Here are some books I read last year, or didn't, as the case may be:

Vodka, Boris Starling
Another one of those sexy noirish mysteries, set in an exotic foreign land. Did you know that Russian criminals often have really interesting, and often filthy, tattoos (and that there's a great book on the subject)? Did you know that the former Soviet Union had eleven time zones? (I learned that from a Negativland song.) This book is ambitious, and good, but long, and, like the Soviet Union, or my blog posts, it could probably benefit from some editing.

Early Bird: A Memoir of Premature Retirement, Rodney Rothman
Kind of funny, definitely not earth-shattering, kind of not my thing. You know that Seinfeld episode 'The Pen,' where Jerry and Elaine visit Jerry's parents in Florida, with the space pen, and Elaine whacked out on muscle relaxers? That episode's much better than this book, and you can watch it in 25 minutes, or read the script in less time than that.

Damaged Goods, Roland S. Jefferson
Jefferson also wrote The School on 103rd Street (see below), which was reissued as one of the Old School Books series, undiscovered black crime/hardboiled/noir/whatnot like a few of Chester Himes' early works, one of Donald Goines' less famous ones, etc. School was written in 1973 (and it's very good), while Damaged Goods was written in 2003 and released in 2005, and it, too, is very good. Well, it's very good if you like that kind of stuff. If I was trying to sell someone on crime fiction, it would only be the book I'd choose for a person who was already a big blaxploitation fan.

The School on 103rd Street, Roland S. Jefferson
Part Andrew Vachss, part The Spook That Sat By The Door, and part, oddly enough, brand-name-heavy and pimpadelic. Very much of its day, but very readable, and suspenseful, and compelling, for a modern reader.

Crossworld: One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession, Marc Romano
Here's the pitch: It's like Word Freak, except about crossword puzzles. Crosswords are way more popular than Scrabble, right? And the author has the cooperation of Will Shortz, the NYT crossword editor and a towering figure in his field. It's good.

Darknet: Hollywood's War Against the Digital Generation, J.D. Lasica
I renewed it five times and haven't even cracked it open. Blurbs from Howard Rheingold, Steven Levy, James Fallows and others. Good reviews from the geek press corps. I'll return to it someday, like Linda Rondstadt. (That's a reference to 'Blue Bayou.' I don't plan to ever return to Rondstadt's music, Plow King jingle notwithstanding.)

The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank, David Plotz
I liked the Slate series, but this is another one that I renewed five times without ever reading a page, and that I might, y'know, someday return to.  ¶ 8:52 AM 0 comments

  Here, via Feministing, is a essay from Rebecca Mead about the marriage industry.

And, via Beer and Rap and Music Thing, a video demo from the Average Homeboy and a live cover of 'The Final Countdown.' I can't decide which is worse.  ¶ 9:56 AM 0 comments

  Email from a coworker:

I hope everyone had a marvelous holiday weekend.

I need some assistance, please. My 12-year-old stepson has recently moved to a new school and has had thrust upon him the necessity of participating in a botany science project. His task is to provide the "hydroponic powder nutrients." One brand name suggested was HYPONEX. I have been unable to find anything of the sort locally. Can anyone tell me where I might find this? It doesn't have to be the particular brand mentioned. He just needs some kind of hydroponic nutrient powder. Tomorrow. Thanks!  ¶ 9:41 AM 0 comments

  Here's saxophonist John Handy in a blind listening test, from Down Beat:

'Now's the Time (No Time Like Now),' Deke Damascus and Red Hawk remix, 'Bird Up'

"Sounds like some white guys whose fathers gave them too much money. I can't say this is creative. It's something that's done with a formula with all the taping, loops and overdubs. I wouldn't call it an insult, but I wouldn't be interested in doing this myself. It's like a collage of scraps. I don't hear anything moving. "Now's the Time" keeps coming in, and it sounds like the original, with a young Miles Davis who flubbed a lot of notes in those years. I'm not against electronics, but I'm against poor talent. If Charlie Parker hadn't died of a heart attack back then, he would have now if he heard this. It's a remix? It's mixed up. This CD is unnecessary."

And here's a letter to the editor that Kirstie Alley wrote to Rolling Stone after they published an article that was mildly critical of Scientology:

"Shame on you, Rolling Stone, for your slam piece on Scientology. Rolling Stone has been my favorite magazine since college, but come on--religion-bashing for the sake of sales? Yikes, dudes--your cool factor just dropped to Reader's Digest. And to the writer who interviewed me for two hours as I watched her eyes darting around in her head like a trapped lab rat: Janet, dear, people like you will always bastardize good things like religion. That's a given. That's why you exist, honey. My problem with your article was its degree of boredom."

And here's where I mention a few books that I've enjoyed lately. First, Jessica Abel's La Perdida. It's a graphic novel about a young woman's expat experience in Mexico. It's got Marxists, cocaine dealers, Frida Kahlo, kidnapping--the whole megillah, and I think it's very good. Also, I've quickly read all of Kris Nelscott's Smokey Dalton series. A close comparison could be made to Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins books, but these are much more infused with '60s radicalism and racial politics. These are some of the most thoughtful and literary mysteries I've read in a long time.  ¶ 2:12 PM 2 comments