Sunday Salon: I heart Brian de Bois-Guilbert

My recent posts on Christchurch City Libraries

The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber - "a visceral read - literally - blood, guts and the byproducts of humanity"

I've got a crush on you - literary crushes - "You can rely on The Guardian’s fab books section to come up with some entertaining mind teasers. This one is fun Who is your literary crush? (my favourite answer comes from filleperdu ”I wouldn’t mind trying to make Morse happy”). Alas I discovered it too late to add my pick. I hate to be a cliche and pick a bad boy but … my once and future lit lover is Brian de Bois-Guilbert from Ivanhoe.

and the New Romantics - autobiographies from Tony Hadley, Adam Ant etc

Sunday Salon: I'm your Fan

You know how sometimes you find you're unintentionally reading books with the same theme? I've stumbled on a couple of fan memoirs: Freddie and me: A coming of age (Bohemian) rhapsody by Mike Dawson and Dalek I Loved you by Nick Griffiths.

There's something wonderfully funny and involving about fandom, it involves a suspension of shame, a willingness to throw yourself fully into something and not care how silly you look. It's an innocent love (except for its darker stalkery cousin).

Mike Dawson's memoir is a graphic novel, quite beautiful and resonant. His devoted fandom is a way into exploring his life, his family and his memories. And to tease his sister for her George Michael obsession ... I've only just starred Griffiths, and it shows a keenness to dirty his feet in memories too.

Over on the Christchurch City Libraries blog, I've indulged in a bit of hero worship myself - of Mr Stephen Fry, and the concept album.

Sunday Salon: Morrissey, Dictator Chic and it ain't Anne Rice

This week I danced with Morrissey, nearly read Meetings with Morrissey by Len Brown in one sitting - a tribute to the subject and the writer. Music biographies are a hairy beast, sometimes leading you to a renewed/fresh infatuation with the muso in question (reading about Kate Bush this year has made me buy some more of her CDs) or just coming across as a glorified discography/cut & paste of newspaper articles.

Len Brown has got into the nuts&bolts of Morrissey and his numerous cultural signifiers - especially his deep reverence and connection to Oscar Wilde. Most of us probably knew about his interest in James Dean (as demonstrated in the "Suedehead" video) and various Smiths cover stars like Warhol star Joe Dallesandro. But I had no idea of the extent of his Wilde-olatry. He has an extensive collection of Wilde first editions, but his admiration is not merely that of a collector but of an soul connected acolyte.

There's lots to revel in here, and the quote of the week comes from another Morrissey icon Kenneth Williams of "Carry on" fame - the last words in his diary are "Oh what's the bloody point".

I usually try to avoid the book sale at the library - too much temptation, and trying not to acquire books (except internally) but I wandered past an purchased "The Proposition" soundtrack, The New Zealand historical atlas, an illustrated book of Roman myths, a book of William Morris's poery and Dictator Style by Peter York. A satisfying haul. Dictator style is a thing of righteous horror, surely the garish interior design of despots like Idi Amin and Nicolae Ceausescu is an indicator of their grotesquerie. A nasty funny piece of work.

Ditched:
The Host by Stephenie Meyer - it ain't Anne Rice. Obviously. It just didn't grab me like I needed, I wanted lurid fun.
Who are you : the life of Pete Townshend : a biography by Mark Ian Wilkerson. Now this looks like it's worth a read, very dense and intelligent but at over 600 pages requring close reading now isn't the time.

Sunday Salon: The essence of 80s and the Lambs

Given that I've had a bit of an 80s themed weekend, I thought I'd think about what book sums up the essence of 80s.

My 80s weekend consisted of joining the Real Hot Bitches dance troupe in their routine dancin to Bon Jovi (that's my dancing legwarmers). In Christchurch's Cathedral Square. And watching the honest and emotionally powerful movie by Shane Meadows (set in 1983) This is England.

What book is the essence of 80s? The novel that popped into my head was American Psycho . I'm not sure why ... yes it is set in the late 80s but there's more than that. It's not New Romantic, New Wave or any of the good bits of the 80s. It sums up the Gordon Gekko, Wall Street nasty venality of the "Greed is good" era.

It is cocaine, torture, hardbodies, Phil Collins and Huey Lewis, and rampant consumerism. It is the most disturbing book I've ever read.

Over on the Christchurch City Libraries blog, I wrote about 84 Charing Cross Road & The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, with a special tribute to Charles Lamb:

He had a genius for sympathy that not one of his great friends could touch. When Wordsworth chided him for not caring enough about nature, Charles wrote, ‘I have no passion for groves and valleys. The rooms where I was born, the furniture which has been before my eyes all my life … old chairs, old streets, squares where I have sunned myself … have I not enough, without your Mountains? I do not envy you. I should pity you, did I not know, that the Mind will make friends of any thing.’

Sunday Salon: Phallic Frenzy, Potato Peels, Love&Rockets

My first Sunday Salon ...

Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading.

I'm keen to join in, to explore my reading a bit further. I'll delve into what I'm reading this week and link to what I've blogged on the library blog.

This week I've finished
Phallic Frenzy: the films of Ken Russell by Joseph Lanza. I've long been a fan of Russell's garish movies, especially "Gothic" with its surrealist visions and hysteria. It focuses on that infamous night when Mary Shelley created Frankenstein and Polidori spawned the Vampyre. Surely this was one of the pivotal moments of literature - and Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley were in attendance.

Ken also directed the movie "Salome's last dance" which as an Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley fan I must track down and watch. He seems to have a particular aptitude for literary adaptations, his renderings of D.H. Lawrence into film comes in for particular attention.

This is a well written, thorough book about one of film's most visionary mavericks.

I started on The Guernsey Potato Peel and Literary society by Mary Ann Shaffer. It's a delight and I can see why it's come in for such loving attention. It's a book lovers dream, about the love of books and their transforming power. As such, it's in the vein of 84 Charing Cross Road, a bibliophile's novel in letters.

So far I am learning about the various characters, revolving around main character the author Juliet Ashton (nom de plume Izzy Bickerstaff) who writes to her friend, her publisher and a widening circle of Guernsey residents. It's a beautiful depiction of World War Two and the post war world, and as yet has not fallen into the trap of twee-ness.

My other book this week is Perla la loca: a love and rockets graphic novel by Jamie Hernandez. There is something so immediate and punchy about the Love and Rockets books. I picked one up on a whim and got drawn into a story - the female characters are sexy, strong and filled with power and energy. I want to explore this series more.

On the Christchurch City Libraries blog, I wrote about getting a mighty thrill to find TWO of my favourite authors have new books on the way. Oh happy day!:
Book geekdom - new books from Peter Ackroyd and Michel Faber