Reviews and Comments

Alvin Lucier summarized lectures he gave to students at Wesleyan, specifically those related to works he was involved with or connected to. His astounding appreciation for and understanding of the nature of sound is evident in every page, explanation and anecdote. His gentle sense of humor adds to the charm. We are lucky to have this record of what is probably just the tip of the iceberg of Alvin Lucier's knowledge and mastery of soud and experimental music.

I would really love to run a reading group or workshop based on listening to and playing the (more accessible) works in this book!

Joel Gion tells great colorful stories in a very funny book about his time(s) as the tambourine player of the infamous and prolific bay area janglers The Brian Jonestown Massacre. I was very much into the band in the late 90s/early 2000s, but non-fans who enjoy tales of burgeoning music scenes, tour bus shenanigans, train wrecks and self-sabotage will also find a lot to enjoy.

I was a at best a reluctant user of FB, and my scepticism of tech had probably kicked in before the time frame of this book, but I definitely held that kind of naïve optimism about tech's power for good at some point in time - a thing that in 2025 is already proving really difficult to rationalise in hindsight.

It's not a huge surprise to learn that the big personalities in this book are all dicks, and that working culture in a Silicon Valley tech company is dysfunctional and toxic. It was also good to be reminded just how implicated FB is in genocides and shitty election outcomes. On top of the diss to tech company culture (which I am always here for), Wynn-Williams' personal story is actually pretty killer (almost literally a couple of times) on its own!

As a basketball fan and someone who holds some fondness for Ohio, I was interested to read this book, The parallels Abdurraqib makes between the extended LeBron era of basketball in Ohio and his own life are really pretty beautiful and amazingly well put together. I really don't believe I picked up on half of what he was putting down and I still enjoyed the read.

I found the first half easy, drawn in by Patti Smith's recounting of a cherished daily routine, but the second half was more difficult as she attempted to break our of a malaise, wonder about loss and evoke the kinds of feelings that words will often fail to provoke. Sometimes it made me angry that she tried, but in the end we are witnessing a person figure out some big universals in the only ways they know how and it was certainly interesting to observe, and made me more conscious of the ways I move through my own world.

I found the first half easy, drawn in by Patti Smith's recounting of a cherished daily routine, but the second half was more difficult as she attempted to break our of a malaise, wonder about loss and evoke the kinds of feelings that words will often fail to provoke. Sometimes it made me angry that she tried, but in the end we are witnessing a person figure out some big universals in the only ways they know how and it was certainly interesting to observe, and made me more conscious of the ways I move through my own world.

The first few chapters I thought the writing style was pretty contrived...but it ends up really working the more you get to know Maria. Other than that, wow, it's amazing, it's great. I will probably read it again.

Paradise Estate picks up a few years down the road (and on the other side of the peak COVID pandemic years) from where The Magpie Wing left off, following Helen as she endures some major life events in addition to the shitshow that is renting and sharing an anywhere-near-affordable house in a major Australian city.

So many of the characters are looking for genuine connection with each other, if they could only get past their own vices, preoccupations, insecure and unsatisfying work, and inhospitable living conditions.

All the Paradise Estate housemates share a common dissatisfaction with the world at large and have a real desire to make change, which is tempered by their own personal histories of injury and loss, vanity (in Nathan's case), and the jadedness and exhaustion that comes with precarious living and working well into their 30s and beyond.

I've spent most of my adult years in the kind of world these characters inhabit, so to say I found the book relatable is an understatement. I share Rugby League playing laborer/anarchist Rocco's frustration with the typical Australian arms-length friendship and aversion to direct action. I probably also share(d) his idealism of restlessly moving and looking for the ideal place to be and community to be in, (which of course will never work out if you don't stick around and learn to accept where you are and the people around you).

Like The Magpie Wing, you'll get a little extra juice out of knowing the places, names and bus routes in this book, but the universality of getting older and feeling you're not fucking getting anywhere is the real story, which Paradise Estate evokes so well.

Here's hoping the twos aren't so terrible? From what I know of Lansbury's methods, we may not go all the way down this path, but there seems to be a fair chunk of it that makes good sense for both child and parent.