Happy Friday Book Music Day! I had no plan for this week of guest DJ-ing until I was on my way to a gathering of book people a week ago, and suddenly it became obvious what I needed to do. So I'm curious, do the rest of y'all have song/book pairings you'd suggest? Also, please drop your lists.
All posts by Pepper
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps
Sorry, CoC, this probably wasn't what you were expecting me to play today. 😉
Book Pairing: A Map into the World by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Seo Kim
(6 votes, average: 8.83 out of 10)You must be a WGOM Citizen to rate WGOM Videos.
Loading... Sleigh Bells – Crown on the Ground
I was recently reminded of the fabulous comments generated by this song, so I decided to check out whether Sleigh Bells had any live songs about topics other than A Machines and B Machines. Turns out, there were a bunch of options to choose from.
I wasn't expecting to really like what I found, but I actually like it quite a lot.
Book Pairing: Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derek Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James
(2 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)You must be a WGOM Citizen to rate WGOM Videos.
Loading... Dessa – Warsaw
Speaking of orphan tags and indecision, HJ did you ever get less undecided about Dessa?
Book pairing: The Roots of Rap by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison
(5 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)You must be a WGOM Citizen to rate WGOM Videos.
Loading... Queen Latifah – U.N.I.T.Y.
Can today match yesterday's amazing comment to vote ratio? Probably not, but a girl can dream!
Book pairing: The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
(3 votes, average: 8.67 out of 10)You must be a WGOM Citizen to rate WGOM Videos.
Loading... Aizuri Quartet – Carrot Revolution
Welcome to Pepper week!
DG played something else by this quartet last year, which let me to this wonderful piece composed by Gabriella Smith.
And if you're curious (as I was), according to their website, "the Aizuri Quartet draws its name from 'aizuri-e,' a style of predominantly blue Japanese woodblock printing that is noted for its vibrancy and incredible detail."
Book pairing: Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown.
(4 votes, average: 8.75 out of 10)You must be a WGOM Citizen to rate WGOM Videos.
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July 13, 2019: All Baseball, All the Time
The jalapeño's baseball season came to an end last Monday with a loss in the first round of the playoffs. On Tuesday, he volunteered to be 3rd base coach at his brother's t-ball game, on Thursday he went to the championship game for a team a bunch of his friends were on, and last night he watched Field of Dreams for the first time. The season may be done, but the obsession lives on.
Poetry & Nonfiction
I've been reading memoir in verse recently. In June I read Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson and immediately after that picked up This Is the Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy, both of which were excellent.
I don't always think poetry is a great fit for nonfiction topics--poetry is often works well to distill a topic to its essence and prompt readers to see something from a fresh perspective. I don't think poetry is typically good at conveying background information and putting events in a larger context, which is often what I want from nonfiction. But in the case of memoir, poetry can get to the heart of a story and keep things moving along--because even a really interesting life surely contains plenty of mundane details that readers won't really care about.
The latest books I have from the library are not poetry, and every time I look at them, I think about how very many words are on each page. I should probably start one of those books soon, though.
What have you been reading? Have you encountered books that you thought you wouldn't like that surprised you?
First Monday Book Day: Quitters Finish More
I recently read a fascinating article by Austin Kleon called "How to Read More." This article is no mere list of tips--I was pleasantly surprised by just how insightful it is. Clearly, Mr. Kleon is a big reader.
I was particularly struck by the first tip, which is "Quit reading books you don't like." As a child, I was a compulsive finisher. If I began a book, I felt obligated to see it through to the end even if I wasn't enjoying it. Of course, I had a lot more free time to fill as a child than I do now...
Kleon says, "If you aren’t getting anything out of a book, put it down, and pick up another book. Every hour you spend inching through a boring book is an hour you could’ve spent plowing through a brilliant one. When it comes to books, quitters finish more."
It's true that I read faster when a book really grabs me and I suddenly find "extra" time to read it by using time when I'm usually doing something else. I still remember taking the peperoncino to the playground one summer afternoon so that he could play with trucks in the sand while I perched on the edge of the sandbox, unable to stop reading Sweetbitter.
Do you stop reading when a book isn't holding your attention? Do you have your own tips or tricks on finding time to read? Do tell!
February 20, 2019: Let it–NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Y'all, I am done with snow days. I'm making French toast, which sounds like a treat for my kids, but really it's just because I want it. Stay safe if you have to drive, and good luck to you if you're home all day with your children.
(Stop laughing, bS.)