Well, I finished reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, and I enjoyed it, especially knowing the whole time that it was published posthumously after the author's mother found it while cleaning out his room after he committed suicide. The book follows Ignatius Reilly, a fat, 30-year-old slothful intellectual who lives with his mother in New Orleans, as he is begrudgingly forced to get a job to raise some money for his mother. The way Reilly speaks is hysterical. I don't know how else to describe it. I'd love to see a film version of the book. Apparently a film version was to be made a few years ago with Will Ferrell as Ignatius, but it was scrapped and/or postponed indefinitely for some reason. Anyway, I recommend the book.
Since I can't go too long without reading a rock history book, I have started Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga by Ian Christe. Van Halen is, as you know, one of the most important hard rock acts of all-time and one of the most successful, longest-lasting bands of any genre. They also have somewhat of a tumultuous history. I know the basics of their history, but it certainly can't hurt to know more. Christe is the same guy who wrote Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal, which I read earlier this year. So far so good.
Books read in 2009:
The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis
Oh The Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey
I Hate New Music: The Classic Rock Manifesto by Dave Thompson
Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe
Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector by Mick Brown
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
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