360 Staff Picks
360 Staff Pick: Get Lit
In this new memoir, Mary Karr recounts her descent into alcoholism, the collapse of her marriage, and her eventual conversion to Roman Catholicism, unfolding in the harrowing manner of a suspense novel. Karr writes the book as an open letter to her son, perhaps using her breathtaking language as a way of asking forgiveness. Karr’s […]
360 Staff Pick: Logicomix
Graphic nonfiction achieves a new level of elegance in a very rarefied subject: the career of Bertrand Russell — mathematician, philosopher, and educator — and his search for the logical foundation of mathematics. Against the backdrop of two world wars, Russell tries to argue for humans to base their behavior on reason; but the cruelty […]
360 Staff Pick: Zadie Smith changes her mind
Who knew procrastination could be so fruitful? Smith (White Teeth) wrote the essays collected here while missing deadlines for her novels. Among them: her father’s experiences during the invasion of Normandy; thoughts on E.M. Forster and David Foster Wallace; and idolizing the women Katherine Hepburn played. The biggest surprise is her movie reviews — nothing’s […]
360 Staff Pick: Byrne Country
Composer Andrew Byrne spends most of his time in the U.S., but White Bone Country is about the ferocious, almost abstract deserts of his native Australia. The instrumentation of piano and percussion sounds austere, but — played by crack musicians Stephen Gosling and David Shively — the result is a delirious swoon: somehow lush and […]
360 Staff Pick: Henry Threadgill
It’s a great day for jazz: Henry Threadgill’s first major release since 2001. Saxophonist, composer, bandleader Threadgill is one of the most important and underknown figures in American music. He made his mark in the 1970s with the trio Air, arranging and improvising on Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton songs; unlike many modernists, Threadgill […]
