Where Do Republican Senators, The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard 2 & Days of Thunder Meet? In the Guise of Fred Thompson, of course!

Fred Thompson tells of pigs, dancing, Davy Crockett and Law & Order in his book Teaching the Pig to Dance: A Memoir of Growing Up and Second Chances.

Senator Thompson, who you might have seen playing a bad ass commissioner in the awesome film Days of Thunder, lecturing Tom Cruise (who will not be lectured), or as a Rear Admiral in The Hunt for Red October, will be signing May 25th in-store at Book Soup.

Signed copies will be available for purchase at the store or on-line.

Read of Fred Thompson growing up in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and how it shaped him into one tough lawyer, politician, actor, what have you...

Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

If you've read the first two Lisbeth Salander books, you probably don't need a recommendation to tell you to read this book. It picks up where the last one left off, and Lisbeth spends a majority of the book in a hospital under police arrest (though that doesn't stop here from wreaking havoc on the computers of, well, whoever she feels like). Mikael Blomkvist immerses himself in getting to the bottom of the Zalachenko affair, Erika Berger goes to a different newspaper and finds herself under attack, and the odious Dr. Teleborian continues his sinister attempts to have Lisbeth institutionalized. Throw in the evil machinations of a shadowy government group, a brilliant defense strategy by Mikael's sister for Lisbeth, and the continued attempts by the police to get to the bottom of all the death and destruction, and you have another successful entry in an already entertaining series.

My only complaint about Stieg Larsson, which in no way detracts from what he has written, is that not a single antagonist is a woman. Yes, yes, Harriet's mother in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is unpleasant, and certainly tries to drive Mikael away, but she's not an active participant in any of the conspiracies involved in that book. The women are all strong and self-assured (if somewhat susceptible to Mikael's charms), which is great. But if women can be brave fighters for truth, they can be catty, self-serving bitches too.

Ignoring this minor fault (because, really, it is very minor), the Lisbeth Salander series ends as strong as it started. It is a shame that Stieg Larsson never got to enjoy the enormous popularity of his books, but at the same time he didn't have a chance to drag the series out and sully his efforts with mediocre books. He can remain in our minds a talented author who was taken from us too soon.

Here's to you, Stieg.

"Return of the King" by Gillian G. Gaar

Elvis Presley = sadness. It is truly the most depressing story of an icon music legend. On one level one would think Elvis was just dumb, but also he was a man who had the moment and the time (1950's) and he was sort of the force that got us over to the 1960's. The concept of Elvis is genius, but the life that is Elvis is not genius, but rather pathetic or someone caught is a strange depressive state of mind and body.

"Return of the King" is a well written researched book that focuses on Elvis' comeback years that quickly turned into a march to death. The great bio on Elvis is the two volume set by Peter Guralnick, and all others are just a shadow to that particular biography. Saying that, this is a very good book, but it has been said before, so there is really nothing new regarding Elvis and his world.

But for sure, anything on Elvis, one has to talk about Memphis and its culture. The Southern (gothic) culture basically made Elvis, and you can sort of see his world via the images of the great Southern photographer William Egglestion. Roughly both men are in the same generation, but it is interesting to see how outside influences such as the Southern family and settings can make a person tick. The big picture of Elvis is not his sad life, but how is life is part of a bigger puzzle that is the 20th Century South.

Elvis is fascinating in so many ways. A man who wore pink pants and eye make-up in his teenage years, and who adopted black culture as well as country music to make a hybrid sound - or a Frankenstein monster in a sense. Gillian Gaar is good with the facts, but there is no real analysis with those facts. She interviews all the key players but none can penetrate the Elvis wall. And I think even Elvis couldn't penetrate that wall.

So yeah if you are a Elvis fanatic this is a good book. But it has all been said in the Guralnick bio - but then again, like a car accident repeated in front of your eyes again and again, its hard to look the other way.

Also I want to note that the publisher Jaw Bone is fantastic. They don't do poorly designed books, and "Return of the King" is a beautiful production. Great cover, thick pages, nice photos - the whole package is great.

William Eggleston's "Stranded in Canton"

Remarkable book and the video (DVD) that comes with the book is a masterpiece. A typical night out with Southern Goth beauty William Eggleston and his fellow friends and family in Memphis. Eggleston is more known for his brilliant use of color, but this vintage video shot in black and white is sort of like peeping under the blankets. Kind of horrifying yet beautiful at the same time. Visions of the blues and Elvis lurks in the very soul of Memphis, and Eggleston is an artist who can capture all that, and just let it dream in front of us. Essential book and DVD. Get it before it disappears in Collector's bookshelves and under lock and key.

Dennis Cooper Talking About His Short Story Collection "Ugly Man" "

Dennis Cooper discussing the thoughts behind his collection of short stories "Ugly Man." One of my favorite current releases. Interview done in Paris.

"A Splendid Conspiracy" by Albert Cossery

Anyone who is a friend of Boris Vian is a friend of mine. And Albert Cossery is very close to the aesthetic quality of the Prince of St. Germain-des-Prés. This is the first novel I have read by Cossery, and because of it I am now a loyal follower of this magnificent Egyptian born, but hardcore Parisian writer.

"A Splendid Conspiracy" (Un Complot de Saltimbanques) is a novel about three young friends among other citizens of a small town in Egypt. One is a police informer, the other a European traveler who tasted the good life, and the third is basically a nihilist punk who is über-smart.

Through these three characters, we see small town conservative life and its under-current of sexual adventure, decadence, and possible series of murder. But all of this serves in the background and its interesting how Cossery introduces each character and how they become part of the narrative. Life is a remarkable adventure and this book reads as a map to appreciate your location as well as how things are connected by the dots, but those dots can lead you to something strange, scary, weird, or ...sexy.

The book is translated by Alyson Waters and the language flows easily. A classic. And of course it is published by New Directions. His other novel "The Jokers" will be published by NYRB. So he's in good company.

Graham Robb's "Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris""

Paris, without a doubt, is never boring. And this book focuses on various 'moments' in the city's moody history. Graham Robb's book is heavy curated in the sense that he tells various narratives dealing with Paris at a point of crisis of some point.

Each chapter focuses on a particular narrative, and the one's that work for me is the chapter on Napoleon flirting with a whore at the Museum, the Occupation seen through a Parisian child's eye which is terrifying and horrible at the same time, and the one's that have to deal with the criminal element.

The chapter that rub me the wrong way is the one on the great Greco and Miles Davis. He wrote it as a film script and its too cute for the tone of the book. Yet, for me, it's a fascinating subject matter how Greco matched up with Miles - and of course anything dealing with Boris Vian's world is a must for me.

But overall this is a very enjoyable overall history of Paris. It's not the best, but it's really good.

Mostly early essays or articles by the icon of all journalists who likes to drink and feel...important. But alas don't let that stop you for enjoying one of the British prose writers of all time. George Orwell in this small edition comments on the joy of being arrested for public drunkness in East London, the joys of dirty (not really) postcards of Donald McGill, the nature of junk stores, and true-crime reading.

In other words a collection of essays that comment on the taste and passions of the typical (if one exists) British citizen during and before the war years. A big plus is the design work of Penguin's "Great Ideas" series. A well-edited series of books by classic writers on particular subjects. Mostly from bigger editions of such a writer, but here you get the feeling that these books are made for a 1 hour long train trip, and they work beautifully in the bathtub.

And yeah Orwell works great in the bathtub.

"The Spiv and the Architect"

Academic yes, but still full of life in its history. London can never be a dull subject, and when you add the post-war world of Gay Men in a new world - that was London, it is fascinating.

The "Architect" in the title is those who plan out the vision of London after the war. The Spiv is the outsider (Gay, criminal, boho, etc) who lives in that new world - or make it their own world somewhat or somehow.
Using ubran architecture, 1950's British films, Cheap paperback books and its industry, and the nature of the "bed-set room" is all told in a PHD manner, yet the subject is one of total interest.

How 'sub-culture' life exists in a world that is totally indifferent or in fear of them is an interesting tale. Richard Hornsey's thesis and paper is a must for those who are interested in British gay culture, but even more important how cities/architecture/books comment on a world that they can't control or contain.

Oniroku Dan's "Season of Infidelity"

Typical of me. I thought I was picking up a 'dirty book' and what I got was spiritual bliss of sorts. The writer Oniroku Dan, is a well-known soft (hard?) core porn filmmaker, screenwriter, and novelist. He's an expert on BDSM. As far as I know this is his first book in English, which consists of four short stories - but I suspect that they are more like memoirs than fiction.

The first three I was totally turned on, but the fourth one is the magic one - a really great view point of the porn or more like it the essence of pleasure in a Japanese context. The main figure in the last story is Naomi Tani, queen of the bondage film. And in what is almost a documentary on the nature of these films and its world. Here Dan really captures the essence of porn that is both funny, charming, and a tad erotic.

Also you get a good sense of the bars, the film world, and the nature of Japanese blue flicks or better known as "Roman Porno films.' Which was a cult-like passion for film goers in the 1970's. For instance my wife is into those type of films - but that's another story.

It says in the back cover that Dan wrote over 120 books. One hopes that these books will get translated and published. Excellent erotica, but also a great doorway to the undercurrents of contemporary Japan.