much of a bad thing. - (Random House, Inc.)
Review
Absolutely wonderful and downright horrifying.- New York Magazine
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The accidental billionaires : the founding of Facebook, a tale of sex, money, genius and betrayal - Ben Mezrich
The accidental billionaires : the founding of Facebook, a tale of sex, money, genius and betrayal - Mezrich, Ben
Summary: "The high-energy tale of how two socially awkward Ivy Leaguers, trying to increase their chances with the opposite sex, ended up creating Facebook."--Jacket.
Staff Review
I'm on it, you're on it, our "Friends" are on it, and it's growing every day. Now find out how this stunning social phenomenon was created and why, and how it's morphed into what you use today. I thought it was fascinating!
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Jul 1, 2010
What the dog saw and other adventures - Malcolm Gladwell
What the dog saw and other adventures - Gladwell, Malcolm
Summary: Brings together, for the first time, the best of Gladwell's writing from The New Yorker in the past decade, including: the bittersweet tale of the inventor of the birth control pill; the dazzling inventions of the pasta sauce pioneer Howard Moscowitz; spotlighting Ron Popeil, the king of the American kitchen; and the secrets of Cesar Millan, the "dog whisperer." Gladwell also explores intelligence tests, ethnic profiling and "hindsight bias," and why it was that everyone in Silicon Valley once tripped over themselves to hire the same college graduate.
Booklist Reviews
Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point (2000), Blink (2005), and Outliers (2008), is a staff writer for the New Yorker, in whose pages he has published many thought-provoking and just-plain-offbeat essays. This collection brings some of those together, including a profile of Ron Popeil, the television pitchman; an analysis of the downfall of Enron, with special emphasis on the easy availability of information; an intriguing look at criminal profiling; an exploration of why there are so few brands of ketchup on the market; an account of a case of plagiarism in which Gladwell was one of the victims; a chronicle of the development of hair dye and its social ramifications; and a consideration of the phenomenon of "dog whispering" (this essay gives the book its title). As in his best-selling books, Gladwell displays an easygoing writing style and a sharp critical mind. This is the kind of essay collection you can read from cover to cover or, just as satisfactorily, dip into a bit at a time. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.
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