There’s no doubt that DJing is a lifestyle that is all consuming and has a rich and storied past. Whether you are a DJ yourself, aspire to be one, or just have an interest in the culture, the following reading suggestions should be interesting to you as you journey on your quest to know and become “all things” DJ. Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco (Peter Shapiro) traces the history of disco music and culture. From the outset, disco was essentially a shotgun marriage between a newly out and proud gay sexuality and the first generation of post-civil rights African Americans, all to the serenade of the recently developed synthesizer. The author discusses the converging influences as well as disco’s cultural antecedents in Europe and looks at the history of DJing while exploring the mainstream disco craze at its height.Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (Bill Brewster) is a comprehensive history of the mysterious and charismatic figure behind the turntables — part obsessive record collector, part mad scientist, part intuitive psychologist of the party groove. From England’s rabid Northern Soul scene to the birth of disco in New York, from the sound systems of Jamaica to the scratch wars of early hip-hop in the Bronx, from Chicago house to Detroit techno to London rave, DJs are responsible for most of the significant changes in music over the past forty years.The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night (Anthony Haden-Guest) is the story not just of Studio 54 but of the whole night world past the velvet rope, down onto the pounding dance floor, up into the perverse (yet highly addictive) balcony, and into owner Steve Rubell’s office, where millions of dollars were surreptitiously skimmed from the golden goose. Vibrant, shocking, nonstop, and revealing the book is as packed with sparkle, scandal, and celebrity as Studio 54 was itself.There are more titles that we’ll cover in upcoming posts, but any one of these (or all three!) are great jumping off points to help you get your groove on.