Fiction: 'Titanium Noir' by Nick Harkaway - mash-up of Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler.
Non-fiction: 'Lifespan' by David Sinclair - new research on effectively switching off, and even reversing the effects of, the ageing gene, by taking NMN, Resveratrol and Metformin (the former two available online, the latter a prescription drug for diabetics).
I've just finished Adventures in Modern Recording by Trevor Horn, which I thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in music production. It also has the required bunch of anecdotes, some of which are pretty entertaining, such as his work with Malcolm Maclaren and his unlikely stint as Yes's frontman. I was never particularly into Horn's 80s stuff, but it's a very good read.
I'm now starting Barry Adamson's autobiography -- Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars. One observation that has nothing to do with the contents -- it's the best quality hardback I've bought for years -- it's heavy simply because the paper is thicker and far better quality than usual. I actually felt like I was holding something of quality for the price.
A damned fine read! New, much extended 2023 paperback edition. The author lives in the same neck of the woods as myself, and is also a huge BN fan. Amazon UK link.
Read by the author. His voice is easy on the ear and very much like Nick Broomfield's but in a cadence similar to Dylan Thomas' or even Christopher Walken's. More observation than narrative. If you like surrealism, arcane and historical facts bursting like fountains this is for you. It's got an attention to detail and is reminiscent of the writings of William S. Burroughs but more like the lyrics of John Foxx.
Israel Regardie's Golden Dawn book manuscripts, etc, were put on the Antiques Roadshow by Regardie's nephew. This is the U.S. (PBS) version of Antiques Roadshow, not the British one, unfortunately - which means the video clip seems unavailable to run in this country (UK), but here's the link anyway.
Another mention for Jaron Lanier's excellent exposé of toxic social media algorithms -Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts. Himself a Silicon Valley insider, Lanier gives an extremely entertaining account of how social media algorithms work (he has an acronym for them: "B.U.M.M.E.R.") - even before the bad actors turn up (he mentions "Russians" in the example below, but it's not just Russians) to provoke conflict on *both* sides of a given issue. If you use social media at all, you absolutely must read it - before it's too late!! (Hope this works as sales pitch - it really is good).
'The Overview Effect', by Frank White. Describes the transforming and inspiring effect of seeing the Earth from space, based on interviews with Apollo astronauts, International Space Station (ISS) personnel, space shuttle pilots, etc. Great read - reminds me of Timothy Leary's S.M.I².L.E. idea. There's also a 20 minute film called 'Overview' with footage of Earth and commentary mirroring the book's thesis (which I'll post a link to in the Youtube thread).
I'm going to go with an actual book rather than an amusing mocked-up book cover (see previous 4 posts that belong in a thread called "amusing mocked-up book covers"! 😁):
Recursion, by Blake Crouch - ended up being a very enjoyable, mind-bending novel on the theme of time travel (after the initial disappointment that it seemed written in all-too-common "popular thriller" style prose rather than something more unique). Lots of iterations of the end of the world in a nuclear war scenario, which the protagonists try to stop. Quite romantic as well as being mind-boggling regarding the "grandfather paradox".
This is completely mad. The audiobook version is essential as much music and sounds are included. An art piece.
Fiction: 'Titanium Noir' by Nick Harkaway - mash-up of Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler.
Non-fiction: 'Lifespan' by David Sinclair - new research on effectively switching off, and even reversing the effects of, the ageing gene, by taking NMN, Resveratrol and Metformin (the former two available online, the latter a prescription drug for diabetics).
Read by the author.
Currently reading ...
Finished recently...
I've just finished Adventures in Modern Recording by Trevor Horn, which I thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in music production. It also has the required bunch of anecdotes, some of which are pretty entertaining, such as his work with Malcolm Maclaren and his unlikely stint as Yes's frontman. I was never particularly into Horn's 80s stuff, but it's a very good read.
I'm now starting Barry Adamson's autobiography -- Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars. One observation that has nothing to do with the contents -- it's the best quality hardback I've bought for years -- it's heavy simply because the paper is thicker and far better quality than usual. I actually felt like I was holding something of quality for the price.
A damned fine read! New, much extended 2023 paperback edition. The author lives in the same neck of the woods as myself, and is also a huge BN fan. Amazon UK link.
Read by author
Read by the author. His voice is easy on the ear and very much like Nick Broomfield's but in a cadence similar to Dylan Thomas' or even Christopher Walken's. More observation than narrative. If you like surrealism, arcane and historical facts bursting like fountains this is for you. It's got an attention to detail and is reminiscent of the writings of William S. Burroughs but more like the lyrics of John Foxx.
Israel Regardie's Golden Dawn book manuscripts, etc, were put on the Antiques Roadshow by Regardie's nephew. This is the U.S. (PBS) version of Antiques Roadshow, not the British one, unfortunately - which means the video clip seems unavailable to run in this country (UK), but here's the link anyway.
'The Perfume of Silence' - Francis Lucille.
(Is nobody reading books these days?)
Another mention for Jaron Lanier's excellent exposé of toxic social media algorithms - Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts. Himself a Silicon Valley insider, Lanier gives an extremely entertaining account of how social media algorithms work (he has an acronym for them: "B.U.M.M.E.R.") - even before the bad actors turn up (he mentions "Russians" in the example below, but it's not just Russians) to provoke conflict on *both* sides of a given issue. If you use social media at all, you absolutely must read it - before it's too late!! (Hope this works as sales pitch - it really is good).
'The Overview Effect', by Frank White. Describes the transforming and inspiring effect of seeing the Earth from space, based on interviews with Apollo astronauts, International Space Station (ISS) personnel, space shuttle pilots, etc. Great read - reminds me of Timothy Leary's S.M.I².L.E. idea. There's also a 20 minute film called 'Overview' with footage of Earth and commentary mirroring the book's thesis (which I'll post a link to in the Youtube thread).
I'm going to go with an actual book rather than an amusing mocked-up book cover (see previous 4 posts that belong in a thread called "amusing mocked-up book covers"! 😁):
Recursion, by Blake Crouch - ended up being a very enjoyable, mind-bending novel on the theme of time travel (after the initial disappointment that it seemed written in all-too-common "popular thriller" style prose rather than something more unique). Lots of iterations of the end of the world in a nuclear war scenario, which the protagonists try to stop. Quite romantic as well as being mind-boggling regarding the "grandfather paradox".