Way more than just another book of album cover art – as this impressive volume presents countless images from the evolution of blues music in the 20th Century, alongside detailed writings that also try to explore visual trends, tropes of representation, and the larger role of the music in an American popular aesthetic! Chapters look at a range of different imagery – from early sheet music, to pre-war 78rpm labels, to blues photographs, record covers, and even film posters – but all laid out in a way that's extremely lively, given the great choice of images, and the book's glossy pages and hardcover presentation! 224 pages, with a look that's like the nicest coffee table books – but content that runs a lot deeper. Book

A groundbreaking book from Greil Marcus – one that gets past some of the overblown histories of rock music, to look at the medium in a completely different way! Marcus eschews all the big name performers and movements – and instead looks at the music through ten different songs – all of them very unusual, very specific choices – but laid out by the author with a logic that's completely compelling as the book moves on. There's few folks that we'd trust with such a project – but given what Greil's given us in the past, we were already on board before reading – and as before, his creative approach is without parallel. And in case you're wondering, some of the songs include "Transmission" by Joy Division, "Shake Some Action" by The Flamin Groovies, "Crying Waiting Hoping" by Buddy Holly, "All I Could Do Was Cry" by Etta James, "Money" by Barrett Strong, and "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by The Teddy Bears. Book is 306 pages, hardcover. Book

A really strange side of an equally strange author – the legendary Haruku Murakami, the Japanese writer whose work has helped redefine the world of fiction in the past few decades! Murakami's known for being an enthusiast whose love for certain things shows up in his work – most notably jazz and other styles of music – but here, he gives the world a look at his love of specific t-shirts in his closet – presented with full color images, and some great Murakami prose alongside the photographs. Given the extensive writing in the book, the volume is maybe a bit like some of Haruki's other non-fiction books and essays – although this one is maybe a bit more personal and down to earth, as it also touches on his every day life and choices. The book is hardcover, 178 pages, with full color images throughout. Book