The Literate Douchebag

Run Like An Antelope: On The Road With Phish

2007-03-05T14:32:00.000-08:00

I honestly feel pretty privileged to have seen Phish live, back on Sept. 9, 1999. It was at GM Place in Vancouver, and I went alone because I didn't know anyone who was even remotely interested in coming along. The show was long (3 hours), amazing (jamming out the wazoo) and incredibly uncomfortable. Heaven help the fool (phool?) who looks like a "square" and doesn't dance.

To have seen only one Phish show, though, is a paltry count for anyone who's really into the band, given that the group's fans (or "phans") rivalled those of the Grateful Dead for tenacity, dedication and passion. And, unfortunately, pure snobbery. Never have I felt so unwelcome or so judged as at that concert. If you're not wearing the hippie uniform, you will be treated with suspicion.

At any rate, Sean Gibbon followed (no more "ph-" jokes) the band on their summer tour in 1999, and this book is the proof of it. I enjoyed it, but it was by no means definitive. Some online reviews from hardcore Phish freaks lament the lack of interviews, scant discussion of actual show setlists and general lack of love for many things hippie. Or so they say - to me, Gibbon easily fits the profile of counterculture space cadet.

Interesting read overall, much like the concert I saw nearly eight years ago - weird people, amazing music and a completely bizaare subset of society.

I'd definitely try and hit a few shows if they ever get back together...

Working Stiff

2007-03-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

Definitely one of the more interesting books I've read lately, which is saying a lot.

Grant Stoddard was a hopeless git until he moved to NYC, discovered his mojo and became a sex columnist for Nerve.com. How anyone could be this willing for a byline is a bit beyond me, but luckily Stoddard's a good writer with enough humour that it didn't feel creepy reading about his various exploits - all in the name of investigative journalism, of course.

Recommended for anyone who's not a total prude.

Stoddard's official site is kind of interesting, though it's obvious his stay in NYC is morphing him into some sort of Zoolander cocaine vamp (not that there's anything wrong with that). And there's a link to his blog, but I got bored after about 15 seconds - perhaps you've had a similar experience reading this one?

See for yourself: http://www.grantstoddard.com/

Next up is a book about a Phish, which means it's on the exact opposite end of the sex spectrum. Even if the free love thing is alive and well in modern hippie circles, I don't want to read about it. If you have been to a Phish concert you will know what I mean.

The Other Hollywood

2007-02-25T16:37:00.000-08:00

Easily the sleaziest book I've ever read, excepting Motley Crue's The Dirt.

Sort of the lit version of Boogie Nights, though without the rose-coloured glasses. Drugs, booze, abuse, guns, the Mafia - it's all here. And tons of sex.

Basically, the great thing about getting freebies is that sometimes you get stuff you'd be too embarrassed to buy. And everyone would read this book if they had the chance.

Great book, but be warned - it's very depressing at times.

Legs McNeil co-wrote this - his other prominent book, Punk: An Oral History, is equally excellent.

Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews

2007-02-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

Bob Dylan rules. If you don't think so, well, too bad for you I guess. Love the man - always changing, always a little weird, (almost) always worthwhile.

This one compiles a bunch of Bob's best interviews - he rarely grants them anymore - and most are pretty good. Basically, interviewing Dylan means zipping around and around again and again without getting anywhere.

Still, it's fun to read it.

The Last Party

2007-02-25T16:04:00.000-08:00

This one was a delightfully catty account of Studio 54 and New York nightlife that followed that gloriously debauched era.

Reads a bit like Sex and the City, but with more hard drugs and less humour. Awesome book - makes you want to go to the Big Apple, warts and all.

The Good German

2007-01-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

Bought this one at Rockyview the day after Adam was born - I faced one of those scenarios where you're desperate for something to read but the shop mainly has westerns, Shopaholic novels or other crap. This one was a godsend - hell, an embossed fantasy novel with elves and mages would have done - but this was good. I rarely read mystery novels, but this one made me wonder why I don't more often.

Reads like a classic movie, sort of like The Third Man or something.

Well worth your time.

I, Goldstein

2006-12-29T14:01:00.000-08:00

By his own admission, Al Goldstein is a shmuck. I'd agree, though his life makes for an interesting autobiography. Goldstein founded Screw magazine, one of the first 'mainstream' porn mags in the United States.

Plenty of titillation here, though surprisingly few drugs - Goldstein didn't do them - but lots of pastrami sandwiches. Goldstein is now penniless in New York City.

Staring At Sound

2006-12-29T08:55:00.000-08:00

A fabulous book about a fabulous band. Normally music books written while bands are still in their prime tend to be quick cash-ins, but this one obviously was a labour of love for famed music critic Jim DeRogatis.

To date, the most fun I've ever had at a concert was seeing the Lips in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom in 2000. Unbelievable show.

Magical Mystery Tours

2006-12-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

Another Beatles books. This one was also great - Tony Bramwell was just a general aide/roadie/filmmaker to the Beatles, beginning with their rise out of Liverpool in the early '60s. This one's got a very honest (by Bramwell's take) account of the goings-on with the Fab Four: Ringo was easygoing and kept his nose out of the infighting, George was moody and became increasingly distant from the others, John was unpredictable and could be both amazingly nice and cruel, and Paul was the politest one who seems to run head to head with Ringo for winner of Most Liked By Beatles Insiders.

Bramwell HATED Yoko Ono. No surprise there - she nosed her way in and was an absolute pain in the ass, though I don't think she split up the band. That would have happened regardless.

No other bands' histories are as interesting as the Beatles' - and they're not even my favourite band. Go figure.

Recommended.

The Road To Verdun

2006-12-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

Fantastic account of an utterly brutal battle during World War One. Of course, virtually every battle in that war was inhumane and unspeakable to the extreme, but books like this try to put it all in context, though of course even the best authors will never be able to convey what the Western Front was like.

Great book, but extremely depressing. And no, I didn't read it in Italian. Sadly.

The Casualty

2006-11-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

Grim book about life as a German soldier during World War Two. Boll won the Nobel Prize in 1972 for Literature, and I can see why - his books are devastating, but they are extremely well-written.

This one is a collection of short stories published a couple years after Boll died in 1985. Who knows how much of this is based on Boll's own experiences - he served on both the Eastern and Western fronts - but the stories told are superb.

Recommended.

The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds

2006-11-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

A zippy read about the making of one of the greatest albums of the Sixties, if not the entire Twentieth Century. Given that the Beach Boys are one of the cheesiest bands ever, it's always a little uncomfortable admitting you like their music, but thanks to the hipster revolution, it's a lot more acceptable to admit you like this album nowadays then in the past.

If Michael Jackson could play multiple instruments, conduct a room full of session musicians, was white and didn't have an unhealthy fixation on kids, this would be his album.

Regardless of whether or not that makes any sense, this was a fun read.

Recommended for music geeks.

The Beatles

2006-11-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

A huge, utterly engrossing book. Kara got this one for me for my birthday, and what a gift - easily one of the best Beatles books out there, period. There are a tonne of other Beatle books I've yet to read, but I've had my fair share, and this one was superb. Lots of myths destroyed, and lots of revealing information never before published. Great, great, great. Not scandalous either, but very honest.

Awesome.

Amazon Extreme

2006-11-16T20:14:00.000-08:00

Another one by Colin Angus. He's an average writer with an above average tale, which actually makes for a great book.

This one chronicles his trip along the length of Amazon River, plus the Peruvian tributaries that lead up to it. Fantastic book, though much of the actual Amazon trip is highly rushed.

Bummer.

Passionate Minds

2006-11-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

Judging by the cover, this book should have been horrendously dull.

It wasn't.

Passionate Minds tells the story of the love affair between classic French writer Voltaire and his mistress, Emilie du Chatelet, a scientist unfairly obscured by history.

Great read - not textbook-ish at all.

Recommended, as always.

Uncivilized Beasts And Shameless Hellions

2006-11-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

Another one from a Herald review.

Great read about being a NPR correspondent on some of the biggest stories of the past 25 years. John F. Burnett covered Waco, Guatamala's civil war, the Iraq invastion and Hurrican Katrina, to name a few.

Impressive read by a guy proud but not arrogant of his achievements.

Recommended for current affairs geeks.

Guerrillas

2006-11-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a heavy one. Anderson somehow got access to some of the world's most remote guerrilla forces and writes about them. Burma, Palestine, Western Sahara, El Salvador and Afghanistan all share time in this one. Anyone who thinks we can succeed in Afghanistan should take a close read here too.

This book dates from the early '90s, so much of the info is out of date, but there is an afterword included from a couple years ago.

Fascinating and depressing as hell.

The Joke's Over

2006-11-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

Ralph Steadman did most of the crazy illustrations that accompanied Hunter S. Thompson's various projects. Thompson was truly nuts, and I got the impression Steadman was a little odd himself, though in a much more benign way.

Great book about their time together - very well written, witty and, at times, quite depressing. But overall a fantastic memoir.

Highly recommended.

A Dirty War

2006-10-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

I've had this one kicking around for quite a while, but the recent murder of Anna Politkovskaya reminded me I had this.

Very interesting book, but, as you can imagine, quite bleak. This one's essentially a compilation of news articles Politkovskaya wrote for her Moscow paper. Apparently their content made her a very unpopular person in Russia, where support for the Chechnyan war remains high.

Great book, especially for current affairs junkies.

To Major Tom

2006-10-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

Another cool music book. Dave Thompson pretends he's a middle-aged man who has been writing unanswered letters to David Bowie since he was 12. That sounds stalkerish, but it's actually not written that way. Kind of a coming of age tale, set to fan letters. Not sure if that makes sense or sounds even remotely interesting, but it was.

Great read, especially for Bowie fans.

Teenage Hipster in the Modern World

2006-10-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

This one's found in the music section, but most of the stories included aren't about music at all. Regardless, this one was one of my favourites in recent memory - Jacobson's a feature writer who's spent the past 30 years or so chronicling all sorts of people, mostly from New York City.

Fantastic writer - one whose words you just want to savour. As pretentious as that sounds, it's true.

Well, well worth your time.

Shutting Out The Sun

2006-10-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

Great book about the side of Japan western fetishists and anime fans just don't see. An extremely rigid society, Japan is facing a growing dilemma of a vast section of its population - as well as economy and political bodies - that just can't change.

Zielenziger uses the plight of hikikomori - men of all ages who live with their parents, retire to their bedrooms and never leave their homes for years at a time. It's a real problem, but it's also a good metaphor for the growing pains going through Japan right now.

Great book. Recommended for all, but especially for anyone who maintains a fantasy that Japan is somehow perfect and wise.

Miles To Go: The Lost Years

2006-10-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

If there's any musician more interesting than Miles Davis, I haven't heard of him/her.

Chris Murphy was friends and roadie to Miles Davis from the early '70s to the early '80s, excluding Davis' recluse years in the late '70s.

Fantastic read - a whole other dimension to Davis that stands in juxtaposition to much of the abrasiveness in the legendary jazz musician's (equally excellent) autobiography.

Of particular cool note to this music nerd is that Murphy's first two shows with Davis were in Calgary and Edmonton in 1973 at both the Jubilees. Made me chuckle when he noted how surreal it was to play two shows in venues that were identical - something I also experienced during the Black Crowes' recent run here in May 2006.

Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanger's History of Heavy Metal

2006-10-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to one of my email addresses, everyone at one of my jobs thinks I'm a diehard metalhead. So a co-worker lent me this, which was pretty entertaining, if a bit 'Metallica can do no wrong.'

I've never got into heavy metal much, though I spent much of the '80s reading enough Guitar World back issues to get some grasp on the finer points of suburban rage. Good times.

Fun read, but for the metalheads only.

The Sound And The Fury

2006-10-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

A whole lotta pretentious music writing twaddle. Okay, some of it is really, really good, but some is just, well, self-absorbed and meandering. Some of these writers are more interested in writing about themselves and less about their subjects, which is a shame.

In the late '60s and '70s it seems a lot of the 'great' rock writers just sent in a review and were given gobs of work. Not anymore, sadly.

Still, I'm glad I read it.

Dream Brother

2006-10-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal: I love Jeff Buckley, but I could give two shits for his dad's music.

Needless to say, I didn't buy this book to read about the making of Starsailor.

Tim Buckley was an asshole, and I've heard his son was an equally moody, pompous ass, but you'd never know it from this book.

Maybe the stories I heard about Jeff aren't true, but then again, maybe David Browne was too in love with his subject to be objective.

I'll never know. Now that I'm finished bitching, I can say this was an extremely well-written book that filled me in on artist I've loved since before he died (eat your heart out, hipsters!) and kept my interest peaked on a guy I still have little regard for (Tim Buckley).

Also recommended.

A Magick Life

2006-10-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know why anyone would want to idolize Aleister Crowley, but I can understand why so many people want to read about him.

This bio does a wicked job (ha ha) of explaining the man once dubbed 'the wickedest man in the world.' Crowley explored the occult, had tons of bisexual sex, frittered away millions, climbed huge mountains and did way too many hardcore drugs.

Sort of like every rockstar bio I've read (minus the mountain climbing).

Recommended.

Are You Experienced?

2006-09-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

This one reads like a How To Fuck Up Your Life in Rock and Roll 101 textbook.

Noel Redding was Hendrix's bass player for the majority of the latter's career, and was there for some pretty amazing music history moments. Too bad he screwed up his life beyond comprehension with legal carelessness, drugs, booze and heaps of pity and bitterness.

In short, Redding - like Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell - had awful management, never questioned it until too late, and came up with nothing.

A frustrating read, though the bulk of the writing of life in the Experience is among the best band memoirs I've ever read. Then it turns to several chapters of legal rambling. Boring - like listening to some bitter old drunk rant and rave about what could have been.

For Hendrix fans. All others proceed with caution.

The I Chong: Meditations From The Joint

2006-09-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

In February 2004, Tommy Chong was busted by the DEA for his link to his son's glass bong business, operating out of California. They had all the permits, but through a legal loophole he was sent to prison for nine months.

It's a great read, made even cooler by how utterly normal Chong seems. No artistic pretentions whatsoever.

Plus he was born in Edmonton and raised in Calgary. I had no idea.

Great book.

Catch A Wave

2006-09-24T23:50:00.000-07:00

Brian Wilson's life is one of the most depressing stories in rock and roll history.

For anyone who doesn't know, he's sort of like the white Michael Jackson, minus the allegations of pedophilia. Wilson, like Jackson, barely survived life under a cruel and violent father who seemed to resent his son's talent as much as he exploited it.

Pet Sounds is brilliant though Carlin notes that Wilson's one musical failing is his lyrics (or those he cowrote them with). Too true.

Great book. Not the first I've read on Wilson, but just as worthy as the others.

Recommended.

The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup

2006-09-20T23:29:00.000-07:00

Susan Orlean wrote The Orchid Thief, a superb book about a flower poacher that was the basis for the movie Adaptation. This one's a collection of her essays and people profiles she's done over the past 15 years, primarily for The New Yorker.

Good book, though some pieces were stronger than others.

Please Kill Me

2006-09-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I almost didn't buy this book when I was at Powell's in Portland.

Fantastic read, all told through first-person quotes that tell the story, rather than a more traditional (but boring) author-gives-the-chronology approach. Sort of like the Bill Graham autobiography, though a very different kind of music.

This one covers the origins of punk, primarily from the late 1960s through to the early '80s. Tons on the Stooges and the Velvet Underground here - two bands I adore - plus a bunch of artists I've been meaning to check out for ages, like the New York Dolls.

Didn't want this one to end.

Let Me Go

2006-09-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

I've read so many books about the Holocaust, but I'm still caught off guard by some of the stuff I read. Like this book, Let Me Go.

Helga Schneider's mother abandoned her and her brother and father in 1941 to devote herself to the Waffen-SS, the especially fanatical wing of the German armed forces in World War Two.

To Scheider's horror, during two postwar visits with her mother - once in 1971 and a final one in 1999 - she discovers her mom became a guard at the Birkenau death camp in Poland.

Pretty brutal stuff here - reads as a memoir of abandonment of morals and parental responsibility. It's particularly harsh because Schneider's mom idolized Nazidom and genocide until the day she died.

Sad, but unforgettable.

Sign 'O' The Times

2006-09-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

Easily my favourite album of the '80s - this one came out the same year as The Joshua Tree, which I happen to think is inferior, and I like U2. Sign 'O' The Times is THAT good. Too bad Prince was such a pain in the ass to deal with - this could have been a megablockbuster of Purple Rain proportions.

Another great book aimed at the hardcore fans.

A Simple Twist of Fate

2006-09-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

Superb book about the making of one of Bob Dylan's best albums, Blood on the Tracks. Gave me new appreciation for it, too, as it's never been one of my absolute favourites - I still love The Times They Are A Changin' the most. And I still don't like Desire, excepting Isis.

For Dylan fans an absolute must.

Strange and Dangerous Dreams

2006-08-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

What a great way to wrap up The Literate Douchebag's first year.

Powter's a Canmore-based psychologist who has written an overview of about 15 infamous tales of adventurers - some very well-known, others not so much. Each one was fascinating, though.

Superb read - too bad the cover art is so unappealing.

Very recommended.

Visions of Gerard

2006-08-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

Quite a moving book. This one looks back to the death of Gerard, Kerouac's older brother who died at the age of nine.

Not a happy book, but beautiful in a weird sort of way.

Recommended, as always.

Inferno & From An Occult Diary

2006-08-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Two books in one from Sweden's weirdest playwright. These two chronicle Mr. Strindberg's period of paranoia and occult experimentation, respectively.

Very entertaining - Strindberg became convinced his third wife was trying to seduce him telepathically. Strange man, but a very evocative writer of time and place.

I started to tell Kara about this one and got about 10 seconds in before she says, "OK, I'm bored already..."

I liked it.

Remember Me

2006-08-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

This was a good one.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen's a staff writer for Time magazine. She got handed an assignment on funeral rites and trends in America and, not surprisingly, it turned into a full-length book.

Great read. At times very moving, but also quite humourous and overall just some great perspective on something most people are uncomfortable thinking about.

Recommended.

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

2006-08-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

It ain't pretty, but it's one hell of an unforgettable read.

Nick Flynn writes about his dad, a man who spends the vast majority of his life homeless. It's not a pity party though - Flynn amply chronicles his dad's raging alcoholism and utterly brutal treatment of his kids and ex-wife. Some people are just set to self-destruct, and who the hell knows why.

Fantastic book - just don't expect to be uplifted by it.

Dandelion Wine

2006-08-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Wow.

Bradbury never, ever fails to amaze me. Easily one of the most talented writers of the 20th century, and that goes for ALL genres, not just science fiction.

This one is a case of the right book at the right time. Follows 12-year-old Douglas Spaulding during the summer of 1928 in his quaint hometown of Green Town, Illinois.

An absolutely beautiful piece of writing.

You're missing out...

The Agony of Ecstasy

2006-08-13T00:45:00.000-07:00

Drugs are bad, m'kay?

Olivia Gordon did way too much ecstasy back in her teenage days and - surprise, surprise! - there's a good chance it led to her crushing year-long depression.

Actually, this was a great book, and I actually felt for Gordon. She was only 16 or so when she started experimenting with drugs and, unfortunately, she didn't even have to have that much ecstasy before it rearranged her brain.

Thankfully time healed much of this wound.

A cautionary tale, as they say. Good stuff.

Neil Young Nation

2006-08-11T13:14:00.000-07:00

This book was utterly great.

Kevin Chong is a Vancouver-based writer who decided to go on a Neil Young themed road trip a few years ago. He brought along a few guy friends, and this is his account of the journey.

Neil Young's the catalyst for this tale, but he's not the be all, end all here.

Wonderful read.

Fall On Your Knees

2006-08-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

I must be the last person in the Western world to have read this book. And, true to my suspicions, it's yet another Canadian novel weighed down by its own pretentiousness and over-reliance on misery for its plot.

Okay, I'm being deliberately harsh - Fall On Your Knees is extremely well-written, though that doesn't mean it shouldn't have had some trimming. At 700 pages, this is a weighty one, and much of the book was pure excess.

I guess the moral of the story is, if you're going to write the umpteenth Canadian novel featuring abuse, emotional isolation and vast landscape, do it really, really well. Who knows - you might even make it to Oprah's Book Club if you do.

Recommended (somewhat).

Jimi Hendrix: The Man, The Music, The Truth

2006-07-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

Another Hendrix bio. I wasn't expecting too much from this one - what hasn't been said before already, right? - but luckily I was completely wrong. Fantastic read.

Sharon Lawrence was a young music writer from Los Angeles when she first met in Hendrix in about 1968. The pair became good friends - though not lovers - and kept in regular touch up until the great guitarist's death in September 1970. Really sad book to read - by all accounts, Hendrix was a genuinely warm human being who was completely exploited by almost everyone around him, including his father, Al.

Lawrence doesn't bother writing about all aspects of career. Rather, she sticks primarily to her own experiences with the man, and rightfully so. Great insight, though Lawrence unleashes her wrath in Janie Hendrix, Jimi's adopted sister whom he met only about three times in his life.

I could go on and on about how badly the Hendrix estate has been handled, but I won't.

Great book.

The Devil's Teeth

2006-07-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

This book is easily in my Top Five from the past year. Granted, I've been fascinated by sharks since I was a kid, but Susan Casey has created quite a moving piece of literary journalism here.

The Farallon Islands are about a four-hour boat ride from San Francisco and are the home to a hell of a lot of great white sharks - the biggest ones in the world, to be precise. The area's a wildlife refuge, but Casey befriends some of the resident biologists and gets a first-hand peek at a fish most of the human population will never, ever see (hopefully I'm not one of them).

Just a fabulous book - extremely well-written, and tons of info and different stories here, including an unforeseen ghost story that's arguably scarier than the maneaters that prowl the shoreline.

Highly, highly, highly recommended.

Man's Fate

2006-07-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Another one I've been nursing for a while. Good book, though I bet a better background knowledge of China leading up to the Communists taking power would have been helpful.

Every bit the 'heavy' novel you'd expect it to be.

American Bee

2006-07-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

This one was okay, but it took me forever to read. Haven't had as much downtime lately.

James Maguire's done a pretty thorough study of spelling bees in America. Perhaps too thorough - much could have been trimmed from this book to make it more readable.

Ah well. Overall, it was pretty good - just not as awesome as it could have been. Rent Spellbound first.

Life On Planet Rock

2006-07-14T01:08:00.000-07:00

Every now and then a book comes to my attention that is completely and utterly awesome. This is one.

Okay, utterly awesome may be an exaggeration, but how could I not love a book about a guy who hangs around rock stars all day and then writes about them?

Lonn Friend founded RIP magazine, a now-defunct metal bible prevalent in the late '80s and early '90s. All you need to know is that Axl Rose was a friend, Motley Crue shared their jet with him on the Dr. Feelgood tour, and that he once got a hold of some of Chuck Berry's home pornos.

Extremely recommended, especially if you love pointy guitars.

Buddha or Bust

2006-07-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy few weeks for me, hence the lack of reviews.

This one was good. Perry Garfinkel goes on assignment for National Geographic to chronicle the evolution of Buddhism in the present-day world. Fun book that's part travel novel and part spiritual exploration. I don't know much about Buddhism, but this book got me curious.

Recommended.

Himalayan Odyssey

2006-06-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

I just read Himalayan Odyssey, by Parker Antin, but it's so out of print I can't even track down an image of it. I got my copy at the Herald book sale - it cost me a whopping $1, and it was well worth it.

Parker Antin and a buddy decided to trek across Nepal in 1984 by foot. No mountain climbing in the Everest sense here, but tons o' mountains regardless. Great book - like every effective travel story, this one made me want to get out and see stuff. Of course, like a lot of travel books, this one also presents the embarassing scenario of the western gringo who puts his own desires before the safety of himself and the people he's hired to guide him through Nepal (a hell of an enduring hike, too).

Ah well - I enjoyed it.

The Hungry Ocean

2006-06-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

What a great book. Linda Greenlaw is a former top-notch swordfish fisherman/captain operating out of Maine. She got a big name-drop in The Perfect Storm, which is how this narrative came about.

The Hungry Ocean chronicles one trip Greenlaw made out in the late '90s and, fortunately, is free of the disaster of what struck the people in The Perfect Storm. Still a fascinating book - I LOVE sailing books, despite the fact I can't swim and have only been on the ocean a handful of times. You can't beat the mystery of not knowing what's bitten the bait at the end of your line!

Highly recommmended.

Driving Over Lemons

2006-06-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

I was truly surprised with how absolutely beautiful this book is. Chris Stewart is an Englishman who put all of his and his wife's money into a derelict farm out in the middle of arid Spain. They move there and quasi-homestead it until they've built up a beautiful, pastoral sheep farm against a stunning desert backdrop. Major insight into Spanish life, and just an all-around eloquent book about life, family and pursuing your dreams. Not to sound corny or anything, by the way, but it really is that good a book.

Plus, Chris Stewart was the original drummer in Genesis (when they were all still college kids). I only know that because I read it in an interview with the author - apparently he was told the only reason he got a book contract was because of that incredibly brief stint in one of prog-rock's biggest bands. No word on whether or not Phil Collins replaced him.

Salvation on Sand Mountain

2006-06-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

This is an odd one, to say the least. It's about those crazy people you here about who are so hardcore on the Christianity down south that they actually handle poisonous snakes and drink strychnine as part of the whole religious ecstasy ritual. I'm not too clear on the Bible, but I don't recall either aforementioned behaviour being recommended in the Good Book. Whatever - made for a hella-interesting story.

Praise Jesus!

Getting Stoned With Savages

2006-06-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Another freebie, though this one was much better. Troost escapes to Fiji and Vanuatu, a conglomeration of 83 islands in the South Pacific. Lots of humour in this one - particularly when Troost recounts his ongoing skirmishes with the local centipedes. In Canada they're small; in Vanuatu they're huge - up to a foot long and two inches wide. And they bite.

And that's just the setup for Troost's first visit to the shed behind his house...

But Enough About Me

2006-06-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

This book should have ruled, but it was a major disappointment. Jancee Dunn is a senior editor at Rolling Stone, though sometimes you wouldn't know it, given how much of this book is about her rather normal personal life. Who cares - get to the stuff about the musicians.

Ah well, it was a freebie.

Vanity of Duluoz

2006-06-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

My umpteenth Kerouac book. Bought a couple more off of Abebooks a few months ago - this one chronicles Jack's time in high school, the US Navy and Merchant Marine during WWII, and a li'l bit o' Noo Yawk in the postwar era. Great read, though the high school stuff reveals just how bitter Kerouac became in his final years (this one was written a couple years before he died in 1969). The navy stories are particularly vivid - no explosions or action, but some really evocative rememberances of travelling all the way up to Greenland to help build an air force base for Allied aircraft.

At any rate, a real messed-up dude, but a hell of a talented writer. Too bad he was so unhappy.

Merde Actually

2006-06-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

I think these books officially qualify as Books to Recommend to People When They Don't Know What to Read. This one's the sequel to A Year in the Merde, and continues the humorous adventures of Englishman Paul West as he navigates through the intricacies of French culture. Stephen Clarke's an extremely talented writer - sort of like another Nick Hornby, to give you an idea - and this book didn't disappoint at all. I was truly sad to finish it.

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

2006-05-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Another travel book for me. This one was written back in the 1950's. Fun read, if a little too British. Lots of "Well done, chap" and "I say!" and other sorts of stuff like that. All in all a good book that's particularly remarkable given the trip this guy and his buddy made into Afghanistan at a time when the area was not well-known by Westerners. Still isn't, you could argue...

Angels of Death

2006-05-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Try this one if you're looking for a scary book. Trouble is, it's all real.

There are a ton of books on the Hell's Angels, and this one's a worthy addition to the canon. Had to read this one for a Herald review - great book that was very disturbing. Suffice to say, the Angels run a ton of organized crime in Canada - and the world.

Bummer.

Jim Morrison

2006-05-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Kara's parents brought this one back for me from their recent trip to Montana. I've never been a huge Doors fan for all the reasons a lot of people aren't huge Doors fans: massive pretentiousness, Doors fans themselves and the poetry. Oh, the poetry.

At any rate, this was actually a pretty killer biography. I don't know how accurate it is - Davis' Hammer of the Gods was a ridiculously-inaccurate take on Led Zeppelin. No matter.

Had a good time with this one and, most surprising of all, was actually sort of moved by the account of Morrison's incredible self-destructiveness.

Their Heads Are Green And Their Hands Are Blue

2006-05-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

Another fantastic travel book. Bowles' The Sheltering Sky is a personal favourite of mine, and this collection of essays on India, Sri Lanka and North Africa didn't fail to impress. All sorts of memories here - the one about parrots was particularly good.

Some authors try to be eloquent and graceful, but just end up coming across as pretentious. Not Bowles. Highly recommended.

Lost in Mongolia

2006-05-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

This book perfectly illustrates how you don't have to be a great writer to write a great travel book. Vancouver native Colin Angus and a few friends decide to raft down the Yenisey, the largest river in the world that had not been fully traversed at that point in time (a few years ago). Lots of interesting stuff happens along the way and, like all great travel books, this one makes you want to go there. Not that I will at any conceivable time in the next 20 years.

Bait and Switch

2006-05-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Being unemployed sucks. This book comes hot on the heels of Ehrenreich's last bestseller, Nickel and Dimed. Basically, this time around she pretends to be an unemployed executive in the white collar career market. Needless to say, she isn't too successful, which makes for some wonderfully depressing reading.

If you've ever been broke, depressed and desperate, this book will bring back some unhappy memories.

The Zombie Survival Guide

2006-05-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

This book should have been brilliant, but really it kind of sucked. The whole zombie genre is ripe for more humour - especially a survival guide - but for a book found in the humour section of your local book store, this one's barely worth a titter.

The last 50 pages are all fake zombie case studies. Boring. Didn't even read the last 35 pages, which is saying a lot for a hardcore reader like me.

Next.

Green Hills of Africa

2006-04-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hemingway loved to kill animals, and this book from the mid-1930s proves it. A virtual zoo of animals bites the dust courtesy Mr. Hemingway's Springfield rifle, and if nothing else, this book ably demonstrates just how much times have changed.

Great book, though not quite in Hemingway's top tier of undeniable masterpieces. People who hate Hemingway will have a field day with this one - especially when another hunter kills a rhino with a longer horn than the one Hemingway shot. Hemingway pouts, and Freudians everywhere rejoice.

Got my fix - until the next one.

Metallica: This Monster Lives

2006-04-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

Metallica has been around for so long, and has become so utterly successful, that it's easy to forget they used to be the baddest band on the planet. I remember being 10 years old and seeing kids in Metallica t-shirts in the mid-Eighties and just being scared. Metal up yer ass aside, you've got to give these guys credits for doing what they've done.

I saw them live in Edmonton back in 1992, and it felt like the longest show I'd ever been to. Loud and lots of headbangers. I remember one particularly smelly guy in front of me had his original Kill 'Em All tour t-shirt. Hoo-rah.

Anyhoo, this book was written by Joe Berlinger (with a little help, of course), the guy who directed Metallica's documentary Some Kind of Monster. Great movie actually, aside from the fact it points out how tame Metallica's music has become. Ah well - still makes for a great read.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

2006-04-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to finishing this massive tome. Excellent, excellent book - think Charles Dickens crossed with medieval myth, but not pretentious at all.

Highly enjoyable, and not at all like those embossed fantasy fakers.

Big Sur

2006-04-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Kerouac should have called this one 'Big Surly'. Ol' Jack's older and more alcoholic in this one, and it shows. Not nearly the idealistic work that most of his other stuff was. I was kinda surprised by it, but it was still a great book. Definitely not for everyone, but still.

This is kind of like the anti-Dharma Bums or On the Road. Kerouac tries to do what he used to do in his 20s, and - lo and behold! - he realizes he can't do it anymore. Kind of depressing, but this guy just ran himself into the ground.

Recommended.

P.S. The posts should be pretty thin for the next li'l while - I'm working on Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (or whatever it's called). BIG book.

Fantasyland

2006-03-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

Sam Walker is a nut job, and that's why this book is one of the most entertaining reads I've had in months. Walker, a sports reporter for the Wall Street Journal, takes a season off to enroll in a fantasy baseball league. Things get wacky pretty fast - in true sports nut fashion, Walker soon begins neglecting all normal responsibilities just so he can win and have bragging rights. There are no prizes for the champ, but Walker still manages to spend about $45,000 on his pursuit (he hires a NASA math whiz and a young baseball stat prodigy to help him). It's just crazy, but sooo funny. Some of the funniest bits are when Walker uses his league-wide club access to ask real baseball players what he should do to improve his standings in his imaginary league. Better still, many of these same players know exactly what Walker's talking about.

I can't do this one justice in words - just read it.

In Trouble Again

2006-03-23T14:28:00.000-08:00

Redmond O'Hanlon's classic account of travel along the rivers of the northern Amazon rainforest confirms what I've always suspected:

1) There are a lot of animals that can kill you there.
2) It's very, very wet there pretty much all the time.
3) Spiders get very big in warm places.

That's a brief summary, but I should not that the aforementioned points make for a very entertaining travel book. O'Hanlon has the biology credentials to point out the scientific facts surrounding events that would make most northerners weep and go into the fetal position.

The Dharma Bums

2006-03-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

Ah, another Kerouac. I bought a bunch of them over Ebay months ago and I'm only starting to polish them off now. This is another of Kerouac's autobiographical tales about living in the moment, travelling, etc. - in other words, stuff that appeals to people who: a) have no idea what they want to do with their life, or b) people who decide they'd rather not do anything with their life. I say that without snideness, too - I can definitely feel the pull of irresponsibility now and then. Not that I ever listen to it, though.

Regardless, I love this man's writings, despite his glaring personal flaws, such as alcoholism, sexism and parental disregard. Way to go, Jack.

Remembering Satan

2006-03-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

There's nothing finer than a little ol' Satanic hysteria to make for some good reading. This book's about said paranoia that took the States by storm in the late '80s, early '90s. Seemingly overnight thousands of abuse 'survivors' experienced the return of long-suppressed memories of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of diabolical cults bent on one thing: SATAN!

Too bad many, if not all, of the claims were false. Those making them certainly believed them, but hypnosis and recovered memories are perilous avenues.

Wicked book - and I don't mean that in a way Satan himself would approve. To summarize - people are retarded.

The Gods Will Have Blood

2006-03-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

A heavy title for a heavy topic. France's classic novel about the Terror, the period of time following the French Revolution when executions were extensive and paranoia and informants were the order of the day. I don't know a lot about the Revolution, but I do know that things weren't great before or directly after it. France's book was a great read - plenty of meaty thought balanced with just enough scandal and licentiousness to make this book far superior to the prudish English novels of the same era. I'm sure the English were up to no good too, but the French just sound like they were having more fun.

Adrift

2006-03-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

Another absolutely unbelievable sea survivor stroy. Steven Callahan's boat hit something - he's still not sure what - way out in the Atlantic Ocean back in 1982. Callahan took to his inflatable life raft and ended up spending 76 days out on the ocean before coming upon islands in the Caribbean. Incredible story - he was smart enough to grab as many supplies as he could off his boat before it sank, including a spear gun, which is a big reason why he lived. Don't have much time to write about it right now, but rest assured this book was unreal. Highly, highly recommended.

Companero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara

2006-03-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

After seeing his image on so many Rage Against the Machine t-shirts I decided to do what most RATM fans haven't: read up on the guy and find out what he's all about. Interesting read, but let's be honest - if he wasn't good-looking, hadn't a gift for writing and he hadn't died young, there wouldn't be nearly the fuss about this guy that there is. How many Fidel Castro shirts do you see?

Guevara was an Argentinian who played a leading role in the Cuban revolution. Fair enough, but Guevara was an absolutist who saw the world in black and white terms - ambivalence was unacceptable and, to quote a man Che doubtlessly would have labelled an imperialist, you were either with him or against him. Che wasn't the blood-thirsty killer like so many of his Communist heroes (there are countless passages in this book citing works where Guevara lauded "heroes" like Stalin and Chairman Mao), but that doesn't mean he was necessarily a good guy. Guevara executed or okayed the execution of hundreds of people during the revolution, and was also instrumental in setting up the island's first prison camp. Way to go, Che! Jorge Castaneda paints a fairly objective portrait in his book, but major details like Guevara's killings are given the short shrift, often appearing in footnotes and rarely discussed again.

At any rate, once the fires of the revolution settled, Guevara needed new excitements, so he headed off to seriously-inept "adventures" in the Congo and Bolivia. Once he got there he realized the world wasn't as revolution-mad as he was, to his own damnation. Guevara was executed by the Bolivian army in 1967 after his decrepit mission was annihilated in the jungle.

Great book - pity about all those stupid t-shirts.

Talk of the Devil

2006-02-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

Italian journalist Riccardo Orizio somehow had enough pull to get interviews with a variety of dictators - all deposed and fallen on hard times. Boo hoo for them. I hadn't heard of many of these guys - but they all make for an extremely interesting read. To be a proper dictator it seems you need to have a complete disassociation from reality, a strong tendency towards corruption and, preferably, a love of violence and repression. The dictators interviewed come from Poland, Haiti, Ethiopia, Uganda, Albania, Yugoslavia, and Central Africa. Idi Amin comes across as the most blatantly psychotic, but all of these men were dangerous. Milosevic is actually represented by his wife, who comes across a real piece of work herself.

The Toynbee Convector

2006-02-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

Ray Bradbury is easily one of the best and most original authors to come out of America in the past century, and that's no joke. In fact, I've always felt it's a shame he's been labelled 'science fiction,' since his abilities far outreach those of most authors in that genre. This one's a short story collection, and there are some real gems here. True, there's a bit of filler, but even his average stuff is better than most people's efforts.

Beat Generation

2006-02-21T22:49:00.000-08:00

Sometimes plays and novels don't get published in their original lifetime for a reason. If you've read some of my more recent posts, you'll know I'm a Kerouac fan. Having said that, I have to confess I didn't enjoy this play at all. Kerouac wasn't above cranking out work to pay the bills, and this reads like it might be one of those dandies. All that's really worth noting in this one is that a bunch of beatniks like to bet on horse races, get drunk and talk lukewarm philosophy. True, that could be the synopsis of many Beat works, but the best ones are told with much more panache and charisma thatn this one. Ah well.

So, when the work of some long-dead artist is promoted as 'lost,' just remember that maybe it originally just wasn't up to standard. This one sure wasn't.

The Wal-Mart Effect

2006-02-21T16:21:00.000-08:00

Part deux of the book review I'm working on for the Herald. Fishman takes a considerably less-aggressive stance with Wal-Mart, yet comes to many of the same conclusions that Bianco does.

As with the other one, I'm letting my thoughts on this book simmer in preparation for writing the article on it. Suffice to say, the Antichrist shops at Wal-Mart.

The Skills to Pay the Bills

2006-02-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing Alan Light had a few bills to pay, otherwise he wouldn't have put out this flimsy volume of music "journalism." I'm being harsh, and rightfully so - any time you put out a book and charge $21 for it, there better be some meat in that sandwich. In this case, there ain't - the bulk of this book is entirely composed of quotes from various Beastie Boys and their affiliates. There is some insight, but overall this book feels like it was slapped together over a weekend out of the various interviews over the years that Light had on file. Too bad - the Beasties come across as interesting guys, but not because of this book.

Killing Yourself to Live

2006-02-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

Chuck Klosterman is possibly my favourite author. With a title like this you'd be forgiven for expecting some diatribe by some recovering junkie or something, but that's not the case here. Klosterman, a senior writer at Spin magazine, is sent on a cross-America trip to visit death sites tied to rock and roll: the Station nightclub, the cross street where Duane Allman hit a truck and the place where Replacement guitarist Bobbie Stinson finally succumbed to alcoholism are just some of the places Klosterman visits. What makes this book so good - and so funny - is all the other thoughts Klosterman crams in here that have absolutely nothing to do with his assignment, including his long, unsuccessful history with various girlfriends. There's no way for me to convey the serious humour at work here - you'll have to read it for yourself.

The Bully of Bentonville

2006-02-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

I have always hated Wal-Mart, and this book hasn't given me much reason to think otherwise. I'm conserving my creative juices for a review I have to write for something else, but just read the cover - it pretty much says it all.

Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles

2006-02-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

Some music books are born great.

This one's from Geoff Emerick, one of the Beatles' main engineers throughout their seven years of recording together. Emerick got an intern position at EMI Studios in London - more famously known as 'Abbey Road,' - and was there from literally the beginning. Essentially starting out as a gopher, Emerick was in the studio the day the four lads from Liverpool came in for their first session for what would become the Please Please Me album in 1963.

What makes this book so wonderful is both Emerick's sober take on his time at Abbey Road (he never experimented with drugs and remembers much of what he experienced) and the interesting insights and information that have so far been unavailable in other accounts. There are too many tidbits too mention, but here are a few:

Ringo spent the vast majority of recording sessions sitting quietly in the background until he was asked to play. Paul McCartney turned out to be a better drummer, and actually used to coach Ringo through many a session to get things down correctly.
For the bulk of the Beatles' career, George Harrison had an impossible time laying down guitar solos, despite being the band's lead guitarist. Emerick admired Harrison, but found him to be too cynical and grumpy most of the time.
Lennon was a wild card. Extremely warm and friendly one moment, Lennon could be incredibly mean and arrogant the next. Impatient as hell too - much of the elaborate studio sounds from Revolver onward exist due to the focus and drive of McCartney, George Martin and assorted producers/engineers.
Yoko Ono really was a pain in the ass. Quiet most of the time, but with a very interruptive presence. Emerick was there the day she first came in the studios, and also there the day John had a bed moved into the recording room so Yoko could be by his side constantly. He was also there the day Harrison called her a bitch for eating one of his cookies he'd left out on his amplifiers. Petty but funny.
McCartney was the friendliest of the bunch and the most professional. Harrison came into his own as both a musician and producer towards the end of the Beatles' run though.
The recording sessions for the White Album were hellish. All of the band were fighting with both each other and the engineering staff. George Martin was treated with contempt, and even the normally-likable McCartney became bossy and rude to everyone in sight.
Despite their association with it, the Beatles actually hated Abbey Road Studios. They felt imprisoned there, as well as frustrated with the archaic rules and equipment established by EMI.

I'm not really doing this book justice. Some of the above notes aren't really revelations, but hearing it firsthand from someone who was there makes for great reading. Tons of studio geek trivia too, and a strict adherence to what happened at the studio; insight into the Fab Four's personal lives is avoided.

I've read a fair number of Beatles books, and this one's easily one of the better ones. Despite being covered to death, Emerick actually made me feel sadness by the time the band dissolved. Awesome book!

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

2006-02-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

The next time you go on a boat ride, be sure to pack some granola bars - they may come in handy later on.

This book concerns the plight of the crew of the whaleship Essex, a boat that in 1819 managed to enrage a sperm whale to the point of confrontation. Said sperm whale became so pissed - the reason still isn't certain - that it rammed the Essex twice, with the second hit putting a massive hole in the ship's wooden hull. Now, such an occurence had never, ever happened at that point in time. As a result, the crew of the Essex were ill-prepared for being set adrift at sea in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In 1819. Not good.

In what has to be one of the all-time moments of irony, the stranded crew decided to make for South America - a good 3,000 miles away - rather than head west to a cluster of tropical islands. Why? They were worried the islands were inhabited by cannibals. Here's where the irony comes in: the crew became so destitute as they made for Chile that they ended up eating the corpses of their comrades as they died one by one on the open ocean. At one point the captain agreed to draw lots to see who would be murdered to feed the rest. A teenaged crew member lost out. He was also the captain's nephew. Yummy.

Quite the crappy trip: in addition to the whole starvation/dehydration issue, one of the boats was attacked by a killer whale and another had to fend off a very large shark. All in all, not a good time for them, but one hell of a read for us! You'll have to read it to find out what happens and, believe me, it's worth it!

P.S. Just in case you're wondering, the sperm whale that rammed the Essex lived. Nature: 1, Mankind: 0.

How To Be Good

2006-01-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

When Nick Horby finishes a novel you can hear the clamour in the film industry a mile away, and with good reason. Hornby's novels make for great cinema (okay, maybe not all of them), but luckily they make for great reading too. This one concerns Katie, a GP who suddenly discovers one day that her relentlessly angry husband has turned to the good side. Rather than suffer through endless nights of rants and resentment, Katie now has to watch her husband try to change the world, with the added help of a New Age helper who may or may not be blessed with supernatural healing powers. Like all of Hornby's books, this one's compulsively readable (oh, the review cliche!) and has just the right balance of serious questions (how much do we take for granted in our everyday lives?) with humour. Recommended.

Lonesome Traveller

2006-01-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

Another Kerouac book, and what a beauty. As the title implies, this one's about travelling. Kerouac spent some time all over America, as well as beyond, and some of the highlights of his experiences are captured here. Among the many things he did, Kerouac spent time as a railway worker, forest fire watchman and sailor. True to his nature, Kerouac didn't spent a long time at any of these, but the I love the way he writes about each experience. Despite his glaring faults, Kerouac had an undoubtable knack for capturing the stimulation of new experiences, be they in impressive foreign locales or just in his own backyard. I guess that's why I like the guy's work so much, but feel free to see for yourself.

Invisible Cities

2006-01-23T18:04:00.000-08:00

I was pretty disappointed with this one. Italo Calvino is actually one of my favourite authors ever - right up there with Steinbeck - but this book did nothing for me. In all fairness, it's not badly written at all; it's just not what I was expecting. It's borderline philosophy/lit theory (oh dear God), so it's not my thing.

Basically, it's about Venice, but it's not about Venice. That's all.

Bummer.

The Pastures of Heaven

2006-01-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

I haven't read any Steinbeck in ages, so when I went to my shelf of unread books, it was time to get reaquainted. Steinbeck is one of my all-time favourite authors; I know some people who find him dull, but I just don't get it. He's timeless - like a Norman Rockwell painting, but with way more realism. In other words, with Steinbeck it's not always happy endings and rose-coloured glasses.

Pastures of Heaven returns to the Salinas Valley, a real place that apparently stimulated Steinbeck to no end, since many of his novels take place there. This novel is essentially a series of short stories about the same town over various periods of time. Some characters appear in several stories, others only once, but they all point towards insight into the human mind. I know that sounds pompous, but Steinbeck is anything but. Love it.

A Year in the Merde

2006-01-19T21:22:00.000-08:00

This book was such a blast to read, and how could it not be, given that its cover is so ridiculously (and superbly) corny? I read this as a travelogue, and I did find it in the travel section of my favourite used book store, but - lo and behold! - it's actually fiction! I'm guessing its heavily influenced by the experiences of Stephen Clarke, a British ex-pat member of the press corps in Paris. Regardless, this is one of those rare books where I find myself laughing out loud at it when no one's around.

Paul West is a businessman who's hired by a French businessman with political aspirations to develop and manage a line of British tea shops. I guess the logic is that the French love of cafe culture spread like wildfire in the English world, so likewise in France. That's about all you need to know - check it out. It's compulsively readable. C'est magnifique!

The Subterraneans

2006-01-18T22:19:00.000-08:00

Kerouac's one of those authors that happens to inspire a strong reaction in most book lovers, whether they be the wide-eyed innocent or snobby hipsters. Both have their points: for the fans, one of the man's greatest attributes was his love for new experience, often through means by which the young and poor can access them; for haters, the guy is somewhat overrated, misogynist and profoundly messed up. I tend to take both views into account, but I can honestly say I ration out his books, because I don't want to experience them all at once. I secretly suspect a lot of people bash him because he has been so heralded for so long - there's one in every crowd, after all.

At any rate, this was an enjoyable and quick read. Like most of Kerouac's books, this one's a barely-disguised autobiographical tale. Seems Jack took a fancy to a young San Franciscan black woman named Mardou Fox (I say 'black' because Jack himself can't help point it out repeatedly through the course of the novel). It's well-meant, but ultimately the guy is a wee bit racist in his fetishizing Fox - she becomes forbidden fruit, and their love was not meant to be.

Or maybe Kerouac's incessant alcoholism and Fox's history of mental illness had something to do with it. Either way, a damn fine book.

Pass the Butterworms

2006-01-18T22:12:00.000-08:00

Finished this one this morning. I feel like crap - got a cold - so I didn't work today and basically lay in bed most of the day while Kara (bless her soul) watched Noah, who is also sick. I could get into this Noah trade-off a little more (I watched him for most of Monday because she was bagged). That way we each get a little downtime to ourselves - laying in bed reading for long stretches of time is pretty much a fond memory right now.

But I digress...

This is my fifth Tim Cahill book, and this one was as entertaining as the others. The standout stories here concerned trips to Mongolia, western Papua New Guinea, and a surprsingly interesting story on malaria. Cahill still gets rebouts of it from a long ago trip to Africa.

This one did have the usual allusions to past stories, but who cares - they're pretty awesome to begin with, so let the guy wander a little bit. Recommended, as always.

Gulag

2006-01-10T06:55:00.000-08:00

This one won the Pulitzer Prize, so I'm not sure what else to say about it other than that it's really, really good. Amazing amount of research presented in a highly-readable format - not one of those 'academic' works (i.e. boring), thank God.

Needless to say, this book's a history of the Soviet political penal system that was in its heyday during Stalin's reign, but actually lasted well into the 1980s. Not to the same degree, but it was still there nonetheless. Whenever I read anything on the Soviet system, and especially on what life was like under Stalin, I am consistently appalled and shocked at how brutal life could be.

Not for the faint of heart, this one.

A Long Strange Trip

2005-12-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

This book was a monster, in terms of both size and scope. Wicked read. I'm not a Dead Head at all - don't even own a single album - but after checking this out you never know what could happen.

McNally served as the band's publicist for years and years, and this book reads like the work of a true professional. Fascinating history, and McNally's not shy about pointing out the various band members' and associates' glaring flaws. Having said that, this is by no means a sensational tell-all type of tome, though there's more than enough information to have made it so. McNally sticks primarily to the music, as well as the inner workings of the Dead's extremely tight network of family and friends and staff. The line blurs frequently between all three definitions. The biggest compliment I can give this book is that by its end, the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995 reads like a true tragedy. Very moving.

On a related note, there's been a flood of soundboard recordings of the Dead on the Net. True, they've always been there, but the band recently pulled (and then resubmitted, due to outcry) a treasure trove of concerts off of the main live site at archive.org. Consequently, fans have been seeding literally hundreds of shows elsewhere - primarily bt.etree.org and dimadozen.org - check some out!

Studio A: The Bob Dylan Reader

2005-12-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

About to polish this baby off. Great read. Needless to say, no matter how much published speculation there is on Mr. Robert Zimmerman, we still don't really have a clue what makes this guy tick. Trying to figure it out, though, is a blast - at least for Dylan nerds like me.

This one is a compilation of some of the more noteworthy articles on Dylan, with the quality ranging from outstanding to dull in the worst academic sense. Thankfully this book had few of the latter, which made for some good times. Makes me wanna put on the Bootleg Series: Vol. 1-3.

Mmmmmm ... unreleased Dylan.

Notes From the Underground

2005-12-20T09:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's not the Dostoyevsky book. I'm sure you're disappointed by this. If not, consider this book: an anthology of great investigative journalistic pieces from alternative weeklies in America. They're all from the last year or two, and all are as worthy as pieces that would normally appear in more "respectable" publications (i.e. daily papers). Of course, all of these publications are themselves quite well-known; anyone ever heard of The Village Voice?

Anyways, there were some great stories in here. It's early in the morning, so I can't remember much at the moment, but the ones that stand out include a piece written by call girl, one about a missing porno theatre owner in Portland, and several brutal pieces about unpunished crimes. Vague, I know, but it's up to you to get the details.

Stalin

2005-12-15T22:20:00.000-08:00

Stalin was one terrfying dude. I've done a decent amount of reading on many of history's most despicable leaders, and I have to say that Stalin is possibly The Most Evil Person Ever. Yes, even worse than Hitler (my #2). If that sounds controversial, consider that Stalin actually killed many, many more people than Hiter. I don't have the numbers handy, but I think he beat Hitler by many millions of dead.

If you don't know much about the guy, imagine Hitler but smarter, way more patient, and with less of a grudge against one or two ethnic groups, but rather everyone on the planet. Stalin was a genius (don't misunderstand this as approval or admiration) and, unfortunately, he used his great intelligence for pure, unadulterated power. The scariest thing is that prior to his death in March 1953, Stalin was making noise among his closest politicos that the time was getting ripe for an assault on the decadent West. In other words, Stalin wanted to provoke a war with the West, and particularly America. If he hadn't died who knows whether he would have activated such a plan. Talk about a near miss.

Holler!

2005-12-13T21:39:00.000-08:00

Mad props to Cara and Dylan for their righteous birthday gift to me - some sweet-ass Chapters plastic!

Trizzle ma nizzle!

The Best American Crime Writing 2005

2005-12-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

Anthologies rule. You get a sample of a variety of different subjects and different authors. You take the ones you like and get more of their stuff. Awesome.

This compilation was pretty good, but not as good as I expected, if that makes any sense. The definition of crime was wide-ranging here - everything from sex crimes and murders to burglaries and illegal immigrants. Some stories were great, but there were enough dull ones to demote this baby from outright awesome to merely great. One story about tracking illegal Mexican immigrants across the Texas desert bored me, but there were others to make up for it, such as an entertaining profile of a very clever silver thief.

It's no "In Cold Blood," but it'll do.

The Orchid Thief

2005-12-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

Any book that can hold my attention as expertly as this one did AND be about flowers has got to be good. I first caught on to Susan Orleans through my infatuation with the Da Capo Best Music Writing anthologies. She's a staff writer for The New Yorker, and this book came about when she read about some dude in Florida who was arrested for poaching orchids. I guess the writer radar went off, and luckily so, since this is probably the best of all the books I've read in the past while. The orchid poacher, John Laroche, is sort of like Deaner from FUBAR, but with an encyclopediac mind for all things orchid. Weird guy, but incredibly interesting.

You may recall that this is the book that Charlie Kaufmann struggles to adapt to a screenplay in Adaption, a really fun but fucked up movie from a few years ago. That movie is awesome, but it goes off in its own direction, so if you've seen it, don't worry - this book is vastly different. And equally awesome.