Rocking and reading

As much a fan of music as I am, I also have to give respect to the literary end of my geekdom. I was into books long before I got into the idea that music could inspire that much obsession as well.

Of course, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to to love both obsessions equally. There’ve been message board threads and magazine articles about what music goes with what novelists best, as well as a few soundtracks to both comic books and novels. Personally, I’ve never been too fond of either. Granted, I’m fond of throwing on music when I’m reading, but it’s usually never in sync with what I’m reading. I don’t listen to metal with horror, or Celtic music when I’m reading fantasy. Personally, I prefer tossing an old Sinatra LP on the turntable or something mellow and unobstrusive whenevr I’m reading.

However, the greatest melding of music and literature is (obviously) books about music. I’ve got stacks of rock star bios, books of criticism, and the like around the apartment. Occasionally, non-fiction starts to pale for me, though. That’s when I start looking for fictional books about the rock. High Fidelity is probably top of the list for me. Continuum Books‘ 33 1/3 series is amazing, as are novels like Never Mind the Pollacks and How Soon Is Never? (the latter being a particularly heartbreaking and funny novel about a guy who determines that the way to happiness is to get the Smiths to reunite).

Today, I got the Jeff Gelb-edited book Shock Rock II, which is a compendium of short horror stories that fit in rock and roll. Thus far, they’re either really good, or really bad. And even the really bad ones are entertaining in their own way.

Well, I seem to have lost where I was headed with this, other than it would have been a good thing to mention before Halloween came and went. Still… books and music mix nicely, and there a goodly amount of places where you can buy both and waste most of your paycheck, as I do most months. It’s difficult to make the decision as to which you want, too.

the Monotones – “Book of Love