Hillbilly Elegy is subtitled A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, and as the title indicates, that culture is 'hillbilly', the poor white people of the Appalachian region of the US. The book came out around the time that Donald Trump was being elected president, mostly, we are told, because the rust belt states which surround Appalachia 'changed sides' due to disaffection with political elites in Washington, and the improving economy not improving their own lives.

I like a good atlas. This is a very good atlas of the world's curiosities, the obscure and bizarre, the weird and hidden places; mostly caused by human intervention and neglect, rather than being naturally occurring. The brief text - in some case too brief - is accompanied by interesting maps and photographs. The book is arranged by theme - Dream Creations, Subterranean Realms, Deserted Destinations etc with a handy world map at the front marking all the locations in the book.

The Go-Betweens were one of Australia's most talented and influential bands, but they never became as popular as they deserved to. They were formed in Brisbane in 1977, by Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, and released 9 albums, the first in 1981, the last in 2005. During that time they moved between Australia and London, regularly changed record labels and line-ups, and broke up a number of times, but they seem to be on a creative high when Grant McLennan died in 2006 of a heart attack, having been a lifelong heavy drinker.

Seven years in the writing, Born To Run tells the extraordinary life story of one of the world's most successful musicians, in his own words. He was born in 1949, grew up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, and was driven to play music from an early age. In fact, he has never had any other job, and the book tells us of his early struggles to make a living through music, as well as his endless conflict with his working class father. It's a remarkably honest memoir, somewhat clunky in parts, and perhaps too long, but revelatory, and sometimes inspiring.

Having been to the Hebrides earlier this year, I'm pretty excited about books concerning that singular landscape and history, although I thought I was well informed about both. I was wrong! Madeline Bunting, in her exquisite and evocative prose, uncovers endless hidden histories about the islands, but also revisits the widely known with fresh insights.

Roger Shepherd founded Flying Nun Records in 1981 in Christchurch, mostly because he was a huge fan, and realised that the bands he loved needed someone to make their records. These bands produced some of New Zealand's best and most successful music and helped define an era, and created what became known as the 'Dunedin Sound'. They were also successful internationally, and many of the bands developed cult followings around the world. Bands such as The Chills, The Clean, The Verlaines, The Bats, Straitjacket Fits, Chris Knox and Tall Dwarfs, Sneaky Feelings and so on.