The Chigago Sun-Times takes a look at Continuum's 33 1/3 series. Each book in the series contains one writer's examination of an album considered to be a masterpiece of its genre. I've read a number of these, the one I recall being the most interesting was the look at REM's Murmur. Other books have covered Radiohead, Prince, The Smiths, and The Velvet Underground. These make perfect non-fiction reading for summer, being small and portable and able to be read in an hour or two.