33 1/3: Reign In Blood - In his detailed analysis of Slayer's seminal 1986 album for Continuum Books' revered 33 1/3 series, D.X. Ferris doesn't open a whole new world of perspective on the album, but he does dig up a few anecdotal tidbits worthy of conversation, and gets Tori Amos to fantasize about menstruation over Afghanistan. [06.23.2008 by Dan Weiss]

Burning Angel - Mike Shea examines the new photobook from the alt-porn website of the same name and finds that, with more than 700 images, it "offers nothing that couldn't be accomplished with a mid-range camera phone and five minutes of Photoshop tutorials, and represents an insulting lack of craft even for so-called pornography." [06.20.2008 by Mike Shea]

I Was Told There'd Be Cake - In her book of sardonic twentysomething essays on single life in New York City, Sloane Crosley narrowly extinguishes the flame of "it"-girl backlash with a collection of sometimes poignant, sometimes mundane, sometimes hilarious, but generally entertaining anecdotes. [06.18.2008 by Eric J Herboth]

Plastic Words - Uwe Poerksen's monumental study explores the power of words, particularly in the political arena, in modern society. Do we truly embrace the abstract language of politicians or is there an inherent danger in such bland platitudes? Brian Christopher Jones discusses the world of language in his review of Poerksen's book, subtitled The Tyranny of a Modular Language. [06.10.2008 by Brian Christopher Jones]

Starbucked - In his new book, subtitled A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture, author Taylor Clark explores the rise of one the the most ubiquitous - and criticized - corporations in the world. Is Starbucks and their quest to rule the world as evil as critics believe? Coffee-lover Jason Middlekauff finds out. [05.22.2008 by Jason Middlekauff]

The American Plague - Molly Cardwell Crosby's book examines the outbreak of yellow fever in Memphis, Tennessee during the summer of 1878, and the medical community's often roundabout way of decoding the mysterious disease. Crosby's detailing of the deadly outbreak is remarkable, and the story is eerily echoed by the slow reaction of governments to similar events in our modern world. [05.14.2008 by Jason Middlekauff]