The Ballad of Speedball Baby: A Memoir

Ali Smith. Blackstone, $25.99 (288p) ISBN 979-8-212-33725-0

frequently requested services on Craigslist’s gigs section and to determine the potential market for their idea by searching the popularity of related key words on Google Trends and Facebook Ads. Other suggestions range from quirky— the “coffee challenge” urges readers to get comfortable with rejection by requesting that a coffee shop take 10% off one’s order—to borderline reckless (“act first, figure it out later”). At times, Kagan’s confidence in the average person’s ability to jump-start a million-dollar business while keeping a full-time job feels a bit naive (“You can change your life in one weekend. You don’t have to quit your job”). Readers will want to pick and choose from Kagan’s hit-or-miss guidance. Agent: Lisa DiMona, Writers House. (Jan.)

Smith, the bassist for 1990s punk band Speedball Baby, serves up a winning and moody memoir that covers her comingof-age in New York City’s vibrant and volatile music scene. Smith grew up as a latchkey child of divorce in 1980s and ’90s Manhattan, where she drowned out the damage from her parents’ difficult divorce by immersing herself in the city’s hardcore and punk milieus. While attempting to juggle a violent boyfriend and empty pockets as a young adult, Smith leaned on the friends who would become Speedball Baby, whom she collected during adolescent nights out: guitarist Matt Verta-Ray was the group’s grounded leader who quietly funded the band’s work by selling a trove of Basquiat paintings he stumbled onto on a curb in Hell’s Kitchen shortly after the artist’s death; singer Ron Ward wrote poetic songs about the highs and lows of his drug use. Speedball Baby’s exploits took them from obscurity to major label semisuccess and back again, though in Smith’s telling, the band was equally happy playing dives where they were actively antagonized as they are performing in European venues where fans recall their mid-’90s to early-2000s heyday. Smith vividly captures the era’s grit and glamour (“Our band plays... in bars where the sour/sweet smell of years’ worth of spilled beer lives inside the wood”) without glossing over its uglier attributes, including sexism, physical assault, and skinheads. Aspiring musicians and punk fans will eat this up. Agent: Lee Sobel, Lee Sobel Literary. (Jan.) their residents, Kochilas (My Greek Table) gathers an impressive array of recipes packed with vegetables and herbs known for their wellness benefits. While not organized around the seasons, dishes feature seasonal specialties from summery layered two-tomato salad and yogurt cucumber soup to kale and cabbage slaw, an update of a classic Greek winter salad, and butternut squash steaks. Legumes, eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms are well represented in such dishes as red lentil soup with ginger, chickpea-bulgur stew, lemony giant beans, mushroom red pepper souvlaki, and “eggplant boats” stuffed with bulgur, tomatoes, and basil. Ferry boat spaghetti inventively replaces ground meat with lentils, and vegan moussaka incorporates a bechamel sauce made with aquafaba. Kochilas argues for the anti-inflammatory and auto-immune benefits of “a pantry inspired by Ikaria,” and especially lauds dark greens, olive oil, feta cheese, and herbs. Though a list of sources supporting Kochilas’s nutritional claims and pairing suggestions for less familiar dishes like jammy braised chestnuts & onions would be helpful, there’s no denying the appeal of many of these meals. This unique vegetarian approach inspires. (Mar.)

throughout: a chapter of spoonable dishes features passion fruit panna cotta alongside standbys like butterscotch pudding, while classic coconut cream pie rubs shoulders with a rhubarb and frangipane galette in the pie chapter. Kartes is the mother of two young children who feature heavily, and many of the recipes seem suited to children’s tastes: the proclaimed “heart and soul” of the book is a layer cake meant to mimic the flavor of animal crackers and dotted with rainbow sprinkles. Numerous Christian references throughout, including a handful of exhortations to prayer, will further limit the appeal, but as promised, recipes are easy to follow and low stress, and Kartes evinces an honest, often vulnerable tone that will comfort novices (“Even the best bakers have bad bakes some days”). Beginners will find this a handy guide. (Nov.) others, like flambéed langoustines, require advanced cooking techniques. Still, series fans and ambitious home cooks will find plenty to savor. Agent: Caroline Wood, Felicity Bryan Assoc. (Nov.)

Agent: Shannon Marven, Dupree Miller & Assoc. (Jan.)