The Year 2023 in Books

Continuing with our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through Sunday. Today we share the twenty-six (26) book reviews offered by Matt Lynn Digital in 2023.

(The cover for the book The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin).

Our highest rated read for 2023 was The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. Earning 4.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5, the book, Rubin “set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.” The subject matter was offering suggestions for how best to engage the construction of creatively made content effectively.

(The cover for the book Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon).

Five books earned 4.5-stars from Matt Lynn Digital in 2023, with Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon earning the top billing. The proper means for reading Heavy: An American Memoir is with an open mind and an open heart while aiming for empathy and understanding. Other books earning 4.5-stars include 60 Seconds & You’re Hired! by Robin Ryan, Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America by Wil Haygood, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael D. Watkins.

(The cover for the book Sea of Tranquility: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel).

Led by the Emily St. John Mandel book Sea of Tranquility: A Novel, three books read in 2023 earned 4.25-star ratings. The notion of experiencing a life moving through time and space on an emotional journey of self-discovery drew us to the St. John Mandel work. Other books also earning 4.25-stars were the extraordinary Dan Chaon book Sleepwalk and the Ernest Hemingway book To Have and Have Not.

(The cover for the book The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers).

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter as written by Carson McCullers tops a stable of six books to earn 4.0-stars. The central point of the book using a mute as the protagonist while sharing the semi-autobiographical character Mick Kelly as an exposition for the writer were appealing concepts for the work. Others to earn a similar 4.0-star rating included Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle.

(The cover for the book The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel).

The Dava Sobel book The Glass Universe How the Ladies of Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars leads a stable of eleven (11) books to earn 3.75-stars for books that we read in 2023. Learning the histories of women including Annie Jump Cannon and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin made this reading worth the effort in recognizing women contributing to science and the social fabric of a society simultaneously. The remaining ten books we read this year included Stone Cold by David Baldacci, Red War by Kyle Mills in the Vince Flynn series, The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien with Guy Gruviel Kay and Christopher Tolkien, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving, Lethal Agent by Kyle Mills through Vince Flynn,  Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott, Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work by Marilee Adams and Divine Justice by David Baldacci.

Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have albums that you’d like us to review, or similar work to that mentioned above, please be sure to let us know.

Matt – Saturday, December 30, 2023

The Year 2023 in Music

Continuing with our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through Sunday. Today we share music reviews offered by Matt Lynn Digital in 2023.

(Cover art for the Weathervanes album by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit).

Beginning with our most recent review with a guest review of the Weathervanes album by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, as reviewed by friend of the blog Cobra. The 2023 album presented alternative country-rock that mixed in with roots rock and southern rock to entertain their fans. Our review of the Rick Rubin book The Creative Act: A Way of Being also represented 2023 with a top notch look into how creativity works in music production and other fields as well.

(Cover art for the 2011 Tedeschi Trucks Band album Revelator).

The 2011 release of the album Revelator by the Tedeschi Trucks Band offers the first of two albums from the 2010s in our annual review. Offering a taste of American traditional rock, blues rock and roots rock from a guitar virtuoso opens an album that I can and do listen to over and over again. The 2010 A Christmas Cornucopia album by Annie Lennox also presented a more contemporary music mix.

(The biopic Walk the Line depicted aspects of the lives of Johnny Cash and June Carter).

The movie Walk the Line (2005) provided a mostly autobiographical portrayal of the musical life of country musician Johnny Cash and his second wife, June Carter. Music from both performers were featured throughout the movie, which offered a compelling movie experience of the respective lives of the couple up to the point of their marriage.

(Cover art for the R.L. Burnside album Mr. Wizard).

A modern sound for the delta blues comes to us with the 1997 album Mr. Wizard by R.L. Burnside. The music tends to more of a jam format than some of Burnside‘s earlier work with influences on musicians making music into the current day.

(Cover art for the Van Halen album OU812).

The 1988 album OU812 (Oh, you ate one too!) by Van Halen incorporates the most hard rock or pop metal sound for the three albums we reviewed for the 1980s. Both the 1986 album The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and the Range and the 1985 No Jacket Required album by Phil Collins delve more into the so-called adult contemporary genre with a focus on message and sound this still hit for a somewhat different audience.

(Cover art for the Christopher Cross album Christopher Cross).

We’ve taken the 1970s decade seriously with a review of nine separate albums. The self-titled 1979 album Christopher Cross by Christopher Cross continues the adult contemporary appeal before the 1974 soft rock appeal of the Jackson Browne album Late for the Sky. Second Helping by Lynyrd Skynyrd gave 1974 a more southern rock or boogie rock sound with their second album.

(Cover art for the Dr. John album In the Right Place).

The 1973 Dr. John funk and piano blues album In the Right Place gives way to the more progressive rock sounds of Pink Floyd‘s 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon and Yes‘ 1972 album Fragile.

(Cover art for the Chuck Mangione Quartet album Alive!).

The contemporary jazz and easy listening album Alive! by Chuck Mangione Quartet from 1972 introduces the final three albums with a largely instrumental sound. The soft rock album Teaser and the Firecat by Cat Stevens stands next to the blues rock, hard rock and heavy metal sound of Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin for the music of 1971.

(Cover art for the Miles Davis album Sketches of Spain).

Jazz and rock and roll provide our 2023 soundtrack for the 1960s. Holiday music for 1968 leads us to Christmas Album by Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass. The seventh album for The Beatles gave us the rock and roll in the form of 1966’s Revolver. The John Coltrane album Giant Steps and the album Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis round out 1960 with jazz performances that warm our heart.

Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have albums that you’d like us to review, please be sure to let us know.

Matt – Friday, December 29, 2023

Rick Rubin and the book ‘The Creative Act: A Way of Being’

Music producer Rick Rubin, of Long Island, New York has had an immense impact on the music industry. His guidance for musicians hasn’t been to specific sound so much, as noted on this Encyclopædia Britannica entry, inasmuch as he has influenced already good artists to make better. The recognition of this leads us to the book written by Rubin named The Creative Act: A Way of Being.

(Rick Rubin wrote The Creative Act: A Way of Being, which was published on January 17, 2023).

As mentioned here by the book’s publisher, Penguin Random House, with this book Rubin “set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.” In having read the book, my experience is that the producer and now author put seventy-eight (78) separate insights into approaching the artistry of work. Rubin offers approaches for considering what creativity is, how to engage it, and thoughts to consider choosing one method or another in getting to results.

(Shown here is Rick Rubin, a grammy winning producer, wrote The Creative Act: A Way of Being).

In introducing the book and suggesting possible ways to use the contents, Rubin wrote that “Nothing in this book is known to be true.” He added that he was sharing his thoughts, which aren’t facts; with this point fresh, he suggests using what is helpful while letting go of the rest. The wonderful construction of this book, along with the bountiful insights it includes, is that I found it accessible as a means for offering useful tips that might change over time as I would change. The power here helps me suggest the book. I give The Creative Act: A Way of Being as written by Rick Rubin 4.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 for its quality.

Matt – Wednesday, February 8, 2023