Books of 2012
There are still quite a few books that came out in 2012 that I failed to track down so this list is just ones I read
I enjoyed the collection of essays in I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts by Mark Dery (I think) and also a collection of essays by different authors in Why are Faggots so Afraid of Faggots? and Women Make Noise (which looked at female musicians in different genres tho' I would have liked chapters on metal or goth or electronic music). Also liked Moranthology (which was a collection of Caitlin Moran's various articles for the Times but I wish she'd included some of her stuff from the music press in the 90s) and Madonna and Me (a rather hit & miss collection of essays on Madonna - I think my favourite was Lisa Carver's)
Also read some good books on music history - Riverside (history of Newcastle's legendary venue), The History of the NME (which concentrated mainly on the 70s/80s), How Soon is Now? (a history of independent record labels), and Trampled Under Foot (an oral history of Led Zeppelin & yes, I was thrilled that Sabel Starr and Lori Mattix/Maddox (legendary underage 70s groupies) both got mentions.
I thought The Company of The Dead was a brilliant idea (time travellers/alternative histories & the sinking of the Titanic) but it got a bit bogged down in detail/became a bit confusing. Likewise, The House of Rumour by Jake Arnott had some beautiful writing/great ideas but it did get a bit hard to follow when each chapter had a different narrator/style. Weirdo by Cathi Unsworth was an atmospheric thriller set in a rundown seaside town with some black magick added to the mix - I really hope someone does a TV/film adaptation of her work one day. Likewise, I could see Bitter Seeds (1st of a trilogy about British warlocks trying to defeat the Nazis) could do really well as a film/TV series if they got the script/casting right as could The Empty Glass (a noir-ish thriller about someone investigating Marilyn Monroe's death).
I didn't think there was much more that could be said about MM but Lois Banner managed an intelligent and interesting book with a feminist slant on Marilyn's history in Marilyn Monroe: The Passion and the Paradox. The Accidental Feminist is also worth looking out for as a feminist interpretation of Elizabeth Taylor's films/life.
I enjoyed the next volume of memoirs from Rupert Everett and Paul O' Grady. Andrew McCarthy's book was more of a travel memoir tho' it did touch on his acting and Lydia Lunch managed to surprise us all by bringing out a cookbook!
I was also excited that we finally got to see/read about Kirk Hammett's collection of horror movie memorabilia. I was also excited by WE Can Be Heroes which looked at late 70s/early 80s clubland in particular the New Romantic movement - beautifully photographed & some interesting quotes.
I also loved reading Lisa Carver's book on Yoko Ono, Reaching Out With No Hands - more of a meditation on Yoko's art/life than a straightforward biography. Matt Thorne's book on Prince was an exhaustive look at all his recordings - I especially enjoyed the chapters on protogees such as Vanity 6/Apollonia 6/The Family (with Susannah Melvoin, Wendy's Sister) and Jill Jones and all the quotes from Wendy & lisa.
Beth Ditto's book was a good read but a bit too brief. I liked Dame Darcy's book The Handbook for Hot Witches but felt like it was aimed at a younger audience (tho there is nothing wrong with that).
Also read Letters to Kurt - Eric Erlandson's cryptic communications to the late Kurt Cobain with bitchy asides about Courtney Love.
I liked the Sherlock Casebook (I hope they do another one for the 3rd series). And I liked The House of Silk (tho that was written for Victorian Sherlock Holmes and I would dearly love to read a Sherlock book for modern Sherlock but I guess that's what we have fanfic for which is probably better because at least then Sherlock and John end up together *g*)
And I read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay which I enjoyed after seeing an interview where Benedict Cumberbatch recommended it.
I also read the Smiley vs. Karla trilogy by John Le Carre (which includes Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and absolutely loved it.
Also read Dora:A Headcase about a teenage psychiatric patient who becomes an art terrorist with her group of misfit friends.
I enjoyed the collection of essays in I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts by Mark Dery (I think) and also a collection of essays by different authors in Why are Faggots so Afraid of Faggots? and Women Make Noise (which looked at female musicians in different genres tho' I would have liked chapters on metal or goth or electronic music). Also liked Moranthology (which was a collection of Caitlin Moran's various articles for the Times but I wish she'd included some of her stuff from the music press in the 90s) and Madonna and Me (a rather hit & miss collection of essays on Madonna - I think my favourite was Lisa Carver's)
Also read some good books on music history - Riverside (history of Newcastle's legendary venue), The History of the NME (which concentrated mainly on the 70s/80s), How Soon is Now? (a history of independent record labels), and Trampled Under Foot (an oral history of Led Zeppelin & yes, I was thrilled that Sabel Starr and Lori Mattix/Maddox (legendary underage 70s groupies) both got mentions.
I thought The Company of The Dead was a brilliant idea (time travellers/alternative histories & the sinking of the Titanic) but it got a bit bogged down in detail/became a bit confusing. Likewise, The House of Rumour by Jake Arnott had some beautiful writing/great ideas but it did get a bit hard to follow when each chapter had a different narrator/style. Weirdo by Cathi Unsworth was an atmospheric thriller set in a rundown seaside town with some black magick added to the mix - I really hope someone does a TV/film adaptation of her work one day. Likewise, I could see Bitter Seeds (1st of a trilogy about British warlocks trying to defeat the Nazis) could do really well as a film/TV series if they got the script/casting right as could The Empty Glass (a noir-ish thriller about someone investigating Marilyn Monroe's death).
I didn't think there was much more that could be said about MM but Lois Banner managed an intelligent and interesting book with a feminist slant on Marilyn's history in Marilyn Monroe: The Passion and the Paradox. The Accidental Feminist is also worth looking out for as a feminist interpretation of Elizabeth Taylor's films/life.
I enjoyed the next volume of memoirs from Rupert Everett and Paul O' Grady. Andrew McCarthy's book was more of a travel memoir tho' it did touch on his acting and Lydia Lunch managed to surprise us all by bringing out a cookbook!
I was also excited that we finally got to see/read about Kirk Hammett's collection of horror movie memorabilia. I was also excited by WE Can Be Heroes which looked at late 70s/early 80s clubland in particular the New Romantic movement - beautifully photographed & some interesting quotes.
I also loved reading Lisa Carver's book on Yoko Ono, Reaching Out With No Hands - more of a meditation on Yoko's art/life than a straightforward biography. Matt Thorne's book on Prince was an exhaustive look at all his recordings - I especially enjoyed the chapters on protogees such as Vanity 6/Apollonia 6/The Family (with Susannah Melvoin, Wendy's Sister) and Jill Jones and all the quotes from Wendy & lisa.
Beth Ditto's book was a good read but a bit too brief. I liked Dame Darcy's book The Handbook for Hot Witches but felt like it was aimed at a younger audience (tho there is nothing wrong with that).
Also read Letters to Kurt - Eric Erlandson's cryptic communications to the late Kurt Cobain with bitchy asides about Courtney Love.
I liked the Sherlock Casebook (I hope they do another one for the 3rd series). And I liked The House of Silk (tho that was written for Victorian Sherlock Holmes and I would dearly love to read a Sherlock book for modern Sherlock but I guess that's what we have fanfic for which is probably better because at least then Sherlock and John end up together *g*)
And I read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay which I enjoyed after seeing an interview where Benedict Cumberbatch recommended it.
I also read the Smiley vs. Karla trilogy by John Le Carre (which includes Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and absolutely loved it.
Also read Dora:A Headcase about a teenage psychiatric patient who becomes an art terrorist with her group of misfit friends.