Bowie Book Club Podcast

Nowhere to Run by Gerri Hirshey

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Nowhere to Run by Gerri Hirshey - interviews with foundational artists of soul music asthey deal with aging, and (in the case of Screaming Jay Hawkins) serve drinks out of a skull or something.

Private Eye

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Private Eye, a half-serious, half-silly British political magazine that is the ultimate i IYKYK.

Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler, a tale of human pyschology under duress that makes a fitting end to the Russian books that Bowie had on his list.

The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard, a quaint little preview of the non-stop psychological prodding we endure now. Subscribe! iTunes | RSS | Stitcher Follow us! (Not in a creepy way) Mastadon Facebook Instagram Web Presence Our Bookshop Visit our lists on bookshop.org and help support the podcast (and inde...

Beyond the Brillo Box by Arthur C. Danto

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Beyond the Brillo Box by Arthur C. Danto - if you like art, philosophy and the philosophy of art, you might get through this a little easier than we did.

Strange People by Frank Edwards

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Strange People by Frank Edwards, a rundown of all the freaks, geeks and mentalists you'll ever want to encounter.

Writers at Work by the Paris Review

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time weread Writers at Work: The First Series, a compendium of interviews with writers that proves to be as dazzling as a round of George Plimpton's Video Falconry.

Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr

The Beano

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Beano, a British comic that has been teaching the fundamentals of anarchy to the youth of the UK decades before Johnny Rotten gave his first snarl.

The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read we read The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos, a big sweeping tale of America at the turn of the 20th century, including getting chased by a farmer with a shotgun, which happened all the time back then.

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for strawsabout Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, which has *all* the bowels and loins anyone could ask for.

Infants of the Spring by Wallace Thurman

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Infants of the Spring by Wallace Thurman - if you're a fan of gin n' ginger ale or of extremely stylized dialog, you're going to love this one.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read * Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, a novel of deception, doublecross, and people being absolute fucksters to each other. Subscribe! iTunes | RSS | Stitcher Follow us! (Not in a creepy way) Mastadon Facebook Instagram Web Presence Our Bookshop Visit our lists on bookshop.org and help support the podcast (and indep...

White Noise by Don DeLillo

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read White Noise Don DeLillo, a very funny, very timely book about death, among other concerns.

A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read a doorstop of a history of the Russian Revolution: Orlando Figes' "A People's Tragedy".

Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonders by Lawrence Weschler

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Mr. Wilson's Cabinet O' Wonders by Lawrence Weschler, a short, sharp treatise on a weird, weird museum.

In Bluebeard's Castle by George Steiner

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read In Bluebeard's Castle by George Steiner - an eccentric polymath, kind of like a certain David Jones we all know. Plus, T.S. Eliot impersonations!

Room at the Top by John Braine

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Room at the Top by John Braine, about an angry young man in a dirty old town.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read On the Road by everyone's high school boyfriend, Jack Kerouac. We also talk about the new Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream, which we just saw IN A MOVIE THEATRE *shudder*!

The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read we read The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa, a slow, stately book about a very hot island a long time ago.

The Coast of Utopia by Tom Stoppard

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Coast of Utopia by Tom Stoppard - a play where a lot happens just off stage and there's a lot of talking about thinking.

In Between the Sheets by Ian McEwan

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read In Between the Sheets, a kind-of-sort-of creepy book of short stories by Ian Mcewan.

Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read a book of literary criticism/history about Gustave Flaubert that (suprise!) turns out to be a novel that's not really about a bird at all (or is it?) - Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes

Money by Martin Amis

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Money by Martin Amis - the literary equivalent of watching someone fall down thousands of flights of stairs and wondering why you're laughing so hard.

Awopbopaloobopalopbamboom by Nik Cohn

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Awopbopaloobop (or something like that) a intensely jaded look at the first couple decades of rock music from legendary writer Nik Cohn.

The Iliad by Homer

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Homer Tarantino's gory classic of bromanticism - The Iliad Subscribe! iTunes | RSS | Stitcher Follow us! (Not in a creepy way) Twitter Facebook Instagram Web Presence Our Bookshop Visit our lists on bookshop.org and help support the podcast (and independent bookstores too!) Stuff We Talked About We read di...

Tales of Beatnik Glory by Ed Sanders

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read a series of connected stories circling the post-beat, pre-hippie world of Lower Mahattan in Tales Of Beatnik Glory by Ed Saunders. Join us for a hour or two at the Total Assault Cantina!

Our 2022 Books

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. We survived another year, and that means we get to dust off the ole Choosenator and see what new books it brings us. This time we had a little canine assistance - our trusty guide led us through the wilds of Seattle (ok, through quiet residential neighborhoods) and pointed us at the correct numbers for the books for 2022! Subscribe! ...

1984 by George Orwell

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read George Orwell's classic work of numerology, 1984.

The Quest for Christa T

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Quest For Christa T by Christa Wolf, a melancholy elegy that really got on the wrong side of the East German censors, for some reason.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, one of our favorites on the list - a fairy tale that careens through the Moscow of the 1920's, and is otherwise impossible to describe accurately.

On Having No Head by D.E Harding

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read On Having No Head by Douglas Harding, a slender guidebook to quick and painless enlightenment.

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we sat in a cafe, drinking free refill after free refill, perfected our looks of total ennui and read The Stranger by Albert Camus

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, a careening comic novel of doomed romance, never ending parties and rotating gossip columnists.

English Journey by JB Priestly

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read English Journey by J.B. Priestley, a gripping tale of a grump making his way around England in the dour `30s.

Tadanori Yokoo

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read a book (though probably not the right book) about the incredibly prolific Japanese artist and graphic designer Tadanori Yokoo.

Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we took a little wander through Halls Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art by James A. Hall and read about a lot of saints with swords (sometimes stuck in their heads) Subscribe! iTunes | RSS | Stitcher Follow us! (Not in a creepy way) Twitter Facebook Instagram Web Presence Our Bookshop Visit our lists on books...

Mini Episode! How To Read a Dictionary

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we attempted to cobble together a plan to read Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art by James A. Hall.

Interviews with Francis Bacon by David Sylvester

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Interviews with Francis Bacon, a beautifully constructed cut and paste job from the noted art critic David Sylvester.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a jazzy tale of the very American art of self-invention.

Mystery Train by Greil Marcus

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Mystery Train, Griel Marcus' expansive summation of rock music as American culture. Apologies for the weird clicking noise that sounds like its coming from Greg's mandibles (he forgot to wax them) - we'll have the audio hiccups fixed for next time!

Our Books for 2021!

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club* where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we chose our books for 2021, in the great outdoors (and in our typical shambolic fashion)

Journey Into the Whirlwind by Eugenia Semyonovna Ginzburg

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Journey Into the Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg, a memoir of one incredibly strong woman's survival in Stalin's Reign of Terror.

The Street by Ann Petry

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Street by Ann Petry, a harsh but gripping tale, which **almost** led to the worst song choice in the history of this podcast.

A People's History of the United States

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club* where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, who's not really down with the SYSTEM, MAAAAAAN.

Teenage by Jon Savage

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club* where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Teenage by Jon Savage and you JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE FEELING ABOUT IT OK? /slams bedroom door/

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club* where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, which is really not like Dead Poets Society at all.

Black Boy by Richard Wright

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Black Boy, Richard Wright's searing story of growing up in the Jim Crow south and his further self-education as a young man in Chicago and his further self-education as a young man in Chicago.

The Life and Times of Little Richard by Charles White

Welcome to another episode of the **Bowie Book Club**, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Life and Times of Little Richard - the Authorized Biography by Charles "Dr. Rock" White, which contains lots of scatalogical pranks, sermons and stories of debauchery from one of the wildest voices ever. Rock and roll.

Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Sexual Personae by Camillia Paglia, which left us feeling a bit...cthonic.