Pointless Book Post 1

First thing I read was the Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea:

Found this series via a genius annotation on Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down (by Interpol) and thought, if Paul Banks felt inspired enough by this trilogy to base a character around one of the characters included, then it must be worth a read. Idk why I used this mammoth book (850ish pages) to get back into reading but it was worth it because it rly just brought me back to the profundity and brain-food of Books! Wonderful. 

The books are basically this completely absurd juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated events that end up interlocking together in the most beautifully smooth way; there’s never an empty line or event in these books as it all contributes into the loose plot and themes some way or another. It’s like, a psychedelic trip of sex-and-drug-writhe, politically-charged nonsense that seemed to hold resonance and make perfect sense all in one! Awesome. 

Must admit that some bits were really hard to follow, and some of the tangents felt like someone word vomiting his acid trip brain thoughts onto a page. The references were also sort of niche but perhaps that’s just because I’m not too clued-in to historical politics, philosophy writers, conspiracies, mythology etc. 

Spent some of the book wondering if it was some sort of fanatical propaganda as well, but it layered all of the crazy conspiracies with such irony and humour that it was clearly just a satirical telescope at the hardline conspiracists. Hilarious and deffo worth the read.

Next thing I read was Meet Me in the Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman:

It’s an oral history of the New York rock scene of the 2000′s. It was gifted to me by a friend who knew I was getting heavily invested in New York bands of the time (Interpol in particular).

The book’s written in interview form, (ex. ‘Name: Quote’) but it wasn’t disjointed at all, every point was actually fully fleshed out and there was a lot of great overlap and great iconic names there! Credits to the author for making it all work there because that’s a difficult feat. 

A lot of juicy insight into the dynamics and events of the time, and the whole book has a glaze of mystical, romantic New York energy that I really fed off of the whole time I was reading it - It made me want to travel, adventure, and party like crazy which is frustrating at a time like this. I also found it fuelling my creativity some days - namely part where the Tv On The Radio guys were discussing how they used to make art all day in a cluttered NYC loft and then sell it on the streets; also how they used to DIY their CD’s.

One criticism I have of the book was that it was definitely romanticising the period, and even worse romanticising the various drugs of the time period, which wasn’t the best. The book also felt like a big The Strokes circle jerk, which I expected, but damn! It was a lot. 

Next thing I read was Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk 

This is such a classic and totally up my alley. I love the way it’s written, with many repeating ideas and lines and just the right amount of foreshadowing at the plot twist towards the end that it doesn’t spoil it at all; just allows the jigsaw pieces to click smoothly in your head once it’s revealed! It’s such a perfectly nihilistic and raw book, and I really resonated with the narrator (in some ways). The inner monologues were just so sardonic and pessimistic and really entertaining to read, especially for a cynical person such as myself. It’s also really succinct, (which I enjoyed because i’m a pretty slow reader) and so many lines were so memorable; I can’t recall a single point where I was bored during it.

I had watched the movie right after finishing it and I must say that the ending hit harder than the book’s ending did, (that pixies song playing while the world falls apart is just so iconic), although the book’s cliffhanger was a lot more clever imo. Torn on which ending I prefer.

I’m currently half way through Sexus by Henry Miller, which is the first of a trilogy which I plan to finish

Despite the outdated ideology and very non-pc language, (I mean, it was written in 1949), I’m really enjoying it. I resonate with the way he describes the human experience and his uninhibited carnal expression in this book is pretty enjoyable to me - I really enjoy erotic literature okay?! However, I’m really in a moral battle over whether or not I’m behind H.M or not; for he is quite a scumbag, for lack of a better term, to women he’s involved with, in particular. Then again, I understand his complete submission and entrancement by the opposite sex - he absolutely worships women and I don’t get the impression he simply views sex or women as just some thing to bring pleasure. He’s a complex writer with a lot of layers to unpack and I am enjoying doing so, so far.

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Books I am planning to read (ones I ordered recently!):

Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H Lawrence

I actually didn’t know much about this book before buying it, but my impression of it from what I read was that it was a love story with social class related themes. It was inspired by the own writer’s life and is rather explicit. 

It was banned for obscenity in the UK, not to be published openly there until 1960, and also banned in the US, Canada, Australia and Japan. So that’s all I really need to know it’s gonna be a good read ;)

Other books I got recently are as follows but I wanna save the detailed synopsis for when I finally read them:

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

Masks of the Illuminati by Robert Anton Wilson

Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim

Some of Knutt Hamsun’s stuff