Mark Knopfler does it again… with a beautiful, thoughtful, nuanced set on Kill to Get Crimson. There’s no straight-up Money-for-Nothing-style rockers on this disc; instead, Knopfler delivers his trademark character sketches of world-weary tradesmen (prizefighters, tattoo artists, tinkers, etc.) with a spare, muted elegance. Fully half of the tracks are written in 3/4 waltz time, something most guitar heroes couldn’t pull off, but here it lends a sweetly nostalgic folk-y feeling. Knopfler’s lyrics are as pointed as ever… in particular, “Punish the Monkey” (a sardonic ditty about a corporate flunky left holding the bag for his boss) is such a wry turn of phrase that one hopes it will enter the general lexicon. Get the album now.

This has become my favorite tarot deck. The beautiful, lush images are so evocative that they practically read themselves. Choosing a tarot deck is a highly personal experience, but I would recommend the Druidcraft Tarot to anyone with an affinity for things Celtic.

An entertaining debut novel… It’s a frothy comedy of manners set in modern times, but fraught with enough lover’s misunderstandings, villanous bosses, social conflict, and assorted wildly improbable mishaps to make it feel right at home on the regency romance shelf. Collin’s character development is somewhat weak—we never find out exactly why all these different men fall in love with the rather ordinary heroine—but the lyrical language shines as the plot blooms slowly into its ultimimate denouement. I found it entertaining in a made-for-TV-movie kind of way, and in fact it would probably play well on Lifetime channel if it ever were adapted for the screen… it’s that kind of romance.

Lush Life is a really, really good crime procedural that could have been better. It’s got a lot going for it: no one does dialog better than Richard Price, and the beautifully flawed characters all ring true—Eric, the would-be actor/restaurant manager; Matty, the hard-boiled detective; Tristan, the projects kid turned triggerman—they all come together in a gritty East Side stew seasoned with Price’s wry prose. But it’s slow. Very slow… and I never found myself caring a whole lot about any of the characters, or even having a clue about their motivation. Fish swim in a New York sea, a mugging goes bad, who knows why? All in all, it was an enjoyable, thoughtful read, but I think it could have benefitted from a little more tightening up in the editing process.

Parts of the narrative are terribly cliched, but you’ll have to admit it’s a very compelling read. I couldn’t put it down. The basic themes of betrayal and redemption are beautifully filled out over a multi-generational saga. Recommended.

Bitter Sweets is a lightweight epic—that is to say, it’s a charming novel with a bit of an identity crisis. Is it fluff, or epic fiction? A multi-generational saga, or soapy fun? This, I think, is part of its charm, as is the author’s delightfully dry tone in detailing the most outrageous deceptions and coincidences. On the whole, though, the novel is about as substantial as cotton candy. This would make a good beach-bag book—a fun, but not memorable, read.

This was touted as a layman’s book, but it’s not, by any stretch—it’s jargony, poorly organized, and difficult to read. I have to say that I also found it to be offensive in the extreme, particularly the sequences regarding the highly fictionalized overweight man trying to diet. See poor slob Henry try to live on nothing but carrots, but his willpower is so weak that he wolfs down a two-pound chocolate bar! The whole scenario is so over-the-top that it makes me wonder how “true” their other case studies are.

Can’t recommend.

Run is a beautifully crafted, if slightly flawed, gem.

What makes a family? The myriad ways in which Patchett’s characters are related to one another are methodically explored… common blood, common loves, common ideals. The worlds of privilege and poverty, existing side-by-side yet virtually invisible to one another, can be drawn together by these common threads, enriching those who are linked by them.

These are lovely themes, and certainly give Patchett at lot to work with, but the story never soared for me… the lush lyricism of Bel Canto just didn’t come through here. Still, I found Run to be a pleasant, quick read, with a satisfying if slightly predictable denouement.

“Ty Cobb wanted to play, but none of us could stand the son-of-a-bitch when we were alive, so we told him to stick it!”

I first heard Augie March on NPR a couple of weeks ago, and was quite taken with their nimble, Dylan-esque lyrics (everyone keeps saying it, but really, it’s true) and dreamlike, 60s-psychadelic sound. The album is a terrific compilation of songs that stretch in many directions—some emo, some jazz, even a little country—without losing shape for the most part. (My one gripe is that the slightly punk “Just Passing Through”, while a good listen, just really doesn’t seem to fit with everything else on the disc. Perhaps that’s intentional, in which case, the joke’s on me.)

Highly recommended!