Right now I'm reading The Neon Wilderness by Nelson Algren and before that it was his Chicago: City on the Make. Also, I picked up a copy of I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, which was probably my first favorite book of all time, but being for preschoolers I don't think it really counts.

American Hardcore by Steven Blush

Reading 2666: A Novel by Roberto Bolano right now. Anybody reading/read this? I guess it's about the apocalypse but I haven't got to that part yet...

A bit like the Elvis/Beatles thing huh? I've read a few more celines 'death on credit' , 'Castle to castle' and one more I can't remember off the top of my head... i dug them all but Journey is the best... I've been reading doctor strange lately too Strangely enough... Along with early fantastic four, frank millers daredevil stuff and a whole buncha helblazers... I started off reading Gorkys The Artomov Affair but got hooked onto reading DCs 'The Stranger' omnibus instead... Ray Mangum said:

Pigmeat said:

I'm working my way thru a stack of Russian classics that I picked up at a charity shop for 10 pence each... So far Goncharovs "Oblomov" and Lermontovs "Hero of Our Time" come out on top... Thats discounting Dostoevsky who was by far the best russian writer... Tolstoy sucks ass...
Although I might quit the russians for awhile and pick up Celines "Jouney to the End of the Night" again...

Well, they say you're either a Dostoevsky fan or a Tolstoy fan, never both. I'm with you. I also love "Journey", but I haven't read any other Celine.

Wow, I posted in this thread like 9 months ago... Since then, I went on a total Thomas Liogtti kick - weird tales in a very dark and bleak mode. Pretty amazing. I am also super excited about Night Shade Books' Clark Ashton Smith series - 5 well-made hardback books reproducing all of Mr. Smith's fiction. the first 4 volumes are out, and I am most of the way through volume 1. CAS is a favorite author, and this definitive edition of stuff is fantastic. Strange fantasy and early sci-fi, like a more Romantic version of H.P. Lovecraft crosesd with some hallucinogenic substances. So, so good.

The first volume of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster omnibus.
Whilst sipping my tea and feeling thoroughly, thoroughly bloody English. What-ho...

(Also have to agree with Idon Mine up there, Speak of The Devil is well worth a look...)

I need to add: It's a totally stone cold heart craqcking Thriller ride. When I was done, I didn't know what hit me. Suspense, a dose of Trash that Gilbert weaves in with alot of verve, terrible killings that ain't cool to watch and don't make you giggle. It's hardcore down to the bone of every victim dead. The classic 50's style (Archie Comics...) way of drawing is just adding up to the uncomfortable feeling of it all. If you dig all that, there is swell hardcover out from DARK HORSE, but I also dearly recommend the single copies because the paper is good old news printy! IDON MINE said:

GILBERT HERNANDEZ - Speak of the Devil!

Guy Davis - THE MARQUIS

Don't worry it ain't french erotica from the 1800's written by a englishman. It's one of the few Horror Comics that read different and actually hilarious, eventhough to their gruesome sights! Chilly!

GILBERT HERNANDEZ - Speak of the Devil!

Pigmeat said:

I'm working my way thru a stack of Russian classics that I picked up at a charity shop for 10 pence each... So far Goncharovs "Oblomov" and Lermontovs "Hero of Our Time" come out on top... Thats discounting Dostoevsky who was by far the best russian writer... Tolstoy sucks ass...
Although I might quit the russians for awhile and pick up Celines "Jouney to the End of the Night" again...

Well, they say you're either a Dostoevsky fan or a Tolstoy fan, never both. I'm with you. I also love "Journey", but I haven't read any other Celine.

Andy Seven said:

I'm re-reading "Red Harvest" by Dashiell Hammett, and I'm liking it more now than before.

I haven't read Red Harvest, but The Maltese Falcon is one of favorite books, and movies too for that matter. If anyone is interested, my friend Michael is writing a hard-boiled detective novel called Behind the Green Curtain and publishing chapter by chapter on his blog.

Aside from essays by Lester Bangs and H.L. Mencken, I'm into a bunch of comics: a history of Students for a Democratic Society in comic-book form written by Harvey Pekar with some former SDSers, and anthologies of Doctor Strange and a D.C. golden age superhero called the Spectre (both are pretty cheesy, but the former has some good artwork by Steve Ditko).

arkive said:

I just finished Blood Electric by Kenji Siratori. Insane experimental Japanese cyberpunk. Totally deviant and twisted. Highly recommended.

I've been on a Cormac McCarthy kick (yeah I know No Country For Old Men, how cliche). I re-read Blood Meridian two weeks ago. That damn book gets better every time.

Getting ready to teach Temple of the Golden Pavilion to my youngins, so I'll be re-reading that this week.

Nice. I read No Country a few months ago, which is damn fine, and I just finished an early McCarthy novel called Child of God. It's about an Ed Gein type who lives in a cave in Tennessee and spies on and then kills people. Typical McCarthy atavism, extremity, and other such jollity.

sleazy said:

 

If I'm reading at all , it's never one thing at a time....I'm reading Peter Bagge's "Graphic Novel" (Fancy name for comic book.) Biography of Margaret Sanger , founderof Planned Parenthood , as well as the new Mojo (Johnny Cash cover. Life - affirming Wilko Johnson feature , too.) , Wally Wood's "Eerie" comics collection (Horror , Crime ,Sci - Fi , all non - EC.) , tHE CURRENT vINTAGE rOCK'N'rOLL (oR SOMETHING. Shitty name , VERY fine fan magazine from The UK.) WITH Little Richard , Vince Taylor , etc. , and some Archie comics.

Beowulf. I'm on a real Anglo-Saxon Paganism kick right now.

JUST READ "THE OUTSIDERS" BT S.E.HINTON FOR MAYBE THE THIRD TIME......YES , IT'S AN EASY READ , BUT IT HOLDS UP , TODAY.

IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINISHING IT , I GOT AN E-MAIL FROM A FRIEND , TALKING ABOUT THE SAME BOOK (WITHOUT MY MENTIONING IT.) , AND "THAT WAS THEN , THIS IS NOW" , "RUMBLE FISH" AND "TEX" , ALSO BY S.E.HINTON , AS WELL AS THE MOVIE VERSIONS , OF WHICH I'VE ONLY SEEN "OUTSIDERS" AND "RUMBLE FISH" , BOTH HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. AS BIG A FAN AS MY FRIEND IS , HE DID'NT KNOW ABOUT THE "OUTSIDERS" TV SHOW ON FOX. IT AIRED AT 5:00PM , SO MOST PEOPLE NEVER SAW IT.  THE GREASERS FINALLY COME OUT ON TOP , NONVIOLENTLY.   

HOW?  BY STARTING A BAND , OF COURSE , AND SINGING "DEVIL WITH A BLUE DRESS ON".   S.E. HINTON IS STILL ALIVE , AND , FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW , IS A WOMAN.

I found a copy of "Hardcore Zen" , written by my friend , Brad Warner. Brad was in some HAHDCOAH bands in Cleveland in the 80's (And did the documentary "Cleveland's Screaming !"). When I met him , in 1987 , he had a few albums under his belt with his band , Dimentia 13, on Midnight Records. The band had relocated to Chicago , but , several years later, he moved  to Japan , eventually working for Tsuburaya Productions ("ULTRAMAN"). Along the way , he became a student of Zen Buddhism , finding a way to apply it to his obsessions - Psych , monster movies , Punk Rock ,  etc.

Back in The USA ,he now does a travelling lecture series on Zen. There are several , often quite funny , excerpts on You Tube.

 

I also found "The pocket history of Ireland".       I will apply myself and try to read both.

A Pair of Blue Eyes--Thomas Hardy

I FORGOT , i'VE ALSO BEEN READING "lOVERS bUGGERS AND tHIEVES" - ESSAYS ON gARAGE rOCK , the monks , maintream Rock like Led Zeppelin , and a fascinating chapter on teh first bootleg s, then an in - depth study on Beatle BOOTLEGS.

Just read Motely Crue The Dirt for my local book club. Facinating book wreather you like the band or not. For the record, I like the first two albums and then a few songs here and there afterward. The book is full of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. I discovered Mick Mars is boring, Vince Neil is actually a bit cooler that I had thought, Tommy Lee is a bit of a douche, and Nikki Sixx though at time a bit annoying, for the most part is a bad ass who has better taste in music than I would have thought to give him credit for. All of these guys are total assholes, sexist, irresponsible selfish jerks...but nevertheless they made a couple good records and had enough debautry in their career to comprise a good book. 

 

Next in the book club is Scar Tissue by Anthony Kedis. Never really been a big RHCP fan, at all, but I heard the book was decent, Flea once played bass for FEAR, and I am in school full time and the only non-school stuff I have time for is mindless garbage like this. 

Currently reading: Hazzards Of New Fortunes by William Dean Howells. This is for school - I wouldn't normally disuss what I'm reading for school, but this book happens to be really good. Published in 1890, it is allegedly the first book to descibe New York City. Deals a lot with a self-made millionaire, the working class, and interactions between different ethnic groups. Highly enjoyable and a real pager-turner. Howells style of writing seems to have a New York feel to it. I don't know what that means exactly, but I've read from enough NYC authors that I feel there is a certain element of the city that comes through in the writing. The book is one of those cannonized American classics, which I had never had a chance to read before. I would guess people like Hemmingway and Fitzgerald were influenced by Howells. 

If you want to read something fascinating by someone you've possibly found to be a bore (OR , AT LEAST , IF YOU'RE UP TO THE CHALLENGE...) , scour the cheapie bins for "Crazy From The Heat" by David Lee Roth. He does'nt want to own up to copping his act from Jim Dandy , does'nt want to talk much about being Jewish (Tho' his manner of putting off people who seem interested in his background for the wrong reasons is admirable.)......But , on the other hand , he downplays his known support of the early LA Punk scene (He handed The Masque a blank check when they were going under.). He's had some amazing adventures , and I'm not even talking about the sexual variety (Tho' he claimed he did all The Go - Go's in one session. Okaaaaay.), and his way with a story is remarkable. Someone just gave me this book. I was going to flip thru it for laffs , then , I could'nt put it down.