Category: NonFiction

Summit Visions

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Fraser, Graeme. Summit Visions. Self published, 2024.

Reason read: every now and then, I receive a book to read for the Early Review Program from LibraryThing. I never know what I’m going to get…

If you were to think of Summit Visions as a journey, the number of pages would equal the number of miles to travel on said journey. Imagine setting out on this trek of more than five hundred miles and every two miles there is a diversion, a speed bump of superfluous information or comments about something you will read more about later. I wish Fraser kept his examples grounded in the Nashua Millennium Big 5 Challenge instead of delving into diamond mining ventures or the the struggles of being a corporate lawyer. I know I would have enjoyed Summit Visions more if it did not morph into a preachy self-help book. Fraser toggled between his personal career goals as an entrepreneur and lawyer and the athletic goals of an elite athlete. The narrative became unfocused with side stories about the eating habits of the Arsenal team, yacht racing, climbing Thaba Ntlenyana, tax lawyer quotations, information surveillance, what climate change means for the Maldives Islands, a mini memoir about Fraser’s experiences crossing the finish line at every event, lots of disparaging comments about his physique, a plug for reading the Bible, and a myriad of analogies. I lost track of the number of parenthetical statements (there were a lot!). All of the stories are inspiring but a bit longwinded. So much so that I had to chuckle when Fraser cautioned against information overload. His humor was and fascinating stories when on-topic were not enough to keep me engaged. I gave up after 300 pages.

Ordinary Chaos of Being Human

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Richards, Marguerite. The Ordinary Chaos of Being Human: True Stories. Soul-baring Moments. No Apologies. Leave It Better Books, 2024.

Reason read: As a member of the Early Review program for LibraryThing, I sometimes get to review interesting and thought-provoking books. This is one such book.

Right off the bat, I have to draw attention to something both Bina Shah and Marguerite Richards wrestled in the beginning of Ordinary Chaos: the conundrum of whether or not to draw attention to the Muslim voice. Between the foreword and introduction the word “Muslim” is written almost forty times and yet Shah toyed with removing it. The concept of being Muslim matters but Shah and Richards were conflicted about its place and purpose within Ordinary Chaos. It is the point of the book despite the contrary challenge put forth to the reader: do not see these authors as one religion or another; see them as human without any other label. I would argue that in order to do that one must tell the story without the identifiers, only reveal them at the end; only then ask if the detail really mattered to the tenor and tone of the message. Otherwise, the connection to a religious or cultural belief does matter to the success of the story. For example, stories such as “Those Eyes of Hers” could be told by anyone. The concept of letting go of a drug that had been a security blanket or a crutch for an ailment that didn’t exist. The human connection is there regardless of religion, gender or sexual orientation, or economic status. When we are taken out of our comfort zones we truly learn about ourselves and that is called growth.
Some of the stories will fill you with nostalgia for an irreplaceable time. Some will leave you inexplicably sad. I could not read Ordinary Chaos for very long. I still have a third of the book to read.

As an aside, do not be overwhelmed by the number of pages of Ordinary Chaos. In the electronic version there was at least a blank page or two between each story. Every story is incredibly short.

Book trivia: before each story Richards provides a short biography. The Ordinary Chaos of Being Human was first published in 2019 by Penguin Random House.

Playlist: Metallica, Michael Jackson, Googoosh, Sin Dios, “Elephant Love Medley”, “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn & John,

Salvation on Sand Mountain

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Covington, Dennis. Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia. Da Capo Press, 1995.

Reason read: October is National Reptile Month and in honor of snakes, I am reading Salvation on Sand Mountain. I also needed a book set in the mountains for the Portland Public Library Reading Challenge of 2024.

It all started with a trial. A man in southern Appalachia Alabama was accused of trying to kill his wife with a snake. It’s an interesting way to attempt murder. Glenn Summerford put a gun to his wife’s head and forced her to reach into a box containing a bunch of venomous snakes. She was bitten four times and survived to testify against her husband. After Dennis Covington covered the trial, published his piece, and tried to put the story out of his mind, a book editor came knocking. It didn’t take much for him to convince Covington “this needs to be a full-length book” and Salvation on Sand Mountain was born. Covington immerses himself (and at times, his family) in the mysterious world of praying with dangerous snakes. What makes this journalism different is that Covington has ancestral history with preaching with snakes. As time with the congregation goes on and the more he observes their method of practicing their faith, Covington comes to care for the individual people, even Glenn Summerford. [Confessional: I sense Covington developing a crush on a member of the congregation as well.] Salvation on Sand Mountain culminates with Covington immersing himself completely by taking up a snake and preaching to the congregation he initially only wanted to write about. To think that it all began with a trial and a conviction.

Author fact: Covington has written quite a few books. Salvation on Sand Mountain is the only book I am reading for the challenge.

Book trivia: Salvation on Sand Mountain includes a small series of black and white photographs. Some contain the infamous snakes. All include the people who worship them. Salvation on Sand Mountain was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Playlist: Alabama, “In My Robe of White, I Shall Fly Away”, Liberace, Loretta Lynn, “I Saw the Light”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Only One Rose Will Do”, “I’m Getting Ready to Leave This World”, “Wading Through Deep Water”, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”, “Prayer Bells From Heaven”, and “Jesus on My Mind”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Approaching Appalachia” (p 22). Pearl liked Salvation on Sand Mountain so much that she also included it in More Book Lust in the flattering chapter called “Just Too Good To Miss” (p 132).

About Looking

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Berger, John. About Looking. Pantheon Books, 1980.

Reason read: October is Art Appreciation month.

Right away About Looking opens up with a dismal commentary of the relatively modern practice of keeping pets for the sake of companionship. Berger points out that humans sterilize their companions while not allowing them to roam free, socialize with other animals, or eat the foods natural to their diets. I will never look at animals at the zoo in the same way. From the very first essay Berger has found a way to illustrate the title of his book. Berger then moves on to describe the artwork of painters and photographers and the idea of looking at art from the perspective of time and of aging. Similar to reading the same book every ten years, how does the art change with aging? Bergen ends the book with an essay on nature. More specifically, he describes an open field of which your perspective changes depending on who or what is in it. The overarching message is how altered reality can reflect your own life.

As an aside, thank you, John Berger, for introducing me to the art of J.J. Grandville. He, Grandville, is the epitome of the phrase wondrous strange. I also want to thank Berger for introducing me to places I have never heard before, like the Valley of the Loue, to the west of the Jura Mountains.

Lines I liked, “hope is a marvelous focusing lens” (p 128),Author fact: John Bergen also wrote film scripts.

Book trivia: About Looking includes twenty-three black and white photographs. Some of them are explained while others are not.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Art Appreciation” (p 25).

Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin

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Meade, Marion. Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties. Nan A. Talese, 2004.

Reason read: who the hell knows.

The 1920s scene was an era filled with extravagance and excess. Everybody floated through life, seemingly without a care in the world. Jazz music and flapper dresses. Gin and lazy days on the beach. Wild behavior was almost the norm. Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin brings to life the women writers of the decade and the men who loved and loathed them. I would call this a tale of trying. Dorothy Parker’s bitchy attitude and botched suicide attempts. Zelda Fitzgerald’s insane attempts to be a professional ballerina. Edna St. Vincent Millay’s scandalous sexual trysts attempting to find true love. Edna Ferber’s tendency to always be alone, attempting to find happiness in solitude. The hysterical behavior of everyone: women liked to toss their expensive jewelry out of windows and off trains as a sign of their theatrical disgust, for example. The decade of the 1920s was an era when pregnancies were an inconvenience to be shrugged off either by handing the offensive newborn babes to nannies or distant relatives, or having illegal abortions to avoid the mess of childbirth and child rearing altogether. Excessive drinking only meant one could dry out from time to time at an exclusive resort. Mental breakdowns and overdoses were treated as cases of hysteria. It was also an era of triumph. Pulitzers were won. Women made names for themselves and carved out writing careers for future generations.
As an aside, it was difficult to read of the tragic endings for some of the greatest writers. No one seems to die of old age in that era. Vincent died of a broken neck after an apparent fall down a staircase. Ferber died of cancer. Zelda burned to death. Hale supposedly starved herself to death. Benchley died of cirrhosis of the liver. F. Scott died of a heart attack. Hemingway shot himself. Other deaths include tuberculosis, spinal meningitis, and cerebral hemorrhage.

As another aside, I was familiar with many of the different regions mentioned in Bobbed Hair: Maine (almost everywhere, but especially Camden and Rockland), upstate New York (particularly Duchess County), the beautiful Berkshires, and New Jersey (Red Bank and Princeton).

Author fact: Meade wrote a bunch of biographies that look really interesting, but I am only reading Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin for the Challenge.

Book trivia: to read Meade’s afterword is to confront epic sadness. Words like pain, addiction, decline, loner, cancer, destitution, depression, poisonous, and reclusive
Audio trivia: listen to the audio read by Lorna Raver. She is wonderful.

Music: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, “Cuddle Up a Little Closer”, “March of the Toy Soldiers”, “Old Man River”, “Make Believe”, “Life Upon the Wicked Stage”, “The Treasurer’s Report”, Al Jolson, “The Calendar”, “The International” Paul Robeson, Jerry Kern, and Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida”.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Group Portraits” (p 108).

London: the Biography

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Ackroyd, Peter. London: the Biography. Anchor, 2003.

Reason read: So when I think of London, I think of Lady Diana. Her funeral was in the month of September. Read in her memory.

The word thorough does not do London: the Biography justice. Think of it as a chronology of London’s biggest events from 54 BC to 2000 AD. It is an explanation and examination of culture, architecture, religion, invention, society, education, slang, literature, food, immigration, sanitation, crime, entertainment, commerce, economics, weather… I could go on. There are a lot of opinions about this book floating around. Someone said it took them six months to read it. Someone else said you have to read it before visiting London, while someone else suggested using London: the Biography as a walking guide. Good luck carrying the thing around. It’s heavy!
London is the book to read if you want to know what Charles Dickens thought about London cats or the pervasive fog; what Daniel Defoe thought about the poor, the prison system, or London’s suburbs; or Samuel Johnson’s thoughts on public intoxication or witnessing a well-attended execution in a courtyard. Ackroyd’s meticulous research has uncovered those opinions and more. You will learn about the Great Fire of 1666 and how no one knew how it started; yet it burned for five days straight. You will hear stories about the infamous London fog and how a man could get lost in the ominous mist. Speaking of ominous, penal and criminal behaviors are discussed at great length. I particularly liked the man who couldn’t stay imprisoned. Time and time again he found ways to escape.

Quote to quote, “The beard was long but the rebellion was short” (p 54).

Natalie connection: Ackroyd quotes the same poem Natalie Merchant used to name her album for and about children, Leave Your Sleep.

Author fact: I have already read two Ackroyd books. Next up are stories about the Thames River, Albion, and Troy.

Book trivia: I liked the map of London from 1800 compared to the map of London from “modern times.”

Playlist: “My Shadow is My Only Friend”, “I Wonder What it Fells Like to be Poor”, Handel’s water music, Beethoven, and Chopin.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Entering England” (p 73).

Africa House

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Lamb, Christina: The Africa House: the True Story of an English Gentleman and His African Dream. Harper Collins. 1994.

Reason read: Zambia’s third president Levy Mwanawasa’s birthday was celebrated in September. Gore-Browne was credited with enabling Zambia to seek independence.

Africa House encompasses an African story that unfolds over multiple decades, pulling back the curtain on the complex life of Stewart Gore-Browne. From 1914 to 1927, Gore-Browne embarked on the ambitious endeavor of constructing his fantasy estate, driven by his aspiration to assume the role of a country squire that had captivated his imagination since his teenage years. Despite his noble ambitions, his infatuation with his married aunt added a layer of peculiarity to his character, which, coupled with his British “stiff upper lip” and rigid personality, created an unconventional and enigmatic personality. While he manages to find a wife outside the family, even that coupling was shrouded in controversy. Lorna, a woman from Gore-Browne’s youth, was truly the one who got away. When he meets Lorna’s daughter, also named Lorna, Gore-Browne seizes the chance to have his “original” Lorna back. The two marry, despite differences in ages and life ambitions. Servants call Gore-Browne’s wife “Lorna the Second” behind her back.
When Gore-Browne finally builds his dream estate, the naming of his residence as Shiwa House, in honor of a nearby lake, served as a testament to his deep connection with the Zambian land and its surroundings. Delving into the societal norms of the early 1900s, the prevalent culture among South Africa’s white population involved the employment of servants for various tasks, from carrying luggage to providing physical comfort. This reliance on servants was further highlighted when Gore-Browne took them to London with the purpose of instructing them in the etiquette of setting a formal table, enunciating clearly the stark contrast between the African and European lifestyles. This was uncomfortable to read. The evident racial divide, serving as the basis for the subsequent political turmoil in Gore-Browne’s later years, underscores the societal complexities and disparities that colored his otherwise solitary existence.

Author fact: Christina Lamb also wrote The Sewing Circles of Herat which is also on my Challenge list. These are the only two Lamb books I am reading. As an aside, I would love to know more about why Lamb chose the subject of Gore-Browne.

Book trivia: Lamb used a wide array of sources to write The Africa House. She interviewed family members (mostly grandchildren) and former servants, had access to letters, journals and photographs, and scoured the literature for facts.

Setlist: “Rule Britannia”, Mozart’s Horn Concerto, Wagner, La Boehme, Chopin, “Sonata Pathetique”, “Nkosi Sikelel Iafrika”, Purcell’s “Trumpet Tune and Air”, Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue”, “God Bless Africa”, “Wedding March”, “The Lord is My Shepherd”, Verdi’s Requiem, Jose Iturbi’s “Poloniase in A Flat”, “Ave Maria”, “Sheep May Safely Graze”, and “Once in Royal David’s City”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Zambia” (p 266).

Soul of an Octopus

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Montgomery, Sy. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness. Atria, 2015.

Reason read: leisure. A coworker gave this to me and how could I resist?

I have mixed feelings about The Soul of an Octopus. If it had been titled The Soul of an Octopus: a Memoir about Bonding with This Mysterious Creature, I would understand the narrative much better. The subtitle made me think I would be getting something a bit more didactic and less charming and scientific-adjacent. Montgomery commuted from her home in New Hampshire to the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts, once a week to interact with various octopuses. [As an aside, if you have never been there – GO.] Montgomery developed relationships with NEA staff, trainers, and fellow volunteers while growing attached to the animals, specifically the octopuses. If you didn’t pick up Soul of an Octopus because the subtitle was a little off-putting, rest assured that the writing is not bogged down with technical jargon. It is an easy read. You will learn conversation-starting facts you can use at your next party; like, did you know an octopus lays eggs like a chicken, fertilized or not. You know an octopus has eight arms, but did you know an octopus has three hearts and will taste you with hundreds of suckers on each of those eight arms? If you have seen “My Octopus Teacher” you already know they are smart, clever, and seemingly emotional creatures.

Confessional: there was something to Montgomery’s writing that made me think she wanted her readers to be jealous of her. I have no idea why I feel that way. Maybe it is because she was continuously putting herself in a special relationship with various octopuses that may or may not have existed outside of her mind.

As an aside, a restaurant that Montgomery mentions, Jose McIntyre’s, is permanently closed. Since it was on Milk Street, I have to wonder if I have ever eaten there. It’s on the way to the aquarium.

Book trivia: The Soul of an Octopus was a National Book Award Finalist.

Music: John Denver, Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World”, Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe”, and Roberta Flack’s “Baby, I Love You”.

Common to This Country

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Munger, Susan H. Common to This Country: Botanical Discoveries of Lewis and Clark. Illustrations by Charlotte Staub Thomas. Artisan, 2003.

Reason read: August is Friendship month. Read in honor of Lewis and Clark’s relationship.

Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an exploring match made in heaven. Lewis’s specialty was botany and Clark was an expert at creating topography maps. Together, they spent two and a half years traveling the country from the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean in search of a waterway passage. Along the way, they were tasked with collecting, preserving and recording thousands of artifacts for President Thomas Jefferson. With the help of Sacagawea and varying native tribes, the members of the Corps of Discovery made their way over hundred of miles of prairies, mountains, cataloging and describing every rock, bird, animal, flora and fauna along the way.
Munger had a diplomatic way of describing conflict with certain Native American tribes. She called their relationship “edgy.”
In addition to sharing parts of Lewis and Clark’s journals and interesting facts about each plant, Munger shares if the particular plant can be purchased in a garden center.

Here are the flowers Munger highlighted in Common to This Country:

  • Osage Orange – supposedly this plant is still growing on the University of Virginia campus. It is said to be the direct descendant of the cutting sent by Lewis.
  • Calliopsis – used as a dye or tea. I want to see if I can grow this in my garden.
  • Bur Oak – fire, drought, and pollution resistant.
  • Narrow Leaf Coneflower – used to “cure” the bite of a mad dog or rattlesnake.
  • Lewis’s Prairie Flax – each bloom only lasts one day
  • Prickly Pear – probably my favorite from the southwest.
  • Western Serviceberry
  • Snowberry – planted on the banks to hold soil in place and prevent erosion.
  • Angelica – used for respiratory ailments and as a sweetener.
  • Camas – used the root to make bread.
  • Bearberry
  • Oregon Grape Holly
  • Lewis’s Syringa – used to make needles or combs.
  • Glacier Lily – the bulb, leaves, flowers and seed pods are all edible.
  • Ragged Robin – beautiful and uniquely shaped flowers.
  • Silky Lupine – probably my favorite of the bunch highlighted since they remind me of the lupine we have at home.
  • Old Man’s Whiskers – a unique looking flower that resembles an old or wisps of smoke.
  • Shrubby Penstemon – related to the Indian Paintbrush.
  • Monkeyflower – it needs a “cool situation” in order to thrive.
  • Bearberry Honeysuckle – not edible
  • Gumbo Evening Primrose
  • Bear Grass – a very beautiful plant that can lapse for ten years between blooms.
  • Ponderosa Pine – Indians ate the inner bark, seeds and rosin.
  • Bitterroot – the state flower of Montana.
  • Wood Lily – the official flower in the emblem for the Province of Saskatchewan.

As an aside, I was thrilled to learn of the pen pal relationship of Bartram and Collinson. while they never met, the exchanged letters for thirty-five years. I find that remarkable.

Book trivia: the map to plot Lewis & Clark’s journey is stunning. Common to This Country was dedicated to “The Tennis Group” whoever they are.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Lewis and Clark: Adventurers Extraordinaire” (p 136).

Colony

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Tayman, John. The Colony: the Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai. Scribner, 2006

Reason read: Hawaii became a state in August. Read to celebrate the history.

It does not seem possible that our government could rule that having leprosy would be a criminal offence. In 1866, that same government also believed these assumptions: that exile was the best means of controlling leprosy, that anyone in exile was an extreme contagion and finally, that everyone suffering from a leprosy diagnosis was never, ever, going to get better: to have leprosy was to have a death sentence. [As an aside, I guess if you can have a high ranking official tell you that drinking bleach can cure Covid-19 in 2020, we could have a government with such backward beliefs about Hansen’s disease in 1866.] The language of government criminality goes even further by calling a person with an unconfirmed case of leprosy a suspect and using bounty hunters to round up these “suspects.” Even a temporary release from the confines of the colony was called “parole.” This what fear can do. People were so frightened of the disease that they made hasty decisions to exile people too quickly without setting up proper accommodations. Seven years after the colony was first started, it still lacked running water, proper housing, and basic medical supplies.
The leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Molokai started on January 8th, 1866 with a dozen individuals all thought to be suffering from what was then known as leprosy. With each chapter, the colony grows in numbers until the cures and treatment of science start to win and numbers dwindle.
Tayman was careful to stress that in addition to the illnesses, Molokai was an inhospitable place in and of itself. Landing on the island’s rocky shore was a extreme danger, crops constantly failed due to water shortages and poor soil conditions. Living quarters were made out of any material people could find and were unsanitary. Mankind’s presence didn’t make life any easier. White man’s diseases: smallpox, syphilis, gonorrhea, and influenza all plagued the islands of Hawaii throughout history. Morale within the leper community was fraught with turmoil and confusion. Besides being in pain from debilitating diseases and missing their families, patients brought their grudges and prejudices to Molokai. If all that was not bad enough, political ambitions led certain officials to wildly exaggerate the success of the experiments in the fight to cure leprosy.
My only disappointment in The Colony is actually a complaint about Tayman. Makia Malo and Olivia Breitha changed their minds about being included in The Colony. They asked to be left out of the book and Tayman not only left in their stories, he also included photographs of them. If he wasn’t going to respect their wishes, at the very least, he could have changed their names and removed the photographs from the finished publication. Having said all that, I could not help but be inspired by Olivia and Makia’s spirits. Their courage and grace astounded me.

The Colony left me thinking about the psychology of cordoning off the undesirables, the dangerous. Our country has a history of sending people somewhere else, out of the public eye. The Japanese during the war; Jews in Europe, American Indians, Molokai. What we do not understand or trust, we banish.

As an aside, there is a 1999 documentary about Father Damien and his work on Molokai and Mark Twain based his Connecticut Yankee on William Ragsdale. There is also a documentary called “Olivia & Tim: Very Much Alive” which I want to see.

Playlist: “The Star-Spangled Banner”, “Home Sweet Home” (probably not the Motley Crue version), and “My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekna”.

Author fact: while Tayman wrote more books, I am only reading The Colony for the Challenge.

Book trivia: This might be a first for me, but the notes in The Colony included photographs that Tayman mentions in the text. No photographs are in the actual text. For the purists – Tayman didn’t change a single name in The Colony.
As an aside, the cover photograph by Todd Gipstein is stunning.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the very simple chapter called “Hawaii” (p 93). However, the book is misplaced. Pearl included it in fiction because of Father Damien mentioned in another book.

What Just Happened

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Gleick, James. What Just Happened?: a Chronicle from the Information Frontier. Pantheon Books, 2002.

Reason read: Gleick celebrates a birthday in August. Read in his honor.

Gleick needs a time machine. He wants his reader to put him or herself back in the 1990s as much as possible when reading What Just Happened. We need to remember the internet as it was just starting out. Portable phones. Pagers. ATMs. The essays cover bugs in Microsoft (essays written in August 1992 and again in June of 1997), the transformation of cellphone communication, the question of caller ID and ethics, the Y2K Crisis (for which Gleick apologizes for reporting impending doom four years prior), the idea of anonymous spending is only possible with cash (Think about it. No other form of money is without identifiers of some sort.), humorous password creations – all with a snarky tone that is just delightful.
Gleick’s opinion of internet pornography and its future is laughable. My favorite section was when Gleick unpacked an alert sent by MSN, pointing out vague language, half truths, cloudy communication, deliberate mis-directions, down playing failures, all with skillful ambiguity and clever concealment of the truth. Humor aside, Gleick makes you think about how far we have come.

Quotes to quote, “We have to learn the odd skill of speaking freely to someone who won’t hear us until later” (p 38). I wish I could teach my mother that skill. She will talk and talk on someone’s answering machine until she is cut off.

Author fact: At the time of publication, Gleick lived in the Hudson Valley. I wonder if Natalie Merchant was a neighbor?

Book trivia: What Just Happened isn’t Gleick’s only book. I am reading Chaos and Faster for the Challenge.

Playlist: “Stop in the Name of Love”, Supremes, Dolly Parton, Nat King Cole, “Naughty Angeline”, Crash Test Dummies, T-Bone Walker, Jim Fyhrie, 10,000 Maniacs (!), “Hail to the Chief”, Beastie Boys, Adiemus, Frank Sinatra, Harvey Danger, Dave Matthews Band, the Beatles, Scott Joplin, Mozart, and Madonna.

Nancy said: Pearl said What Just Happened is one of Gleick’s more accessible books. I agree 100%.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Science Books (for the Interested But Apprehensive Layperson)” (p 211).

Especially Dogs

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Taber, Gladys. Especially Dogs…Especially at Stillmeadow. J.B. Lippincott, 1968.

Reason read: I call books that make you happy “ice cream” books. In the month of July, ice cream is one of the most sought after cool treats. Additionally, I needed a book for the Portland Public Library Reading Challenge for the category of a book that makes you happy. Even though I am a cat person, this made me smile.

Dogs, dogs, dogs. All things dogs. In the beginning of Especially Dogs, Taber writes a memoir of the dogs in her life, beginning with her first dog, Timmie, the Irish Setter. [As an aside, I cannot imagine putting a dog on a train! Her parents thought it would be a good idea for Timmie to visit Gladys when she got married, so Timmie made the trip from Wisconsin to Virginia in a crate.] To name a couple more special dogs in Taber’s life, the reader will meet Honey, the Cocker Spaniel, and Holly, the Irish Setter. You might think she is obsessed when you read that, at one point, Taber had thirty-five Cocker Spaniels, three Irish Setters, and three cats, all at the same time. This was the creation of Stillmeadow Kennel with her friend and former roommate, Jill.
Moving further into Especially Dogs, the reader will get a primer on how to housebreak a dog, how to feed a dog (I had no idea oatmeal could deteriorate a dog’s coat), how to introduce new or strange dogs to one another, how to make a dog heel when walking down a busy or distracting street, and even how to put your special pooch in competitions… the list goes on.
There is no doubt Taber loved her dogs. The love and humor in her writing makes that abundantly clear. This was a joy to read.

Quotes to quote, “Her approach to anything was always that there must be a book about it and she read them all” (p 89) and “We never bought a horse because I couldn’t figure out how to get it into the house” (p 177).

Author fact: Taber has written a plethora of books on various topics. I am only reading three for the Challenge. I already finished Stillmeadow Road and will have — after Especially Dogs. Taber is a self-professed addict of professional football.

Book trivia: really cute blank and white photographs of puppies and adult dogs are sprinkled throughout Especially Dogs…Especially at Stillmeadow.

Music: Tijuana Brass.

Nancy said: Pearl shared an interesting tidbit about Taber’s origin story.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Cozies” (p 57). See what I mean?

Night Garden: of My Mother

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Tyler, Sandra. The Night Garden: of My Mother. Pierian Springs Press, 2024.

Reason read: I am a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing. This is a book I specifically requested because of my current situation.

Sandra Tyler’s The Night Garden is thought-provoking and heart-wrenching. For any daughter sandwiched between being a mother and being motherly to her own mother, this is a must read. Read it before you are in that moment as a guide for the times to come. And come they will. Read it during the struggles and you will nod in agreement every time you turn the page. Read it afterward your mother is gone and you will look back at the bittersweet memories and maybe smile, just a little. There is truth on every page. There is humor to Tyler’s story, too.
I do not have children and I will never know the balance of caring for two different generations, but I do know the slow building sadness that bubbles within while watching your mother age. The little things you took for granted will become monumental heartbreaks. When a loved one disowns you, it is hard to not take it personally because you are also busy refusing to believe they no longer know what they are saying. It takes strength to realize you cannot have it both ways – sharp intellect in contrast to a mind lost to dementia. When Tyler’s mother had to relinquish her drivers license my heart cracked in half (although my own mother has never owned a license to operate an automobile). Another piece of identity drowned.
Be forewarned – Night Garden might start you thinking about your own mortality. Tyler evokes the poem “Spring and Fall to a Young Child” by Gerard Manley Hopkins without even trying. I found myself asking “When do you do if you know it is your last (danced, movie, fill in the blank)?” Would you rather know the exact date and time of your demise or not? What about the angel date of a loved one? Would you be okay knowing, “This is my last dinner with you. Ever.”?

Tyler is just a little younger than me when she describes her relationship with her mother. Her mother married when she was in her 40s while my mother had me at 19. Even still, all throughout the story I was having these little “that could be me” moments. Our mothers complained about phones. They were both artists. They were both widowed early in their lives. I felt the helplessness when Tyler described waiting for her mother to get to the point. There is that sinking feeling when you inevitably realize, twenty minute later, that there wasn’t one. If there had ever been a point it had been lost under tons of verbal garbage. When taken-for-granted routines become unwieldy and cumbersome. Things that used to take five minutes become forever minutes. I think the first time I recognized something was wrong with my mother was when we were getting ready for a show. She knew the time to be ready and yet, when the driver arrived, she was still in just her pantyhose and blouse. No skirt. No shoes. Her hair a mess. Mom? What have you been doing for the last 45 minutes?

Music: Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, James Taylor, “From a Distance”, Judy Collins, and “Silent Night”.

Addie

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Settle, Mary Lee. Addie: a Memoir. University of South Carolina Press, 1998.

Reason read: Mary Lee Settle was born in July. Read in her honor.

There is something to be said for honoring one’s past. The oral histories of yesteryear are the cornerstones to who we are as people today. When Mary Lee Settle decided to write about her grandmother, Addie Settle, she chose to recognize not only a blood relative, but historical events: World War I, the Great Depression and mining strikes with Mother Jones leading the way. Settle honors her own personal tapestry of life by remembering family holidays from her childhood, coming of age, and the natural beauty of Kentucky and the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia. My favorite section was the poignant moment when Settle went back to Pineville, Kentucky. Sixty-five years after leaving the area as a six year old little girl, sharp memories rushed to meet her at every turn.
As an aside: when Mary Lee Settle was nine or ten years old she wrote a poem. When that poem was published someone had changed a word in the finished copy. In childish indignation she vowed never to write again. I just love that self righteous ardor for the integrity of her craft at ten years old!

An another aside: was it a typo to call it Wail Street instead of Wall Street?

Line I liked, “When your childhood has been spent on the river, the river will, wherever you are, flow through your dreams forever” (p 177). This quote reminded me of Natalie Merchant’s song, “Where I Go” – a song about finding solace on the banks of a river.
And this: “We had learned to watch for signs of that happiness as you watch the weather” (p 125). Confessional: my sister and I ask each other about the weather when we are really asking about our mother’s mood. Like weather in New England, it can change in a heartbeat.
Here is another one: “Since my mother never forgave anybody, she refused to go to the funeral when her friend died at ninety” (p 185). Does this kind of obstinate stubbornness come with old age? I see this in my own mother.

Author fact: Settle is in the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.

Book trivia: I am reading ten different books by Mary Lee Settle. This is my first one off the Challenge list.

Music: “Little Corey”, Guy Lombardo, “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi”, “We shall Overcome”, “It was Sad When the Great Ship Went Down”, “In the shade of the Apple Tree”, “Down on the Farm”, Mozart, Nellie Lutcher, Flagstad & Melcior’s “Liebestod”, Hal Kemp, “If I Had the Wings of an Angel”, Tchaikovsky’s Second Piano Concerto, and “the Valley of Kentucky”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Companion Reads” (p 62) to be read with Charms for the Easy Life because they are both about the south.

Too Much Too Young

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Rachel, Daniel. Too Much Too Young: The 2 Tone Records Story” Rude Boys, Racism, and the Soundtrack of a Generation. Akashic, 2024.

Reason read: as a member of LibraryThing I sometimes get to review cool books in the Early Review program. Too Much Too Young is one such book.

Sit down too long with Too Much Too Young and you will start to feel like you are reading an encyclopedia of song and band names. Namedropping and song humming. Daniel Rachel has done his homework and then some when it comes to the musical beginnings of the 2 Tone record label with art student Jerry Dammers. Rachel even includes a tweet from 2020. The record label’s first signed bands: the Specials, the Selecter, and the Madness (and to think they could have signed UB40). 2 Tone’s sound: from the beginning there were a British take on Jamaican music but after a while they morphed into a mad scientist blend of ska, reggae, punk, rock, Motown, funk, pop, R & B, soul, and disco. Their goal: to represent opposition to discriminations of all types, to fight for equality, and to rage against a national epidemic of violence. They encouraged positivity and joy. Their look: tonic suits, porkpie hats, skinny ties, wraparound shades, and Dr. Martens. Rachel exposes the good, bad, and the ugly of the era. Well worth the encyclopedic read even though, when you think about it, you are reading about a record label that only lasted less than two years due to creative differences, clashing egos and in-fighting.
As an aside, I did not know that Jerry Dammers introduced the concept of Musak.
Same as it ever was: sometimes all it takes is that one unexpected opportunity. The Automatics stood in for the Clash and got their sound out there. Imagine Dragons did the same thing when the lead singer for Train was unable to perform.
Same as it ever was: skinheads hated the hippies and Pakistanis. There will always be hate in this world.

Natalie Moment: when Rachel was talking about performing “Hard Time”, a pessimistic song but dancing while performing it. Natalie talked about performing “What’s the Matter Here?” being a danceable tune about child abuse.
Another Natalie Moment: Too Much Too Young = Eat For Two?

Book trivia: Too Much Too Young takes its title from the Specials song “Too Much Too Young”, their first number 1 hit.

Author fact: Rachel has written a bunch of interesting books. Too Much Too Young is my first.

Best Line possible: “A band stands or falls by its drummer” (p 270). Amen to that.

Playlist Extravaganza:

  • Songs:
    • “007”
    • “10 Commandments”
    • “19”
    • “Aint No Love in the Heart of the City”
    • “Al Capone”
    • “Alcohol”
    • “Alphabet Army”
    • “Anarchy in the UK”
    • “At the Club”
    • “Atomic”
    • “Away”
    • “Back Home”
    • “Back to Life”
    • “Backfield in Motion”
    • “Baggy Trousers”
    • “the Ballad of Robin Hood”
    • “Bank Robber”
    • “Bed and Breakfast Man”
    • “Begin the Beguine”
    • “Berlin”
    • “Best Friend”
    • “Big Shot”
    • “Bitch”
    • “Black and Blue”
    • “Bluebeat and Ska?”
    • “the Boiler”
    • “the Boxer”
    • “Braggin’ and Tryin’ Not to Lie”
    • “Break down the Door”
    • “Bright Lights”
    • “Burn the Shithouse Down (Before the Yanks Do)”
    • “Cardiac Arrest”
    • “Carolina”
    • “Carry Go Bring Come”
    • “Celebrate the Bullet”
    • “Chant Down Babylon”
    • “Chiang Kai Shek”
    • “Click Click”
    • “Conscious Man”
    • “Concrete Jungle”
    • “Conspiracy”
    • “Coward of the County”
    • “Dancing wioth Tears in My Eyes”
    • “Danger”
    • “Dawning of a New Era”
    • “Do nothing”
    • “Do the Dog”
    • “Doesn’t Make It Right”
    • “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
    • “Double Barrel”
    • “Drowning in Berlin”
    • “the Easy Life”
    • “Easy Snappin'”
    • “Embarrassment”
    • “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)””
    • “the Entertainer”
    • “Envy the Love”
    • “Everyday”
    • “the Feelin’s Gone”
    • “Female Chauvinistic Pig”
    • “Fiesta”
    • “Free Love”
    • “(Free) Nelson Mandela”
    • “Friday Club”
    • “Friday Night, Saturday Morning”
    • “Funky Stuff”
    • “Gangsters”
    • “Ganja”
    • “Geno”
    • “Get Off of My Cloud”
    • “Ghost Town”
    • “Girls Talk”
    • “Give It Up”
    • “Going Underground”
    • “Greek Tragedy”
    • “Guns of Navarone”
    • “Hands Off…She’s Mine”
    • “Happy Birthday”
    • “Hawaii Five-0”
    • “Hear My Sing, Violetta”
    • “He’s Gonna Step on You Again”
    • “Hey Little Rich girl”
    • “Holiday Fortnight”
    • “Hot Legs”
    • “Housebound”
    • “I Call Your Name”
    • “I Can See Clearly Now”
    • “I Can’t Stand It”
    • “I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down”
    • “I Could Be Happy”
    • “I Don’t Want to Live with Monkeys”
    • “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
    • “I Shot the Sheriff”
    • “I Spy for the FBI”
    • “I’ll Fly for You”
    • “I’m an Upstart”
    • “I’m Going to Kill Myself”
    • “I’m in the Mood for Dancing”
    • “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida”
    • “Inner London Violence”
    • “the International Jet Set”
    • “the Israelites”
    • “It Aint Easy”
    • “It Mek”
    • “It Should Have Been Me”
    • “It’s Up to You”
    • “Jackpot”
    • “James Bond”
    • “Japanese Boy”
    • “Jaywalker”
    • “Jingle Bells”
    • “John Peel’s New Signature Tune”
    • “Jungle Music”
    • “Keep On Moving”
    • “King”
    • “Kingston Affair”
    • “Land of Hope and Glory”
    • “the Land of Make Believe”
    • “Let’s Clean Up the Ghetto”
    • “Let’s Do Rock Steady”
    • “Lip Up Fatty”
    • “Liquidator”
    • “Little Bitch”
    • “A Live Injection”
    • “Living a Life Without Meaning”
    • “London Bridge”
    • “Lonely Crowd”
    • “Long Live Love”
    • “Long Shot Kick de Bucket”
    • “the Lost and the Lonely”
    • “Love of the Common People”
    • “Lovers Concerto”
    • “the Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)”
    • “Maggie’s Farm”
    • “Magic Roundabout”
    • “Man at C & A”
    • “Mantrovani”
    • “Message in a Bottle”
    • “A Message to You Rudy”
    • “Messages”
    • “Mirror in the Bathroom”
    • “Mirror, Mirror (Mon Amour)”
    • “Missing Words”
    • “Mistakes”
    • “Money in My Pocket”
    • “Monkey Man”
    • “Monkey Spanner”
    • “Moonlight Sonata”
    • “Mother and Child Reunion”
    • “Mr Brown”
    • “Mr Full Stop”
    • “Mule Jerk”
    • “Murder”
    • “My Boy Lollipop”
    • “My Collie”
    • “My Ding-a-Ling
    • “My Generation”
    • “My Girl”
    • “Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Na Na Nu Nu”
    • “Neanderthal Man”
    • “Never on a Sunday”
    • “Night Boat to Cairo”
    • “Night Klub”
    • “Nutty Train”
    • “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
    • “Oliver’s Army”
    • “On My Radio”
    • “One of Us”
    • “One Minute Every Hour”
    • “One Step Beyond”
    • “Our Lips are Sealed”
    • “Out on the Streets”
    • “Palm Trees”
    • “Pearl’s Café”
    • “People Get Ready”
    • “Picking the Blues”
    • “Pirates on the Airways”
    • “Plead I Cause”
    • “Poison Ivy”
    • “Police and Thieves”
    • “The Prince”
    • “Put the Punk Back in Funk”
    • “Put People First”
    • “Pussy Prince”
    • “Racist Friend”
    • “Ranking Full Stop”
    • “Raquel”
    • “Rat Race”
    • “Red, Red Wine”
    • “Red Top”
    • “Reggae in Your Jeggae”
    • “Return of Django”
    • “Riders on the Storm”
    • “Robber Dub”
    • “Rock and Roll Nightmare”
    • “Romeo and Juliet”
    • “Rough Rider”
    • “Roxanne”
    • “Rude Boys Outa Jail”
    • “Ruder Than You”
    • “Rudi Got Married”
    • “Run for Your Life”
    • “Run Me down”
    • “Runaway Boys”
    • “Rush, rush”
    • “Saturday Night Beneath the Plastic”
    • “Saturday Night Special”
    • “Save It For Later”
    • “Sea Cruise”
    • “The Selecter”
    • “Shake Some Action”
    • “Shop Around”
    • “Silly Games”
    • “Ska Wars”
    • “Skinhead Moonstomp”
    • “Skinhead Symphony”
    • “Smokestack Lightning”
    • “Smoking My Ganja”
    • “Sock it to Em JB”
    • “Son of a Preacher Man”
    • “Soul Limbo”
    • “Soulful I”
    • “SpasticusAutisticus”
    • “Speak to Me of Love”
    • “Special Brew”
    • “Stereotypes”
    • “Stepping Into Line”
    • “Street Feeling”
    • “Stupid Girl”
    • “Stupid Marriage”
    • “the Sun Has Got It’s Hat On”
    • “Sweet and Dandy”
    • “the Swinging Cats Sing”
    • “Take 5”
    • “Tarzan’s Nuts”
    • “Tear the Whole Thing Down”
    • “Tears of a Clown”
    • “the Telephone Always Rings”
    • “Texas Hold-Up”
    • “They Make Me Mad”
    • “the Third Man Theme”
    • “Three Minute Hero”
    • “Time Hard”
    • “Time is Tight”
    • “To Cut a Long Story Short”
    • “Tom Hark”
    • “Too Experienced”
    • “Too Hot”
    • “Too Much Pressure”
    • “Too Much Too Young”
    • “Too Nice to Talk to”
    • “A Touch of Velvet – A String of Bass”
    • “Touchdown”
    • “Train to Skaville”
    • “Turning Japanese”
    • “Twist and Crawl”
    • “Under My Thumb”
    • “Video Killed the Radio Star”
    • “Vienna”
    • “Walking on the Moon”
    • “War Child”
    • “War Crimes (the Crime Remains the Same”
    • “Watching the Detectives”
    • “We Don’t Talk Anymore”
    • “We’re Only Monsters”
    • “West End Girls”
    • “What I Like Best About You is Your Girlfriend”
    • “What is Soul?”
    • “Whatcha Talkin’ About?”
    • “What’s It All About, Alfie?”
    • “When I Need You”
    • “Whine and Grine”
    • “the Whisper”
    • “Whistling Song”
    • “Why?”
    • “Why Argue with Fate”
    • “Wild Boys”
    • “Window Shopping”
    • “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”
    • “Wonderwall”
    • “Wrong Attitude”
    • “X”
    • “Yeh Yeh”
    • “Ylang Ylang”
    • “You Keep Me Hanging On”
    • “Young, Gifted and Black”
    • “Young Hearts Run Free”
    • “You’re Wondering Now”
  • Bands:
    • 10cc
    • ABBA
    • Adam and the AntsAngelic Upstarts
    • Akry Iykz
    • Alex Harvey Band
    • Altered Images
    • Andrew Ridgely
    • Apolloinaires
    • Aretha Franklin
    • the Automatics
    • Bach
    • Bad Manners
    • the Beat
    • the Beatles
    • Belinda Carlisle
    • Black Velvet
    • Blue Mink
    • Blodwyn Pig
    • Blondie
    • Bob Andy
    • Bob and Marcia
    • Bob Dylan
    • Bob Marley and the Wailers
    • Bobbie Henry
    • the Bodysnatchers
    • Booker T and the MGs
    • Boomtown Rats
    • Bow Wow Wow
    • Buck’s Fizz
    • Burning Spear
    • the Buzzcocks
    • Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
    • Capital Letters
    • Channel A
    • Chapter 5
    • Charlie Parkas
    • Charlie Parker
    • Chic
    • Chrissie Hynde
    • Chuck Berry
    • the Clash
    • Climie Fisher
    • Cockney Rebel
    • Cole Porter
    • Cool Interrogators
    • Coventry Automatics
    • Coventry Special
    • Criminal Class
    • the Cult
    • Curiosity Killed the Cat
    • the Damned
    • Dandy Livingstone
    • Darts
    • Dave and Ansel Collins
    • David Bowie
    • David Byrne
    • David Wakeling
    • Debbie Harry
    • Def Leppard
    • the Defendants
    • Dennis Brown
    • Desmond Decker and the Aces
    • Dexys Midnight Runners
    • Diana Ross
    • Dickie Doo & the Don’ts
    • Dire Straits
    • Dollar
    • the Dooleys
    • the Doors
    • Dr. Hook
    • Duane Eddy
    • Dudu Pukwana
    • Dum Dum Boys
    • Duran Duran
    • Dusty Springfield
    • Earthbound
    • Eddy Grant
    • Elton John
    • Elvis Costello and the Attractions
    • Elvis Presley
    • England World Cup Squad
    • the Equals
    • Equators
    • Eric Clapton
    • ET Rockers
    • Ethiopians
    • Everything But the Girl
    • the Faces
    • Fats Domino & the Coasters
    • Fine young Cannibals
    • Flamin’ Groovies
    • Fleetwood Max
    • Frankie Ford
    • Freddie and the Dreamers
    • the Friday Club
    • Fun Boy Three
    • Generation X
    • George Fame and the Blue Flames
    • George Michael
    • Gil Scot-Heron
    • the Go-Gos
    • Gregory Isaacs
    • Grinderswitch
    • Haircvut 100
    • Hard Top 22
    • Heatwave
    • the Higsons
    • Hipsway
    • Holly and the Italians
    • Horace Andy
    • Hot Chocolate
    • Housemartins
    • Howlin’ Wolf
    • Huey Lewis and the News
    • Hugh Masekela
    • Human League
    • the Hybrids
    • Ian Drury & the Blockheads
    • the Impressions
    • Iron Butterfly
    • Isley Brothers
    • J.B. Allstars
    • Jam
    • Janet Kay
    • Jaywalkers
    • Jazz Afrika
    • Jethro Tull
    • Jim Morrison
    • Jimmy Cliff
    • Joan Armatrading
    • Joan Baez
    • John Kongo
    • John Lennon
    • John Mayall
    • Johnny Nash
    • Johnny Rotten
    • Johnny Thunders
    • Jolly Brothers
    • Joy Division
    • Julian Bahula
    • Junior Murvin
    • K.C. & the Sunshine Band
    • Kate Bush
    • Kenny Rogers
    • Kim Wilde
    • the Kinks
    • Kool and the Gang
    • Laurel Aitken
    • the Lambrettas
    • Lena Martell
    • Lene Lovitch
    • Leo Sayer
    • the Leyton Buzzards
    • Liam Gallagher
    • Lionel Hampton
    • Little Feat
    • Lloydie and the —
    • Lou Reed
    • Lynn Franks
    • Madness
    • Mark Knopfler
    • Marvin Gaye
    • Matchbox
    • the Maytals
    • the Members
    • Mersey Beat
    • the Meritones
    • Merton Parkas
    • Mick Jagger
    • Millie Small
    • Mistakes
    • Mo-dettes
    • Mobiles
    • the Mood Mosaic
    • the Monkees
    • Motorhead
    • New Romantics
    • Neville Hinds
    • Neville Staple
    • Nicky Thomas
    • the Nips
    • Nite Train
    • Nolan Sisters
    • Oasis
    • Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark
    • Paul Hardcastle
    • Paul McCartney
    • Paul Simon
    • Pauline Vickers
    • Pay King
    • Pet Shop Boys
    • Peter Tosh
    • Pink Floyd
    • the Pioneers
    • Piranhas
    • Plastic Ono Band
    • The Pogues
    • the Police
    • Poly Styrene
    • Posh Spice
    • Prefabsprout
    • the Pretenders
    • Prince Buster
    • Pharaoh’s Kingdom
    • Public Image Limited
    • Ray Charles
    • Red Beans and Rice
    • Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers
    • Right Hand Lovers
    • Rod Stewart
    • Roddy Radiation and the Wild Boys
    • Rolling Stones
    • Ronnie Lane
    • Rory Gallagher
    • Roxy Music
    • RU12
    • the Ruts
    • Sade
    • the Saints
    • Sam & Dave
    • School Meals
    • the Selecter
    • Sex Pistols
    • the Shadows
    • Sham69
    • Showaddyywaddy
    • Sinead O’Connort
    • Siouxsie Sioux
    • Simply Red
    • Sister Sledge
    • Skatalites
    • the Slits
    • Sly and Robbie
    • Soft Cell
    • Soul II Soul
    • Southside Greek
    • Small Faces
    • Spandeau Ballet
    • the Specials
    • Special AKA
    • Squad
    • Squeeze
    • Steel Pulse
    • Steeleye Span
    • Stevie Wonder
    • the Stooges
    • Stray Cats
    • Style Council
    • Suicide
    • Sunday Best
    • the Supremes
    • Swing Out Sister
    • the Swinging Cats
    • the Swinging Laurels
    • Talking Heads
    • Ten Years After
    • Thin Lizzie
    • Thompson Twins
    • Three Degrees
    • Toyah Wilcox
    • the Transposed Men
    • True Expression
    • Tubeway Army
    • UB40
    • UK Subs
    • Ultravox
    • Untouchables
    • the Upsetters
    • the Vibrators
    • Victor Romero Evans
    • Wah! Heat
    • Way of the West
    • Wayne/Jayne County
    • Wham!
    • the Who
    • Working Week
    • XTC
    • Yoko Ono
    • the Young Rascals