I’ve forgotten what my list was, but I’m pretty sure I’ve touched none of it. I have read ‘Nirvana – The Biography’ by Everett True, which while a great read, should be called, ‘I Knew Kurt and Courtney’ because they get so many more words than Chad, Krist, and Dave. I will say that the interviews with the Olympia/Seattle scenesters of the 90′s was great fun reading, particularly since so many are still so active doing great things.
I’ve also been working my way through ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ by Haruki Murakami, which I’m definitely in love with. Despite being a 600-page plus book, it’s an easy light read with great characters and a beautiful prose style.
Today I started ‘Junky’ by William S. Burroughs. I generally avoid the Beats, as they – in this man’s opinion – were a bunch of spoiled man-children who treated everyone, including themselves, very badly. But I’ve always felt Burroughs was a little outside the Beats, and thought I should give Junky a try.
And so far (which is about 20 pages in) I’m not disappointed in the slightest. Where the Kerouac crew were self-aggrandizing, Burroughs’ writing is not exactly self-effacing, but certainly not self promoting in the same way that Kerouac’s is.
Next up is William Styron’s ‘Darkness Visible’, another short read, and then maybe wrap up the summer with some more Cormac McCarthy so that Luke’ll get off my back. Feel free to throw in commentary and suggestions.
