Book 83 - Susan Rigers "This Is What It Sounds Like"

Dr. Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas "This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You" (Vintage)







I found this book very interesting- the main author was a recording engineer for years (working with such people as Prince and Bare Naked Ladies) and has many stories about how creating an album works. After being an engineer, she went back to college and became a neuroscientist, specializing in how music and sound work in people’s brains (Ogas, her co-author, is also a neuroscientist who works in sound). So she understands music and sound from multiple angles. She explains what the seven different aspects of music are- lyrics, melody, rhythm, timbre, novelty, realism, and authenticity- and how they work. She talks about doing ‘record pulls’, where multiple people bring out their favourite music and share it, and how, if you like a certain musician, you’ll probably like musician “X”, also. It’s an educational read.

But- there is always a but- at no point does it tell you what the music says about you. I was kind of expecting something that told you how empathetic you were or if you were forward-thinking. So, I enjoyed the book which has lots of anecdotes about working in the music industry and lots of neurology information but the title is a little deceptive.

Book 84 - Peter Ackroyd "Alfred Hitchcock"

Peter Ackroyd "Alfred Hitchcock" (Vintage)




This is a pretty good biography of the famous director. The book covers of course his well-known movies and TV series, but also a good accounting of his character and personal life. Hitchcock could often be as strange and unpredictable as his movies and tied in often with some of the fears and obsessions that drove him.

One of the more surprising things about his works was that "Psycho" for which he may be most well known by the masses was not expected by himself to be much when first released. It seemed that he became ensnared in the quest to top his success that it ultimately did not pan out as his career malingered along with his age and mental decline.