Arts & Culture

Many Leroy Anderson compositions, written more than half a century ago, have become an enduring part of both American concert and popular music. His works are joyful and have a distinctive American flavor.

Where in Rand’s corpus should a curious reader begin? As someone who’s read it all, I would say that, for most people, there’s no better place to start than with one of Rand’s major works of fiction—Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, We the Living, or Anthem—and I suspect Rand would agree.

Including works by Berton Braley, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Robert Louis Stephenson, John Gillespie Magee, Li Po, Robert Frost, and John Masefield.

One reason critics often ignored Elmer Kelton was that his novels celebrate the virtues of integrity, honor, hard work, and bravery, with none of the nihilism or mournfulness that mark other Western authors. “Critics don’t read a Western unless the book is contemptuous of its subject matter,” Kelton once said.

If you like a romantic story with heartwarming friendships, thought-provoking questions, and a side of dark comedy, check out Lucifer. You might just become possessed by the devil himself.

Ai-Da is not the kind of tool that aids an artist in selectively re-creating reality. Rather, it’s a tool for randomizing output and removing value-based selectivity—the essence of art—from the process and the outcome.

Ray Harryhausen was a maverick, path-breaking movie maker. He gave new life to old legends, created legends of his own, and inspired the legends of the next generation. It is in large part thanks to him that we have movies such as Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Indiana Jones today.

By explaining how one can create good art via hard work and rational processes, “Art & Fear” dispels myths of inborn talent and mystical inspiration, and it encourages artists to cultivate skills, just as in any other profession.

In an easy-to-read, seventy-four-page volume, Travers relays his approach to art appreciation: You don’t connect with an artwork by learning which period it’s from or who painted it. Rather, you connect with an artwork by immersing yourself in it and finding personal connections with its characters and themes.

The bulk of Free Guy is propelled by a compelling, original story (a rare thing in today’s movie landscape) with well-written, well-acted characters and a powerful theme, as well as a delightful dose of humor.