Post 488: a general update

I now have a zoo pass thanks to my babysitting activities. It is awesome. I can go to the zoo and hang out whenever I want. And I get free train rides! There is nothing I don't like about this. In other news, there is no other news.

Pop, When the World Falls Apart: Music in the Shadow of Doubt edited by Eric Weisbard.
I'm not exactly a big fan of music, and especially not pop music, but I love talking about it and how it fits into the American psyche and historical context. I enjoy the scholarship of something that is supposed to be light and fluffy, but ends up having a deeper meaning if you put some effort into it. I believe that as much as life abhors a vacuum, humans abhor and absence of meaning and will therefore apply meaning to things, even if they were originally meant to be meaningless (have you seen the theory where that song Friday is actually about the JFK assassination?).

Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South by Brooks Blevins.
I'm not typically into true crime stories, but I kind of liked that title. Yeah, I pretty much just like the word Ozarks.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell.
Loved The Sparrow so when this came up for review on Netgalley I was all over it. It's also gotten reasonable reviews on the blogosphere.

The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell.
I've heard good things about this author with her not too distantly published Unfamiliar Fishes (2011). Another drawing factor is that I'm listening to it on audiobook and Stephen Colbert makes an appearance. Unfortunately most of the book is narrated by the author, who has a voice that grates on my nerves. Luckily I usually only listen to audiobooks when I'm doing handiwork (i.e. am being crafty) and so there is something else to focus on other than how annoying I personally find the narrator's voice. Also, there's music by They Might Be Giants, which is pretty sweet.