Globe Corner Blogs

I will admit that I do have a soft spot for picture books. Those are little museums for me: I love getting lost in images, the mesmerizing details, in “reading” face expressions, and in thinking through every story caught on camera. Yet at the same time I am incredibly picky when it actually comes to choosing a particular book and taking it home. So it goes — I only want to own those that will keep that grip on me for a long, long time. There aren’t very many of such books, but it only makes my hunt for those gems more exciting.

Now I think I am about to give in and get a new one. Reuter’s Our World Now caught my eye the very moment it appeared in the store, and I still can’t put it out of my mind. At first glance it’s just another world-in-a-year-of-pictures book, but do open it and see for yourself that it’s a real treasure! Every single shot, from oil-covered shores to fashion shows, from subway scenes to soccer matches snaps perfect. Politicians triumph over movie stars in displaying emotions and every single face of a war survivor makes you stop and start thinking…

Yet another wonderful book to get. And knowing that such things don’t last long on a shelf, I better go get myself a copy right now.

Rocking the World--photo illustration by Llalan Fowler

Here at The Globe Corner Bookstore, we like to think we know a little bit about world music. We know the beat of a Salsa versus that of a Tango, we know the whine of an Irish accordion from that of a Cajun one, we know a Buena Vista Social Club from a BigBadBoogaloo — we also know which one’s best to dance to around the bookcases on a slow night. And let’s just say we are quite familiar with the Putumayo ouvre. Sometimes I even wake up in the morning with a track off “Arabic Groove” running through my head.

If I’m not careful I forget that, in all likelihood, most people my age don’t listen solely to the traditional music native to their homes. I, for example, listen to more than just the OSU Marching Band’s rendition of “Hang on Sloopy.” This month’s issue of the music/film/culture magazine, Paste, features bands from all over the world. Whether they buck tradition or embrace it, they all rock — here’s a few of my favorites:

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We recently got in a new history of the establishment of an autonomous Kurdistan (for the fussily precise, the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq), Invisible Nation by Quil Lawrence, which I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in the region’s rapidly changing political terrain. Continue Reading »