Reading stuff (skip if you don’t like books)
My current obsession is autobiographies. I’ve always been an avid reader, but I always bypassed this type of book. Don’t ask me why.
Back in the late 80’s, I read a few biographies, and they didn’t really do much for me. It was mostly books about singers, which is an interest of mine. I finished reading them, and never returned.
Shortly after reading and seeing Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I came across (not literally for you sickos), a paperback written by Miss Lady Chablis. It was called Hiding My Candy. I thought it would be a chuckle, read it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Stumbled across another book called Man Enough to Be A Woman, by Jayne County. Again, very enjoyable. Jayne (when he was a man) used to front a band called Wayne County and the Electric Chairs. Yeah, I’d never heard of them either. They were pre-punk, and the book has all kinds of tidbits, like Debbie Harry as a waitress in CBGBs, Bowie, Jagger all have little moments.
So anyway, I found myself looking for these books, mostly involving singers. I read three books about music history, names escape me now, but one was about the entire post-punk movement, how it splintered off into New Romantics, New Wave, Hip Hop, etc.. Very interesting. Another covered the whole Australian independent music scene. Another was about the history of DJs.
I read two books by Marc Almond... Tainted Life and another about his travels. Both interesting.
IN the last six months I’ve been powering through the books. I’ve read autobs by Adam Ant, Lulu, Nikki Sixx(Motley Crue), Jim Hutton (Freddy Mercury’s lover), Glenn Hastings (an Identity Thief), Nigel Smith (UK TV writer who has a medical catastrophe), former criminals, former call girls, true crime. How did I miss all of this stuff before?
Ironically, my writing style, such as it is, leans heavily on a conversational style. Like I’m talking right at you. So do these books that I’ve discovered. Suddenly I feel a kinship with these people. The laugh is that I’m just an average Joe (OK maybe a little more bizarre than some of you, but still a no one in the grand scope of things).
I’m currently reading Hollywood Animal. It’s about a screenwriter that I’d never heard of before (although he’s quite well known... wrote Basic Instinct and Flashdance, to name a few). He grew up in Ohio, so that’s pretty cool for me to read about. This book is intense.
The last three autobs that I read were two of the best, and one of the worst.
Whoopi Goldberg-Book. I feel like I’ve met a soulmate. The book is divied up into one word chapters on things like Sex, Race, Religion... blah blah blah. Some of it is very funny, very personal anecdotes. It’s when she talks about her views on the various subjects that I feel truly in synch with her. A remarkable woman.
Camryn Manheim-Wake Up, I’m Fat- The rise and rise (well it was more like a slow crawl for her) of this award winning actor. The book is her life story, but even though she went through a lot of self-loathing, self-discovery and finally self-acceptance, it isn’t a drab, boring, whiny tome. It’s fantastically funny, and if you can believe it, it moved me to actual tears. OK, I forgot to take my meds for a couple of days, but it is really good.
M. Dylan Raskin-Little New York Bastard. I’ve never been a fan of book burning, but this is a good one to start with. Anyone got some kerosene? New York New York. If you can’t make it out of there, you can’t make it anywhere. For God’s sake, just kill yourself already. This book is supposed to be a coming of age story. The cover amused me, which is why I got it from the library. If this man is the voice of his generation, then the human race is fucked.
Here’s the whole content of the book. Painful, emotionally unbalanced 23 year old, can’t deal with life, leaves New York City. Ends up on the outskirts of Chicago, Does nothing for a few days apart from offending and insulting people, returns to New York with his tail between his legs. Loser. I’ve never read a book that had the words moronic, disgusting & Nazi used so often. The man can’t even drink a cup of coffee without nearly crapping his pants. I wouldn’t have even bothered finishing it, but I forgot my other book that day.
Reading: Joe Eszterhaus-Hollywood Animal
Weather: cool, sunny
Health: Pretty good