The blind Country and Western singer recounts his difficult childhood, describes the highlights of his professional career, and discusses the people and events that contributed to his success

Almost Like A Song is a book of simple poems, telling a simple story.

Kids will love this cumulative and hysterical read-aloud that features a free downloadable song "I was walking down the road and I saw... a donkey, Hee Haw And he only had three legs He was a wonky donkey." Children will be in fits of laughter with this perfect read-aloud tale of an endearing donkey. By the book's final page, readers end up with a spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey Download the free song at www.scholastic.com/wonkydonkey.

Fiction. You can almost make just enough money to buy heroin every day by jacking off for people on the Internet. This is America. That makes you an entrepreneur. But how do you stop being human? Is it possible? What if you can't? What then? In this relentless, heart-shattering first novel, Jonathan Reiss gently takes your hand and leads you on a grand insider's tour of the nicest parts of hell, where giving up on everything is extremely hard work. "GETTING OFF is raunchy, sad, weird, smart, and riotously fun to read. Gross sex, drug shakes, LA, scary cults--what more can you ask for? Reiss has written a refreshingly dark book, with pretty much zero redemption for his characters but plenty of attention and love."--Paula Bomer "As soon as I read the first paragraph I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep till I'd finished. Because it was too real. Novels have endings, thank God."--Stoya "Jonathan Reiss is a real rocket ship of a writer. Wild and sad, GETTING OFF pops with complicated worlds of internet sex, dreams, and loss. This is a book full of web cam hook-ups and people wanting to be fucked by the ocean. It's a book asking you to show your chest and prove you're not a cop, even though we all are."--Scott McClanahan "Beautifully written, terribly sad, and frightfully funny. It's an experience almost so painful that you can't turn away from it, and it doesn't let up until it's finished. I loved it."--Sean Bonnette, cofounder of AJJ "A surprisingly affectionate novel...Reiss's sympathy for Simon--not to mention his sense of humor--carries his readers along on a trip that could have been tedious in the hands of a lesser storyteller. Neither Reiss nor Simon wallows in Simon's misery. Simon treats his sex work matter-of-factly; Reiss refuses to make jerking off for other men a straight guy's vision of absolute hell...Reiss sees the harm where it belongs--not in sexwork, but in the more overarching despair and primal self-loathing that causes and sustains most junkies' despair and self-destruction."--Ed Sikov "Much like its predecessors, such as Donald Goines's Dopefiend and Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, Reiss doesn't shy away from showing the complete squalor a broke heroin addict lives in. . . . both disgusting and engaging, entertaining, and full of excellent writing...An excellent debut."--Ben Arzate

A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart. Flash forward twenty years. Travis and Craig both have great lives, careers, and loves. But something is missing .... Travis is the first to figure it out. He's still in love with Craig, and come what may, he's going after the boy who captured his heart, even if it means forsaking his job, making a fool of himself, and entering the great unknown. Told in narrative, letters, checklists, and more, this is the must-read novel for anyone who's wondered what ever happened to that first great love.

In 1996, Patterson Hood recruited friends and fellow musicians in Athens, Georgia, to form his dream band: a group with no set lineup that specialized in rowdy rock and roll. The Drive-By Truckers, as they named themselves, grew into one of the best and most consequential rock bands of the twenty-first century, a great live act whose songs deliver the truth and nuance rarely bestowed on Southerners, so often reduced to stereotypes. Where the Devil Don’t Stay tells the band’s unlikely story not chronologically but geographically. Seeing the Truckers’ albums as roadmaps through a landscape that is half-real, half-imagined, their fellow Southerner Stephen Deusner travels to the places the band’s members have lived in and written about. Tracking the band from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia, to the author’s hometown in McNairy County, Tennessee, Deusner explores the Truckers’ complex relationship to the South and the issues of class, race, history, and religion that run through their music. Drawing on new interviews with past and present band members, including Jason Isbell, Where the Devil Don’t Stay is more than the story of a great American band; it’s a reflection on the power of music and how it can frame and shape a larger culture.

It's the summer of 1979. A 15-year-old boy listens to WNEW on the radio in his bedroom in Brooklyn. A monotone voice (it's the singer's) announces into dead air in between songs "The Talking Heads have a new album, it's called Fear of Music" - and everything spins outward from that one moment. Jonathan Lethem treats Fear of Music (the third album by the Talking Heads, and the first produced by Brian Eno) as a masterpiece - edgy, paranoid, funky, addictive, rhythmic, repetitive, spooky and fun. He scratches obsessively at the album's songs, guitars, rhythms, lyrics, packaging, downtown origins, and legacy, showing how Fear of Music hints at the directions (positive and negative) the band would take in the future. Lethem transports us again to the New York City of another time - tackling one of his great adolescent obsessions and illuminating the ways in which we fall in and out of love with works of art.

"An utterly satisfying examination of the business of popular music." —Nathaniel Rich, The Atlantic There’s a reason today’s ubiquitous pop hits are so hard to ignore—they’re designed that way. The Song Machine goes behind the scenes to offer an insider’s look at the global hit factories manufacturing the songs that have everyone hooked. Full of vivid, unexpected characters—alongside industry heavy-hitters like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Max Martin, and Ester Dean—this fascinating journey into the strange world of pop music reveals how a new approach to crafting smash hits is transforming marketing, technology, and even listeners’ brains. You’ll never think about music the same way again. A Wall Street Journal Best Business Book

There are few creative acts more mysterious and magical than writing a song. But what if the goal wasn't so mysterious and was actually achievable for anyone who wants to experience more magic and creativity in their life? That's something that anyone will be inspired to do after reading Jeff Tweedy's How to Write One Song. Why one song? Because the difference between one song and many songs isn't a cute semantic trick—it's an important distinction that can simplify a notoriously confusing art form. The idea of becoming a capital-S songwriter can seem daunting, but approached as a focused, self-contained event, the mystery and fear subsides, and songwriting becomes an exciting pursuit. And then there is the energizing, nourishing creativity that can open up. How to Write One Song brings readers into the intimate process of writing one song—lyrics, music, and putting it all together—and accesses the deep sense of wonder that remains at the heart of this curious, yet incredibly fulfilling, artistic act. But it’s equally about the importance of making creativity part of your life every day, and of experiencing the hope, inspiration, and joy available to anyone who’s willing to get started.

This updated New York Times bestselling collection of essays by seven-time Grammy nominated singer songwriter Sara Bareilles “resonates with authentic and hard-won truths” (Publishers Weekly)—and features new material on the hit Broadway musical, Waitress. Sara Bareilles “pours her heart and soul into these essays” (Associated Press), sharing the joys and the struggles that come with creating great work, all while staying true to yourself. Imbued with humor and marked by Sara’s confessional writing style, this essay collection tells the inside story behind some of her most popular songs. Well known for her chart-topper “Brave,” Sara first broke through in 2007 with her multi-platinum single “Love Song.” She has since released seven albums that have sold millions of copies and spawned several hits. “A breezy, upbeat, and honest reflection of this multitalented artist” (Kirkus Reviews), Sounds Like Me reveals Sara Bareilles, the artist—and the woman—on songwriting, soul searching, and what’s discovered along the way.