The Rabbit Room

Oh my goodness. That Rich Mullins lyric is SO perfect!

Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes. Excellent review, John, of a book begging to be looked at long and intently and then lavishly described. Thank you once again to Helena and to the Rabbit Room for making this book happen. Years from now, 2020 won’t just be the year we lived through a pandemic – it’ll be the year we read The Door On Half-Bald Hill for the first time.

Hey Abigail! It’s a totally stand alone story. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything!

John, you put words to so much that I was sensing in my first reading, but lacking words for! This is especially true for what you said about the poetic nature of the book’s structure. Now onto my second reading…

Thank you for providing the list!!

I hear you. I grew up and grew old with Dylan. I can recall with detail the first time I heard a Dylan tune. (Like a Rolling Stone). Had no idea who this guy was, but as kid who was still listening to The Archies on 45, I knew this was something different. Same reaction I had when I picked up – totally by mistake – a book by some guy named Dickens and started to read.

That Rain King/Thunder Road performance is one of my favorite things in the world.

Thanks for this, John. These guys have been such a huge part of my musical imagination since that first record. And how about that VH1 Live record!? The fact that they came up with new arrangements of almost all the songs was so brilliant. One of my favorite memories was playing 1492 for Aedan when he was little and talking about how Adam’s sense of loneliness and futility (“I am the king of everything/I am the king of nothing”) was an honest expression of our fallenness–and how Jesus was the best answer to all of his longings. Aedan (who’s 20 now) told me not long ago that listening to those records was a big moment for him, spiritually.

i wish i’d had big brothers like you people. It’s like there was a whole world overlaid with mine, and i missed it. i should watch that video.

Being a youngster, I was a late comer to “August & Everything After,” discovering it just last year. It’s now become one of my favorite albums. The music is soulful and surprising, and the lyrics are refreshingly honest. I read a great article a while ago that compared Duritz’s songs to the wisdom literature of Job and Ecclesiastes, and the more I return to songs like “Round Here” and “Raining in Baltimore”, the more I can hear that ragged ache for redemption.

Some of my favorite high school memories are hanging out the back of my friends jeep singing along to “Amy Hit the Atmosphere”. Thanks for sharing

Thanks! Official street date is 2/2/18. Backers get it as soon as we have it in hand

Wow! First time I’ve come across your work, Adam. You’re a rare talent. Finely crafted stuff. I particularly appreciate the fact that you sing in a clean, natural way that doesn’t obscure your lyrics. (That’s a pet peeve of mine with a lot of current artists in the indie vein.)

John! I loved this. Props for being brave and intentional enough to make that drive–and walking into that room. I would have been scared silly. The piece is lovely, and not just because I’m partial to pipes.

Oh, I love this. I saw the picture and thought “Hm. Those look like pages from the hymnals we use at my church.” (Well, technically “used to use” but the choir still gets copies of the hymnal pages) so I looked at the copy I have here, and lo and behold I was right. Now. What does it say when you can identify the hymnal by looking at one or two pages? lol

I love what you made, and I love what you wrote about what you made.

I love it because you showed courage to do something outside your normal genius. I strive to find that courage in myself.