Books Revovling Around Music

Use this forum for book and reading discussion that doesn't fall into another category. Talk about books, genres, reading issues, general literature, and any other topic of particular interest to readers. If you want to start a thread about a specific book or a specific series, please do that in the section below this one.
Post Reply
chemical_infusions
Posts: 23
Joined: 06 Dec 2009, 02:31
Bookshelf Size: 0

Books Revovling Around Music

Post by chemical_infusions »

I was wondering if anyone has read any good books dealing with music. I know this may be an odd question but I can never seem to find any when I ask around people are always stumped as to what to say. Thank you if you can help!
User avatar
Fran
Posts: 28072
Joined: 10 Aug 2009, 12:46
Favorite Author: David Mitchell
Favorite Book: Anna Karenina
Currently Reading: Hide and Seek
Bookshelf Size: 1208
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-fran.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
fav_author_id: 3104

Post by Fran »

Have you read "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett?
chemical_infusions
Posts: 23
Joined: 06 Dec 2009, 02:31
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by chemical_infusions »

No but I shall check it out thank you so much!
marvelmite
Posts: 45
Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 20:55
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by marvelmite »

If your looking for fiction, Nick Hornby's High Fidelity and I believe Naked Juliet hit on music quite a bit. A good hunk of On the Road is about jazz. If you're looking for non-fiction, and are into the history of punk, you can't go wrong with Please Kill Me by Legs McNEil and Gillian McCain, American Hardcore by Steven Blush, and My So Called Punk by Matt Diehl. They go together to tell a pretty good history of punk from the late 60's (The Stooges and Velvet Underground) through today (Rancid and the Distillers). Also a great biography is Kurt Cobain by Christopher Sanford.
victorian.noire
Posts: 100
Joined: 29 Nov 2009, 22:22
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by victorian.noire »

If you are into nirvana...or the music writing process of this band, they did publish the diaries of kurt cobian (which is also the title of the book) and is a very interesting read. he was a pretty weird guy...
MoreCowbell
Posts: 152
Joined: 01 Jun 2009, 13:55
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by MoreCowbell »

Psalm at Journey's End by Erik Fosnes Hansen about the Titanic band

High Fidelity is a GREAT suggestion!
marvelmite
Posts: 45
Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 20:55
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by marvelmite »

Thank you. One of my all time favorite books and movies. I'm a huge Nick Hornby AND John Cusack fan
MoniM
Posts: 27
Joined: 09 Dec 2009, 00:13
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by MoniM »

Me too a huge fan Nick Hornby, he writes with a funny, fresh voice which skewers male and female foibles with hilarious accuracy
User avatar
guytwo
Posts: 107
Joined: 15 Feb 2010, 18:01
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by guytwo »

I have several books about music here are some I recommend.
1. Taboo Tunes: A History of Banned Bands & Censored Songs by Peter Blecha. As long as there's been songs there's been attempts to censor songs, usually by preachers or politicians. This book is a must in any music book collection.

2. This one is strange but a FUN read: Alien Rock: the RnR ET Connection by Michael C. Luckman.

3. Believe it or not the FBI spent years trying to track down the lyrics of the famous 1963 song Louie Louie as the book Louie Louie by Dave Marsh will explain - but there are several books about this FBI fiasco.
MrWright
Posts: 89
Joined: 25 Jan 2010, 16:26
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by MrWright »

If you're refering to music in fiction, one of the central characters in Ian McEwan's Amsterdam is a composer.
User avatar
Helga_
Posts: 81
Joined: 14 Nov 2013, 02:20
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 8

Post by Helga_ »

marvelmite wrote: 14 Dec 2009, 20:46 If your looking for fiction, Nick Hornby's High Fidelity and I believe Naked Juliet hit on music quite a bit. A good hunk of On the Road is about jazz. If you're looking for non-fiction, and are into the history of punk, you can't go wrong with Please Kill Me by Legs McNEil and Gillian McCain, American Hardcore by Steven Blush, and My So Called Punk by Matt Diehl. They go together to tell a pretty good history of punk from the late 60's (The Stooges and Velvet Underground) through today (Rancid and the Distillers). Also a great biography is Kurt Cobain by Christopher Sanford.
As a music buff, I appreciate this post. The movie Naked Juliet came out last year, I think.
Speaking of Nick Hornby, he's recently released a book called Dickens and Prince. Yeah, Charles Dickens and Prince R. Nelson, as you can guess. I haven't read it yet, but it's been on my tbr list.
User avatar
nerudathething
Posts: 5
Joined: 09 Feb 2023, 18:21
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by nerudathething »

Try some of these books I read about music, On Music: A Journey Through Time by Richard Taruskin, and The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross
Word Wise Wiz
Posts: 27
Joined: 04 Nov 2022, 12:43
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 22
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-word-wise-wiz.html
Latest Review: Coming Full Circle: Healing Trauma Using Psychedelics by Shannon Duncan

Post by Word Wise Wiz »

The book "The Law of Love" by Laura Esquivel is actually a multimedia novel - it is a blend of fiction and music. The music is integrated into the novel and the reader listens to specific tracks of a CD (that accompanies the novel) when signalled to do so by the text. This means that you hear what the characters are hearing at any point in the novel!
User avatar
elitejhaman
Posts: 1
Joined: 05 Mar 2023, 17:23
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by elitejhaman »

Word Wise Wiz wrote: 10 Mar 2023, 06:46 The book "The Law of Love" by Laura Esquivel is actually a multimedia novel - it is a blend of fiction and music. The music is integrated into the novel and the reader listens to specific tracks of a CD (that accompanies the novel) when signalled to do so by the text. This means that you hear what the characters are hearing at any point in the novel!
This concept seems like an innovative way to blend different art forms and create a new form of storytelling. I will definitely have to check out "The Law of Love" and experience this multimedia novel for myself. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this intriguing book.
Post Reply

Return to “General Book & Reading Discussion”