Hot Takes On Cool Books
A few reviews of some fantastic recent reads.
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Good morning!
Today we’re taking a look at several books, including the latest from, well, all kinds of writers.
We’re heading full speed into shorts-and-a-hoodie weather, a time of lower light and cooler temps. That means it’s only a matter of time before everything is covered in salt, and you can feel literally every joint in your body (maybe that’s just me?). It also means it's time to make some headway on your reading pile.
Below are a few books I’ve enjoyed recently, one I’m midway through, and a couple I’m looking forward to digging into. I hope you find a new favorite to read between raking leaves and apple picking.
Enjoy!
KA—
Bob Merckel- Salute
On the surface, this is a book about yoga. In reality, it’s about figuring out who you are and where you want to be. In Salute, he uses each of the poses of the Sun Salute as the framework of the book; he shares his own experiences in trying, failing, and trying again. Perhaps more importantly (or relevant to me), it’s about not being afraid to try things, embracing a fear of failure, and finishing what you start. It is, as he notes, a book about yoga and not about yoga. My life story is littered with projects not seen through—including writing a book. Maybe that’s you as well?
Sheila Moeschen- Boston and Beyond: Discovering Cities, Harbors, and Country Charms
If you’re not reading Sheila’s newsletter, you should be. Her sense of humor is impeccable. She is also an accomplished photographer and shares her work in a regular feature. This book is a photographic love letter to Boston, Massachusetts, and the surrounding area in the form of a few dozen field trip photo essays. The Amazon blurb describes the photography as “sumptuous,” which... I mean, okay. Lol.
I would've gone with something like "fantastic.” One of these days, I’ll make my way back to the Bay State, and this will have both inspired the trip and served as my tour guide.
Katherine Rye Jewell- Live from the Underground: A History of College Radio
One of the cool things about my little suburb is its community radio station. You want polka? You got it. Alternative? Yep, that, too. Radio is the voice of any town, but it really gives people in the community a voice.
In her latest book, talks about her time in radio, starting with the inauspicious way she joined her college station.
Speaking with her earlier this year, I prefaced our chat by writing:
Now a professor at Fitchburg State, Jewell’s latest book looks at college radio through an academic lens, blending stories of bands she met with rich data sets. The result is an incredible deep dive into college radio’s evolution from an extracurricular activity to the voice of a generation—the tip of the spear in the nation’s cultural and socioeconomic discourse.
Far from just playlists and recaps of how the football team did, these sites found themselves on the front lines of the free speech fight. The airwaves belong to the people, after all. Jewell’s book gives those broadcasters a voice and highlights how vital the medium is today.
Far from a simple look back or hagiography, Jewell dives deep into the data to make her points, which she weaves together with both personal anecdotes and stories from the time and how legislation like the Telecommunications Act of 1996 led to consolidation and changed what sounds make their way to your ears.
If you like music, miss your college station, and believe the airwaves belong to the people, this book will check a ton of boxes for you.
Matt Berenson- Secret Stars: The Greatest Underdogs of the Rock 'n' Roll Era
This book took me forever to read. Not because it’s bad— it’s fantastic— but because it is littered with rabbit holes. Each chapter covers an underrated band/songwriter (with an accompanying playlist). I would find myself going on side quests every couple of pages. I re-read the charter on the go-between for part 4 of our recent 100 Best Records series and did it all over again. I should’ve just scribbled notes on the margins to circle back to. Take my advice…
Jim Ruland - Do What You Want: The Story of Bad Religion.
With the help of the members themselves and those lucky enough to have been around at the time, has crafted an exhaustive history of the seminal hardcore band of our time. If you’re new to BR, this is a great on-ramp. If you’re a longtime fan, this will color in a lot of the background.
I thought I was a bit of an expert on the band. This book proved otherwise.
Michael Elliott- Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story
Do you ever have a book you kinda don't want to end because you know you’ll have to find something equally entertaining to fill part of your day?
If you've been here for a bit, you know that throughline music has been in my life. In my 20s, he soundtracked countless miles on blue highways through the American West. He has serenaded my wife and me during the spotlight dance at our wedding. I sign off every Saturday post with “Drive South,” which is, of course, one of his songs.
As much as I knew about his discography, I knew very little about the man behind these beloved songs. Luckily Michael Elliott of
has fixed that. In his book, he takes us through Hiatt’s story, starting with his childhood in Indiana and through his early days grinding it out as a songwriter. Through the throes of addiction and depths of despair, wrestling with relationships and fatherhood, and his survival of all of it. I’m about 180 pages in, and while I can’t put it down, I also don’t want it to finish…Next up:
Eilon Paz- Dust & Grooves Vol. 2: Further Adventures in Record Collecting
…on the other hand, I’m excited to get my hands on a copy of Dust & Grooves Vol. 2: Further Adventures in Record Collecting by Eilon Paz. Ten years after Volume 1 was released, Paz is back again. In this self-financed/produced project, he uses interviews and photos to tell the story of vinyl collecting through some of the world’s vinyl obsessives.
Our
had a hand in editing the quotes and doing a bit of fact-checking. Prince Paul (yes, that Prince Paul) penned the intro, which for me, is worth the price of admission alone. Just for a little extra Substack spin (heh), Paz also worked on the book “Portables” with .S.W. Lauden (and others)- Remember The Lightning—A Guitar Pop Journal: Vol. 4: Fall/Winter 2024
I was lucky to come across Lauden’s work while editing for The Riff on Medium when he submitted a piece on a band he’d been in and the loss of the group’s frontman. To this day, it is one of the most poignant pieces to have ever come across our submission queue. That’s just one of many pieces he’s gone on to write, including compiling an oral history of Popsicko, a Substack, and this quarterly series.
I was honored to be included in Vol.3 (along with Dan Epstein, Jim Ruland, and several others), and I cannot wait to get my hands on Vol. 4.
On the way!
Rob Janicke- SLACKER: 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, & the Generation It Created
Rob and I first met while working as editors at The Riff. We quickly learned we shared a lot of common ground regarding bands liked and shows seen. I used to joke that if we still had shoeboxes full of ticket stubs, ours would both be full of shows from the same tours, just dates on opposite legs (we grew up on opposite coasts).
Rob stepped away from that work to fulfill a long-held dream—writing a book about that era, what it meant to him, and how it changed us all. It is a book not just about the music but also about the people—the good, the bad, the ugly. Everyone has a story; this is Rob’s.
From his website:
SlACKER is a historical document of the grunge and alternative (including punk and hip-hop) movement of the early 90s. In addition to the historical, musical, and cultural content, it also entertains and educates. Stories of societal change, my musical and personal journey through it all, battles with mental health, and insights obtained from interviews I conducted with musicians, writers, scientists, professors, promoters, etc., from the era to help you tap into the passion that music naturally delivers.
He’s been teasing bits and pieces of it for a while now, and it should be released in early spring. I can't wait to finally have this show up on my doorstep.
Jen Zug- Pretend You’re Good At It
Comparing parenting to meatloaf (the food) is wild, but follow me here. Or rather, follow as she explains:
Raising kids is exactly like cooking meat loaf: none of us really knows how any of this is gonna work out until it’s way too late. The reality is, 99% of parenting is seasoning to the best of our ability and waiting for the thing to bake. Which is why parents are stressed out all the time over raising kids—we’re worried about launching poorly salted humans out into the world!
Jen is also writing the book publicly, sharing her drafts of each chapter as she goes. Both of us have kids who are older now, but I’ve been finding the ground she covers as resonant—and relatable— as when they were younger. Based on what we’ve seen so far, this will also give people (parents or not) some context on the actions of their parents. In Jen’s words, it's for those who are a parent or who have a parent. Which is pretty much all of us, I think. Check it out!
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As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on any (or all) of these books! Have you read any of them? What should I have on my TBR list? Should this become a semi-regular feature?
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
I will not add more books to the stack…I will not add more books to the stack…I will not add more books to the stack…darn you, Kevin!
That Slacker book is going on my 'to-read' list.