Loved this, totally changed my experience of walking through a forest
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Currently reading A Swim in the Pond In The Rain by George Saunders which is a a version of the writing course he teaches at Syracuse. It’s as much a guide to reading as it is to writing though and it’s full of warmth and compassion. A really good place to start with him is this short story which is soon to be a film on Netflix Escape from Spiderhead | The New Yorker
My wife bought me 1-2-3-4 The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown for Christmas and I was bowled over by it. Effectively the life of the Beatles told through a sequence of 149 vignettes, often from the point-of-view someone who briefly encountered one of the Beatles, and had their life changed by them. It creates a picture of the group that feels fresh, even for those who’ve read biographies of the band before. Sometimes it’s really funny – John Lennon’s drug busts for example – and at others quite tragic, especially the tale of Jimmie Nicol, who sat in for Ringo during the 1964 Australian tour, and whose life was ruined as a consequence.
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@Doctorbrowncelray weird, I read that when I was living there too. great great book
Everyone else talking about Murakami…. I did love him but I found his creepy sex writing increasingly difficult to get along with. and the surprise 1Q84 book? Oh just get over yourself mate!
He writes about sex as if he’s never had it or at least never enjoyed it but I just kind of take it as one of the quirks of enjoying his voice. Strange dude writing strange books. The three collections of short stories are flawless.
It is AWESOME - love it
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Tim Lawrence books are always a well informed and interesting look at the NY dance scene
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I like his book about running - what I talk about when I talk about running, it’s personal and quite straightforward nice crossover with his jazz shop ownership - swapping one obsession for another.
Another great read from Mr Drumond, full of ridiculous annecdotes as you’d expect
John Cooper Clark - biog - ‘I wanna be Yours’
Funny, dark - worth a look
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My favourite go to book for the smallest room is Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. It’s an imagined conversation between marco Polo and Kublia Khan where Polo describes increasingly fantastical cities he has visited. In lockdown V1 I set the book as a brief with my A Level photography students to create collaged images of some of the described cities. I was more than happy with the outcomes…
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I wish more of this was in English but there are enough set lists and label scans and pictures I’ve never seen elsewhere that I’m glad I tracked it down. “Brain dead” reading is an important part of my pandemic reading diet. Things to keep me off screens and away from idle anxious mind spiraling when I’m too tired or busy to read real books.
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I went through a big Murakami phase a few years back after grabbing 1Q84 at a thrift store. Such a uniquely strange, yet somehow mundane and comforting reality his books inhabit. I love getting lost in one of his tangents and then the narrative snaps back into focus and I’m left sitting there like: oh yeah, this is the story. Great stuff.
I’d say Wind-Up Bird is my favorite book of his.
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Quite hard hitting this one .
Just getting into his stuff.
I’ve just finished Kafka on the Shore and I’m about to start Wind Up Bird.
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In the last 12 months-
Moby x 2
Goldie
Grace Jones
Tony Pike
Annie Nightingale
KLF
Brandon Block
Norman Jay
Marshall Jefferson
Massive Attack
Terry Turbo
Secret DJ
Energy Flash
Superstar DJs
A few others non music related inc Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Phil Knight, and a bit of sci fi
Now on Sweet Dreams
Looking forward to Coxy’s book, Secret DJ 2, and Colin Hudd’s when it’s finished
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Enjoy, it is brilliant! I’ve just bought it to read again.
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Halfway through Beastie Boys book, superb
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Just finished Douglas Stuart’s Shuggy Bain and about to start this…
Started buying from https://uk.bookshop.org/ a great alternative to Amazon and supports the independents
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I read Kitchen Confiential when it came out & just finished the audio boom of it that he narrates. Really enjoyed
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