One of my favorite things to do over winter break is read. Books pile up on my floor throughout the semester, but due to a lack of time and energy, they just sit there until a break from school allows me the time to browse through them.

There have been some great books about music, movies and pop culture in general that have been released recently and some old standbys that have suddenly become relevant again. Here are just a few suggestions to keep you warm on those cold winter nights.

“Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo”

by Andy Greenwald

As a senior contributing writer for Spin, one of pop music’s most-read and respected monthly publications, Andy Greenwald often gets the opportunity to explore the punk rock and emo musical scenes. Magazines offer only limited space for analysis, however, and with “Nothing Feels Good” he steps out into the limelight, providing a 300-plus-page exploration of two of the hardest scenes to figure out.

As he examines how masses of teenagers have come to identify with the lyrics of groups as diverse as Dashboard Confessional and Minor Threat, Greenwald also touches on the simple ability of music to speak to each of us in some profound way. Emo and punk haven’t been written about together before, and “Nothing Feels Good” is an important milestone in rock writing.

“Cash: the Autobiography”

by Johnny Cash

“But I have to say, my all-time favorite book is Johnny Cash’s autobiography, ‘Cash’ by Johnny Cash.” So opines John Cusack’s record-store-owner character in “High Fidelity.” He isn’t too far off, either; Cash’s story will instill into readers even more respect and admiration for the Man in Black than they could imagine.

Going from humble beginnings to recording with Elvis, drug and alcohol addiction to gospel music, Cash’s career runs every possible gamut. Who better to tell his story than the man himself?

With Cash’s sad, but not entirely unexpected, death earlier this semester, it becomes even more important to keep his music legacy alive and well in the general population. If you want a read that’s simultaneously sad, humorous and just plain interesting, give this one a shot.

“Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market”

by Eric Schlosser

The man who brought us “Fast Food Nation” is back, and with an even more ambitious goal: to show how the black market is alive, well and a multi-million-dollar industry in America today. Beginning with the “War on Drugs” and the current status of marijuana, moving into the strawberry fields of California, where illegal immigration is rampant, and ending up with an examination of the little-known but highly prosecuted “porn king” in Ohio, Schlosser takes readers on a journey through the American underground.

Though clearly a liberal-slanted book, “Reefer Madness” nonetheless provides a plethora of information about the things America fights against every day: pot, immigrants and porn. From a California man locked up for years due to police finding a single joint in his apartment to slums in which up to 20 illegal immigrants live in a two-bedroom apartment, the degree of corruption and misdirection in the labor and drug markets is obvious.

Even if you’re not feeling overly political, Schlosser’s writing is easy to read, and the facts alone are enough to surprise and alarm.