10 Book Series That Deep-Dive Pop Culture
Films, games, books, music, and more!
I once interviewed a writer who published a book about watching Predator 146 times, and during that conversation he said something that changed the way I think about writing:
There’s something fascinating that happens when you return to a thing that has been crucial for you, for whatever reason, and you just look at it closely. It allows the self to reveal things about itself that it wouldn’t otherwise get to. Like, if you try to write about the self, or male friendship, or gun violence, right — I can’t do that, I don’t know how to access that. But I know how to write about Predator, and Predator can get me there, to these other things.
Ander Monson’s Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession was revelatory for me in the same way as Kate Zambreno’s Heroines and Hanif Abdurraqib’s They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us. Each of these writers consider the ways in which the books and films and music they love have consequently shaped their worldviews. When reading these books, I began to think about each piece of art I love as a door that only I could open. If I start writing about this thing, where will it take me? What will I learn about the world — and myself — before it’s over?
This month, I thought I’d share ten different book series that I’ve come across during the last few years I’ve spent exploring this kind of writing in earnest. It’s far from an exhaustive list, I’m sure, and as always I welcome any and all subscriber recommendations!
It’s also worth noting that many of these publishers accept submissions or proposals directly from writers; I included a link to the relevant info when I could find it. Harboring a burning desire to deep-dive Toni Morrison, Greta Gerwig, or Mario Kart? Consider this newsletter your official invitation!
On Books
Fiction Advocate’s Afterwords
We’re reinventing literary criticism by opening it up to new voices, hybrid forms, and tons of creativity. In these short, collectible volumes, acclaimed writers explore iconic books in surprising ways.
Hybrid writers will especially enjoy the innovative forms used to explore well-known narratives in the Afterwords companion volumes, with subjects ranging from Bolaño to Blood Meridian. It’s a series that approaches criticism from an angle that’s fresh and exciting, testing the boundaries of what the analysis of art can do.
Also, if you look closely you’ll notice that the Afterwords books mirror the font and color palette of the book they’re written about — a gorgeous visual detail that speaks to the attention the book is given inside.
IG’s Bookmarked
Our Bookmarked series focuses on a famous work of literature that left a powerful impression on an author (hence the name, Bookmarked—a book that left its mark). Each book in the series is a no-holds barred personal narrative detailing how a particular novel influenced an author on their journey to becoming a writer, as well as the myriad directions in which that journey has taken them. Part autobiography, part literary criticism, the Bookmarked series takes the reader behind the scenes of the creative process, revealing the literary influences of some of our greatest books on today’s best writers.
The Bookmarked series is an answer to one of my favorite questions: “What’s a book that changed your life?” I love the variety of the authors’ choices here — books by everyone from Stephen King and Virginia Woolf to James Baldwin and Mark Z. Danielewski. (House of Leaves changed my life, too — how many books do you have to turn upside-down to read?)
Learn more about submissions here.
On Film
Bloomsbury’s BFI Film Classics
The BFI Film Classics series introduces, interprets and celebrates landmarks of world cinema. Each volume offers an argument for the film’s ‘classic’ status, together with discussion of its production and reception history, its place within a genre or national cinema, an account of its technical and aesthetic importance, and in many cases, the author’s personal response to the film.
The BFI film series is HUGE — up to well over 200 entries, going by the count on their website. And what a spectrum it is, with recent releases represented right up alongside black-and-white masterworks and beloved cult classics. Truly something for everyone (which means they also make great gifts for your favorite cinephile)!
Learn more about submitting a proposal here.
Phaidon’s Anatomy of an Actor
Anatomy of an Actor titles are comprehensive studies on the craft of the world’s greatest actors, through the analysis of ten of their most iconic roles. The authors examine why and how these famous actors have become some of the most respected and influential in the film world. Each title is divided into 10 chapters, each one dedicated to a specific role and fully documented with film stills, on-set photography and film sequences.
I happened upon the Tom Cruise entry of this series last year in a bookstore near Emily Dickinson’s house. The idea of analyzing an actor through ten particular roles is an interesting one, separating these books from more traditional conceptions of biography. There aren’t as many entries in this series compared to others on this list, but if Phaidon does happen to have your favorite actor it’s a great deep-dive.
Learn more about submitting a proposal here.
On Music
Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3
33 1/3 is a series of short books about popular music, focusing on individual albums by artists ranging from James Brown to Celine Dion and from J Dilla to Neutral Milk Hotel. Each album covered in the series occupies such a specific place in music history, so each book-length treatment is different. Jonathan Lethem, Colin Meloy, Daphne Brooks, Gina Arnold and Alan Warner are just some of the authors who have contributed to the series so far. Widely acclaimed by fans, musicians and scholars alike.
Take a moment and peek — does the 33 1/3 series have your favorite musician yet? Bloomsbury’s series of album deep-dives is just as at home in a record store as your favorite independent bookshop. (In fact, I saw a photo online earlier this month of the great selection over at Reckless Records in Chicago!)
Learn more about submitting a proposal here, and check out How to Write About Music while you’re at it!
On Video Games
Boss Fight Books
Boss Fight Books, founded in Los Angeles in June 2013, publishes nonfiction documentary-style books about classic video games. Each of our books takes a critical, historical, and personal look at a single game.
Some books focus on the history of the game’s creation, some focus on particular elements like level design, story, and music, some investigate the subculture that has formed around a game, and some reflect on the game’s role in the author's own life.
Each book is written by a different author from in or out of the video game industry. We work with game designers, game journalists, novelists, voice actors, film critics, musicians, and artists. Most of the time, a book's subject is chosen by the author because they are passionate and curious about the game.
Boss Fight Books has a cool origin story that’s actually tied to another series on this list — after learning there was no “33 1/3 for video games,” Gabe Durham launched a Kickstarter to create one. (Apparently it hit the funding goal in just eight hours — proof that the internet can sometimes be good, actually!)
I’ve noticed that successful small presses tend to develop and nurture their own fanbases, and the use of crowdfunding is an awesome way to create one at the very beginning of your publishing journey — especially if you know there’s a specific audience for the books you hope to release, like gamers.
Learn more about pitching here.
MIT Press’ Playful Thinking
Playful Thinking is a series of short, readable and argumentative books that share some playfulness and excitement with the games that they are about. The basic assumption is simple: video games are such a flourishing medium that any new perspective on them is likely to show us something unseen or forgotten, including those from such “unconventional” voices as artists, philosophers, or specialists in other industries or fields of study.
This series from MIT Press is doing something a little bit different from Boss Fight, taking conceptual angles to gaming as a whole rather than centering analysis on one specific game. What can we learn about the world around us by considering its reflection in the games we play? What calls to action might they hold?
Learn more about submitting a proposal here.
On Everything!
Bloomsbury’s Object Lessons
Object Lessons is a series of concise, collectable, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Each book starts from a specific inspiration: an historical event, a literary passage, a personal narrative, a technological innovation—and from that starting point explores the object of the title, gleaning a singular lesson or multiple lessons along the way. Featuring contributions from writers, artists, scholars, journalists, and others, the emphasis throughout is lucid writing, imagination, and brevity. Object Lessons paints a picture of the world around us, and tells the story of how we got here, one object at a time.
So now you’ve read about the music and the movies, the books and the games, but what about the objects we use to consume those things?
Of course, the Object Lessons series extends far beyond what I’ve displayed here — literally, pick a noun! You’d be surprised by the stories behind everyday items in our lives, whether it’s a barcode, a stroller, glitter, or a pair of blue jeans. Every object has a whole history behind it, and here’s an entire series of books by writers who’re interested in taking a closer look.
Learn more about submitting a proposal here.
David Zwirner Books’ ekphrasis
“Ekphrasis” is traditionally defined as the literary representation of a work of visual art. One of the oldest forms of writing, it originated in ancient Greece, where it referred to the practice and skill of presenting artworks through vivid, highly detailed accounts. Today, ekphrasis is more openly interpreted as one art form, whether it be writing, visual art, music, or film, that is used to define and describe another art form, in order to bring to an audience the experiential and visceral impact of the subject.
The ekphrasis series is dedicated to publishing rare, out-of-print, and newly commissioned texts as accessible paperback volumes. It is part of David Zwirner Books’s ongoing effort to publish new and surprising pieces of writing on visual culture.
This series was a lucky recent discovery for me at a museum! These slim, beautiful books deep-dive art from a variety of perspectives, including republication of older works (like the one I grabbed by Virginia Woolf) as well as contemporary voices.
ECW’s Pop Classics
Pop Classics offers intelligent but accessible arguments about why a particular pop phenomenon matters. Possible subjects include TV, music, books series/authors, film, social media influencers, and video games. It can be something nostalgic (Babysitters Club novels) or contemporary (Beyoncé), as long as it’s something meaningful: to you, to its genre, to pop culture, and maybe even to society as a whole. Maybe you think about the ways in which the frenetic energy of young TikTok stars mirror the chaos of late capitalism, or how Anthony Bourdain’s immersive travelling created ripple effects on race and inclusion. Whatever it is, we want to hear it.
And to finish things out, the Pop Classics series has a little bit of everything! If you have trouble picking one single category off this list, you could make a grab-bag order from ECW and end up with a book each on TV, film, music, comics, and Nicolas Cage (who’s kind of a category all his own, isn’t he?).
Learn more about submitting a proposal here.
Update from last month’s bonus issue! One big resounding THANK YOU to everyone who voted for my “Mr. Brightside” essay in the March Danceness tournament — y’all got me to Round 2! Even though I didn’t advance any further this year, I’m thrilled to report that the March Xness community is a profoundly kind and endlessly creative group of writers that I’m so happy to have found.
To those who discovered Microfascination through the tournament, welcome! I’m happy you’re here. See y’all again in a month!
Of course this will be a must read for me. I have a copy of the film and have watched it numerous times. It never gets old. Thank you for the link!
What truly great lists, thank you! I am intrigued by the On Film and On Music lists, especially. Looking forward to the new installment of micro fascination.