Ted Conover won a National Book Critics Circle Award for Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing, the story of Conover working as a prison guard. The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today is just as good. Conover strikes me as one of those restless people who can’t stay in the same place very long. He rambles around the world, traveling on good roads (in China) and terrible roads (in Africa). The most interesting journey Conover takes is a trip to South America to see where mahogany comes from. Several times while reading this book, I thought Conover was going to be shot or stomped or violated (the prostitutes in Africa found Conover very attractive). Conover goes into countries full of violence and AIDS to show how the spread of the disease is directly affected by roads and the long-haul truckers who populate them. If you’re interested in high-level reporting, you’ll find The Routes of Man fascinating. GRADE: A

Robyn’s Body Talk blends dance music and techno into an astounding CD. Robyn released some of these songs in early 2010 as Body Talk: Part 1. Then, later in 2010, Body Talk: Part 2 came out. You can get Body Talk: Part 3 as an expensive import. Now, this final version, Body Talk, emerges with the strongest songs from the previous CDs. But, some songs were left off so if you’re a completist (which I am), you’ll have to go back and buy Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 (if you can find it). I think Body Talk was one of the best pop music CDs of 2010. Take a listen below.
TRACK LIST
1 Dancing On My Own Radio Version / Version 4:39
2 Fembot 3:34
3 Don’t F***ing Tell Me What to Do 4:11
4 Indestructible 3:40
5 Time Machine 3:36
6 Love Kills 4:28
7 Hang With Me 4:21
8 Call Your Girlfriend 3:47
9 None Of Dem 5:11
10 We Dance To The Beat 4:27
11 U Should Know Better 4:01
12 Dancehall Queen 3:38
13 Get Myself Together 3:40
14 In My Eyes 3:57
15 Stars 4-Ever 3:59

To commemorate Martin Luther King Day, I decided to read Eugene Robinson’s insightful Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America. You may have seen Eugene Robinson’s appearances on MSNBC. Robinson strikes me as an intelligent, incisive commentator. And his book reflects Robinson’s thoughtfulness when considering the issue of race. Robinson suggests Black America has been broken into four parts: the Mainstream (basically the black middle class), the Abandoned (the black poor), the Transcendents (Oprah, Jay-Z, Barack Obama, etc.), and the Emergents (basically two groups: black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean, and mixed race individuals). Robinson illustrates his points with examples of his Katrina reporting, his analysis of the movie Precious, and his interview with Barack Obama. If you want a Reality Check on race relations in the U.S., read Disintegration. GRADE: A

I’m sure most of you have seen Willow Smith’s classic video, “I Whip My Hair.” But, you may not have seen Jimmy Fallon (impersonating Neil Young) do a completely different version of the song (which I like a lot better than Willow’s). Watch a bit of the original and then watch Jimmy Fallon channel his inner Neil Young and completely transform the song. And, if you watch the Fallon video long enough, you’ll see a Special Guest! Just click below.

whip my hair bruce springsteen & jimmy fallon as neil young
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I’m not a vegan, but once I tasted Moskowitz and Romano’s Blueberry Corn Pancakes I wanted to work my way through Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. Let’s face it: food prices, especially for meats, are going through the roof. Partly a demand problem (the growing middle classes in India and China want more meat protein in their diets) and partly because of rising energy costs (it takes a lot of resources to raise cattle, pigs, and chickens), the fact remains that we’re all going to be paying more for our food. One way to deal with this is to eat more fruits and vegetables. I’m not proposing everyone turn into a vegan, I”m just suggesting that meatless meals (that taste good) can take some of the stress off of the family budget and also reduce your cholesterol. The tasty recipes in Veganomicon will help. Plus, if you reject this sound, healthy advice Cthulhu may pay you a visit.

Santa sent me a copy of this gem. Subtitled “TEXANS CELEBRATE ROBERT E. HOWARD,” CROSS PLAINS UNIVERSE presents a collection of stories that take their inspiration from the creator of Conan the Barbarian, Kull the Conqueror, and Solomon Kane. Scott A. Cupp has a wonderful tribute to REH in his story, “One Fang.” James Reasoner captures the essence of REH in “Wolves of the Mountains: An El Borak Story.” Bill Crider (with Charlotte Laughlin) bring REH back from the dead in the excerpt from “The Stone of Namirha.” “Six From Atlantis” by Gene Wolfe cleverly weaves REH themes into a brief short story. Finally, the author I consider the best fantasy writer of the 20th Century, Michael Moorcock (now transplanted to Texas), weighs in with the brilliant novelette, “The Roaming Forest.” If you’re a fan of Robert E. Howard or a reader who loves fantasy short stories, I highly recommend you seek out a copy of CROSS PLAINS UNIVERSE.

Love Letter is one of R. Kelly’s best CDs. Many of the songs sound like they were recorded in the Sixties (except the sound on this CD is fabulous). Clearly, R. Kelly is channeling his inner Marvin Gaye. If you’ve been put off by R. Kelly’s mostly disastrous forays into rap and his sometimes tasteless sexual lyrics, Love Letter eschews all that nonsense by sticking to silky smooth R&B. Take a listen below. GRADE: A
TRACK LIST
1 Love Letter Prelude 0:49
2 Love Letter 4:48
3 Number One Hit 4:24
4 Not Feelin’ the Love 3:34
5 Lost In Your Love 4:34
6 Just Can’t Get Enough 3:10
7 Taxi Cab 4:00
8 Radio Message 3:50
9 When a Woman Loves 5:10
10 Love is 3:24
11 Just Like That 3:19
12 Music Must Be a Lady 4:35
13 A Love Letter Christmas 5:44
14 How Do I Tell Her? 4:23
15 [Untitled Hidden Track] Bonus Track 4:28

Stephen Burt and David Mikics present 100 sonnets, from Thomas Wyatt (1557) to D. A. Powell (2009), and proceed to analyze the sonnets to show how they work. This isn’t some dry, academic dissection. Burt and Mikics bring a vast amount of knowledge of poetics and literary history to their insightful analysis. This is the best contemporary book I’ve read on poetry in years. If you have any interest in poetry, you’ll love this book as much as I did. GRADE: A

I can’t imagine too many writers who could get away with publishing a book like Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life. Maybe Stephen King could. Basically, My Reading Life is a memoir of the books and bookstores and people who were part of Conroy’s writing life. Many books influenced Conroy in the writing of his novels like Prince of Tides and Beach Music. Conroy extols the greatness of Leo Tolstoy to such an extent you’ll want to drop everything and read Anna Karenina or War and Peace again. The same thing happens in the chapter on Thomas Wolfe. Conroy praises the influence James Dickey’s prose and poetry had on his style. He relates fun stories about the worst librarian in the world (she doesn’t want to lend her books out). Personal, painful, episodes wrap themselves around Conroy’s books. I found this memoir very moving. GRADE: A