This is NOT my Beautiful Car

David Byrne recently reviewed the book Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities for The New York Times, saying that "...greenways, safer bike lanes, pedestrian zones and bike parking places will make our cities not only more comfortable and enjoyable, but also more eco­nomically competitive places where people with ideas and creative ambitions want to both live and work." The ex-Talking Heads frontman is a long-time bike advocate, has ridden a bike around NYC since the early '80s, and has a book coming out this September called Bicycle Diaries. The 294 page book is filled with Byrne's photos and accounts of his experiences riding a bike through cities around the world, from London to Istanbul to Manila to Buenos Aires.

In addition to his many celebrated talents, Byrne is an accomplished writer who has long maintained an unusually beautiful blog in which he watches the world with a highly personal mixture of humor and curiosity, recording his thoughts on economics, globalization, music, urban planning, fashion, politics, architecture, and much more. His blog has had much to say recently on the role of bicycles in urban life, and the book should be fascinating.

Byrne will be at Seattle Town Hall on Sept. 28, one of only 5 such stops in the U.S. The event is presented by Elliott Bay Book Company and Seattle Arts & Lectures. Tickets are just $30, available starting August 22 at Brown Paper Tickets, and the ticket price includes a pre-signed copy of Bicycle Diaries.