THEThe book market set an all-time record in 2021: according to Panel GfK by Adei (the association of independent publishers) the value of sales it touched one and a half billion euros as it grew of 16.6%. All the main publishing genres contributed to the market trend; books for children and teenagers by 12% the non-fiction and manuals of 10% and 26%. Finally, the narrative that compared to 2020 marked a marked increase (+ 21% in copies).
This week’s must-read books are about music. Soon the Sanremo festival begins (from 1 to 5 February) which last year decreed the incredible victory of the Maneskin. Last year they played as a supporter of the Rolling Stones. More than this…
1 / Books to read. Maneskin. We are rock
Why read it
Maximalists, excessive and bold: the Maneskins are the portrait of a cosmopolitan and gender fluid generation, ready to take its own space without having to compromise. Told by Guia Cortassa, who for the editorial board of Rolling Stone he has personally followed the Måneskin during X Factorthis illustrated monograph retraces theand main stages in the history of the Roman grouprecounting their biography and focusing on some of the salient artistic moments that brought them to the top of the charts around the world.
From busking through the streets of central Rome to opening of the Rolling Stones concert at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, that of Måneskin is a story of determination and success. In their early twenties, Damiano David, Vic De Angelis, Thomas Raggi and Ethan Torchio have trod the stages of the most important musical events – from X Factor to the Sanremo Festival, fromEurovision Song Contest ai MTV Europe Music Awards – winning festivals and awards.
They posed for fashion ad campaigns and broke records andfinally, conquered the United States, participating as guests in the most famous TV shows and playing on important stages. All remaining always true to themselves and to rock, of which they have become the new international flag
Info. Maneskin we are rock. Guia Cortassa. Centauria. 14.90 euros.
2 / Books to read. The devil wears Gaga
Why read it
This book is not just a bio, but an attempt to grasp, dismember and analyze the body of the work of a great artist, of the last great world diva, whose songs are but the tip of the iceberg. Lady Gaga crosses music, fashion, cinema, advertising, politics, overturning the concept of PopArt. No longer art at the service of mass culture, but mass culture at the service of art: therefore, ArtPop.
Every step, every apparition, each Lady Gaga album is a cultural and costume revolution. Scandalous, excessive, “Mother Monster” has become the symbol of diversity. Elusive and iconic, Gaga plays with her multiple personality, exhibiting the thousand faces of her heart laid bare.
Angel and demon, may be the soap and water girl A star is born and at the same time the diabolical bloodthirsty Countess from “American Horror Story”. A multiform and chameleonic book, just like the narrated subject.
Info. The devil wears Gaga. Andrea Biscaro. Hank’s workshop. € 16.15.
3 / Books to read. The ballad of Nina Simone
Why read it
Eunice Kathleen Waymon was born in Tryon, North Carolina, daughter of a reverend and a handyman, February 21, 1933. And immediately shows a gift, for music and singing, so much so that the community of faithful of her church scream for a miracle. But God’s gifts are not wasted, and Eunice is put on to study classical music with the utmost rigor. Thus begins, between home and church, study and psalms, the journey of one of the most extraordinary singers and musicians of the twentieth century: Nina Simone. A path made of music, of course, pains, of failed marriages, violence suffered, racism.
Until an awareness, the meeting with Martin Luther King, the example of Rosa Parks. And the music, music that becomes an instrument of struggle and disobedience, of awakening of souls and consciences. Francesca Genti, one of the best Italian poetesses of the last thirty years, writes a novel in verse about the life of Nina Simone. And they are musical verses, very modern, with an extraordinary use of rhyme.
Info. The ballad of Nina Simone. Francesca Genti. HarperCollins. 16 euros.
4 / Books to read. Happiness in this world
Why read it
How can we live better, fully, and find the profound meaning of our existence? How can we feel happy despite daily problems and worries? This book tries to give some answers to these questions, to make us see life from another point of view, to give us a hand in these times when uncertainty seems to be the only certainty. Whether we are Buddhists or not, it ultimately doesn’t matter.
Info. Happiness in this world. Giuseppe Cloza. Joints. 7 euros.
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