Books :: Reviews

Jason Bitner (Ed.): Cassette From My Ex: Stories and Soundtracks of Lost Loves

By Helen Matatov on 1:00 PM on November 20, 2009

Reminiscing the mix tape Blame it on Twitter, reality television, or the daily sprouting of self-chronicling blogs, but it’s undeniable that we’re living in a voyeuristic culture. Catching glimpses into other’s slice-of-life moments is what we crave; a need that Cassette From My Ex: Stories and Soundtracks of Lost Loves strives to fill.... read more

Jonathan Safran Foer: Eating Animals

By Anne Lamott on 3:00 PM on November 17, 2009

Jonathan Safran Foer’s novels are dense, energetic, concerned with all things moral and Jewish, pleased with themselves, sentimental, and too wordy for a lot of us. They are like wild Russian dances that leave you breathless and wondering why you stayed on the dance floor. Without argument, he is enormously talented and passionate, but his writing and gimmicks can get in the way of the material.... read more

Kanye West: Through the Wire

By Christina Lee on 1:30 PM on November 11, 2009

A humbling reminder of his rights and wrongs With illustrations and commentary explaining 12 of his most well-known songs, Kanye West’s Through the Wire takes on both the title and overall sentiment of his breakout single: “I’m a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph.” But the book is about more than his near-fatal car accident. Instead, West devotes nearly equal time to explaining his pop culture references and admitting his wrongs, with “Touch the Sky” revealed as an apology letter to the girl he left behind to make music.... read more

Robert Mattheu: The Stooges: The Authorized and Illustrated Story

By Justin Jacobs on 11:30 AM on November 5, 2009

Could use more raw power If the snarling Iggy Pop of 1969 knew his Stooges would be coffee table book fodder, he would’ve scoffed. But here we are, 40 years later, with The Stooges: The Authorized and Illustrated Story. The title tells all: unreleased photos, band testimonials and album reviews. But while rock’n’roll platitudes flourish in books about, say, The Beatles, here the fawning feels awkward. CREEM photographer Robert Mattheu’s stilted writing never dives deeper than anecdotes and base descriptions. We learn Ron Ashton’s apartment, when he hosted Elektra Record executives in 1971, was “too horrible to describe.” The execs... read more