Bookshelf Report: Nick Droz Does Not Have Many Books
The Bookshelf Report is an ongoing series where a Bushwick reader or artist shares a little bit about the books that occupy their shelves.
Nick Droz is a Seattle songwriter extraordinaire. He has performed on the Bushwick stage many times over the past two seasons. You can catch him playing all over town with his band Nick Droz and the Lost Cause. (You got to love a band with band name that rhymes!)
I know you want to know about Nick’s book collection. So here it is to tell you all about it.
How do you organize your books?
By placing some on the shelf with the spine facing outward. And by leaving others in a big cardboard box. (I just moved recently. Also, I don’t have a system)
If you did have a system, what might it look like? Also, it looks you don’t have very many books. What’s up with that?
My system, were I to have one, would probably be something like Alphabetize by author, sub alphabetize by title (within “author groups”).
I don’t have many books on the shelf at the moment because:
- recent move means that I haven’t unpacked my book box fully
- When I moved, I decided to purge a bunch of stuff, so many books I’ve read several times I donated/got rid of
What percentage of the books on this shelf have you actually read?
63.63%
Have you ever used the knowledge contained within the C# Cookbook for evil purposes?
To be honest, despite my profession, that particular book is one of the books on that shelf I’ve never actually read.
What’s your favorite book on the shelf?
At the moment, The Worst Rock n’ Roll Records of All Time. I’m a fan of music history and a music trivia buff. I’m also a fan of laughing. That book is pretty funny.
What are the top three funny things about The Worst Rock n’ Roll Records of All Time?
The review of Bruce Willis’ record The Return of Bruno. As example, the opening sentence of the review: “Bruce Willis doesn’t play harmonica any worse than, say, Danny Partridge played bass, which is the best recommendation we can give to The Return of Bruno.”
The discovery that the lady who played granny on The Beverly Hillbillies (Irene Ryan) made a bluegrass record featuring a song called “Granny’s Mini-Skirt”. It’s as horrifying as it sounds.
The back cover of John Travolta’s record Travolta Fever is, hand to God, a close up shot of Travolta’s crotch.
What book do you plan on reading next?
Probably Night Lights. It’s a collection of short stories and essays about “things nocturnal” by Northwest authors. I’ve had if for a while, but I haven’t had the chance to read it yet. I’m pretty excited about reading a bunch of stuff written by folks from around these parts.
What is the most interesting book on the shelf and why?
I’d say Blue Swedish for Nowruz. I find it particularly interesting because it’s exposure to the culture of a country with which I’m not very familiar (Sweden) from the point of view of immigrants from another country to which I’ve had very little exposure (Iran).
Didn’t I see you perform at the Swedish for Nowruz Bushwick show at the Swedish Club? Tell me about the song you wrote for the show. I forgot.
I based it off of a short story from the point of view of an Iranian woman who has moved to Norway with her husband and their son so that her husband can get his PhD. Their child cries quite a bit, and a neighbor complains to authorities that they suspect child neglect. The authorities, via a letter, summon the main protagonist to a small hearing to determine if any actual neglect is occuring. The main protagonist of the story doesn’t read/speak the native tongue well, and as a result essentially has this news delivered to her via Google Translate.
I’m a sucker for vignettes, so my approach with a story of this length was to write the song as a vignette version of the story. I Normally try to zoom in on other themes or details as opposed to re-telling the story, but in this case I just couldn’t resist.
Who is the adorable kid in the photograph holding the guitar?
Me in my grandma’s kitchen!
Now I can’t stop thinking about John Travolta’s crotch. Thanks a lot, Nick!
If you are reading this right now and have a booksehelf and would like to featured on the Bookshelf Report, please drop me a line. I can make it happen. I know people.
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