Joel Selvin is an award-winning journalist who has covered pop music for the San Francisco Chronicle since 1970. Selvin is the author of many books about popular music, including the bestselling Summer of Love and coauthor, with Sammy Hagar, of the number-one New York Times bestseller, Red. His new book is Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day.Recently I asked Selvin about what he was reading. His reply:
I read tons of murder mysteries -- always have -- and it is said that the terse, harsh style of the genre sometimes influences myVisit Joel Selvin's website.writing. I have re-discovered Donald Westlake, whose light touch belies the intensely plotted stories.
I am also quite taken these days with Don Winslow, who is one of the bravest makers of sentences I have run across in a long time.
As for music writers, I admire many, chief among them Nick Tosches, Peter Guralnick, Geoffrey O'Brien and David Ritz. I also find a lot of good writing in daily newspaper sports sections, although I hardly qualify as a sports fan.
--Marshal Zeringue
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