Three books I've enjoyed lately:

Red-Flannel Hash and Shoo-Fly Pie, Lila Perl
A 1960s cookbook about regional American foods is already right up my alley, but this one was also one of the very first books illustrated by Eric Carle. He uses woodcuts, rather than the tissue-paper collage style that he's best known for.

The Redbreast, Jo Nesbo
My love affair with Scandinavian crime fiction is ongoing. This one is a dark, occasionally funny noir with two intertwining stories, one a modern hardboiled procedural and the other historical fiction about the Norwegian fascists who cooperated with the occupying Nazis and fought on the Russian front in WWII.

Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture, Alice Echols
Cultural-history kind of thing, focusing heavily on disco's larger social effects. If you like this, you might also like Peter Shapiro's Turn the Beat Around.

Four albums:

Amanaz - Africa
Reissue of a 70s album from Zambia's Zam-rock scene. If you like 70s African psych/rock groups like Blo or The Witch, you'll probably dig this. Bass and fuzz, English and Bemba.

Balun - Memoria Textil
Dreamy vocals and a mix of organic (including accordion and violin) and electronic (including chiptune-ish stuff)--they call it IDM folk-pop.

Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex - Moa Anbesa
Septuagenarian Ethiopian saxophone legend gets together with Dutch avant-punks (and horn players from everyone's favorite ICP, the Instant Composer's Pool Orchestra), and it winds up sounding a little like 70s Ethio-jazz and a little like No-Wave.

V/A - Lagos Disco Inferno
Released by the guy behind the Voodoo Funk blog, who spent three years crate-digging in Africa. Your reaction to the phrase '70s Nigerian disco' will probably determine whether you'd enjoy this album, but, just in case you're on the fence, here's a Youtube promo.

Three artists:

Rockwell Kent
He did illustrations for editions of Moby Dick, Leaves of Grass and Erewhon, among many others. If you see an interlibrary loan librarian, tell 'em I said thanks.

Charley Harper
I only just learned there's a line of Charley Harper skate shoes, from Alien Workshop. This same company commissioned Mr. Dibbs, one of my favorite turntablists, to do the soundtrack for a skate video.

Kenojuak Ashevak
Inuit printmaker/sculptor, and one of the pioneers of Inuit modern art.  ¶ 8:28 AM