The crew of Planet Books looked back at what they thought were the coolest books of 2010. Not necessarily the best (as everybody does those lists. Why should we add another?) and certainly some are not the most important. Treat this as those that best stuck in the mind. And be warned, there are two Star Wars books.
Paul Kelly is Australia's most respected song writer and came into Planet Books to launch his memoir How to Make Gravy . The place quickly filled to the brim with polite and courteous people. And though there was a bit of a scabble to get books from the counter before Paul took to the little stage it was very apparant that a pleasant atmosphere was to remain throughout the evening.
But there was an electricity to this relaxed atmosphere. Paul stepped up and said hello and proceeded to read from his book. That was nice enough, but when he then sang To Her Door the sensation of being somewhere special was thick in the air. You could see the audience found it exhilerating.
Paul Kelly read some more and sang another song before answering questions that varied from if he liked hearing other people sing his songs (he does) and how he found acting in the film One Night The Moon (he enjoyed it).
He then proceeded to sign copies of his book, vinyls, photos, guitars and the like for over two solid hours until every person who was there was satisfied they had met a music legend and a contributor to the identity of Australian culture.
Paul was generous and amiable with a warm handshake. He also likes interesting beers and has a taste for good whiskey.
Thank you, Mr. Kelly, for one of Planet's grooviest nights.
Thanks Sophia & Jen for the pics.
I can't be arsed writing some lengthy tribute to To Kill a Mockingbird, although it certainly would deserve it, but you can google it and get every man and his book reading dog honouring the work faster than it takes to read this and certainly for me to write it. But there are things that intrigue me as we hit half century on one of the most influential works of the English language, let alone American literature.
Here's a book that has as often been banned or burned as it and the author has been awarded the highest honours for literature and for battling ignorance and bigotry, and all in the same country throughout its 50 year life. Perhaps no other book, except Catcher in the Rye, has shown up the insane contradictions of a religious and rational nation.
Harper Lee herself has only on few occasions involved herself in that madness (great letter she wrote to a school board on her Wikipedia entry) and in fact she has refrained from much comment at all.
Often the media refer to such people as recluses, which is an utterly shallow reaction toward people who prefer to drink with their own mates than fortune seeking journos and fame touching fans (authors like Cormac McCarthy, Thomas Pynchon or Tim Winton).
Harper Lee is no recluse but she obviously enjoys a private life. Perhaps partly due to bearing witness to what happened to her attention-seeking friend Truman Capote, but I think more because she's simply wiser than many.
Harper Lee only wrote the one novel and indeed it is also her only major work. It is considered semi-autobiographical and may explain that she has always thought of herself as more of a journalist than as a novelist, even though she can happily wear the label of novelist on just the one novel (a testament to the power of Mockingbird).
Perhaps an important reason for her reticence to be interviewed or talk about the book is that she firmly believes the book can and should talk for itself. I don't think she wants the book and herself to be inseparably intertwined in the public consciousness as how both In Cold Blood and Catcher are often perceived.
Certainly I feel that the 84 year old Harper Lee (34 when she wrote Mockingbird) does not want herself to be the subject rather than the ideas she puts forward. Indeed, this may well have contributed to the book's power 50 years on.
And that I spent more time talking about her than the book probably wouldn't impress Harper Lee at all.
Best Book Covers for May
Though I use layout design combined with the execution of the art, be it photography or illustration, as to judge the quality of the final product I still pretty much just go with what I like.
Eh, what ya gonna do?
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Star Wars Sequel Anyone?
I almost forgot that on May 21st 1980, The Empire Strikes Back was released to an anxious audience. No need to tell everyone it remains the most liked of the Star Wars movies and often referred to as an example of a sequel that improves on the original (I prefer to think it builds on the first). It was a film that introduced the cinematic cliffhanger to a new generation and was the first downbeat ending that teenagers had encountered. That satisfied but still yerning feeling in the stomach when the credits went up was a new sensation for millions. And 30 years on it remains the best space adventure film. And the hand animated snowwalker battle on Hoth sequence is still superior to almost all since (yes, I'm thinking Avatar).
It remains a kick-arse adventure. Gotta be impressed.
Here's the trailer to remind you.
Oops, wrong trailer.
Eh, what ya gonna do?
