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Style Magazine

Shelf Life: October 2018

ALBUMS 

THEN 

Director’s Cut—Kate Bush

Director’s Cut—Kate Bush

Kate Bush takes songs from two albums—1989’s Sensual World, and 1993’s Red Shoes—and pushes them into the ’00s, stripping away the vulnerability and of-the-times production. In many ways these are wholly new songs, tilted and shifted, and presented by an established, confident artist; the switch provides a fascinating contrast to original recordings that present a vulnerable young woman with something to prove. 


NOW

In the Blue Light—Paul Simon

Paul Simon digs back into his catalog to revisit some of his personal favorites from his 50-year recording career, plucking gems like “René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War,” “Darling Lorraine,” and “One Man's Ceiling is Another Man's Floor.” To aid in this new, fresh perspective, Simon has enlisted a who’s who of guest artists: Wynton Marsalis, Bill Frissell, chamber ensemble quintet yMusic, and drummers Jack Johnette and Steve Gadd. 


BOOKS 

THEN 

Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers

Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers

Much as Flannery O’Conner has become the celebrated voice of the gothic South, so too is the great Carson McCullers, author of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, among her many works. The title novella in this collection, one of McCullers’ most beloved, is an achingly gorgeous tale of love’s many twists and turns. Miss Amelia will stay in your heart long after you’re finished reading. 


NOW

Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon

Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon’s grandmother Dorothea always said Southern women were “whiskey in a teacup”: delicate and ornamental on the outside, strong and fiery inside. From midnight barn parties to her grandma’s favorite recipes, everyone’s BFF, the lovely Reese, shares her celebration of Southern life here—including her tried-and-true hot-roller technique (the secret is driving around in your car with the windows down). 


DVDs

THEN 

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Humphrey Bogart and legendary director John Ford teamed up to produce one of the best and darkest adventure movies ever made. This is a treasure-hunting film about the true heart of man—three strangers who become pals on the adventure to find gold; and then it’s every man for himself when the gold is in sight. Getting back alive without killing each other: that’s the real adventure. 


NOW

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Ron Howard takes this stand-alone story of pre-Darth Vader Han Solo and smartly places it a kind of futuristic Gilded Age, full of aviator jackets and art deco spaces, with an adventure-filled nod to the movie-house serials of the ’40s and ’50s that inspired Lucas to create Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Alden Ehrenrich captures the swagger of Solo without mimicking Ford…a delicate high-wire act that he pulls off with aplomb. 


By Sharon Penny