Book of the Week Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer This book will have you laughing out loud within the first few paragraphs. Beware, though–it can just as easily make you cry. Everything Is Illuminated is hilarious yet heartbreaking, alternating between the first person account of funny, weird world of confused translator Alex’s modern Ukraine, and the third-person narration of the fantastical history of the villagers of a tiny Ukrainian town before it was destroyed during the Holocaust. This is a book too complicated to adequately describe in a few sentences. So here’s just one: make Everything Is Illuminated the next book you read. Album of the Week Deloused in the Comatorium, The Mars Volta This debut album from the wild experimental rock band stunned the music industry when it was released in 2003. Never before had progressive rock been mixed so deftly with Latin jazz, screamo, and an operatic and outright creepy lead vocalist. This album is by far the most interesting of their releases and was also released alongside a storybook that offers listeners a pungent tale of an individual who overdoses, falls into a coma and has wild liberating visions. Upon waking he jumps to his death, dissatisfied with reality. You would think a storyline such as this would be difficult to listen to and emotionally disturbing. On a certain level it is, however nowhere else have I heard punk music with such catchy rhythms and amazing musical skill. This music was born to echo through your head, and offer your life some incredibly dramatic theme music. Artist of the Week John K Lawson Lawson began his career in New Orleans, capturing the vivacity of the culture by making murals out of recycled Mardi Gras Beads. Since Katrina he has used sketches and photos from his destroyed studio to create mixed media pieces. It was his way of working through the disaster of the hurricane and portraying his own feelings and experiences. He has also recently published a novel entitled Hurricane Hotel, which is a love letter from the complex affair he had with the city. An inspired artist who is still creating great work today, you should check him out.