@Sprague Dawley apt review! Personally I didn't really care for the stuff about the I Ching, despite how integral it was to the book. Also I'm sure I'm dumb and didn't totally catch onto the symbolism of it, but I didn't really see the point of the jewelry business subplot. I didn't personally find it too bad to get through but was just underwhelmed at the end of it.
Anyone read Black Hole by Bucky Sinister? I recently translated it for a French publisher and really enjoyed it. Not a masterpiece or anything, just a fun, fast-paced story about taking massive amounts of drugs ("massive" as in "Las Vegas Parano is for babies") in post dot-com boom San Francisco. Featuring mini-whales, guns, strippers, real drugs, made-up drugs, Operation Ivy, Gilman Street, etc.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23281526-black-hole
Not related, but the latest two I read & enjoyed were Thomas Pynchon's Vineland (funniest/ easiest one I've read by him so far) and Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte (dark comedy/ satire about millenial angst and identity politics).
@SwamiPat I liked how quickly Thee Headcoats were glossed over, Bruce didn't mince any words either.
been putting it off for a minute but looking forward to reading "a man called destrutcion" (chilton bio)
Just finished the first Valis book, I'm a big PKD fan - the Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich is my favorite and finally checked out Valis from the library. What a let down - ramblings of an author on wayyy too much speed that drags on way too long.
@SwamiPat I will have you know I read plenty of PUNK books! ;)
Loved the Estrus one, definitely plan on purchasing the Billy Childish bio. Also been meaning to pick up the Redd Kross book.....
@Lincoln Huh, I am curious to read that, but haven't gotten around to it, have read reviews saying it's not as good as her other stuff.....
Loved Mars Room and Telexes From Cuba, though!
@Luke Henley Yeah, definitely not one of his best efforts. Didn't like the TV show that much, either. Too bad, cause it's a cool premise......
@Dhanamjayan (Ken) Cheppaikode I wanna be yours, the fairly new John Cooper Clarke book was a v entertaining PUNK book. His attention to detail is next level. Very funny too, as we would expect...
Cecil Taylor bio by Phillip Freeman, excellent guide and includes a fairly thorough discography plus radio appearances, although there could probably be a second book I WON'T complain.
Dion - The Wanderer Talks Truth by Dion, short incisive stories and Lou Reed introduction. Dion went full-on Catholic decades ago and a lot of his stories were about that. He claims to be the only rocker who had Buddy Holly backing him up as a drummer on tour. Little gem anecdotes. Didn't realize Scott Kempner supported him in the 90s. Lucky to find this in the music section I guess, as it is files under Catholic Religous studies.
Lisa Carver - Lover of Leaving ... almost finished this (pdf version) and will bring it up in the next Faux Wood Paneling. Numerous mag and web pulls plus new material. Comes out this Spring. Her book "I Love Art" is a lot more Gulcheral and even though it's my pick of the litter it shouldn't stop ya from picking up a bundle of her works. She offers stuff up on Facebook from time to time.
I read the Billy Childish bio last year and enjoyed it - left me with a pretty positive impression on Mick Hampshire; I wonder why he doesnt' have the same sort of fanfare as Childish.
As far as music books go, I have Wreckless Eric's autobiography on my to-read pile this year. I picked it up when I caught him opening for Stiff Little Fingers last year.
Has anyone read this "We Can Be A New Wind" book? It focuses on late 80's bands, but if it's all basic bands that have been well covered elsewhere, I don't wanna shell out the $40 to buy it. It being named after 7 Seconds doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
Ann Moses' book about her time as the editor of Tiger Beat in the 1960s is one of the best things ive ever read
Started the first Caro LBJ book. Good so far. A lot about his daddy and his daddy's daddy thus far.
Currently reading Horse Crazy by Gary Indiana and it's great so far. Had started reading his book Rent Boy but it got lost in the house chaos during moving so started Horse Crazy instead. A lot of him internally justifying his and other people's actions in a stream of conscious way that I'm enjoying. Good shit!
Just finished Joel Gion's In The Jingle Jangle Jungle. It was a pretty fun read. Currently reading You Can't Win and the 33 ¹/3rd (Europe) on A Blaze In The Northern Sky. Liking both so far. And working through a buncha William Eggleston photography books. And the Bomp! Book.
I work in a library, my book pile is a mile high.
Just finished Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. It was a bit long. I felt like I lost the thread here and there and didn't 'get it', but perhaps that was the point. He writes good snappy dialogue.
Yesterday I read a short story by this Dutch writer Lernert Engelberts, which I thought was hilarious in places, but I assume few of you are willing to learn the language for a couple of chuckles. I read an article about a Ukrainian writer whose book got published after he was killed in the war, which was interesting so I'm giving that a shot right now. It's called Factory. The writer's name is Mysiak. It's nice thusfar.
I'm a sucker for Céline, Bukowski, Fante and Hamsun. Any recommendations along those lines are welcome.
Just read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, after someone mentioned it to me. The first few pages I thought I'd made a real mistake, had a real 00s chick-lit feel but then every chapter sorta twists the banality around. A surprise hit for me.
Got The Crazy Kill by Chester Himes up next, love his stuff. If anyone has recommendations for anything similar I'm all ears!
@Lammie "Céline, Bukowski, Fante and Hamsun"
Henry Miller is probably an obvious one if you haven't already (he mentioned Hamsun as a big influence)...Hubert Selby...Don Bajema also I guess. When I say, I went through a period like that many many moons ago, I don't mean to sound condescending...I just mean I'm old...At one point I was working a shitty temp job in downtown LA and it was quite a trip to walk around and imagine Fante haunting those same streets 50-60 years prior. I also remember checking out a collection of poems by Catullus from the downtown public library - Bukowski had mentioned him as a big influence...oh and maybe for a little more modern David Wojnarowicz, although I've only read his memoir...
@SukebeGG
Ha, I don't think I've outgrown those authors despite the fact that I stumbled upon them two decades ago. No other writers have made as big an impression on me as they have. Maybe that means I'm a childish reader. If so, that's fine.
Music isn't that different in a sense. I don't think I'll ever love a band as religiously as I liked Black Flag in my late teens.
Selby I know. I started reading Last Exit to Brooklyn, but put it down. I should give it another shot. I read Tropic of Cancer by Miller over a decade ago and it did nothing for me. Like Bukowski he loved Céline and Hamsun. I remember Bukowski saying in an interview that he didn't care for Miller, but the fact that he liked Céline at least meant he had taste.
Bukowkski makes a lot of sense to me when he talks about literature as in he knows what he likes and doesn't like. I discovered Fante, Hamsun and Karl Jasper through his writing. I also remember a foreword he wrote for Ask the Dust in which he said the very same thing as you, roaming the streets of Los Angeles and wondering if he walked the same streets as John Fante's character, Arturo Bandini.
In high school I translated Catullus' love poems about this little girl's sparrow - passer in Latin which apparently also means penis. Freud would have had a thing or two to say about that, don't you think? I really liked translating Martialis at the time. I was 17. His poems are foul, mean and funny. Witty guy. Punk avant la lettre if you will. Kicking against the pricks. On that note Beckett is supposed to be a genius, but his fiction is too demanding for me. I liked Waiting for Godot though. I should give him another shot too. So many books, so little time. My attention span isn't increasing either.
I never heard of either Don Bajema or David Wonjonarowicz but will investigate. Thanks a bunch.
