SPIN’s David Marchese offers his picks for the season’s best page-turners for the music lover who wants the stories beyond the sounds, from reefer to riot grrrls, from punks to rappers.

1. Mozipedia: The Encyclopedia of Morrissey and the Smiths by Simon Goddard

Heaven knows that with 600 entries (so that’s who “You’re the One for Me Fatty” is about!), this comprehensive collection of arcana is sure to make your favorite Smithsophile feel less miserable — for at least a little while.

2. Reefer Movie Madness: The Ultimate Stoner Film Guide by Shirley Halperin and Steve Bloom

Noted cineastes Snoop Dogg, Jason Mraz, and, of course, Cheech & Chong contribute to this compendium of the screen’s green­est moments. Best enjoyed with a bowl of peanut-butter-topped Cheez-Its, or so we’ve been told.

3. The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop by Dan Charnas

Pulitzer-level reporting — Charnas interviewed more than 300 subjects — brings to life the story of the dollars behind the ballers in this absorbing account of hip-hop’s transformation from South Bronx cottage industry to multibillion-dollar global business.

4. Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus

By partaking judiciously of both retrospective cheerleading and brainy theorizing, Marcus’ smartly lyrical book instantly assumes its place as the authoritative history of rock’s first widespread feminist uprising. Buy it for your little brother.

Read #5-8 HERE