MUST LISTEN Audio Books for BLACK HISTORY Month and every other month! :) Part 2 of 2

The 2nd must listen audio book for Black History Month or any month is the mind breaking MUMBO JUMBO by the great Ishmael Reed.

Ishmael Reed, who was honored with the MacArthur “genius” award, is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time nominee for the National Book Award. Mumbo Jumbo, a literary masterpiece, is an ironic and unconventional detectivestory infused with African-American cultural heritage. A strange psychic epidemic called “Jes Grew” is spreading through the country, affecting millions. PaPa LaBas, a HooDoo detective, is trying to find the origins of the JesGrew – not because he wants to cure it, but because he’s ready for a new kind of society.

Composed of the memorable personalities and the little remembered tragedies and triumphs of the roaring 20s, MUMBO JUMBO weaves these truths into an overarching fictional narrative that goes from the beginning of civilization to the fall of man.

But the fiction is so peppered with essential truths, like the best of all fiction, that it will change fundamentally how you look at everything, from museums to curse words to bull fights. If MIDDLE PASSAGE is my favorite audio book, MUMBO JUMBO  I think , in opposition to its name, is the most enlightening and powerful audio book I’ve ever listened to, for the  way it opened up my mind to… broader definitions of history and broader definitions of ourselves. Magnificent.

Version:

	Unabridged
Author:	Ishmael Reed
Narrator:	J. D. Jackson
Genres:	Fiction & Literature
Publisher:	Recorded Books
Published In:	July 2005

# of Units:	8 CDs
Length:	8 hours, 30 minutes

Get your copy here:

 

Mumbo Jumbo

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GREAT Last minute / END OF YEAR GIFT IDEAS! Day 2 of 15! CANDLES!

GREAT GIFT IDEAS for the Homemaker or Survivalist Among you!

 

7-Day Beeswax Candle

 

7-Day Beeswax Candle

 

Puracy Natural Liquid Dish Soap, Sulfate Free Dishwashing Detergent, Green Tea and Lime, 16 Ounce Bottle, (Pack of 3)
Puracy Natural Liquid Dish Soap, Sulfate Free Dishwashing Detergent, Green Tea and Lime, 16 Ounce Bottle, (Pack of 3)

 

TriWick 120 Hour Candle & Camping Stove – Survival & Emergency Light Source

TriWick 120 Hour Candle & Camping Stove – Survival & Emergency Light Source

 

Volcanica Candles Dendritic Pillar Candle, Medium, Maroon/Gold

 

Volcanica Candles Flora Vase Candle, Creme

 

Candle by the Hour 120-Hour Beehive Candle, Eco-friendly Natural Beeswax with Cotton Wick

GREAT Last minute / END OF YEAR GIFT IDEAS! Day 1 of 15!

Whatever Holiday you or yours are gearing up to celebrate, be it Ramadan, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Vodun or the Mass of Christ, chances are you are swept up in the very American magnate propagated desire to buy things, and an older, more selfless desire to give stuff.

Here without further ado are some GREAT last minute gift ideas!

 

KIDS UNDER 15 (And fun for their parents too)

Carrera GO!!! – GT Contest Track Set

 

GIFTS FOR THE HOROLOGIST (CLOCK LOVER) OR TO IMPRESS A BOSS OR FAMILY FRIEND

Vivid Large Deer Handcrafted Wood Cuckoo Clock CC105

 

 

GREAT GIFT IDEAS FOR YOUR COWORKERS or CRYSTAL LOVERS!

 

Amlong Crystal Globe on Crystal Stand with Gift Box – 4.75 Inch

 

GREAT GIFT IDEAS FOR THE GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC BOOK FAN or WEREWOLF FAN!

 

Werewolf by Night Omnibus

FOR THE ART BOOK LOVER /COFFEE TABLE FAN!

 

The Art of Jock

 

The Signature Art Of Brian Stelfreeze

 

Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years

 

 
Matt Baker: The Art of Glamour

Slim of the Day : THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN : FALL OF MAN

We have the technology.

We can rebuild him.

We can make the world’s first Bionic Man.

 

Four decades ago kids everywhere thrilled to that opening of one of their favorite TV shows, The Six Million Dollar Man starring Lee Majors as the titular hero… Steve Austin.

Well New jersey Publisher  Dynamite Entertainment since 2014 has been bringing us various slim revivals of everyone’s favorite slow motion super powered hero.

[Slim- A stapled publication, consisting of words and pictures telling a narrative in periodical format, typically monthly doses, told in scant pages in a highly portable format, with eye catching covers and interiors. Also known by the more widely used misnomer of comic books.]

And 2016 mini-series THE FALL OF MAN written by Van Jensen with art by Ron Salas and Letters by Taylor Esposito and colors by Mike Atiyeh and Caitlin McCarthy, is the companies fourth time at bat with this property and is their most successful. As it takes place in the 80s, in a cold world, where the wall has not yet fallen. but the year is never implicitly stated; instead the time is set in inventive and satirical story beats and sight gags.

From 80s star references to a bit of lampooning of the high tech marvels of the day (Such as portable phones in the early 80s, truly monstrously sized things by today’s standards, but back then they were marvels. Same with the room sized computers that had less processing power than even your low-end laptop today); while all the while telling a crackerjack action story of betrayal, globe trotting espionage, and bionic feats of derring-do.

It’s just a fun series.

And while Ron Salas figure drawing at first strikes as merely serviceable, his use of layouts and panel composition and inventive storytelling is exceptional, as are his covers for this series. I’ve read all issues of the series to date, and they have all been exceptional and come highly recommended. 

If late to the party have no fear, as all issues are available at the link below.

Use the below link, get great books, and support this blog, as every purchase though the link, generates a couple pennies to keep this blog bringing you the best in Pop Culture finds!

Without further ado, get your issues of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN : FALL OF MAN here:

 

 

GREAT 2015 Art Books to get before the end of the year!!

 

The Art of Horror: An Illustrated History

Crimson Peak: The Art of Darkness

 

 

Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions

 

 

Hello, Here I Am

 

 

Hall of History Bermuda’s Story in Art

 

 

Gustave Dore 1832-1883: Master of Imagination

 

 

 

American Grotesque: The Life and Art of William Mortensen

 

 

MOST INTRIGUING BOOKS READ in 2015!

THE TROOP- “The Troop scared the hell out of me, and I couldn’t put it down. This is old school horror at its best. Not for the faint-hearted, but for the rest of us sick puppies, it’s a perfect gift for a winter.” –Stephen King. Stephen King is asked to give a lot of blurbs, and he gives a lot of cover blurbs, not all of which I agree with. This quote… I agree with. Short, choppy chapters makes the book easy and compulsive reading. Strongly Recommended.The Troop

DARK COMPANIONS- A simply essential 2012 compilation of the best horror stories of one of the best writers of the horrific and strange… Ramsey Campbell. Not all the stories are homeruns, NAPIER COURT in particular is a disappointment, but the successes of this collection outweigh the false notes. Stories such as MACKINTOSH WILLY, DOWN THERE, HEADING HOME,PROXY,OUT OF COPYRIGHT, THE INVOCATION, THE PATTERN, THE COMPANION are well worth the price of admission.

MURDER AT CAPE THREE POINTS (A DARKO DAWSON Mystery)- Kwi Quartey’s Ghana based mystery is a welcome change from the Swedish and Norwegian Noir that’s arguably over saturated the American market.Murder at Cape Three Points (A Darko Dawson Mystery)

TRASHED – by Derf Backderf is a biting, quirky, slightly deranged and beautifully drawn graphic novel, about a slacker who stumbles into the job of trashman. Trashed

BLACK COOL ONE THOUSAND STREAMS OF BLACKNESS -a collection of disarming essays about the varied experiences and definitions of Blackness. Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness

BEAT THE REAPER – Josh Bazell’s debut novel from 2009 is one of the most brilliant and enjoyable things I read in 2015. Alternatitely funny, and action packed. Beat the Reaper: A Novel

HOW BEST TO AVOID DYING – Owen Egerton’s story collection is an assortment of odd, weird, and deeply strange tales of characters at the far edges of precarious places. Delightly disturbed stories. How Best To Avoid Dying: Stories

WATSON AND HOLMES A STUDY IN BLACK – A graphic novel riff on Doyle’s Holmes and Watson by Karl Boilers, Brandon Perlow, Paul Mendoza, Rick Leonardi, and Larry Stroman. Very entertaining pastiche to the Holmes mythos. Watson and Holmes – A Study In Black

HALF AN INCH OF WATER – 2015 saw the release of this long awaited follow-up short story collection by prolific and superlative writer Percival Everett. Half an Inch of Water: Stories

FOREIGN GODS- Nigerian born writer Okey Ndibe’s FOREIGN GODS, INC quickly found a place among my must owns of 2015. Foreign Gods, Inc.

FAVORITE TEN ART BOOKS !!! BOOK ONE — BEKSINSKI

In the roughly twenty plus years I have been serious about collecting art books, graduating from early love affairs with Dali and Rubens and Caravaggio, to the most recent SPECTRUM editions, I have been lucky enough to sample and own some of the best art books by the best artists.

I recently started to think in terms of a top ten list.

Not top ten artists, but the art books that if all my others were lost to time, as all things eventually are, the ten that I would put in a safe deposit or a time capsule or bequeath to the National Library of Congress the way Thomas Jefferson did with his book collection.

The ten PHYSICAL, TACTILE books (not digital kindle bits, but physical item that is made art by its form as much as its content) that I believe should endure for generations not yet born.

The first book that came to mind on my very prejudicial list, is one of my older art books, and one of my most loved.

THE FANTASTIC ART OF BEKSINSKI – This 1998 book was my, and the world’s, introduction to polish artist, surrealist, fantasist Zdislaw Beksinski. Produced by short lived but stellar publisher MORPHEUS INTERNATIONAL, as a kid who had grown up loving both the surrealism of Dali and the Baroque/heroic realism of Peter Paul Rubens and Caravaggio I saw something brilliant and haunting and both new and old and transcendent in the work of this, at the time, unknown artist.

I became a cheerleader and reseller of that book, I was that enamored of it. Here 17 years later, 15 years into a new century, other and bigger tomes on Beksinski have been produced, but to Morpheus International’s credit, their eye for book design, and use of quality paper and binding, has not only stood the test of time, but remains the finest book on Beksinski ever produced, and currently the only one I recommended. Highest Recommendation!

Get your copy here:

The Fantastic Art of Beksinski (Masters of Fantastic Art) Hardcover

Than come back for my selection of nine other… of the most essential, innovative, and beautiful art books!