Books, music, movies, and other stuff Slate writers liked last month.

Slate critics and columnists often recommend all sorts of useful and fascinating stuff: books, documentaries, albums, television shows, new gadgets, and the like. Sometimes these endorsements appear in obvious spots (like our movie reviews), but just as often they come in unexpected places, like a "Dear Prudence" or "Fighting Words" column. So at the start of every month, we'll be publishing a handy roundup of all the things we like, since we figure you'd like some of these things, too. Take a look at our latest favorites, and remember you can purchase Slate T-shirts, mugs, and other merchandise at the Slate store.

May 2011

Books
Peter Ackroyd's London: The Biography (Recommended by Jody Rosen in " The Culture Gabfest, 'The Edge of Glory Is Sitting on My Face, but Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' Edition")

Philip Roth's The Ghost Writer
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in " The Culture Gabfest, 'The Edge of Glory Is Sitting on My Face, but Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' Edition")

Caissie St. Onge's young adult novel Jane Jones: Worst. Vampire. Ever.
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in The Culture Gabfest 'Tacky but Vigorous' Edition")

Georges Bataille's  Lascaux, or the Birth of Art, Gregory Curtis'  The Cave Painters, and Jean Clottes'  Cave Art
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in "The Culture Gabfest, 'Grody, Moldy Breath of Tourists' Edition")

The Puffin Classics series of children's books
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in "The Culture Gabfest, 'Grody, Moldy Breath of Tourists' Edition")

Charles Portis' True Grit
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in "The Culture Gabfest, 'Where Are Our Manners?' Edition")

Clive James' Cultural Amnesia 
(Recommended by Johann Hari in "The Culture Gabfest, 'Where Are Our Manners?' Edition")

Adam Mansbach's  Go the F**k to Sleep, Lisa Brown's Baby Mix Me a Drink, Tom Robbins' B is for Beer, Erich Origen and Gan Golan's Goodnight Bush, Avery Monsen and Jory John's All My Friends Are Dead, and Ricardo Cortés' It's Just a Plant: A Children's Story of Marijuana(Recommended by Jessica Leader in "Kids' Books to Read after Your Kids Go to Bed")

Henry Kissinger's On China (Recommended by James Mann in "Chinese Dreams")

Paula Fox's News From the World, Desperate Characters, Borrowed Finery and The Coldest Winter
(Recommended by Ruth Franklin in "Desperately Seeking Stability")

Jo Nesbø's The Snowman,   The Redbreast, Nemesis,   The Devil's Star and The Redeemer
(Recommended by Wendy Lesser in "Norwegian Mood")

Janny Scott's  A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother
(Recommended by Jacob Weisberg in "Obama Mama")

Francis Fukuyama's The Origins of Political Order
(Recommended by Ian Morris in " How To Get to the End of History")

Leanne Shapton's Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry
(Recommended by Hanna Rosin in "DoubleX Gabfest: The Dodo and Barbie Edition")

Zoë Heller's  The Believers 
(Recommended by Jessica Grose in " DoubleX Gabfest: The Dodo and Barbie Edition")

Music
Bob Dylan's " You're a Big Girl Now," " Simple Twist of Fate," and " Up To Me"
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf, Jody Rosen, and Dana Stevens in "The Culture Gabfest, 'The Edge of Glory Is Sitting on My Face, but Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' Edition")

Lady Gaga's album " Born This Way"
(Recommended by Jody Rosen in "The Gaga Rapture")

Bob Dylan's " Song to Woody," " With God on Our Side," " Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," and " I Threw It All Away"
(Recommended by Ron Rosenbaum in " Dylan's Birthday Present")

Arnold Schoenberg's arrangement of Claude Debussy's " Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun"
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in "The Culture Gabfest, 'The Edge of Glory Is Sitting on My Face, but Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' Edition")

American blues singer Alberta Hunter's late-career record  Amtrak Blues
(Recommended by Jody Rosen in "The Culture Gabfest, 'The Edge of Glory Is Sitting on My Face, but Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' Edition")

Camera Obscura's "Anti-Western" (from their album  Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi)
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in " The Culture Gabfest, 'The Edge of Glory Is Sitting on My Face, but Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' Edition")

The Civil War song "Somebody's Darling" by John Hill Hewitt,  performed by Tom Glazer.
(Recommended by Jody Rosen in "The Culture Gabfest, 'Grody, Moldy Breath of Tourists' Edition")

The original concept album recording of "Jesus Christ Superstar"
(Recommended by John Swansburg in "The Culture Gabfest, 'Where Are Our Manners?' Edition")

Shrimp Boat's Cavale and Wild Beasts' Two Dancers
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in"The Culture Gabfest, 'Where Are Our Manners?' Edition")

Gil Scott-Heron's " Winter in America" 
(Recommended by Jody Rosen in "America the Not-So-Beautiful")

Movies
Paul Feig's Bridesmaids
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in " Bridesmaids" and Jessica Grose in " Homance.")

Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in " The Tree of Life")

Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in " Midnight in Paris")

Dan Rush's Everything Must Go
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in " Everything Must Go

Television
The USA Network reality competition series  WWE Tough Enough.
(Recommended by June Thomas in " The Culture Gabfest 'Tacky but Vigorous' Edition")

The 1973 movie  Jesus Christ Superstar 
(Recommended by John Swansburg in "The Culture Gabfest, 'Where Are Our Manners?' Edition")

The debut season of Dynasty
(Recommended by Alex Mar in " The Dynasty that Could Have Been")

HBO's Too Big To Fail
(Recommended by Troy Patterson in " Too Big To Fail")

Cartoon Network's The Looney Tunes Show
(Recommended by Troy Patterson in "That's Not All Folks!")

MTV's 120 Minutes
(Recommended by Troy Patterson in "Matt Pinfield and the Return of 120 Minutes") 

Other
The BBC podcast  Start the Week with Andrew Marr (start with their  40th-anniversary special)
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in " The Culture Gabfest 'Tacky but Vigorous' Edition")

Mail-order seeds from the  Hudson Valley Seed Library
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in " The Culture Gabfest 'Tacky but Vigorous' Edition")

Jay-Z's cover of Beastie Boys hit "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" at the All Points West music festival  on YouTube
(Recommended by Julia Turner in " The Culture Gabfest, 'Grody, Moldy Breath of Tourists' Edition")                                                              

Vegan sneakers from Saucony
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in " The Culture Gabfest, 'Grody, Moldy Breath of Tourists' Edition")

Philip Larkin's poem " The Trees"
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in " The Culture Gabfest, 'Grody, Moldy Breath of Tourists' Edition")

The Terence Rattigan plays  Flare Path and  Cause Célèbre
(Recommended by Johann Hari in " The Culture Gabfest, 'Where Are Our Manners?' Edition")

The tech startup Expensify
(Recommended by Farhad Manjoo in " Burn Your Receipts!")

The website  Threads of Feeling
(Recommended by Kate Julian in " DoubleX Gabfest: The Dodo and Barbie Edition")

The A.V. Club's web series Pop Pilgrims
(Recommended by Nina Shen Rastogi in " The A.V. Club Makes a Travel Show for Pop Culture Geeks")