Sunday, July 25, 2010

23: A Life in Jazz, Danny Barker

Excellent autobiography. Up there with Hear Me Talkin' to Ya in terms of enjoyment.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

22: Every Hand Revealed, Gus Hansen

Best poker book I've read. It's interesting to see how Gus isn't as insane as people make him out to be.

21: Schoolkind in Nederlands Indiƫ, 1947-1951, Anthon de Vries

My father's recollections of growing up in the Dutch East Indies. Wonderful, at least to me.

20: Linares! Linares!: A Journey into the Heart of Chess, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam

Obnoxiously expensive little paperback that gives you a taste of summer camp chess at the highest level. Doesn't dive particularly deep, and includes no actual chess whatsoever, but is a pleasant read, probably intentionally Hemmingway-esque in feeling, though not style, at times.

19: Texas Shout: How Dixieland Jazz Works, Tex Wyndham

Preachy and repetitive collection of columns by Tex Wyndham. I learned some interesting things, but I don't know whether I'll ever re-read this. (It doesn't have an index, so I may end up having to if looking for-that-one-thing—great.)

Anyway: don't bother with this if you have other jazz reading lying about.