myshelf … what people are reading

John Morse

Associate, Carraway & Associates, Inc. Architects

Lafcadio’s Adventures (originally “Les caves du Vatican”) by André Gide

I picked this up at Greencup Books because of the cover illustration by Edward Gorey. I was soon caught up in the rambunctiousness of the plot, which barrels downhill like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Gide explores the dark subject of senseless violence with charm, wit, enthusiasm and sensitivity.

Amanda Hannah

Barista, Starbucks Coffee

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

This novel follows the life of Jayber Crow, a somewhat rebellious barber in a small farming town. Berry’s stories of the lives of the townspeople, life in a farming community, and Crow’s stubborn love for a married woman are bucolically romantic. His ability to expose the beauty and nobility of the ordinary make me want to read slowly and take in every precisely-crafted word.

TOPSHELF

Sag Harbor (Doubleday, $24.95) is a funny, passionate, coming-of-age novel set in New York and Long Island during the 1980s. Written by acclaimed author Colson Whitehead, the book tells the tale of Benji Cooper and his younger brother, Reggie, the only black students at an elite prep school in Manhattan. Coping in Manhattan is hard, but the escape is easy, a short distance to the east—to their parents’ beach property in Sag Harbor, Long Island, where a small community of African-American professionals has created a world of their own. Other books by Whitehead include Apex Hides the Hurt and The Colossus of New York.

Road Dogs (Morrow, $26.99) is the latest from 83-year-old crime novelist legend Elmore Leonard. Here the ageless author brings three characters from past work—Jack Foley, the charming bank robber from Out of Sight, Cundo Rey, the millionaire Cuban hustler from La Brava and Dawn Navarro, the professional psychic from Riding the Rap. These three bring Leonard’s pot boiler to a steamy, unexpected conclusion, just perfect for an Elmore Leonard saga.

The real-life inspiration behind the Will Smith blockbuster The Pursuit of Happyness author, entrepreneur and motivational speaker Chris Gardner has a new lesson to share. Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (Amistad, $26.99) brings common sense wisdom, zeal and enthusiasm to a discussion of how to thrive in difficult times, a subject the man who, once a homeless, single father, became an object lesson in the will to survive and succeed.

Jeffrey Zaslow, The Wall Street Journal columnist who co-wrote The Last Lecture with Randy Pausch, tells the story of 11 women from Ames, Iowa, who (now in their 40s, with one deceased) have been friends for their entire lives. The Girls From Ames (Gotham, $26) uncovers the roots of extraordinary friendships that pass the test of time and geographical separation. None of the women live in Ames today.

LISTEN

Iron and Wine: Around the Well

Iron and Wine fans can never get enough of Sam Beam’s musical musings. Beam has filled in the gaps between the three full-length albums with EPs, contributions to movie soundtracks and now Around the Well (Sub Pop Records), a two-disc collection of rarities and previously unreleased tracks. The first disc is a rough-hewn gem, heavy with the uncomplicated and gorgeous folk songs of Iron and Wine’s early work. The second disc is more polished, still exhibiting Beam’s gorgeous songwriting while largely highlighting the more complex arrangements of more recent work. The collection hits its satisfying pinnacle with the album closing fan favorite “The Trapeze Swinger,” a nine-and-a-half minute lullaby. —CARLA JEAN WHITLEY

mytunes

Dilcy Windham Hilley
Vice President Marketing & Communications, Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau

Despite my advanced age and bankrupt attempt to act it, I listen to lots of alternative music. Two recent discoveries are a band from Cincinnati called The National and Johnny Dowd, who lives in Ithaca, N.Y. Johnny’s recent release A Drunkard’s Masterpiece has been nominated for a Grammy for best alt album of the year, which is amazing considering his obscurity all these years. MOJO magazine describes the CD as “a creative car crash of Americana, beatnik rock, poetry, prose, jazz, rock, rap, screaming metal guitar, retro pop, spoken word and country noir.” Whew! Not all my musical taste is that … well … demented. I also love Eric Essix’s new CD Birmingham, which is on the charts with a bullet!

check this out:

Birmingham Blogging Academy

If you’ve bought a new camera, you might sign up for photography class. Want to revisit your childhood love of drawing? There are classes for that, too. And now Birmingham is home to a school dedicated to the art of blogging. Whether you’re interested in launching a blog for work or play, the newly-launched Birmingham Blogging Academy offers courses for new and experienced bloggers.

Who: After his then-employer, Birmingham Post-Herald, folded in 2005, Birmingham Blogging Academy founder, writer and editor Wade Kwon launched the blog wadeonbirmingham.com. He wanted to continue writing and craved deadlines, and the blog gave him an outlet for both. “I started it on a whim,” Kwon says. In the three and a half years since his blog’s launch, Kwon has learned to work more quickly and become more aware of his audience.

What: Birmingham Blogging Academy offered its first, beginner-level course in April, focusing on the basics like how to register a domain name and what blogging software to use.

Planned intermediate topics included writing killer blog posts and utilizing Twitter for market research. Kwon says topics and advanced classes will be added. Sessions start at $99.

Why: Can’t you learn this stuff online? Of course, Kwon says. That’s what he did. But the academy courses allow students to skip the trial and error and learn from someone who has been there before. “What I’m teaching isn’t anything new. There’s no super secret to it,” Kwon explains. “I just get people there faster.”

Create a niche: Some people say there’s nothing left to write about, but Kwon has identified several topics that haven’t been definitively covered by Birmingham bloggers. “That’s a good way for anyone to stand out. When everyone’s zigging, you zag,” he says. Kwon’s suggested blog topics are: Birmingham history; transportation; Birmingham barbecue; classical music and opera; golf.

Learn more: birminghambloggingacademy.com

Music makers …

Recorded in locations across the world, Zap Mama’s ReCreation (Heads Up International) reflects the sounds of those cultures and the interconnectedness of today’s society. The majority of the album is in other languages, reflecting the group’s Afroeuropean roots, but the soothing music transcends language barriers. It’s an optimistic record in a time when we could all use a little uplifting.

On Singlewide (Skybucket Records), The Dexateens slow it down on a few tracks, taking time to showcase their always-thoughtful lyrics. Even so, the album retains their distinctive Southern twang.

Elvis Costello revels in a similar twang on Secret, Profane and Sugarcane (Hear Music). The musical chameleon glides into this Southern-accented territory as seamlessly as he does everything else, backed by an allstar band including bluegrass greats Jerry Douglas and Stuart Duncan.

“They Will Appear” is a perfect foretaste of Akron/Family’s latest, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free (Dead Oceans). The track begins gently, with guitar and quiet vocals, before erupting into a full out, percussion-heavy party.

When Todd Snider sings, the songwriting is so straightforward that it feels almost spontaneous, as though Snider were talking to you in the moment. But the songs on The Excitement Plan (YepRoc Records) are finely crafted tales of real people and real situations. There are so many intriguing elements on St. Vincent’s latest, Actor (4ad records). The beats make it the perfect soundtrack to a swank soiree. Annie Clark’s compelling vocals draw you into the lyrics. And the sparkly tune beneath the percussion lends a retro note to this entirely addictive album.