Lap it up: time to find summer swimming spots in New Orleans
Looking for a summer read? We've rounded up a few non-fiction titles that might pique your interest. Everything from cocktails to local interior design to country music. Check out these new titles, available to order through your local bookseller.
Bohemian Soul: The Vanishing Interiors of New Orleans
Valorie Hart with photos by Sara Essex Bradley
Rizzoli, $65
This beautiful coffee-table book is “A celebration of the unique decorative style of New Orleans, featuring the resplendent rooms of seventeen decadent residences rich with patina, family heirlooms and history.” It’s a through-the-keyhole jaunt through some of the city’s most stylish homes. That doesn’t necessarily mean the most affluent or opulent, but rather homes that reflect the personalities of their owners, as well as the idiosyncratic glamor of our city. Inside, you’ll find Garden District cottages and Creole mansions, all replete with family heirlooms and curios. The author teases out eccentricities with deft descriptions, and the photography does more than poetic justice to the interiors.
The French 75
John Maxwell Hamilton
LSU Press, $19.95
This is the latest addition to the wonderful ‘Iconic New Orleans Cocktails’ series (see also: The Absinthe Frappe, The Vieux Carre, The Roffignac, The Café Brûlot and The Sazerac). Here’s a drink that has become globally-recognized, and for good reason. According to legend, the cocktail was named by French propagandists during World War I, as it was said to pack a punch as powerful as that nation’s celebrated 75mm cannon. The author chases down the drink’s origins and evolutions, as well as its global iterations right up to its appearance at Arnaud’s Restaurant. Some excellent research, and a compelling story.
Willie, Waylon, and the Boys: How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever
Brian Fairbanks
Hachette Books, $32.50
In this fascinating new book, New Orleans author Brian Fairbanks draws a line from Buddy Holly, right through the ‘Outlaw’ stars of the 60s and 70s, and finally all the way to the country headliners and the more diverse, up-and-coming Nashville rebels of today. Fairbanks’ compelling stories bring the reader deep into the worlds of not only Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, and Jennings but contemporary artists like Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell.
Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits
Aaron Goldfarb
Abrams Press, $27
One of the weirdest experiences of my journalistic life was being taken to the French chateau of a Cognac company and being allowed to taste their 200+ year old vintage collection. It may have been wasted on my uneducated palate, but it would not have been so for the collectors detailed in this fascinating look at antique booze collectors. They are, to a person, characterful maniacs, and Goldfarb is an accessible, charismatic writer who knows his subject matter. Treasure hunts, murky activities, obsessions…it all makes for great storytelling, and Goldfarb delivers it all wonderfully.
Curepedia
Simon Price
Harper Collins, $40
With New Orleans being one of the more gothic cities in the U.S., The Cure have somewhat of a spiritual home here, and have played in town many times. “Writing a book about The Cure means writing a book about EVERYTHING,” says the author, a music press veteran and one of the most respected voices in UK music journalism. It’s a literal A-Z, starting with A Forest (one of their most beloved songs), and ending with Zoology, a look at the animalistic motifs in their body of work. If you’re a fan of The Cure, it’s hard to imagine a more complete deep dive into their history.
A Quick Drink: The Speedrack Guide to Winning Cocktails For Any Mood
Lynette Marrero and Ivy Mix with Megan Krigbaum
Abrams Press, $27.50
If you’ve been to Tales of the Cocktail (a booze industry event that takes place here every summer), then you may have seen Speed Rack. It’s an all-women bartending competition that raises money for breast cancer charities and the profiles of the women who work in bartending. It’s also a ton of fun and has resulted in this 100-recipe cocktail book. It’s a strikingly colorful book, full of the authors’ energies and passion and with a good amount of resources for home bartenders and professionals alike. The recipes will expand your repertoire and the photos capture the Speed Rack ethos with aplomb.
Valorie Hart with photos by Sara Essex Bradley
Rizzoli, $65
This beautiful coffee-table book is “A celebration of the unique decorative style of New Orleans, featuring the resplendent rooms of seventeen decadent residences rich with patina, family heirlooms and history.” It’s a through-the-keyhole jaunt through some of the city’s most stylish homes. That doesn’t necessarily mean the most affluent or opulent, but rather homes that reflect the personalities of their owners, as well as the idiosyncratic glamor of our city. Inside, you’ll find Garden District cottages and Creole mansions, all replete with family heirlooms and curios. The author teases out eccentricities with deft descriptions, and the photography does more than poetic justice to the interiors.
The French 75
John Maxwell Hamilton
LSU Press, $19.95
This is the latest addition to the wonderful ‘Iconic New Orleans Cocktails’ series (see also: The Absinthe Frappe, The Vieux Carre, The Roffignac, The Café Brûlot and The Sazerac). Here’s a drink that has become globally-recognized, and for good reason. According to legend, the cocktail was named by French propagandists during World War I, as it was said to pack a punch as powerful as that nation’s celebrated 75mm cannon. The author chases down the drink’s origins and evolutions, as well as its global iterations right up to its appearance at Arnaud’s Restaurant. Some excellent research, and a compelling story.
Willie, Waylon, and the Boys: How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever
Brian Fairbanks
Hachette Books, $32.50
In this fascinating new book, New Orleans author Brian Fairbanks draws a line from Buddy Holly, right through the ‘Outlaw’ stars of the 60s and 70s, and finally all the way to the country headliners and the more diverse, up-and-coming Nashville rebels of today. Fairbanks’ compelling stories bring the reader deep into the worlds of not only Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, and Jennings but contemporary artists like Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell.
Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits
Aaron Goldfarb
Abrams Press, $27
One of the weirdest experiences of my journalistic life was being taken to the French chateau of a Cognac company and being allowed to taste their 200+ year old vintage collection. It may have been wasted on my uneducated palate, but it would not have been so for the collectors detailed in this fascinating look at antique booze collectors. They are, to a person, characterful maniacs, and Goldfarb is an accessible, charismatic writer who knows his subject matter. Treasure hunts, murky activities, obsessions…it all makes for great storytelling, and Goldfarb delivers it all wonderfully.
Curepedia
Simon Price
Harper Collins, $40
With New Orleans being one of the more gothic cities in the U.S., The Cure have somewhat of a spiritual home here, and have played in town many times. “Writing a book about The Cure means writing a book about EVERYTHING,” says the author, a music press veteran and one of the most respected voices in UK music journalism. It’s a literal A-Z, starting with A Forest (one of their most beloved songs), and ending with Zoology, a look at the animalistic motifs in their body of work. If you’re a fan of The Cure, it’s hard to imagine a more complete deep dive into their history.
A Quick Drink: The Speedrack Guide to Winning Cocktails For Any Mood
Lynette Marrero and Ivy Mix with Megan Krigbaum
Abrams Press, $27.50
If you’ve been to Tales of the Cocktail (a booze industry event that takes place here every summer), then you may have seen Speed Rack. It’s an all-women bartending competition that raises money for breast cancer charities and the profiles of the women who work in bartending. It’s also a ton of fun and has resulted in this 100-recipe cocktail book. It’s a strikingly colorful book, full of the authors’ energies and passion and with a good amount of resources for home bartenders and professionals alike. The recipes will expand your repertoire and the photos capture the Speed Rack ethos with aplomb.