Italo Calvino, The Complete Cosmicomics
Even 30 years after his death, Italo Calvino remains one Italy’s most beloved and prolific figures; this new collection or previous work features over 30 stories, most narrated by something/someone named Qfwfq. Yes, it's as weird as it sounds. Also great. (Expand the gallery for more details.) —Max Ufberg Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Even 30 years after his death, Italo Calvino remains one Italy’s most beloved and prolific figures; there’s Calvino the novelist, Calvino the essayist, Calvino the journalist, even Calvino the womanizer. But rarely is Calvino the science fiction icon celebrated; that’s a shame, because The Complete Cosmicomics is one of the strangest, most thoughtful short story collections I’ve read. Rooted in a series of stories first published in 1965, The Complete Cosmicomics features 34 stories, each loosely based around a different scientific "fact"---some of which have since been proven wrong, though I don't think that really matters much. Take "The Distance of the Moon" as an example: using the Moon’s pre-tidal acceleration proximity to Earth as a basis for his story, Calvino imagines a world where people can literally jump between planets, and a woman whose love for the Moon proves to be her undoing. But ‘woman’ and ‘people’ are relative here; Cosmicomics takes place before the dawn of humanity, with anthropomorphized mollusks, atoms, and dinosaurs all capable of hatred, jealousy, and love. The stories’ share a narrator---a boundless, omnipresent astral everyman named Qfwfq—which brings a uniformity to the Cosmicomics. It's all one strange, otherworldly read. ($13.49, Amazon) —Max Ufberg
Billy Martin, Wandering
The drummer for jazz combo Medeski, Martin, and Wood puts down his sticks and picks up the pen in his new book. The topics of the short essays vary widely---music, dancing, carpentry, film---but the writing is always emotional and engaging. Also, the book is filled with Martin's delicate pen-and-ink drawings. $55---Michael Calore Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Most know drummer Billy Martin as one-third of jazz combo Medeski, Martin, and Wood. But he's also a painter, a filmmaker, and a writer. His new book is a selection of columns originally written for a Japanese drumming magazine. The topics vary---music theory, anecdotes and stories, lists of albums, carpentry---but the writing is always engaging. It's a colorful and intensely personal journey through the mind of a multi-dimensional artist. I'm currently in the middle of it, but not for long; the chapters are short, so it's easy to tell yourself, "just one more." It's also beautifully hardbound and filled with Martin's otherworldly pen and ink drawings. Buy a copy for the musician in your life. ($55, personal website ---Michael Calore
Serial
Forget everything you know about podcasts. This new project by This American Life investigates a 1990s murder case with all the high stakes suspense and he-said-she-said plot twists that only Hollywood’s best crime dramas can usually offer—but this time, the drama is real. —Issie Lapowsky
Forget everything you know about podcasts. This new project by This American Life investigates a 1990s murder case with all the high stakes suspense and he-said-she-said plot twists that only Hollywood’s best crime dramas can usually offer---but this time, the drama is real. Serial’s protagonist, Adnan Syed, has been serving the last 15 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. It’s a crime Syed insists to this day he didn’t commit, and, in this expertly crafted series, producer Sarah Koenig attempts to uncover whether or not he’s telling the truth. Koenig dissects the evidence, interviews key witnesses, and in a show of meticulous reporting, even attempts to recreate the timing of the crime, herself. But what’s so equally compelling and complex about Serial is that Koenig still hasn’t reached a conclusion. We’re processing information and learning right along with her. And that is something no Hollywood mystery could ever pull off. (Free, SerialPodcast.org) —Issie Lapowsky
Taylor Swift, 1989 Deluxe Edition
Ditch your digital library for a minute and hit up Target for the Deluxe edition of Taylor Swift’s newest hotness, 1989. It includes three bonus tracks and three voice memos of pop’s crown princess mapping out the roughest stages of her songwriting process. Swifties (and common folk) rejoice! (Expand the gallery for more details.) —Jordan Crucchiola Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Taylor Swift albums are like investing in a really good collection of essays. (Bear with me here.) You can share bon mots and selected passages with your friends as you go along and you’ll all laugh together, but the real rewards are found in digesting the whole collection---finding and following the narrative threads from beginning to end. The whole, as they say, is greater than the sum of its parts, and when you take the extra step to hit up Target for your 1989 purchase you get even more parts to play with. The Deluxe edition includes three bonus tracks (which are some of the best material on the album) and three voice memos in which Swift maps out the roughest stages of her songwriting process. As always, Swift wrote or co-wrote every track on 1989, and much like her previous album, Red, did the bulk of her collaboration with pop geniuses Max Martin and Johan Schuster (aka Shellback). Jack Antonoff of Fun. and Bleachers (and Lena Dunham) also contributed significantly, and stay frosty at the end for T-Swift's track with Imogen Heap. This is the new soundtrack, y’all, and we’ll be dancing to these sick beats forevermore. ($13.99, Target)—Jordan Crucchiola
In Treatment
In the wake of the Sopranos, HBO introduced viewers to a new psychodrama that made Dr. Melfi look like Lucy van Pelt. Adapted from an Israeli series, In Treatment dissected the life and patients of tortured therapist Paul Weston with the acuity and insight of a trained psychoanalyst. No co-pay required. —Jason Tanz
In Treatments
In the wake of the Sopranos, HBO introduced viewers to a new psychodrama that made Dr. Melfi look like Lucy van Pelt. In Treatment dissected the life and patients of tortured therapist Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne) with the acuity and insight of a trained psychoanalyst. It also recruited top-flight talent, including actors Hope Davis and Debra Winger, and writers Jumpa Lahiri and Adam Rapp. Binge on a season and you’ll feel as gutted---and, hopefully, as enlightened---as one of Paul’s patients. No co-pay required. (Free with < a href="http://ift.tt/1tQm4Is" target="_blank">Amazon Prime membership) —Jason Tanz
Amy Poehler, Yes, Please
From why people cry on airplanes to reflections while shrooming, Yes, Please provides a glimpse into the mind of one of my favorite comedians. It's even got haikus. Plus, no one has a better author photo. No one. —Alessandra Ram Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Amy Poehler’s first book, a candid collection of anecdotes, lists, and essays, was worth the wait. Yes, it comes on the heels of fellow SNL alum Tina Fey’s Bossypants, Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl, but Yes, Please is refreshingly not self-deprecating. From crying on airplanes to kindergarden progress reports to her thoughts while shrooming, Yes, Please is like looking into the mind of one of my---and likely yours as well---favorite entertainers. Be sure you don't skip her preface detailing just how much she disliked writing the book, or her instructions on how to read it. It is warm and unpretentious, just like (what I imagine) hanging out with Poehler must be like. It's even got haikus. Plus, no one has a better author photo. No one. ($28.99, Amazon) —Alessandra Ram
Blank on Blank
This podcast has interviews with celebrities you won’t hear from on other shows—Tupac, Bette Davis, and Kurt Cobain have all been featured in the past year. The series takes lost conversations from journalists’ audio archives, pulls out interesting nuggets, and turns them into terrific, brisk documentaries. (Free, Blank on Blank) —Eric Steuer
This podcast from PBS Digital Studios has interviews with luminaries you’re not likely to hear from on other shows—for instance, Tupac, Bette Davis, and Kurt Cobain have all been featured in the past year. Producer David Gerlach bases the series on lost conversations from journalists’ audio archives (often recordings made by writers while working on magazine or newspaper profiles of celebrities). Gerlach pulls out interesting nuggets and turns them into terrific, brisk documentaries (between five and ten minutes each) that offer unique insights from the minds of some of the world’s most compelling actors, musicians, and writers. A few episode recommendations to get you started: Johnny Cash on Elvis and painkillers, Grace Kelly on JFK, and David Foster Wallace on the folly of perfectionism. (Free, Blank on Blank) —Eric Steuer
Neil Patrick Harris, Choose Your Own Autobiography
Child star. Broadway powerhouse. Awards-show host. Content gay man (and gay rights advocate). Magician. Neil Patrick Harris is a jack of many trades. Luckily, his autobiography covers all the facets of his life—and then some. —Angela Watercutter Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Child star. Broadway powerhouse. Awards-show host. Content gay man (and gay rights advocate). Magician. Neil Patrick Harris is a jack of many trades. Actually, it's amazing he's managed to do as much as he has in so few years. Then you remember he started on Doogie Howser, M.D. when he was in his mid-teens. Luckily, his autobiography covers all the facets of his life—and then some. If Saturday Night Live's Stefon were describing this book, it would go something like this: "It's got everything. (Probably fictionalized) awkward hangs with Penn Jillette, (probably very true) confrontations at LA clubs with Scott Caan, tales of yelling at musical theater legend Patti LuPone." Also, it's Choose Your Own Adventure-style, which lets you skip to the stories you want and not feel bad. (It also makes for an interesting listen in audiobook form.) But honestly, choose the full adventure—it's well worth the trip. ($35, Amazon) —Angela Watercutter
Wax Tailor, Phonovisions Symphonic Orchestra The symphony is boring. But put turntablist Wax Tailor in front of an orchestra and you’ll get magic: the new live album Phonovisions Symphonic Orchestra. It’s a French dude spinning with an orchestra. With a lady jamming on a flute. And it is good. —Matt Simon
Serpentfire Tarot Deck
With Frida Kahlo as the Queen of Cups and Elizabeth Taylor as the Empress, this is not your weird aunt's Tarot deck. But it will take you on a psychedelic journey to your inner self---or your outer hipster affectation. —Blanca Myers Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
If you've ever doled out change to a fortune-telling bellydancer on the streets of Paris, then you'll appreciate this Tarot deck, if for nothing more than aesthetics: Each of the deck's 78 cards features one of Canadian artist Devany Wolfe's interpretations of the classic deck. Wolfe's beautiful collage cards combine ironic film stills, psychedelic op art, and dayglo, and each could easily stand on its own as a surrealist postcards. The deck is printed on nice, thick clay-coated stock in the standard Tarot size (2.75 x 4.75) for longevity and nice snapback. With Frida Kahlo as the Queen of Cups and Elizabeth Taylor as the Empress, this is not your weird aunt's Tarot deck. But it will take you on a psychedelic journey to your inner self—or your outer hipster affectation. ($75, Etsy)—Blanca Myers
Childish Gambino,STN MTN/Kauai
There's no rapper quite like Childish Gambino (who you might also know as Donald Glover). This newest project is half Gangsta Grillz mixtape, half introspective EP, but all Gambino: clever wordplay, strong vocals, and intelligent storytelling to continue his music adventure. —Tony Vongprachanh
There's no rapper quite like Childish Gambino (who you might also know as Donald Glover). The moment you assume someone is inching close, he'll switch topics to Whole Foods juice and coding in Python, or name-drop internet celebs like Jack Dorsey and Sergey Brin. This newest project is half Gangsta Grillz mixtape, half introspective EP, but all Gambino: clever wordplay, strong vocals, and intelligent storytelling to continue his music adventure. It's my favorite album of the year barring a late-breaking Beyonce or Rihanna drop---but even then it might be hard to contest the Usher cover of "U Don't Have to Call" or ignant bars in "Move That Dope." (Free, DatPiff) —Tony Vongprachanh
Dear White People
If the title makes you feel uncomfortable, it should. But don’t let that, or any other preconceptions you may have about this film, deter you. This tongue-in-cheek satire builds up stereotypes only to tear them down, challenges the status quo without pretending to know all the answers, and will remain with you long after the credits roll. —Lexi Pandell
If the title makes you feel uncomfortable, it should. But don’t let that, or any other preconceptions you may have about this film, deter you. Yes, writer/director Justin Simien covers issues intended to make you squirm—institutional racism, unconscious bias, and cultural assimilation, among others—and the climax of this satire about four African-American students at an Ivy League school is based on some real-life, astonishingly bad behavior at racially themed college parties. But this also happens to be an incredibly funny, self-aware and entertaining film with nuanced characters and plenty of style. (Think Wes Anderson meets Spike Lee.) It’s no surprise that Simien's film, his first, earned him the Sundance Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent. Dear white people (and, really, all people): if you think that race in America isn’t worth considering anymore or that only frat bros are making these mistakes, you need to see this most of all. (Showtimes vary locally —Lexi Pandell
David Mitchell, The Bone Clocks
David Mitchell will break your fucking heart. He'll do it with his prose and his empathy-inducing characters, sure, but his favorite weapon is the section break: the character you've fallen in love with is caught offstage, and you don't see them again until much later, if at all. It's painful. But it's worth it. —Caitlin Roper Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
This is Mitchell's best novel since Cloud Atlas. It's impossible to put down—if you can pick it up (it's 624 pages). There's a singular thrill to reading Mitchell: you have no idea what will happen, but you can be sure that something will, that the characters you've met will mean something to each other, that there is more going on than you can see at first. The Bone Clocks starts with my favorite Mitchell character yet, a 15-year-old English girl named Holly Sykes. But Holly, like nearly everyone else in the book, is not what she seems. She's both a regular teen runaway and a psychic tuning fork, able to hear voices that those around her can't. But Holly's story is just the beginning. The novel is a metaphysical mandala, tracing individual lives and magical subcultures across decades and into the future. But be warned, as soon as you fall in love with a character, they disappear at the next section break. But if you're lucky, they show up hundreds of pages later…or might reappear in Mitchell's next book. ($30, Amazon) —Caitlin Roper
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