In the second week of October, the entertainment folks have apparently come back from peeping the leaves, and are refreshed with a veritable grab bag of options. Lil Wayne wants to remind you he’s human (or actually that he’s not) with a new album recorded just before ducking into jail. Meanwhile, both the Dalai Lama and Russell Brand come out with their latest outlining of their philosophical outlooks. There’s even the latest from the writer of The Reader. So, without further ado:
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Ethiopian-born Chicagoan Dinaw Mengenstu has earned a reputation among the literary world as one of the more intriguing and innovative novelists on the rise. How To Read the Air — a book Publishers Weekly called “elegant and unusual” in a rave review — should do nothing to impede his ascendancy as the author tells the story of a man and woman at a dinner party weaving well-crafted lies about the latter’s father. For fans of Junot Diaz and Gish Jen.
More Fiction Suggestions:
If you dig dystopian universes as seen through younger eyes (as in the worlds of Suzanne Collins and Catherine Fisher), you night like James Dashner’s second volume of the Maze Runner trilogy, The Scorch Trials.
If you’re hunting down a big time thriller in the mode of Tom Clancy and Frederick Forsyth, you might like the master John Le Carre’s latest, Our Kind of Traitor.
New Nonfiction
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When Mike Birbiglia first emerged on the comedy scene, there was little to hint that he would be more than a standard, if funny, stand-up. However, with his online (secret public) journal, and his critically acclaimed 2008 off-Broadway play Sleepwalk With Me, the Shrewsbury, Massachusetts native developed into an ace storyteller in the style of Spalding Gray. More than a companion to his stage piece, the book Sleepwalk With Me continues to build Birbiglia’s rep for turning his neuroses and disorders into something beautiful. For fans of Gray or either Sedaris sibling.
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If you heart-ed the 80s, and/or dug the remembrances of its pop stars such as Pat Benatar and Belinda Carlisle, you might like Rick Springfield’s Late, Late At Night.
If you need some cute and you love cats and specifically the late star of Dewey, The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched The World, you might like the latest in that series, Dewey’s Nine Lives.
New Movies in Theaters
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Clint Eastwood’s come a long way from those minimalist “Man Without A Name” days. Now a full time director inching into his octogenarian years, Eastwood thrives in exhilarating landscape films — however, never at the expense of the plot. Hereafter is no exception as Matt Damon brings to life a former psychic who merely wishes to escape his past (but, as is always the way, he cannot). For fans of The Fisher King and The Sixth Sense.
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If you’re looking for some let’s-get-the-team-back-together action in the spirit of The Losers or Ocean’s Eleven, but with Oscar winner Helen Mirren toting one of the machine guns, you might like Red.
If you’re itching to fight the system like the heroes of Erin Brockovich or The Rainmaker, you might like Conviction.
New Music
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Dar Williams has been plying her brand of gentile, yet often caustic brand of indie folk for almost twenty years now. On Many Great Companions, the singer-songwriter gathers a host of musical genius friends she’s met along the way to rerecord many of her best concoctions. The two-CD collection hits a peak on an elegant duet (with album producer, Jayhawks’ Gary Louris) of her classic “As Cool As I Am.” For fans of Ani DiFranco and Jonatha Brooke.
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If you feel like reliving your youthful television viewing over music reminiscent of the playful pop-infused ska of bands like Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger, you might like veteran Florida act Less Than Jake’s TV/Ep.
If you desire wistful modern baroque pop to whisk you away from it all (to go with that Stars and Broken Social Scene marathon you’re planning), you might like the latest for the ever-reliable Scots Belle & Sebastian, Write About Love.
Editor’s Pick:
If Leaves of Grass has the gleefully absurd feel of a Coen Brothers film, it’s not too surprising as director Tim Blake Nelson is a frequent denizen of Ethan & Joel’s world. With Edward Norton playing opposite Edward Norton (as two vastly differing twins), the misunderstandings fly, the baddies chase, and a fun little romp ensues. For fans of The Darjeeling Limited, Adaptation, and pretty much any Coen Bros film.
More DVD Suggestions:
If you enjoy a clever comic book inspired film such as Sin City or Watchmen, you might enjoy Jonah Hex.
If you’re looking for an intelligent, unusual children’s film in the vein of Ponyo or The Incredibles, you might like How To Train Your Dragon.
Video Games
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It’s been 16 years since we’ve last seen an official volume of the adventures of Sonic — the spunky blue rodent who curls into a ball to take down all comers and collect as many coins as humanly (or hedgehogly?) possible. Over the years, however, that simple formula became complicated. The first episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 takes the game back to the simple side-scrolling, one-protagonist structure which made many a game-player delighted in the early 90s. For fans of Mario Kart and Spyro.
More Video Game Suggestions:
If you feel like flamboyantly taking out your aggression in the virtual ring with a game akin to WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw or UFC Undisputed, you might like Lucha Libre AAA.
If you’re looking for a wholesome video fighting obsession for your kids similar to Bakugan Battle Brawlers or Ben 10 Alien Force (or just wish relive your days caring for your Tamagotchi), you might like Invizimals.
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Brooklyn author Myla Goldberg does not shy away from changing up her game — her debut Bee Season was set in the world of competitive spelling while her underrated sophomore tome Wickett’s Remedy cast love and loss against the backdrop of the 1918 influenza outbreak. Her latest, 
What’s most wonderful about Cesar Millan — well, aside from his oodles of unassuming charm — may be the sincere affection he clearly has for all the pets whose lives he enters. 
While Anna Boden may not be a household name, she has quietly created two of the great small sad-protagonist films of the past five years — Half Nelson and Sugar. While 
To many, the month of October is inexorably linked to baseball as the pennant races give way to the playoffs and ultimately the World Series. Hence, the release to DVD of 
As the World Series comes to a close, the basketball season starts its long march to the NBA Finals. If you want a preview of how Miami’s triple threat of LeBron & Friends fares against the Celtics (now infused with two more O’Neals) or the defending champion Lakers — or just want to play some hoops without leaving your feet, video basketball’s gold standard game is out with its latest version 
Humorist David Sedaris is the undisputed champion of putting this neurotic dysfunctional world onto paper in essay form, but how is he with sweet metaphorical fiction about the animal kingdom? With 
Alex Ross dived into pop music well into adulthood and in excitement wrote a well-received 2004 essay in the New Yorker. This year he expands his musings into the full length 
With a movie directed by David Fincher, penned by Aaron Sorkin, featuring music by Trent Reznor, based on one of the juiciest recent true stories (and involving the greatest interwebs phenomenon of the last decade), could there be any other choice for movie of the week? 
One of the best neurotic musical storytellers from the USA meets his UK literary match, and, it’s even better than it has any right to be. 
While I’m still a tad saddened the show was plucked from streaming before I got a chance to savor as much as I’d've liked (grrrr), it wouldn’t be fair to take said frustration out on 
It’s the godfather of role-playing games; like Harry Potter or crack, its fans get absorbed into its fold not to emerge until absolutely finished, and, even if only online now, it’s always a moment when Final Fantasy unveils its latest version — and 
David Grossman has earned his reputation as one of Israel’s foremost authors. With the epic tale of a wandering, searching mother, 
Is Jimmy Carter “History’s Greatest Monster,” as a random crowd member called him on The Simpsons, or is he a man who, with a noble heart, struggled through hard times, to little electoral reward. Fortunately, the soft-spoken Georgian and 39th POTUS recorded his thoughts to journal — now released as 
It’s relatively shocking there hasn’t been a major film about Beat-era poet Allen Ginsberg before now, yet there hasn’t, and into that void steps director Rob Epstein with 
While the fruit doesn’t fall too too far from the tree on 
It’s certainly no secret anymore that ABC’s 
As someone who once lost more than a day to SimCity (and i’m talking the full 24 hours, friend), I know to personally avoid games like 
While being mentioned as a likely for the Nobel Prize for Literature is practically an annual event for Lockport, New York, born writer Joyce Carol Oates, she makes her case yet again with 
He created mystical worlds filled with fantastic foxes and magical candy men — his stories were enrapturing, enthralling, and had the power to fill his young readers with both wonder and a severe case of the creeps. His persona was no less mythical and rife with contradictions like his wartime heroism and often embarrassing anti-semitism. 
While I know it might, by 2010, be a lousy wager to get excited about anything M. Night Shyamalan touches any part of (fool me 11 times, and what exactly happens again?). However, the auteur (perhaps wisely) handed off 
Nearly two decades after they came together, NYC trio Blonde Redhead continue to mold hypnotic creations from somewhere in a secret dimension beyond indie rock and punk. Record number eight, 
It’s hard to invest in science-fiction dramas, while some live to see that final leap home, others get canceled before we ever find out just what was the deal with those forward flashes anyway. While 
Ever since it was unleashed upon the rabid gamers at the Electronic Entertainment Expo of ‘09, 
Jonathan Dee, in Harper’s Magazine, calls Tom McCarthy’s 
James Ellroy has become a legend with hard-boiled stories like L.A. Confidential, featuring detectives, drinks, double-crosses, dames, and all the mayhem that ensues from words which start with d. In 
By all logic, Nicholas Fackler’s tale of dating with Alzheimer’s Disease, 
With their crisp pop hooks and a prominent piano, its no surprise Jukebox the Ghost have opened for Ben Folds. There’s nothing too complex in the Washington DC trio’s latest, 
Maynard James Keenan must have stashed a million extra hours into his life. In addition to fronting Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, and others, the imposing artist has become one of the country’s up-and-coming wine experts and producers. Blood Into Wine sweetly chronicles the singer’s obsession with guest spots by Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, and others. For fans of wine, Tool, and Anthony Bourdain.
While Madden may have made football the common choice for mixing sports and video games, hockey, with its graceful skating, simple goal, and penchant to morph into Mortal Kombat, might just be the most fun game to play on a console. 
Editor’s Pick:
As a solo artist and as leader of the indie rock troupe Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh’s compositions have always been many haunting steps to the left or right of the everyday. In 
For all those hoping to actually see the movies of one or two of the fake trailers which adorned Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s 2007’s Grindhouse films, your wish comes true as Rodriguez expands 
Rilo Kiley’s wunderkind Jenny Lewis and singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice have been collaborating for years as Jenny & Johnny, but 
While 
While the original game Metroid dates back to the halcyon 1980s days of arcades and Atari 2600s, Metroid Other M zooms the concept into the 2010s mix of flash and introspection as our heroine Samus Aran is imbued with the most humanity she’s ever hid behind her imposing Iron-Manesque exoskeleton. For fans of the Metal Gear and Halo series.
While there’s no doubt JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer craft books that adults devoured with a voracious appetite, nothing can match Suzanne Collins for sculpting her Hunger Games series, novels even the most jaded literature hound will read with pride (well less shame). 
A ferocious tiger stalks the outskirts of a remote Russian village, seeking specific revenge against those responsible for the killing of his relative. While this may sound absurd — even for a horror film plot — this actually happened in 1997 and John Vailiant’s gripping account in 
Vincent Cassel supplanted Gerard Depardieu as France’s premier male actor some time ago. His two part turn as famed criminal Jacques Mesrine may just be his tour de force. The first segment, 
Montreal’s Land of Talk have hovered just below indie pop stardom since the trio’s formation in 2006. A tour opening for Broken Social Scene surely ups the ante a bit, and the trio delivers on the wistfully dense, throwback record 
Whether you loved or hated (or have not seen…gasp!) the controversial ending, it’s hard to deny the breadth of the five month event that was 
Now, let’s be clear, I’m not a fan (or at least not a sucker) of violent games, but man are the visuals for 
Editor’s Pick:
Even as a frequent abuser of this absurd notion we call the English language, I cannot get enough of cheeky instruction guides by witty grammarians. Roy Peter Clark, of Writing Tools fame, proves there’s room for one more at the table set by the likes of Lynne Truss and Kitty Burns Florey with 
Piranha 3D
With a throwback folk-country style, blending Nick Drake’s wistful passion with Gram Parsons’ breezy Americana and a memorable rasp, Ray LaMontagne gradually built a cult following over the ’00s. Discerning fans of acts like Iron & Wine and Bon Iver should raise their respectful whisper to a gentle roar when cluing friends in on the singer’s fourth record, 
While 
Fans of mystical adventure games such as Prince of Persia and Silent Hill could certainly do worse than the legendary Tomb Raider series. The latest installment, 
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