Kirjahaku

A wise, bighearted, and hilarious look at one teenager's life by a remarkable new voice in contemporary fiction. It's 1992, and as Vim Sweeney deals with the recent end of his high school career and the uncertainty of his future, America shares his angst. In Seattle, Kurt Cobain reeks of teen spirit. In Washington, George Bush (the first one) has just finished rattling his saber at Saddam Hussein. And in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Vim is trying to put off adulthood and all that comes with it, whatever that is, for as long as he can. He's already juggling guitars, girls, and a long-absent biological father who's suddenly making noise about Wanting to Be Involved. And he still can't convince his friends why local schoolboy hero Derek Jeter is bound for obscurity. Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way traces Vim's stumble toward adulthood as he comes to terms with his parents, balances friendships and infatuation with varying levels of success, and accepts that the things he thought would last forever probably won't. Generous in spirit and laugh-out-loud funny, here is a novel that introduces a tremendous new talent and deftly captures the alternately amusing and harrowing process of holding on until you find your way. "Poetic...will invite comparisons to Nick Hornby, but let it be said that Charles does it his way." - Booklist "As brave and funny a debut as I’ve read in a long time." - Sam Lipsyte, author of Home Land "Shoots into you like a bolt of electricity, sparking all kinds of excited feelings about art and life and writing." - Thomas Beller, author of The Sleep-Over Artist and How to be a Man

This title presents a compelling examination of the classic "Pavement" album, including interviews with all band members and record label staff. Upon its release in 1995, Wowee Zowee confounded a lot of "Pavement"'s fans. And yet, over the subsequent years, it's an album that has come to be acclaimed by many as an alternative rock masterpiece. Bryan Charles talks to the people who made the record and those close to them at the time, letting them tell the story of how the record came to be, how they felt about it then and how they feel about it now. Charles pays close attention to Malkmus' growth as a musician and songwriter, both of which are evident everywhere on Wowee Zowee. He demonstrates how Malkmus essentially throws words together on the spot, often while tape is rolling or he's standing on stage, and argues that this shows an extraordinary verbal gift rare enough in the field of literature, to say nothing of rock and roll. 'A growing Alexandria of rock criticism' - "Los Angeles Times", 2008. 'This title is ideal for the rock geek who thinks liner notes just aren't enough' - "Rolling Stone". 'One of the coolest publishing imprints on the planet' - "Bookslut". For more information on the series and on individual titles in the series, check out our blog.