Post by:
Jon Riedeman, Infinity Hall Box Office Manager
One of my favorite things about the end of the year is the advent the "Best of "
lists. I love pouring over them, finding the best books, music and films of the
past year. I'd like to share some of my own lists with you, starting with the
best books of the year by Infinity Hall performers.
1) COMPOSED
A Memoir By Rosanne Cash
245 pages. Viking. $26.95.
We have been
honored to host Rosanne Cash twice at Infinity Hall. On the last visit she sang
many of the songs from her new album “The List”. In her new memoir she discusses
the genesis and recording of that wonderful record. Composed is a
personal, engaging account of her life through her troubled childhood, tight
relationship with her father and turbulent marriage to Rodney Crowell. The
final chapters of the book detail her 2007 brain surgery and recovery. Matt Bjorke writing in Roughstock
says:
" ‘Composed’ is
much, much more than a chronological look into Rosanne Cash’s life. It’s like
reading entries in a journal that has no concept of time and space. Each
chapter is a vivid glimps into parts of Rosanne’s life and the look into her
psyche during her grieving periods around her father and mother’s death’s brings
up strong emotions."
2) CHINABERRY SIDEWALKS
By Rodney Crowell
Illustrated. 259 pages. Alfred A.
Knopf. $24.95.
Rodney gave a remarkable
performance at Infinity Hall last spring, interspersing readings from this book
with his songs.
The great singer-songwriter takes
the reader on a walk through his often-chaotic childhood upbringing in a
thoroughly working class neighborhood in Houston in the 1950s. It's gritty and
sometimes unsettling but gripping and ultimately uplifting.
The New York Time's Janet Maslin
writes:
“Chinaberry Sidewalks” is
focused on his parents’ marriage and his own early years. Given the turbulent
nature of this subject matter, Mr. Crowell’s tone is folksy but complicated. On
the one hand, he is full of wild tales about the Crowell family’s knock-down,
drag-out version of domestic bliss: the book opens with a drunken 1955 New
Year’s Eve party at which 5-year-old Rodney headed off real trouble by firing
his father’s rifle. On the other, his parents clearly did each other real harm
and left their son with a lasting residue of anger.
3) SWEET JUDY BLUE
EYES
My Life in
Music
By Judy
Collins
Illustrated. 354 pp. Crown
Archetype. $26.
The legendary Judy Collins has treated us to three concerts at Infinity Hall. Sold out each time.
From Kirkus reviews
:
"Collins provides a panoramic
view of a politically turbulent but creatively explosive bygone era. Along with
telling the story of her own rise to prominence in the mid-’60s New York City
folk scene, the author also places her life in its broader historical context.
Readers will get a keen sense of the tenor of the times as Collins repopulates
the Greenwich Village streets with all the vibrant characters and long-vanished
performance venues that helped make that neighborhood
famous."
4) Paper Angels
By Jimmy Wayne and Travis Thrasher
Publisher: Howard
Books
Publish Date: November 1, 2011 Hardcover, 304 pages
Jimmy Wayne played Infinity our
first year and gave a performance I'll never forget. Jimmy was an orphan himself
and lived on the street as a child. His songs conveyed the struggles and pain
that he lived through as a youth. The book tells a fictional story based on
Wayne’s childhood as a recipient of the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program,
which takes place during the holidays to give underprivileged kids a Christmas
to remember.
Travis Thrasher, writing for the
blog Reading Room:
Pick up this book and pick up
a copy for a friend or loved one as we - it's beautifully written, it reads fast
and you will enjoy the back and forth between stories. Plus while getting to
know these two families, I'm pretty sure you will see some of your self in at
least one of the characters if not more. I see a lot of myself in both Kevin
and Lynn, two completely different characters (though I am not an abused wife,
or male for that matter). But the characters are easy to relate to and that is
what I think is important. And while the lessons are numerous and have the
Christian bend to them, they are not preachy, they teach the loving side of God,
through letting God take over your worry, to forgiveness. It is all very well
put together in a beautiful story for the Christmas season.
5) Rockin' the Bronx
By Larry Kirwan
Brandon/Mount
Eagle Publications, 2010
O.K., I'm cheating by a few
months here, this book was published last year). Larry is the front man for the
band Black 47, who put on an incredible performance this past February and will
be returning next year, on March 1st. His novel Rockin' the Bronx is the
story of an Irishman whose girlfriend has moved to the Bronx and his struggle to
win her back and bring her back home.
Greg Muller, writing for the blog
Greenman Review says:
"Pour yourself a cold one; put on
a few old Horslips albums -- not the mythic ones, the edgy ones about Irishmen
sailing to America; steel yourself to endure some self-pity time with an
emigrant version of Holden Caulfield who 's had a few too many himself . . . and
you're ready to settle down to Rockin' the Bronx. The
soundtrack helps the book go down the smoother, and for sure the good beer won't
hurt."
So that's my list. I hope you find
something you enjoy here. If you want to keep going I have included some links to some more Music Books of the year below:
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