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Way Down in Louisiana: Clifton Chenier, Cajun, Zydeco, and Swamp Pop Music
South Louisiana stew with a side of accordion
Reviewed by Jay Trachtenberg, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Fortunate Son
Ex-Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman rocks joy and rolls vengeance
Reviewed by Michael Toland, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Petty: The Biography
Gator comes clean
Reviewed by Scott Jordan, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
M Train
Poet leaves time and space
Reviewed by Jessi Cape, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Reckless: My Life as a Pretender
Pretenders frontwoman gets as far as album No. 2
Reviewed by Tim Stegall, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl
Dysfunction made me a riot grrrl
Reviewed by Neph Basedow, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Dark Days: A Memoir
Lamb of God frontman details his 31 days in a Czech prison
Reviewed by Richard Whittaker, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Over the Top and Back: The Autobiography
It's not unusual that Tom Jones doesn't kiss and tell
Reviewed by Greg Beets, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Los Lobos: Dream in Blue
Four decades of that little ol' band from East L.A. in 162 pages
Reviewed by Jay Trachtenberg, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed
Thirty-six rap songs, one for each year of hip-hop's life
Reviewed by Thomas Fawcett, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Chapter and Verse: New Order, Joy Division and Me
Where's Hooky?
Reviewed by Richard Whittaker, Music, Dec. 10, 2015
Kissing in America
Rabb's second YA novel features more than one love story, and they're all worth telling
Reviewed by Kimberley Jones, Arts, Dec. 10, 2015
Hill Country Property
Passion, compromise, and human frailty figure large in this touching and funny Texas novel
Reviewed by Joe O'Connell, Arts, Dec. 10, 2015
Bats of the Republic
An arcane tapestry of alternate cowboy history and steampunk sci-fi in a multitextured graphic package
Reviewed by Wayne Alan Brenner, Arts, Dec. 10, 2015
Gwendolyn's Sword
A well-researched and swiftly paced historical novel for grown-up girls who dreamed of being knights
Reviewed by Rosalind Faires, Arts, Dec. 10, 2015
Rules for Werewolves
This tale of runaways prowling suburbia in a pack recalls the eerie unreality of The Twilight Zone
Reviewed by Robert Faires, Arts, Dec. 10, 2015
The Wind in the Reeds
Treme actor Wendell Pierce finds Godot and gratitude in post-Katrina New Orleans
Reviewed by Robert Faires, Arts, Nov. 25, 2015
Sarah Vowell's Lafayette in the Somewhat United States
Everyone give it up for America's favorite fighting Frenchman
Reviewed by Rosalind Faires, Arts, Oct. 29, 2015
The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic
Pitchfork Senior Editor compiles
Reviewed by Neph Basedow, Music, Oct. 15, 2015
Comin' Right At Ya
Asleep at the Wheel bandleader Ray Benson describes his long, strange, Western Swing trip
Reviewed by Doug Freeman, Music, Oct. 15, 2015
Going Into the City: Portrait of a Critic As a Young Man
One of the deans of music criticism details his backstory
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Music, Oct. 15, 2015
Don't Suck, Don't Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt
A love song from one Georgian to another
Reviewed by Neph Basedow, Music, Oct. 15, 2015
Little Melba & Her Big Trombone
Little known female jazz trombone player gets her due – with children
Reviewed by Raoul Hernandez, Music, Oct. 15, 2015
Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink
Elvis Costello by Elvis Costello in 688 pages
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Music, Oct. 15, 2015
The Heart Goes Last
Margaret Atwood creates a grim dystopian landscape and a luckless couple to stumble across it
Reviewed by Rosalind Faires, Arts, Oct. 15, 2015
A House of My Own: Stories From My Life
In this collection of essays, letters, lectures, and more, Sandra Cisneros opens wide the doors to the house of her life
Reviewed by Melanie Haupt, Arts, Oct. 15, 2015
The O. Henry Prize Stories 2015: The Best Stories of the Year
Editor Laura Furman has pulled together 20 stories spanning cultures and time and rich in emotion
Reviewed by Jessi Cape, Arts, Oct. 15, 2015
All the Houses
Austin novelist Karen Olsson mines the world of Washington, D.C., in the Eighties to explores memory, loss, and desire
Reviewed by Melanie Haupt, Arts, Oct. 15, 2015
The Double Life of Liliane
This odd, beautiful book from Lily Tuck is part memoir, part novel, part poetry, part historical quilt
Reviewed by Jessi Cape, Arts, Oct. 15, 2015
1960s Austin Gangsters
The noir novelist digs into the capital city's criminal past and unearths characters who are lively, colorful, and interesting
Reviewed by Tim Stegall, Arts, Oct. 1, 2015
The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins
The Trainspotting author rips into American culture in his latest novel
Reviewed by Tim Stegall, Arts, Sep. 3, 2015
BOOKS by Kevin McNamee-Tweed
In this collection of faux book jackets, you can totally judge books by their covers
Reviewed by Seth Orion Schwaiger, Arts, Aug. 13, 2015
A Gathering of Promises
UK POV on Texas's psychedelic birth
Reviewed by Tim Stegall, Music, Jul. 23, 2015
Wildfire
Vivid imagery and a rapid pace make this debut novel about wildland firefighters fun as hell to read
Reviewed by Jessi Cape, Arts, Jul. 23, 2015
Is It Rolling, Bob?
Bob Johnston produced some of music's greatest albums
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Music, Jun. 25, 2015
Loving Day
Mat Johnson's novel Loving Day is all there in black and white
Reviewed by Wayne Alan Brenner, Arts, Jun. 18, 2015
MAD's Greatest Writers: Frank Jacobs
Five decades of smart-aleck satire from a leader of "the usual gang of idiots"
Reviewed by Raoul Hernandez, Arts, Jun. 11, 2015
At the Water's Edge
Looking for the Loch Ness Monster and finding love in World War II Scotland
Reviewed by Jessi Cape, Arts, Jun. 11, 2015
A Touch of Stardust
Gable and Lombard and the making of Gone With the Wind as seen through the eyes of an aspiring author
Reviewed by Rosalind Faires, Arts, Jun. 11, 2015
The Cult of Truland
The glittery SoCal celeb set turns dark in this mystery with a satirical edge
