Read&Spin

CD He isn’t a New Orleans native, but Ned Sublette has devoted plenty of time to the Big Easy with his knowledge and talents. He wrote two books about New Orleans – The World that Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square and The Year Before The Flood: A Story of New Orleans, and is a former Tulane University Rockefeller Fellow. He is also a music man and released “Kiss You Down South” in October 2012. Recorded at Piety Street Studios, the album is a good choice for those who love the simple sounds of just a man and his guitar.


HISTORY While the Jewish population isn’t the first group you think of when you think of New Orleans, the book The Jews of New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta: A History of Life & Community Along the Bayou shows Jews have a prominent place in the history of the area. Writers Emily Ford and Barry Stiefel wrote the book to bring attention to the culture of Southern Jews because Jewish communities are on the decline in the region. The book is a mini history lesson on Jewish communities starting with the Colonial Period.  


FOOD It makes sense that Cochon would be featured in a book of the world’s best restaurants, but the eatery isn’t in this book for its menu. Cochon is featured in Come In, We’re Closed: An Invitation to Staff Meals at the World’s Best Restaurants by Christine Carroll and Jody Eddy not for what it feeds its guests but rather for what it feeds its staff. The book contains stories, recipes and great photos that will make you want to be hired as a waiter.


ART William Rau’s Nineteenth-Century European Painting from Barbizon to Belle Epoque is a whopping 647 pages and is what Rau, a New Orleans resident and the owner of M.S. Rau Antiques, calls “a massive undertaking.” But Rau’s efforts were worth it. The book includes thorough history behind the different movements and motifs of the time, as well as mini biographies of notable painters. There is a painting on almost every page, so reading the book is like walking through an art museum.

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