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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Fiction Fast

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03:04 / 20.10.04

Like it sez in the summary: No fiction for a year.

Can you recommend a good page turner that doesn't involve fiction? Histories you've found particularly compelling, philosophies that have grabbed your attention, autobiographies of stunning breadth and scope?

03:35 / 20.10.04

I say cheat a little bit and read some very cool books *about* fiction, writers, and creative stuff in general -- maybe Literary Outlaw, the biography of William S. Burroughs (whose life makes for much more interesting reading than most of his writing, frankly); Gerard Jones' The Comic Book Heroes (fun kinda Hollywood Babylon-style treatment of comics trends and creators from the '30s to about the mid-'90s); Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, by the ever-popular Author Whose Name I Can't Remember, a similarly sordid (but very well-written and insightful) treatment of '70s Hollywood directors and their works; and maybe David J. Skal's The Horror Show, one of the better longish academic books on horror film/fiction I've ever read. All that probably wouldn't appeal equally, mind you, but I figure there's gotta be something in there.

06:43 / 20.10.04

Stick It Up Your Punter ! ( The Uncut Story Of The Sun Newspaper ) - Peter Chippindale and Chris Horrie. The unauthorised saga of Rupert Murdoch's first ( UK ) tabloid, and the characters involved, which is fairly instructive on how he got where he is now, and also deeply hilarious, in this terrible way.

A Drink With Shane MacGowan - Victoria Mary Clarke and Shane MacGowan. Shane MacGowan of The Pogues in a series of interviews with his long-standing girlfriend, over a couple of drinks.

Storming Heaven ( LSD And The American Dream ) - Jay Stevens. Probably a bit hard to get now, but an excellent overview on Sixties psychedelic culture, the political, social and historical aspects, which even if you're anti, makes for fascinating reading.

The Stones - Philip Norman. The story of the Rolling Stones, as outlined by a very literate, witty and intelligent writer, who while never downplaying their cultural significance really doesn't like them.

Lipstick Traces ( A Secret History Of The Twentieth Century ) - Greil Marcus. Takes Anarchy In The UK as it's starting point, goes through Dada, Situationism and that kind of thing - it's fairly eccentric, but lots of fun.

Hope that's useful. Some of this stuff is a bit UK-centric, but it shouldn't be too hard to track down on Amazon, if that seems like a plan.

07:08 / 20.10.04

Why did you decide to do this? Are you hooked on Mills and Boon and trying to break free?

10:57 / 20.10.04

Stephen Jay Gould's Wonderful Life is excellent -probably better if you know a bit about zoology or have a zoologist on hand who can explain parts of it to you, but it's very interesting and was (for me) a good introduction to an area about which I knew basically nothing.

And, as Ariadne says -why? No fiction for a year sounds horrible...

11:00 / 20.10.04

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, by the ever-popular Author Whose Name I Can't Remember

It's Peter Biskind -I'm reading it just now, and can second eddie's recommendation. Everyone in it seems to be entirely unpleasant...

11:35 / 20.10.04

I'm looking at my shelf... not going to be too much help, I'm afraid.

The Big Con is a completely amazing look at the history, slang, and how-to of the big con games in the thirties.

Pirate Hunter is a cool biography of Captain Kidd

Borges, On This Craft of Verse is a nice small book of essays

Um. Bridge for Dummies is really informative?

13:42 / 20.10.04

Jared Diamond, GUNS, GERMS & STEEL - a book about the world and why it is the way it is. Central contention: European cultural hegemony is an accident of geography, basically. Fascinating, provocative, unexpectedly riveting. Casts a wide net and delivers on all counts.

13:48 / 20.10.04

Some cracking non-fiction I've read recently or not so recently;

'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee' - Dee Brown

The colonisation of the American West from an Indian/Native American point of view. 400 odd pages of straight historical fact that'll hit you harder emotionally than any fiction. One of those real "everybody should read this NOW" sort of books.

'The Great Beast' - John Symond(?)

I don't usually read any biographies, let alone ones of this length and detail, but for Aliester Crowley I'll make an exception - a great record of one of the most eventful, bizarre, repulsive, romantic and generally crazed lives of the modern era. And helpfully it's quite a well balanced one - doesn't pull any punches in presenting AC as the thoroughly disagreeable lying bastard he was, but also treats his work & ideas with just the right mix of respect and scepticism. Oh, and above all it's just really, really funny.

'Turn off Your Mind: the Occult Revival and the Dark Side of the Sixties' - Gary Lachman

I wrote a huge review of this over at the now-deceased Barbelith Reviews site and can't be bothered to go through it all again, but needless to say, it's a surprisingly great effort, presenting a a rollercoaster ride through the work and influence of pretty much every legendary figure in underground culture pre-1960 (and more interestingly, discussion of the nuts and bolts of exactly how and why they all became so infamous) and then feeding it all into a startling invocation of '60s occult lunacy.
Far more thoughtful and worthwhile than most other raving pop-occult tomes, and "fascinating" barely begins to cover the scope of the subject matter..

'Hells Angels' - Hunter S. Thompson

Reading Thompson could be a great sneaky way around the fiction embargo. This is his most thoroughly un-fictional work I suppose, and bloody good it is too.

17:06 / 20.10.04

Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich, about a group of US students who developed a betting formula and went to Vegas to take the houses for millions. Very good.

Barbarosa, by Alan Clarke, about the German plan to invade Russia in WWII, fantastic history book, really well written.

Good thing about these is that they are not writen like fact books, but like stories unfolding.

18:08 / 20.10.04

Any John McPhee, though probably best not to start off with the rock books (his series on geology). Oranges is a good starter. I recommend reading it together with Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee & Walker Evans' book about dustbowl families, for a respectful and moving bit of portraiture of a very difficult time in the life of the American poor.

at the scarwash

18:22 / 20.10.04

Roland Barthes, Mythologies. The number one pop hit single of poststructuralist thought.

Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion. An excellent introduction to the various strains of religious thinking that come under the heading "Gnostic," with special attention paid to the language used in their scriptures.

T. Harry Williams. Huey Long. A biography of one of the most fascinating figures to ever walk the American political landscape. On one hand, Long was a corrupt and ruthless leader, a hairsbreadth away from being a dictator in his governorship of Louisiana. On the other, responsible for bringing Louisiana into the 20th century, and a figure still revered by middle and lower class Louisianans to this day. Williams manages to trace Huey's rise and fall in a thorough, scholarly manner that is simultaneously readable and sympathetic.

Saburo Sakai, et al. Samurai!.
The autobiography of one of Japan's greatest war aces. Noteable not only for its snapshots of the interior life of WW2 Japanese, but just a damned fine adventure yarn.

unheimlich manoeuvre

18:43 / 20.10.04

I must second Jack's recommendation for Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. simply brilliant.

how about history? I'd suggest the Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991 by Eric Hobsbawm. Fascinating Marxist cultural historian and startlingly honest.

21:21 / 20.10.04

Why? Two reasons for this:
First, I tried the same thing with booze and drugs and it was great. I then had great fun giving up moderation for a year.

Second, I found I was spending all my free time with my nose in some escapist fantasy or other. I got rid of my tv ages ago for the same reason, so I figured, why be prejudiced in regards to the medium? Isn't it how you use the medium that's important?

So, no fiction for a year.

(to be honest, I've been bad- I read The Filth, Sea Guy, and a J. C. Cherryh novel I'd been waiting for)

21:22 / 20.10.04

Oh, and by the way, anybody who recommends Marxist/Anarchist/Populist histories gets a gold star for the day!

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

21:56 / 20.10.04

Mark Steel's written a very funny history of the French Revolution from a socialist viewpoint- Vive La Revolution.

Currently I'm greatly enjoying Tom Holland's Rubicon- The Triumph And Tragedy Of The Roman Republic which I heartily recommend on the strength of the first fifty or so pages.

21:18 / 26.10.04

A must read is One Man & his Bog, a history of the legendary Adelphi Club in Hull. It's a sleekly designed, wittily written book with two CDs documenting both local and national bands, including several unreleased Housemartins tracks, contributions from Pavement, Schneider TM, Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies and a small smattering of some of the best Hull has to offer.

Its been written by regulars to the club, and has contributions from most bands which have been affected by the clubs miraculous charm, including Thom Yorke, Pavement and many members of NYCs anti-folk collective.

Its full of laugh out loud moments, from various bleary eyed tributes to the toilets ("Its a bit like glastonbury without the paper") to The Beautiful South's Dave Rotheray elucidating the rules and etiquette of the back room's pool table. It even has illustrations from Jeffrey Lewis and Mr Scruff.

On the more serious side, it's a political document pointing out the ludicrous attitude deomonstrated by governmant officials which aims to marginalise independance and diversity in the UK music scene. Support the indie ethic!

You might be able to order a copy through HMV, and I think they're gonna start selling them on www.theadelphi.com when they can be arsed setting up the relevant gubbinz.

11:40 / 27.10.04

HEAD ON- by julian cope

quite simply the funniest autobiography i've ever read- please don't be put off if you know nothing of cope or his music- this is laugh out loud funny- a well written and articulate account of being a righteous punk in the late 70's and early 80's- then becoming famous along with all your mates...

also why are you doing this? surely if your only a few weeks in and pissed of at your decision you can change your mind and read some fiction (maybe try alternating fiction/ non fiction???)

We're The Great Old Ones Now

04:46 / 28.10.04

"The Devil Drives" by Fawn Brodie. Life of Richard Burton (the explorer, not the actor.)

Why in all the world did you decide not to read fiction for a year?

07:25 / 28.10.04

Well what's the point of giving something up for an hour? I mean, you can't really determine the long-term effects of something if you just do it for a week...

Whisky Priestess

11:47 / 28.10.04

Are you a writer at all? Because it might assuage your craving to make up some characters and run with them ... it's surprisingly addictive if you've got no other narrative into which to escape.

And if you don't fancy that, try Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, or Neil Schaeffer's biography of the Marquis de Sade.

15:46 / 28.10.04

I'll second Benny's rec: Bringing Down the House. That's a real good 'un.

Here's a few more compulsive reads:

Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism, by Paul Collins.

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary

And don't let's forget...

Cannabis: A History

16:00 / 29.10.04

Personally I'm pretty much incapable of reading fiction. I just can't seem to do it.

Shake Hands With the Devil by Romeo Dallaire. Awesome book. From the moment I picked it up I couldn't stop reading. It's content is pretty hardcore/depressing so it might not appeal to everyone. Hell, the book's ghostwriter committed suicide before it was finished.

The World's Most Dangerous Places by Robert Young Pelton. Basically a travel guide for the world's worst warzones. Surprisingly funny at times with witty and insightful information about international affairs and politics. I absolutely recommend this book!! It's one of my absolute favorites.

A Drink With Shane Macgowan by Victoria Clark. Basically one big interview in book form. Amusing drunken ramblings from the loveable toothless goon. Very entertaining read.

Bull's Eye (I can't remember the author at the moment). A biography of Gerald Bull. A natural genius. He build a giant gun capable of putting a small satellite in orbit for a couple of thousand dollars (rather than millions). Then he got screwed over by the Canadian government who burned his reasearch and destroyed his life's work. He went crazy and became a freelance artillery designer, until he was eventually assisinated in the 90's. The suspects include the secret services of about a dozen different countries. Sounds like a cheezy movie, but it's all true.

Sean the frumious Bandersnatch

11:19 / 30.10.04

Most of the non-fiction books I read are about writers and books, which seems like a bit of a cheat if you're trying to avoid fiction altogether. Here's what else I'd recommend..

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis should be required reading. Lewis shows his sci-fi roots in some of the explanations.

The Miracle of Mindfulness or living Buddha, Living Christ, both by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Friedrich Nietzche's books are always fun. The closer to his breakdown, the better.

Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God, by Jonah Blake. Okay, half of it is a retelling of the Ramayana, but the nonfiction stuff is just as fascinating.

Gullible's Travels, by Cash Peters. A tour of all the worst places to visit in the US.

Erm, yeah, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson. Show the good doctor some respect.

17:11 / 30.10.04

Anything by Fritjof Capra (The Tao of Physics, The Turning Point, Uncommon Wisdom, The Web of Life).
Anything by R. Buckminster Fuller. (Synergetics 1 and 2, Critical Path)
J. Krishnamurti's later work, after he broke with the Theosophists.

10:51 / 01.11.04

I did something similar last year, though I'm not sure in retrospect why. Here were my favorites:

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: A Biography, by Edward Rice

C: The Secret Life of Sir Stewart Graham Menzies,Spymaster to Winston Churchill, by Anthony Cave Brown

Herodotus, Thucidydes, Plutarch, etc.

The Holy Bible. Ha ha ha ha ha!

11:33 / 01.11.04

Also-rans:

Six Myths of Our Time, by Marina Warner

Take Control of People in 3 Weeks or Less, by James K. Van Fleet

Travel in the Ancient World, by Lionel Casson

Warfare in the Classical World, by John Warry

Various Freud speeches. Spot the blustery over-determinations!

20:24 / 01.11.04

Technopoly, Niel Postman

Lucifer Principle, Howard Bloom

A Brief History of Everything, Ken Wilbur

The Transparency of Evil, Beaudrillaird

00:56 / 02.11.04

QQ;

What on earth is Take Control Of People In 3 Weeks Or Less about ?

( I mean aside from the obvious. )

08:17 / 08.11.04

Patty Hearst in her own words, aka Every secret thing, by Patty Hearst with Alvin Moscow. Pretty obviously, Hearst's early 80s autobiography that mostly covers her time with the Symbionese Liberation Army, a 60s radical group who kidnapped, brainwashed and inducted her. It's fascinatingly bizarre and harrowing - the SLA were pretty much the worst, most nuts of the major US radical groups of the time (making, i.e., the Weather Underground look extremely reasonable) and Hearst's trip from heiress to hostage to armed revolutionary is at least as wacky as any fiction you might otherwise have found.

14:56 / 09.11.04

Anything by Oliver Sacks, though I particularly like "the man who mistook his wife for a hat" and "An anthropologist from Mars". Very interesting and well written books on neurology and associated subjects.

09:19 / 18.11.04

Recent good uns, off the top of my head:

"The Black Sea", Neal Ascherson. Extremely engaging, broadly-scoped history of the Black Sea region from Ancient Greece to C20th Soviet purges. Difficult to describe why it's so good but it turned what, for me, had been a desert occasionally crossed by commuting barbarian tribes into one of the crucibles of interaction between Europe and Asia. Highly recommended.

"Coasting", Jonathan Raban. Extremely capable writer sailing around UK about the time of the Falklands War, ruminating on childhood, island-nations and society. Finely crafted, thought-provoking writing.

"The Inland Sea", Donald Ritchie. Oddly moving travelogue of a gaijin on Japan's Inland Sea in 60's/early 70's documenting the vanishing culture there of fishing villages and abandoned Shinto temples. Much thinking about Japanese 'character' which I haven't seen anywhere else.

"Dispatches", Michael Herr. Bit of an obvious one, but if you haven't read this journalist's experiences of the Vietnam War, then you simply must. I don't know anything else like it.

"Breaking Open the Head", Daniel Pinchbeck. Spoiled urbanite realises his life is shallow and starts getting loaded on psychedelics and Shamanism, man. Nevertheless, nice history of psychedelics and good trip descriptions, if that's your bag.

"The Songlines" and/or "In Patagonia", Bruce Chatwin. Utterly pretentious at times, but full of superb evocations of place and insight.

I'm currently enjoying Bill Bryson's "Short History of Nearly Everything" altough it's a bit whirlwind and presupposes an interest in science.

Have to second "World's Most Dangerous Places". Superbly funny, unputdownable and full of extremely apolitical analysis of what is going on in unstable countries - hardly anyone seems to know about this book. I believe it's the Rough Guide for the Kate Adies of this world...

To keep you going: The Shorter Pepys. Maybe not for everyone, but for some reason I find it soothing to see how similar people's problems are across the centuries. The idioms, spelling and sentence construction are utterly charming. And so, to bed.

12:14 / 18.11.04

The Last Apocalypse by James R Reston. History book about what was going on in the world around 1000 AD, not a bit dry and actually reads a lot like a novel.

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace, collection of essays touching on smell factories, tennis and weather in Indiana, and the v. entertaining title piece about taking a luxury cruise.

16:04 / 18.11.04

Any of Redmond O'Hanlon's travelogues.

He goes on mad adventures and complains every step of the way, in a very humorous fashion. His description of the Congolese floor maggot in No Mercy is worth the price of the book. In this one, he goes in search of the Congo dinosaur and winds up learning more than he wants to know about gorilla poachers and deforestation. I won't tell you whether or not he encounters the dinosaur.

Along similar lines, Douglas Adams' Last Chance to See, in which he goes in search of the most endangered animals in the world.

16:55 / 19.11.04

Interesting autobiographies I have known include:

"River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze", by Peter Hessler - experiences of a Peace Corps worker teaching English at a college in a small Chinese village - a fascinating cross-cultural study...

"Seven Tattoos: A Memoir in the Flesh" by Peter Trachtenberg - pretty absorbing if you're intrigued by introspection and angst, probably a bit annoying if that sort of thing gets on your nerves...

And I really liked "Yukon Alone" by John Balzar, but that could be largely due to my obsession with dog-sledding... It's an account of a journalist's experience covering the Yukon Quest, "the world's toughest adventure race". If you got off on Jack London growing up, this is probably your bag.

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