Book reviews and concert previews brought to you by Betsy Burton, co-owner of The King's English Bookshop, and Austen Diamond, producer of 13% Salt. Books & Beats airs Saturdays at 7:35 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. during NPR's Weekend Edition.

Books & Beats: October 24, 2015

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Blitzen Trapper plays at The State Room on Tuesday, October 27.
Courtesy of the Artist

In And West is West (Algonquin Books) by Ron Childress, a drone pilot in Nevada finds herself thrown out of the Air Force after obeying a morally dubious order.  Betsy Burton says “the story expands, explodes, pulling us into intersecting lives and into the web of technologies the impact of which we’re just beginning to understand.”

Blitzen Trapper, based in Portland, Oregon, have produced eight studio albums together.  Their latest “All Across this Land” is the band’s most focused rock & roll effort to date, says Austen Diamond.  They’ll be performing at The State Room on Tuesday, October 27th.

Playful, technicolor diva Marina and the Diamonds play at The Complex, also on Tuesday, October 27th

And on Thursday, October 29th, folk singer Patty Griffin will be at The State Room.

Tracks heard on this Books & Beats:

Intro Music: “Missiles Away” by Christophe Beck

1: “Cadillac Road” by Blitzen Trapper

2: “How to be a Heartbreaker” by Marina and the Diamonds

3: “Gunpowder” by Patty Griffin   

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