Thoughtworm Number 10

Book Reviews

Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation by Joseph T. Hallinan

The current state of this nation's prison industrial complex is a frightening one. Acquiring a prison has become the latest economic boon for communities suffering from lack of employment opportunities and business for existing commercial enterprises. Much of this prison growth can be attributed to the number of nonviolent drug-related offenders who are increasingly ending up shut away in prison for a very long time. Joseph Hallinan, who's written about prisons for many years, traveled around the country and visited many of the most notorious prisons, and many lesser-known ones. During his travels, he interviewed inmates, wardens, guards, and members of the communities that are increasingly grateful for the chance to have a prison built nearby. Hallinan's book provides a comprehensive look at prisons and the prison industrial complex in the U.S. today, and it's an eye opening one that I believe many Americans might find surprising. Highly recommended.

Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe

Wow, this was some book to read! I listened to my first heavy metal albums during 8th grade, which ended up being an early musical milestone of utmost importance. My flirtation with metal continued on from there, and continues to this day, helping to fuel my excitement over reading this book. Filled with pictures (some color) and packed with chapters based on interviews with members of hundreds of metal bands over the years, Sound of the Beast delivers a thorough and definitive history of this fascinating genre of music. Ian Christe covers it all, from the early beginnings of Black Sabbath to the amazing career of Metallica, stopping along the way to chronicle the subgenres that have splintered off through the years, including thrash, speed, doom, black, glam, death, and power metal. I particularly enjoyed hearing the full story on the Norwegian black metal scene, as well as reading the histories of bands like Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Anthrax. Christe’s enthusiasm for metal as a true fan shines through, and gives the book a life of its own. Believe me, if you have any interest in heavy metal and its place in musical culture, you must read this book!

That Old Ace in the Hole by E. Annie Proulx

When I got out of graduate school, I found I had developed a newfound taste for nonfiction. So, this book ended up being the first novel I had picked up in quite a while. I've enjoyed Proulx's writing over the years, and was excited to hear that she had a new novel out. The book also attracted me because most of it is set in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. Since I was new to Texas, and those places are fairly close by, I thought I'd enjoy what seemed to be a fairly authentic portrayal of life around those parts. Well, I wasn't disappointed. Proulx's protagonist in this novel is Bob Dollar, an intrepid scout for a corporate hog farm operation. Although Bob remains persistent in his scouting for a new farm location in the panhandle, his heart still doesn't seem quite in his work. Along the way, he develops close relationships with many of the folks who live in the particular area that he's working. Full of Proulx's trademark slow meandering character and plot development, That Old Ace in the Hole delivers a solid read, with enough intrigue to keep you turning the pages.

The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis

Gig: Americans Talk About their Jobs edited by John Bowe, Marisa Bowe, and Sabin Streeter

Sex and Single Girls: Straight and Queer Women on Sexuality edited by Lee Damsky

Black Eyes s/t

Blood Brothers Burn, Piano Island, Burn

Chicks on Speed The Re-releases of the Unreleases

Elliott Smith s/t

Folk Implosion One Part Lullaby

New Order Get Ready

Rex C

Zine Reviews

I haven’t been reading as many zines as usual because of the books that have been taking up my time. However, the ones I have read have all been good, so here you go:

Baptism River Chris kept an eight-day journal during his travels along the Superior Hiking Trail in his current home state of Minnesota. At some points, I felt like I was right there behind Chris as he navigated a particularly steep stretch of trail, or next to him as he gazed out the window of his cabin at the latest visitors to the bird feeder out back. [5.5” x 8.5”, no price ($1-2?), C. Dodge, 2712 Pillsbury, #105, Minneapolis, MN 55408, curvyedge@yahoo.com] 

Brainscan #19 Inside the screen-printed cardstock cover of this zine, the typewritten pages mostly document Alex’s thoughts, impressions, and experiences related to being a part of last summer’s Zine Symposium in Portland. I liked this zine because it struck a good balance between being informative and personal. [5” x 6 ¾”, $2 + 2 stamps from: Microcosm, PO Box 14332, Portland, OR 97293, brainscanzine@ureach.com, www.microcosmpublishing.com]

Chumpire (various issues) The most recent issue I’ve received is #161. That’s impressive for any zine to achieve, whether it’s a good one or not. Chumpire is a good one, though, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the issues that Greg has sent my way. In a nutshell, based on the issues I’ve read, this zine covers a couple of key topics. First is Greg’s job as a teacher, and second is his passion for punk rock, with focus on various Pennsylvania regional scenes. Offers interesting insight into and commentary on the much-maligned punk experience. [various sizes, free/1 stamp/or trade to: PO Box 27, Annville, PA 17003-0027, chumpire@hotmail.com] 

Comixville is a handy little guide to self-published comix. The latest issue (#6) includes an interview I conducted with Dave Kiersh, publisher of a variety of wonderful comix, such as Dirtbag and Unicorns. Comixville is an excellent resource for finding out about new comix, and it’s available for the low price of one first-class stamp. [5.5” x 4.25”, 1 stamp to: Comixville, PO Box 697, Portland, OR 97207-0697]

The Constant Rider #3 Zines that contain good writing, and I mean really good writing, stand out easily from the rest of the pack. This is one of them. Kate relays stories of her experiences with public transportation in a lively engaging style that reads both smoothly and easily. Bonus points for well-reproduced graphics and photos. Another winner from Portland! [5.5” X 8.5”, $1/stamps/or trade to: Kate Lopresti, PO Box 6753, Portland, OR 97228, depesto@earthlink.net] 

Dirt and Sky A thick volume of solely text, Dirt and Sky chronicles Mark’s feelings and experiences associated with his dad’s illness and eventual death. Mark’s honesty and sincerity in relating his emotions moved me in a significant way. The lucidity with which he was able to reconstruct the months surrounding his dad’s death drew me into his life, and kept me engrossed until the very end of the zine. [5.5” X 8.5”, $3 to: Mark Hain, PO Box 411, Swarthmore, PA 19081, giant_turu@hotmail.com] 

Girl~Boy/Boy~Girl #4 A continuing split zine, in which one female editor and one male editor discuss issues of sexuality and gender. This one is all about sexual “firsts.” Email first to check on the address. [5.5” x 8.5”, $3 to: Robnoxious, 2441 Lyundale Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55405, therobnoxious@hotmail.com] 

Go Metric! This is what I would call a good punk zine. It’s written by intelligent people who are more than capable of putting sentences together into a legible paragraph, its pages ring with a true passion for the subject matter that sadly is missing from many punk zines today, and it manages to stay fairly original in its ideas. [7” x 8.5”, $2 to: Go Metric!, 15A South Bedford Road, Pound Round, NY 10576 (email first if ordering after 7/1/03), also available through www.vitalmusic.net, www.insound.com, and www.quimbys.com, gogometric@yahoo.com] 

I Was a Teenage Mormon A young woman looks back on her experiences in the Mormon church as a teenager. Personal and enlightening. Offers insight into Mormonism and organized religion in general, from the viewpoint of a younger person who is questioning her faith. [4.25” x 5.25”, $3 to Caitlin, 11901 4th St. N. #810, St. Petersburg, FL 33716]

Kitty! This zine is written by a cat-lover, and it’s even named after her cat. Some of the articles are also written by the cat, including an analysis of the merits and disadvantages of both paper and plastic bags. Kitty! is a contributor-based zine, so it also features profiles of other people’s cats, as well as entertaining anecdotes. [7” X 8.5”, $1 to Kitty! Zine, PO Box 6681, Portsmouth, NH 03802, kittyzine@yahoo.com] 

Ladylike #2 Typewritten perzine with cute illustrations and cool clip-art.Essays cover quitting drinking, Christians and punk rock, dropping out of Internet society, and other topics. Also zine reviews, “cool things,” and “dumb things.” Wish it had been a little longer. [mini, $2 (plus extra for postage if mailing from outside N.Z.) to Megaphone Productions, PO Box 68939, Newton, Auckland, New Zealand]

Meniscus #10 There are quite a number of personal essays in here, and mixed in are some comix, too. What I found to be the most engrossing reading was Matt’s personal struggles with creating art, and evaluating why he creates it. This is really good writing, and readers should take away a healthy dose of insight into Matt’s personality. [5.5” X 8.5”, $3 to: Matt Fagan, 1573 N. Milwaukee Ave., PMB 464, Chicago, IL 60622, www.geocities.com/depotdevoid/meniscus/inside, hadmatter@hotmail.com] 

Razorcake #14 This arrived mysteriously in my mailbox one day, and I’m glad it did. Yet another punk zine that rises above the rest of the punk zine swill out there, Razorcake delivers quality columns from such familiar names (to some) as Ben Weasel, Ayn Imperato, and Rev. Norb. The usual punk band interviews and record reviews are here, as well as an investigative article by Joe Beil on the assassination of MLK, Jr. A good read. [8.5” x 11”, $3 to Razorcake, PO Box 42129, Los Angeles, CA 90042, www.razorcake.com]

Semibold #8 This is Kathy’s New York City tribute issue, laid out in a kind of scrapbook format, complete with nicely photocopied graphics and photos to augment the text. Another very well-written zine that does a good job of conveying Kathy’s feelings about and experiences in New York. [7” x 8.5”, $2 to Kathy Moseley, 1573 N. Milwaukee Ave., #403, Chicago, IL 60622, semibold@aol.com]

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