InDigest Picks

Books:
The Wild Thingsby Dave Eggers [McSweeneys]
+ Maybe this is just in New York, but it seems everywhere I turn there is something reminding me that Where the Wild Things Are is about to come out in theaters. Based on the children's story, and tied together with the screenplay for the film co-written by Eggers and director Spike Jonze, this is a more in depth version of Where the Wild Things Are. It's a dark, beautiful story that Eggers has adapted. You should of course get the fur-covered edition (pictured to the left).

Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Sonby Michael Chabon [Harper-Collins]
+ Chabon's first work of non-fiction is a series of intertwining essays that essentially amount to an auto-biography. Chabon's writing is always a pleasure to read. Reviews have already called this an "instant classic" (never heard that before), yet there is not reason to believe that this is not the case when it comes to work by Chabon. It seems that so much of his work does, all cliches aside, become an instant classic.

Music:
The Mountain Goats - Life of the World to Come[4AD]
+ The newest disc from John Darnielle is what you would expect, and yet still a little surprising. Every song on the album is named after a bible verse, which Darnielle explained/refused to explain as soon as the track listing was announced. The religious overtones make it a fascinating extension of Darnielle's discography, as he's always had a sort of intrigue with the stories of religion, while maintaining an agnostic stance. The Life of the World to Come is a great album that hits all of your favorite Mountain Goats tropes: piano ballads, catchy sing-along moments, Darnielle's rambling bellow and his wry sense of humor.

No Age - Losing Feeling[Sub-Pop]
+ The young Noise pop duo leaves LPs behind for their formerly favored EP format. It's a killer disc, that is only missing a waft of their fantastic collaborations with Bob Mould from their last tour and ATP appearance.

In Theaters:
Good Hair (Jeff Stilson) [Chris Rock Entertainment]
+ This Chris Rock hosted documentary seems to be of the mind that docs can be fun [gasp]. Rock travels the world stopping in laboratories, beauty salons and talking to people on the streets to discover the "mystery behind African-American hair."

Comics/Graphic Novels:
Dark Reign: Fantastic Four(Jonathan Hickman, Sean Chen)
+ I may have said this once or twice before, but Dark Reign is the best thing that's ever happened to the Marvel world. The collections of the comics, such as this one, are just starting to come out. If you haven't been keeping up with the comic world here's a good spot to start immersing yourself in Dark Reign. The Fantastic Four series isn't the best thing happening in Dark Reign, but, so far, everything has been pretty fantastic in this world.