false 37 185 174 true 5694319 read 0 true 69012 currently-reading 11 true 69011 to-read 5 false 109367 arts-techy 5 false 109362 music-difference 5 false 109414 sportssportssportssports 3 false 109399 soundknowledge 2 false 4142300 stalled-out 2 false 74418 half-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42556705 to: The World Without Us (Hardcover) by Alan Weisman
Weisman's examination of a world without us is meant in every way to explain what a world WITH us has meant. Some see his work as a window into a dreary future that we are largely responsible for. I see it as a call to action and a beautiful reminder that we are part of something much larger, a world that both responds to and depends upon us. The world would go on without us, and our plastics and nuclear waste might far outlive our more positive expressions of imagination. To me, this is only further proof that we have to respond to, and be equal to our moment in time. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42556753 to: A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot 8-Inch, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays Football with the Pros (Hardcover) by Stefan Fatsis
I've read plenty (too much!) about the NFL, yet I don't think I ever fully understood the gravity of this sport and what players subject their bodies and their minds to to participate in it. Fatsis really provides a needed cross-section of humanity in writing about a sport that relies (too) heavily on fabricated heroism, military narrative and stylization. Next time you watch these guys destroy each other on Sunday, think about how long a sub-zero ice bath you might need to recover from that kind of contact, and what kind of price tag you'd put on your body to go through with it. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44776456 to: Proust Was a Neuroscientist (Hardcover) by Jonah Lehrer
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21925148 As Serious As Your Life: The Story of the New Jazz (Five Star) by Valerie Wilmer
bookshelves: stalled-out
pretty laundry-listy.

She's close to the source, though. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44775100 Phantasmic Radio (Paperback) by Allen S. Weiss
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42556686 2666 (Narrativas Hispanicas) by Roberto Bolaño
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12563334 to: Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project (Hardcover) by Dave Isay
This is a very charming companion to the radio series run on NPR that allows two people to interview one another and share their own personal stories (there's a booth in Grand Central Station and many others around the country -- go sign up!).

You can read the individual stories very quickly. This is absolutely a book that can be picked up and put down all the time. I can't say it's quite the same as hearing the on-air segments -- where the power of the human voice can move you to tears. The reality of someone choking up discussing someone they love is much more palpable when you're hearing it, rather than reading it. All the same, this is a very nice document of a beautiful ongoing project. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/390902 Gravity's Rainbow (Paperback) by Thomas Pynchon
bookshelves: stalled-out
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/390516 Ocean of Sound (Paperback) by David Toop
bookshelves: half-read
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