33⅓

(Thirty-Three and a Third) is a series of books, each about a single music album. The series title refers to the rotation speed of a vinyl LP,  RPM.

History 
Originally published by Continuum, the series was founded by editor David Barker in 2003. At the time, Continuum published a series of short books on literature called Continuum Contemporaries. One-time series editor Ally-Jane Grossan mentioned that Barker was "an obsessive music fan who thought, 'This is a really cool idea, why don't we apply this to albums'. PopMatters wrote that the range consists of "obscure classics to more usual suspects by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones".

In 2010, Continuum was bought out by Bloomsbury Publishing, which continues to publish the series.  Following a leave, Barker was replaced by Grossan in January 2013. Leah Babb-Rosenfeld has been the editor of the series since 2016.

Several independent books have been spun off of the series. The first, Carl Wilson's 2007 entry on Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love, was expanded for a 2014 Bloomsbury reissue with material not specifically pertaining to the Dion album and retitled Let's Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Such Bad Taste. Joe Bonomo, at the invitation of Barker, expanded his  proposal on Jerry Lee Lewis's Live at the Star Club, Hamburg album into a full-length book about Lewis, the album, and his career titled Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found, published by Continuum in 2009. A rejected proposal from writer Brett Milano for an entry on Game Theory's 1987 album Lolita Nation was instead expanded by Milano into a biography on the band's leader Scott Miller; that project, titled Don't All Thank Me at Once: The Lost Genius of Scott Miller, was released by 125 Books in 2015.

In August 2017, Bloomsbury announced the launch of  Global, an extension of the  series to popular music from around the world. The first two sub-series launched were  Brazil, edited by Jason Stanyek, and  Japan, edited by Noriko Manabe. The first book for  Brazil was Caetano Veloso's A Foreign Sound by Barbara Browning. The first books for  Japan were Supercell ft. Hatsune Miku by Keisuke Yamada and Yoko Kanno's Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack by Rose Bridges.

Published titles 
, 177 books have been published in the main series.

Main series

33⅓ Japan

33⅓ Brazil

33⅓ Europe

33⅓ Oceania

Anthologies

Genre: A 33⅓ Series

Forthcoming titles

Main series
With release date
 Here's Little Richard (November 2, 2023) by Jordan Bassett on the album by Little Richard (1957)
 Ingénue (November 2, 2023) by Joanna McNaney Stein on the album by k.d. lang (1992)
 Sandinista! (March 7, 2024) by Micajah Henley on the album by the Clash (1980)
 Invasion of Privacy (March 7, 2024) by Ma'Chell Duma on the album by Cardi B (2018)
 This Is Hardcore (March 7, 2024) by Jane Savidge on the album by Pulp (1998)
 3 + 3 (May 2, 2024) by Darrell M. McNeill on the album by the Isley Brothers (1973)
 101 (May 2, 2024) by Mary Valle on the album by Depeche Mode (1989)

Without release date
 New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) by Alexa Carter on the album by Erykah Badu (2010)
 I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Hannah Seidlitz on the album by Bright Eyes (2005)
 Hounds of Love by Leah Kardos on the album by Kate Bush (1985)
 Re by Carmelo Esterrich on the album by Café Tacvba (1994)
 Paris 1919 by Mark Doyle on the album by John Cale (1973)
 Blue Bell Knoll by Chris Tapley on the album by Cocteau Twins (1984)
 Garth Brooks in...the Life of Chris Gaines by Stephen Deusner on the album by Chris Gaines (1999)
 I Want You by Derrais Carter on the album by Marvin Gaye (1976)
 Timeless by Martyn Deykers on the album by Goldie (1995)
 Tin Drum by Agata Pyzik on the album by Japan (1981)
 Nightbirds by Craig Seymour on the album by Labelle (1974)
 The Land of Rape and Honey by Jason Pettigrew on the album by Ministry (1988)
 The Moon & Antarctica by Zachary Petit on the album by Modest Mouse (2000)
Shout at the Devil by Micco Caporale on the album by Mötley Crüe (1983)
 Tragic Kingdom by Rhae Lynn Barnes on the album by No Doubt (1995)
 Universal Mother by Adele Bertei on the album by Sinead O’Connor (1994)
 Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version by Jarett Kobek on the album by Ol' Dirty Bastard (1995)
 White Limozeen by Steacy Easton on the album by Dolly Parton (1989)
 And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out by Elliott Simpson on the album by Yo La Tengo (2000)
 Red Hot + Blue by John S. Garrison on the album by various artists (1990)

33⅓ Japan
Kōhaku utagassen: The Red and White Song Contest by Shelley Brunt
 Kogun by E. Taylor Atkins, on the album by Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band (1974)
 Yellow Magic Orchestra (October 3, 2024) by Toshiyuki Ohwada, on the album by Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978)

33⅓ Europe
 Projekt Jon (February 22, 2024) by Nicholas Tochka on the album by Ardit Gjebrea

33⅓ Oceania
 Kitten Licks (February 8, 2024) by Ben Green and Ian Rogers on the album by Screamfeeder (1996)

Genre: A 33⅓ Series
 Neue Deutsche Welle (April 4, 2024) by Claudia Lonkin
 Math rock (April 4, 2024) by Jeff Gomez

See also
 Boss Fight Books – a publisher that releases an eponymous series about notable video games

References

External links
 Official blog for the series
 TimesOnline on the book series.

Book series introduced in 2003
Series of books
Books about rock music
Bloomsbury Publishing books
Books about pop music