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Reviews of: Maxim Jakubowski and Malcolm Edwards: THE SF BOOK OF LISTS (1983)/Joel Whitburn: THE ULTIMATE BOOK OF SONGS AND ARTISTS (2009)/Joanna Russ: THE COUNTRY YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN (2007), TO WRITE LIKE A WOMAN (1995), & HOW TO SUPPRESS WOMEN'S WRITING (1983)/Dominic Priore: SMILE: THE STORY OF BRIAN WILSON'S LOST MASTERPIECE (2005)/Chuck Eddy: ROCK AND ROLL ALWAYS FORGETS (2011) & STAIRWAY TO HELL: THE 500 BEST HEAVY METAL ALBUMS IN THE UNIVERSE (updated edition, 1998).

THE SF BOOK OF LISTS was the most-fun 3+ hrs of reading I've had in quite awhile. It's in no particular order, there's no index or table of contents, it's completely disorganized -- & makes 4 great bathroom or waking-up reading. & if you're a science-fiction fan, the funny stuff is REALLY funny: I coulda used more lists like the 10 "Unreadable and Overrated SF Novels" -- & that list coulda bn a LOT LONGER....
But there's also "10 Characters Who Have Promoted The Consumption of Coffee In Improbable Quarters Of Space And Time"; the late John T. Sladek Xplaining some of the Real World's biggest unXplained mysteries; Spider Robinson's List Of Silly Weapons; Brian Aldiss's 10 Favorite Cities; Famous science-fiction & fantasy writers who've committed suicide; SF & fantasy writers who've also played rock&roll, & LOTS more....
There's also a LONG list of award-winning novels & stories -- info which is available in lotsa other places & which I coulda done without, but without which the book woulda only bn 1/2 as long.... There's also a long list of best stories of the year based on SF's annual best-of collections -- I'll havta go back & see how many of  'em I've read: a pretty large percentage, I'll bet....
Overall, good mindless fun with which 2 blow a few hrs if you're a fan....

Whitburn's ULTIMATE BOOK OF SONGS AND ARTISTS is a sorta stripped-down, edited BILLBOARD TOP POP HITS book 4 folks with iPod's -- I don't have 1, but I thot an up-2-date list of hits might help me track down some more-recent stuff.... & Bsides, this book was WAY cheaper than Whitburn & BILLBOARD's massive TOP POP HITS bible. Chart positions Rn't even mentioned, & Whitburn lists "classic album trax" as well as Top 40 stuff. There R a few suprises: Ike & Tina's "River Deep, Mountain High" is in here (marked as a "classic") -- but I wish there were more entries 4 Love (3) & Spirit (2). Led Zep has 36 songs listed; the Beatles have 98. Elvis gets almost a full page.
Way more up-2-date than I am -- we'll C how often I use it....

Russ's COUNTRY collects all of her angry, sarcastic & brilliant '60s & '70s book-review columns from THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION (I was bummed 2 learn there was only 1 of them I hadn't read B4), + some essays & an acclaimed scholarly piece called "The Wearing Out of Genre Materials." Worth tracking down if you've never read her reviews, which were scathing -- & hilarious. WRITE LIKE A WOMAN has more essays, & 1 hilarious piece on '70s Gothic Romances: "Someone's Trying to Kill Me, And I Think It's My Husband." I've barely gotten in2 HOW TO SUPPRESS -- lots more anger, & I've already thot of sevral women SF writers who escaped from Russ's trap-theory....

SMILE is a little disappointing. Priore doesn't add much 2 the story that wasn't already in his brilliant '90s scrapbook LOOK! LISTEN! VIBRATE! SMILE! There's 2 much scene-setting back-story here -- nearly 50 pgs of it in a 200-pg book. NE1 who's intrested in this book knows who the Beach Boys were & what SMILE was supposed 2 B. There R ways of including this info without making it a big infodump 2 lead off yr book. The book could also have bn proofread 1 more time....
Priore doesn't get much new stuff outta the SMILE-era-recording stories either. But he IS solid on Brian's 2005 reconstruction of SMILE -- which was done with some friends of Priore's!
There R some wild accusations made here 2 -- 1 is that the Beatles heard a batch of SMILE trax during a visit 2 LA, against Brian's wishes -- adding more fuel 2 his Dcision 2 abandon the project in mid-'67.
This book should make a Dcent companion 2 the SMILE SESSIONS BOX due 4 release Nov. 1. But if you're a BB's or SMILE fan, I'd still track down Priore's earlier book -- Dspite the scrapbook 4mat, there's a lotta fascinating stuff in it....

ROCK AND ROLL ALWAYS FORGETS is also a touch disappointing. Most of it is reviews of '90s stuff I don't care much about. & tho Eddy includes his Xcellent review of Rhino's HAVE A NICE DAY series (from ROLLING STONE), he doesn't even include the review that allegedly led producer Rick Rubin 2 team Run-DMC up with Aerosmith....
I'll havta C how much of this is of use 2 me. The INTRO is intresting tho: I didn't know Eddy served in the Army -- & not as some base-newspaper guy, either: He was an artillery officer in Germany! No WONDER he likes stuff LOUD....
Speaking of which, when I 1st read STAIRWAY TO HELL back in '92 I thot the 1st 50 pgs were a screaming laff riot ... but then I hadta set the rest aside 2 finish as a duty later. The '98 version includes more pgs & reviews of the 100 greatest metal albums of the '90s.... Not really my area, but I'm hoping 4 a little education.... Keeping in mind that Eddy thinks anything really loud with guitars qualifies as metal. His top pick 4 all time is LED ZEP 4, of course. But the book also includes punk, disco & lots more. The Ramones R in here, as R the Sex Pistols. & AC/DC don't rank so high....
If this turns out 2 include major yucks I will report more later....