Lifestyle/Art

Published on October 3rd, 2021 | by Darren Paltrowitz

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25 Great Books Worth Adding To Your Fall 2021 Reading List

Few hobbies are more pandemic-proof or recession-proof than reading. Whether you prefer hardcovers or e-books, you can read just about anywhere. Many of us are still home-based, and below are 25 recommendations — all available for ordering online through Amazon and other top book-related retailers — for those seeking some new titles for their Fall 2021 reading lists.

FANS: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier & More Understanding by Larry Olmsted

FANS makes the case that the more you identify with a sports team, the better your social, psychological, and physical health, the more meaningful your relationships, and the better connected and happier you are. Using brand new research and exclusive interviews with fans and experts around the world, author Larry Olmsted presents a game-changing look into why being a fan is good for us both as individuals and as a society.

Olmsted, a columnist for USA Today and Forbes who has written for dozens of national publications — and is the author of bestseller REAL FOOD / FAKE FOOD — explores the many ways sports fans have the power to change the world. The book shows how sports act as a cultural currency, a global language, and a source of healing, and it displays recent groundbreaking studies into the effects of sports fandom. A recommended read for the millions of people who love sports or anyone who loves someone who loves sports.

Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation Gor Power Pop edited by Paul Myers & S.W. Lauden

Power Pop is a sometimes-adored, sometimes-maligned, and often-misunderstood genre of music. From its supposed heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, to its resurgence in the 1990s and 2000s, Power Pop has meant many things to many people. Within the pages of Go All The Way, top-tier writers and acclaimed writers go deep on what certain Power Pop bands and songs mean and have meant to them. This means Jeff Rougvie talking about Cheap Trick, Heather Havrilesky going long-form on Blondie, former MTV VJ Dave Holmes discussing Tommy Keene, Ozma’s Daniel Brummel explaining his appreciation for Weezer, and Kate Sullivan writing in-depth about Jeff Lynne ELO, as a few examples.

This collection was curated by Paul Myers (who contributed a chapter about Sloan) and S.W. Lauden (who contributed a chapter about Fountains Of Wayne. Myers’ previous books include the critically-acclaimed A Wizard A True Star: Todd Rundgren In The Studio, Barenaked Ladies: Public Stunts, Private Stories and The Kids In The Hall: One Dumb Guy. Lauden is the author of the Greg Salem punk rock P.I. series and Tommy & Shayna; “S.W. Lauden” is the pen name of Steve Coulter, drummer for Tsar and The Brothers Steve. Given the prior works of both Myers and Lauden, as paired with the excellent contributors involved with this book, you know to expect a spectacular read. And once you are done with it, it is time to check out Go Further: More Literary Appreciations Of Power Pop.

Keto BBQ By Faith Gorsky and Lara Clevenger

It can be hard enough to stick to a keto diet, but when barbecue and/or summer picnic season rolls around those trying to stay low-carb, low-sugar have a tough time navigating the selection of pasta and potato salads. These same person may not even realize how much hidden sugar is lurking in those sauces, rubs, marinades and condiments presented.

That is where Keto BBQ — as written by registered dietician nutritionist Lara Clevenger and Faith Gorsky — comes into play. This new book features 150 mouthwatering low-carb recipes for all those summer favorites including bun-less burgers, grilled salmon, no-sugar BBQ sauce, cauliflower “potato” salad and jalapeno Cheddar “cornbread.” The recipes focus on low-carb ingredients, healthy fats and a variety of vegetables, aiming to leave eaters feeling full and satisfied.

NASA Space Shuttle: 40th Anniversary by Piers Bizony

April 12, 2021 marked the 40th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch and the release of the new book NASA Space Shuttle: 40th Anniversary. The book traces the shuttle’s development, the missions, astronauts, ground personnel and infrastructure, and the amazing accomplishments the program’s spacecraft: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. Essays by former NASA chief historian Roger Launius are accompanied by a collection of incredible Shuttle photography and imagery mined from the depths of NASA’s archives by aerospace historian Piers Bizony, all of which presented in large-format color.

From the very first launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to mission control in Houston, Texas, to the landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, all aspects of Shuttle operation are covered within this book, including key roles in efforts such as the Hubble Telescope and International Space Station, as well as the tragedies of Challenger and Columbia disasters. Every carefully chosen image in NASA Space Shuttle: 40th Anniversary tells an aspect of the Shuttle story, and the resulting book is not only a unique view of a key chapter of NASA history, but also a a compelling and unprecedented look at NASA’s missions, equipment and astronauts.

What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract For A Better Society by Minouche Shafik

Whether we realize it or not, all of us participate in the social contract every day through mutual obligations among our family, community, place of work, and fellow citizens. Caring for others, paying taxes, and benefiting from public services define the social contract that supports and binds us together as a society. Today, however, our social contract has been broken by changing gender roles, technology, new models of work, aging, and the perils of climate change.

In this book, author Minouche Shafik takes us through stages of life many of us experience, including raising children, getting educated, falling ill, working, growing old. Subsequently, it shows how a reordering of our societies is possible. Drawing on evidence and examples from around the world, Shafik shows how every country can provide citizens with the basics to have a decent life and be able to contribute to society. What We Owe Each Other identifies the key elements of a better social contract that recognizes our interdependencies, supports and invests more in each other, and expects more of individuals in return.

Permanent Damage: Memoirs Of An Outrageous Girl by Mercy Fontenot & Lyndsey Parker

Mercy Fontenot was a Zelig who grew up in the San Francisco Haight Ashbury scene, where she crossed paths with Charles Manson, went to the first Acid Test, and was friends with Jimi Hendrix; Fontenot she was later in Hendrix’s movie Rainbow Bridge. She predicted the Altamont disaster when reading The Rolling Stones’ tarot cards at a party and left San Francisco for the climes of Los Angeles in 1967 when the Haight “lost its magic.” Miss Mercy’s work in the GTOs — the Frank Zappa-produced all-female band — launched her into the pages of Rolling Stone in 1969. Her adventures saw her jumping out of a cake at Alice Cooper’s first record release party, while high on PCP, and had her travel to Memphis where she met Al Green and got a job working for the Bar-Kays. Along the way, she married and then divorced Shuggie Otis, before transitioning to punk rock and working with the Rockats and Gears. This is her story as she lived and saw it.

Written just prior to Mercy Fontenot’s death in 2020, Permanent Damage shows us the world of the 1960s and 1970s music scene through Fontenot’s eyes. It also covers the fallout of that era, in which she experienced homelessness before sobering up and putting her life back together. In turn, Fontenot’s journey — as brilliantly put together by acclaimed journalist Lyndsey Parker — is a “can’t miss” for anyone who was there and can’t remember, or just wishes they had been there.

The World Of Bob Dylan by Sean Latham

Is there any writer or performer more haunting — and more haunted — than Bob Dylan? We recognize his songs, his vision, his inventiveness, hispoetry, and especially his distinctive voice nearly everywhere: in music and film, popular culture and politics, global protest movements and intimate moments of self-reflection. As Dylan turns 80, it is a shock to realize that, for most us, Dylan has always been there, singing, touring, laughing, snarling, and sometimes even hawking whiskey and underwear. So, like the members of the Nobel committee that awarded him the world’s most important cultural prize, we know he is a vastly influential artist.

But which Dylan is it? The folk-singing activist who shared the stage with Dr. Martin Luther King at the March on Washington? The rocker in Ray Bans and a leather jacket who faced down hostile crowds by ordering his band to “play it ****ing loud?” Is it the country boy who went to Nashville and befriended Johnny Cash? Or the Beat-inspired hipster who took to the road with a ramshackle medicine show? The Christian convert? The brilliant curator of folk and blues? The Sinatra-inspired crooner? Or the weary old man who’s “standin’ in the doorway cryin’”? This book takes a great look into all of that.

The DIRTY, LAZY, KETO 5-Ingredient Cookbook by Stephanie Laska & William Laska

All 100 recipes featured in The DIRTY, LAZY, KETO 5-Ingredient Cookbook have 5 or fewer ingredients and come in at 10g net carbs or less per serving. With recipes covering every meal of the day plus snacks and drinks — all made with inexpensive ingredients from chain grocery stores with an average person’s tastes in mind — this book really does make keto accessible in a way it never has been before. Pair this with author Stephanie Laska’s no-nonsense, down-to-earth advice and mindset that we should stop overthinking keto, and you have an excellent keto cookbook completely-accessible to everyone, whether they are keto or just thinking about cutting back on carbs every now and then.

And of course Stephanie Laska walks the talk, having lost 140 lbs. — half her body weight — eating her signature “DIRTY, LAZY, KETO” way, and she has kept that weight off off. Without being perfect, and without expecting her readers to be perfect either. She is a keto coach who understands what it is like to diet and fail many times over, to deal with pressure both from within and from well-meaning but perhaps less-than-helpful friends, and to try to do it all with limited time and resources. The almost 250,000 members of her DIRTY, LAZY, KETO Facebook support group will attest that both Stephanie and her methods are fun and they work.

Son Of A Milkman: My Crazy Life With Tesla by Brian Wheat

Far from your typical rock star, as bassist for the multi-platinum band Tesla, Brian What has enjoyed the spoils of success and lived the “sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll” lifestyle to the hilt. But it came at a cost, one that took years to repair. And within his memoir, Wheat lifts the lid on struggling with anxiety, depression and other issues seldom discussed by musicians. Featuring a foreword by Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and an afterword by renowned rock photographer Ross Halfin, Son Of A Milkman ought to entertain, surprise, and inspire longtime fans of Tesla.

Now Comes Good Sailing by Andrew Blauner

Andrew Blauner is a literary agent and the editor of 7 previous anthologies, including Coach: 25 Writers Reflect On People Who Made A Difference, The Peanuts Papers: Writers & Cartoonists On Charlie Brown, Snoopy & The Gang & The Meaning Of Life, and In Their Lives: Great Writers On Great Beatles Songs. Now Comes Good Sailing: Writers Reflect On Henry David Thoreau was edited by Blauner and features 26 essays from top-tier writers, including like Lauren Groff, Adam Gopnik and Rafia Zakaria. Gopnik, for example, traces Thoreau’s influence on the New Yorker editor E. B. White and his book Charlotte’s Web. Altogether, these original pieces explore how Thoreau matters more than ever in an age of climate, racial, and technological reckoning.

Forces Of Nature Women Who Changed Science by Anna Reser & Leila McNeill

From the ancient world to the present, women have been critical to the progress of science, yet their importance is overlooked, as many stories have lost, distorted, or actively-suppressed. Forces Of Nature aims to set the record straight and charts the fascinating history of women’s discoveries in science. In this thoroughly-researched, authoritative work, you ought to discover how women have navigated a male-dominated scientific culture. Included in the book are the stories of Hypatia of Alexandria (one of the earliest recorded female mathematicians), Maria Cunitz (who corrected errors in Kepler’s work), Emmy Noether (who discovered fundamental laws of physics),
Vera Rubin (one of the most influential astronomers of the 20th century), and Jocelyn Bell Burnell (who helped discover pulsars).

Ripped Apart by David Black

In Ripped Apart: Living Misdiagnosed, by critically-acclaimed author David Black tells the story — Gary and Carol Stern’s story — of the one of the largest individual medical malpractice awards in America. It describes in detail what it is like to suffer due to doctors’ mistakes and their refusal to admit they made erred. The gritty, sometimes gruesome, detail is important because the reality of what Gary and Carol Stern went through reflects what many people experience but are afraid to discuss. It also describes, despite their medical misery and dramatic, landmark legal case, the love story Gary and Carol Stern shared. It is ultimately a story about love overcoming the horror the Sterns endured, and Carol Stern and David Black are now telling this story, hoping that their message resonates with others who have been in similar situations.

Hard Seltzer Cocktail Book by Casie Vogel

Reportedly the first of its kind, The Hard Seltzer Cocktail Book ought to become your go-to resource for transforming your favorite alcoholic seltzers into deliciously fun cocktails. Whether you are a fan of Truly, White Claw, Vizzy or Bud Light Seltzer, there is something for everyone in this collection, thanks to these easy-to-make recipes. This includes Fizzy Fuzzy Navels, Truly LIIT (Long Island Iced Tea), Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot, and Lost In The Jungle Juice. Ultimately, the recipes found in The Hard Seltzer Cocktail Book are organized into 4 different chapters: Boozy Brunch, Summer Slushies, Classy Classics, and Pregame & Party. Most of the recipes call for 1 12-ounce can of hard seltzer and serve 2.

Phoenix Cooks by Christina Barrueta

Award-winning food writer Christina Barrueta has recently released a cookbook, Phoenix Cooks, which features 98 recipes from Phoenix, Arizona’s best culinary stars. Restaurants featured in the book include The Canal Club, CRUjiente Tacos, LON’s at The Hermosa, Roka Akor, and Super Chunk Sweets & Treats. Recipes include Yellow Gazpacho With Dungeness Crab, Oscar-Style Tomahawk Steak, Mascarpone Cheesecake With Rosemary-Caramel Sauce, and The Grape Escape. No matter your skill level, you will want to recreate these popular dishes from the Valley Of The Sun. Now available via Amazon.

A Kids Company About series

A Kids Company About is basically a content provider and publisher that tackles difficult issues like racism and disabilities. Co-founder and CEO Jelani Memory turned a single book into a multimedia series spotlighting kids-oriented content that aims to be honest while not shying away from the most difficult aspects of each topic. Recently the company launched 4 new podcast shows and a new educational streaming platform.

Harry & Me! by David Roberts & Neil Watson

Harry Nilsson was reportedly The Beatles’ favorite recording artist yet terrified of performing live. Consequently, only a tiny minority of the hundreds of fans and musicians who contributed memories to this collection of stories ever saw him play in front of any kind of audience. But it is the songs (“there’s nothing like them” according to Jimmy Webb) and his vocal style (“the supreme singer of any generation” says producer Richard Perry) that keep the love of Harry Nilsson lingering so long after his death at just 52 years of age in 1994.

Harry & Me started life as anecdotes, tales, stories and adventures related by fans, friends and musicians. But mid-way through the process of gathering the hundreds of interviews and quotes, author and Nilsson fan Neil Watson discovered more than 3 hours of never-before read interview recordings Harry had made back in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Illustrated with rare and personal photos and memorabilia from the fans, Harry & Me is a beautifully-designed treasure trove of the memories of a unique character who left an unforgettable legacy of some of the most life-affecting songs ever recorded. The publication of this book of memories coincides with the 50th anniversary of the release of album Nilsson Schmilsson and the smash-hit single “Without You.”

The Complete List Of Jericho by Chris Jericho

The Complete List Of Jericho is a one-of-a-kind pro wrestling book, compiled in a way that has never been done before and probably will never be done again. Throughout his illustrious 30-year career, Chris Jericho has documented every one of his 2,700+ matches from around the world in a handwritten journal. That artifact provides the backbone of this unique book, which also includes dozens of never-before-seen photos from Chris’s personal collection, infographics, and a collection of Top 10 lists compiled by some of the biggest names in pro wrestling history and Jericho himself. This includes his best and worst matches, his favorite tag partners, and his favorite ring music.

This book — also known to some as “Jericho 30” — was co-written by Jericho with Peter Thomas Fornatale and Alex Marvez. Fornatale, who has co-written other books with Jericho, is the host of the award-winning In The Money Players’ Podcast, co-founder of In the Money Media Network, a contributor to AtTheRaces.com, and U.S. Analyst for Sky Sports Racing. In other words, if Fornatale has contributed to a book, I read it.

Immortal Axes: Guitars That Rock by Lisa S. Johnson

Lisa S. Johnson’s debut book as an author was 108 Rock Star Guitars. A critically-acclaimed collection of beautifully-shot guitar photos, 108 Rock Star Guitars featured the legendary instruments of more than 150 rock icons, including B.B. King, Kurt Cobain, St. Vincent, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.

Immortal Axes is Johnson’s latest book and it raises the bar even further. Each intimate photograph by Johnson is accompanied by a touch of musical history, an anecdote and/or personal storytelling moment. In turn, this visually-stunning book is a must-have for guitar lovers alike.

Choose Happy by Sarah Gregg

Happiness can seem elusive despite its seeming ubiquity out in the world, especially on social media. Subtitled “Easy Strategies To Find Your Bliss,” Choose Happy — as penned by certified Neuro-linguistic Programming Practitioner and member of the British Psychological Society Sarah Gregg — uses the practices of positive psychology to gently guide you through your past, present and future to improve your well-being for a life full of joy, contentedness and hope. By addressing the common roadblocks to happiness, you too can develop sustainable happiness. A smart investment in your long-term health, to say the least.

Plant Food Is Medicine by Nastasha McKeon

Nastasha McKeon — author and founder of Choice Superfood Bar and Juicery — has always had a passion for making plant-based foods that are not only delicious, but are also incredibly-nutritious. The recipes in her new book Plant Food Is Medicine include some of the most popular items on the Choice Juicery menu, as well as some of McKeon’s personal favorites. Furthermore, McKeon discusses the impact food has on our bodies, our well-being and our planet within the book’s pages. With a strong emphasis on superfoods, this cookbook contains over 100 plant-based, gluten-free recipes that are sure to tantalize the taste buds and redefine the meaning of “food is medicine.”

Peace, Love, & Pasta by Scott Conant

Scott Conant is 2-time James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, Food Network personality and cookbook author. Peace, Love, & Pasta: Simple & Elegant Recipes From A Chef’s Home Kitchen is his 4th cookbook, and it has already reached the #1 Hardcover and #4 Kindle spots on Amazon’s charts. Peace, Love, & Pasta is arguably Conant’s most personal and accessible cookbook to date, delving into the evolution of how his cooking has changed throughout his career, and how he has established the strongest connection he has ever had to his food as a result of his deep relationship with his family.

Previously living a life continuously on the road, during the pandemic Conant embraced the unprecedented opportunity to be at home and cook with — and for — his family every day. This change actually affected the direction of Peace, Love, & Pasta, which is a celebration of the art of cooking for love. The book showcases the foods the chef grew up with and those he makes for his loved ones today, offering restaurant-quality meals that emphasize the beauty of simple, fresh and flavorful Italian dishes. It also includes authentic Turkish recipes as an homage to his wife Mel’s heritage and the meals that are a staple in their home. Peace, Love, & Pasta altogether includes recipes for breakfast, soups, sides, salads, antipasti and sweets.

Rock Concert by Marc Myers

Music historian and critically-acclaimed author Marc Myers is the author behind Rock Concert: An Oral History As Told by the Artists, Backstage Insiders & Fans Who Were There. The book provides a fascinating, intimate look at rock ‘n’ roll’s evolution through the lens of live performances, beginning with the blossoming of R&B concert circuits in the 1950s, through the hippie gatherings of the ’60s, to the growing arena tours of the ’70s and ’80s.

Elvis Presley’s superstardom, the British Invasion that brought The Beatles in the ’60s, The Grateful Dead’s free-flowing psychedelic jams, and Pink Floyd’s operatic, live production of The Wall are just a few of the defining musical acts that drive this rich, 35-year narrative. In an appendix, Myers includes lists of the 50 best live albums, concert films, and rock documentaries, each broken out by decade for readers interested in taking a deeper dive into the milestone performances across the era covered in the book.

Fender 75 Years by Dave Hunter

Ubiquitous in the music world, Fender guitars and amplifiers are also icons in popular culture, their shapes and sounds instantly recognizable. Authoritatively-written and lavishly-illustrated, Fender 75 Years is the officially-licensed anniversary celebration of the company and its legendary instruments. Readers will get in-depth scoops on the relationships dozens of players have enjoyed with Fender, including Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. In addition, author Dave Hunter explores the work of the award-winning Fender Custom Shop and the wares produced there. Fender 75 Years is the definitive look at the Fender’s first three-quarters of a century, and a must-have for any guitar enthusiast.

Life & Other Shortcomings by Corie Adjmi

Life & Other Shortcomings, as penned by award-winning author and women’s empowerment activist Corie Adjmi, was recently selected as the Jewish Book Council’s August Book Club pick in the fiction category. This follows the book taking the gold in the 2021 Independent Book Publishers Association’s Ben Franklin Award in Cover Design in the “small format, fiction” category and also being a 2021 International Books Award Winner in the “Fiction: Short Story” category.

Awards aside, this book illustrates the stories of 12 women, all on a different path in life, with one common overarching theme: the beauty, honesty and compelling nature of the female experience and what it means to be a woman. Through each character’s intimate journey, specific truths are revealed about what it means to be a woman — in a relationship with another person, in a particular culture and era –and how these conditions ultimately affect her relationship with herself. The stories as a whole depict patriarchy, showing what still might be, but certainly what was, for some women in this country before the #MeToo movement.

Song For Jimi: The Story Of Guitar Legend Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Just ahead of what would have been his 79th birthday, award-winning creators Charles R. Smith Jr. and Edel Rodriguez have come together to create an electrifying biography of one of the world’s most legendary musicians, Jimi Hendrix. Aimed at readers 7–11, but perfect for music lovers of any age, each of this book’s 56 pages is packed with pulsing text and spectacular artwork. From Hendrix’s turbulent childhood through his epical appearance at the Monterey and Woodstock festivals, Coretta Scott King Honoree Charles R. Smith Jr. covers it all in this rich and rhythmic account of a singular life.

Written as a series of verses beginning with intro and ending with outro, this unique mix of rhythm and rhyme captures the essence of the rock icon and his struggle to live life on his own terms. Accompanied by the psychedelic splendor of former TIME art director Edel Rodriguez’s acid-tinged artwork, each page is a feast for the ears and eyes. A poster on the reverse of the book’s jacket adds extra value for Hendrix-heads.

52 Ways To Fold Your Pocket Square by Trendhim

Last but definitely not least… Trendhim is a men’s accessories brand based in Denmark. It produces a wide array of really cool items for men, from beard care to pocket squares to rings. The common thread of the brand, as started up in 2007, is that its items are fashionable, affordable, and quality-oriented. Recently through Trendhim, I recently acquired a Casio Silver-Tone Databank Watch. This stainles men’s Casio watch does just about everything for you. Its built-in calculator is conveniently-located right under the time screen. Other features include a stopwatch, an alarm clock, multiple time zones, and a calendar. Its battery ought to last up to 3 years. Finally, its band is lockable at multiple lengths, aiming to provide you with the perfect fit.

Surprisingly, Trendhim recently published a book titled 52 Ways To Fold Your Pocket Square. This is a 77-page hardcover book which includes a step-by-step guide on 52 different pocket square folds. You can expect full-page images and easy-to-follow diagrams, with bonus space left for note-taking. Currently shipping same-day, with free shipping being available for brand orders over $75.00.

Tags: Bob Dylan, Chris Jericho, Fender, Harry Nilsson, Jimi Hendrix, Phoenix, Tesla, Trendhim

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."

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