Wednesday December 7, 2005 arts.michigandaily.com artspage@michigandaily.com Rhe dTSb-tgnvBailg 8 Happy holiday booklist TRU ' COMES OUT COMEDIAN Ar FiRu~u BRINGS HIS LATEST TO Az By Imran Syed Daily Arts Writer Al Franken is mad. George W. Bush and his thugs won four more years because of "fear" and "smear," Iraq is a ..........__ quagmire where thou- Al Franken sands continue to need- lessly die, social security Borders Books is marked for demolition and Music - and he's just not going Thursday at 7 p.m. to take it anymore. Best known for his self-touted "immensely popular political satire" and his comedic efforts in what he calls "the salad days of 'Saturday Night Live,' " Franken returns from his No. 1 bestseller "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" with "The Truth," a book as sharp and determined as Franken him- self has recently become. Whereas his previous works were content with taking jabs at his conservative nemeses, here Franken is even more focused. While old favorites such as Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh still receive Franken's ire, his diatribe against newcomer Zell ("my brain is melted with rage") Miller unquestionably steals the show. This time Fran- ken is out for more than laughs - he wants revenge for the lies, the smears, the fraud and the corruption. The release and success of Franken's latest, which remains No. 6 on The New York Times bestseller list more than one month after its release, has brought him into the spotlight once again. Franken is on a book signing tour, with a stop in Ann Arbor this Thursday. He will broad- cast his regular radio show, "The Al Franken Show," live, on-location from the Ann Arbor affiliate of Air America Radio from noon to 3 ne thing that really sucks for a University student is having so little time to do the things you love. My friends who are runners are too busy for it. My roommates haven't touched their guitars in weeks. And me? I've got no time to do one of the things I love the most in the world - read for. pleasure. It's been so long since I've picked up a book for something other than a class that I've forgot- ten the last thing I read. Was it "The Shining?" "Lolita?" "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"x (which, by the way, is B E a my favorite of the series. BE Who's with me!)? It NG seems I've finally come to the tragic end I've sworn to avoid forever: I go for weeks with- out reading a single self-indulgent word. Ye gods. This is serious. Thank goodness that there are only a few more weeks of hell until the blessed reprieve of winter break. Fellow Wolverines, realize how wonderful our winter break is despite its cruel brevity. Many other schools who operate on different academic systems (trimesters, quar- ters, etc.) hold exams after winter break. That means that while you're opening Christmas presents, spin- ning your dreidel or just sleeping- yourself silly, other students across the country dwell upon forthcom- ing tests that probably constitute a huge chunk of their grade. But for us, winter break is absolute dead time. We have no classes yet, which means we have no homework, which means we've got ... free time! YES. So in the interest of the read- ing public (this means you), I've compiled a list of books for you to use to while away idle hours dur- ing your two weeks of rest and relaxation. The good thing about this list is that no matter where you go - Florida, France or just your grandma's house - you can still check it out. If you're in a temperate climate, it's too cold to go outside anyway, and there's nothing better than curling up inside with a good book, hot chocolate and some warm socks. And hey, if the music staff is allowed to make endless lists of their best and worst CDs, I'm allowed to make a list too. There's something on it for every taste. Anything by Stephen King: I guess anyone who reads my col- umns knows I think he is the bomb. Hello, flashback to the '90s. But still, no one writes a page-turner the way this man can, and if you like scary movies, you'll like Ste- phen King. I think "Pet Semetary" R U is still hidden in my closet some- where. I was too scared to finish when I started reading it a few years ago, and I haven't been able to find it since I stashed somewhere out of view. I think maybe I piled a bunch of stuff around it to keep it guarded. Hemingway, Faulkner, Woolf, Nabokov, Shakespeare, Vonnegut: There's a reason why they're called classics. Some people might get turned off because they're the books English classes require you to read, but they are so, so, so good. "The Sound and NIE the Fury" - though a YEN jumbled-up mystery of a book - pulls at your heartstrings unbelievably. And I cried when I read "Othello." Real-. ly, I did. If you don't, you either have no heart or you're pretending to be a macho boy. Something romantic, and I'm not talking Harlequin: Read "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton, "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" by Carson McCullers, "Beloved" by Toni Morrison or "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston. Damn you, Oprah, for commodifying these books! But honestly, they're good. They're really, really good. And for those who prefer a lot of naked bits, read "Henry and June" by Anais Nin. Now that'll steam up your win- dows. Anything funny: Here, you can pick your poison. Comics? Sure! "Calvin and Hobbes," "The Far Side," "Dilbert." These are great for people with short attention spans. And books-wise, there's a reason why the reading level on the backs of kids book says "and up" because you're never too old to enjoy Roald Dahl's "Matilda" or his cinemati- cally butchered "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." And, of course, there's always room for nonfiction. But where's the fun in that? Just kidding (but not really). Winter break is your chance to kick back, relax and read a good book. Take it! You're always going to be too busy otherwise, and besides, you never know. You might actually find that you enjoy reading. So go. Rediscover your local library. Happy holidays ... and happy reading. - Nguyen's lapse into bad '90s slang is only temporary, we promise, but she really does dig Stephen King. Too bad he doesn't own a duck farm. E-mail her at banguyen@umich.edu. Courtesy of Dutton "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and conservatives hate me. Boo-yah." p.m. and will sign copies of his book at the Bor- ders on East Liberty Street starting at 7 p.m. Air America Radio was launched in March 2004 as an alternative to the growing wave of conservative talk shows that were flooding the airwaves. "The Al Franken Show," which was one of Air America's original series, remains its most successful and popular forum for polit- ical commentary, and still continues to gain popularity and credibility in the public eye. As Franken notes in the book, he has a daily audience of two million listeners, which, though significant, is still dwarfed by the nine million who regularly tune in for Rush Limbaugh. But Franken remains unfazed and defiant: "We should think about what we have to do in Amer- ica," he says. "We have to throw these guys out. Step one is 2006. The work starts now." Franken makes no secret of the fact that he was distraught after John Kerry's defeat. But that political failure has only made him more determined. "The Truth" is part of his concerted effort to expose the falsehoods of Republicans. Toward that end, he masterfully uncovers the hypocrisy of a colorful cast of government offi- cials such as Tom DeLay, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and the potty-mouth Paul Wolfowitz. Franken concludes his book with a mock letter to his grandchildren (named Barack and Hillary, of course), who aren't to open it until 2015. In it we see an exaggerated vision of Franken's America, which, though humorous, serves as a strong reminder of all that America once had but now lacks. Through his books, radio show, numerous speaking tours and an all-but-finalized run for the U.S. Senate, Al Franken is clearly willing to fight for what he believes. The rest among the millions of gov- ernmental dissidents would do well to follow in those footsteps. Bnitish band rushes into Detroit's Shelter S By Andrew Bielak Daily Arts Writer If there is a sound in modern rock that is distinctly British, the ris- ing English rock-quintet Goldrush certainly isn't striving for it. "I've always been into more Ameri- can bands," said frontman Robin Bennet, who cited legends Neil Young and Johnny Cash as a Goldrush Thursday, Dec. 8 8 p.m. At the Shelter ing a particular experience that served as inspiration for the group's LP Ozona, released earlier this year. "The album title comes from a Texas town our van broke down in a couple of years ago - there was only one bar in town, and we met some rednecks there. We were about to leave, and one of them says 'Have you ever shot a gun before?' So they drove us into the desert and taught us how to shoot, though we thought they might be shooting us ... We got out of it alive, so it got to be a good name for the record." Bennet added that coming to the United States for six months with no money "toughened (them) up" and helped develop a certain edge on their latest recording. Currently in their fifth year together, the members have reached a few important landmarks early on in their careers. Along with Joe Ben- net, the singer's brother and band- mate, Robin created the Truck Music Festival, an annual nonprofit gather- ing currently in its eighth year. While initially just a fun idea, Bennet said that the festival has evolved into "somewhat of a big deal," attracting more than 100 bands in 2005 to the artists' home- town where it is held. Beyond the music festival, the band aimed to establish its presence early on by founding an accompany- ing label, Truck Records. Looking back on the challenges of starting the label before his band had fully formed, Bennet said, "It was pretty difficult at first. Luckily, with the first few things we put out on the record label, people were keen on us right away." The band's self-promoting efforts have paid off thus far, with its record label, music festival and own popular- ity growing each year in both the Unit- ed States and the United Kingdom. Describing the tone of his group's most recent project as one of "defi- ant happiness," Bennet sees plenty couple of his biggest influences. Rolling into Detroit's Shelter this Thursday evening, the Oxford natives shun Coldplay's atmospheric pop and Bloc Party's garage-dance rock, both of which are now popular in their homeland in favor of a pas- toral, country-tinged style. "I've always kind of enjoyed that Western sound," Bennet said, detail- of need to stay positive in a world where optimism is becoming harder and harder to find. "There is a lot to be depressed about right now - there are so many dark things going on ... and I think there's a need for music that's (going to) inspire people." 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