I'm an avid reader & see on this thread some stuff to check out.For myself, my favs are...
everything by Tom Robbins, Tolkein, Vonnegut, Raymond Chandler, Kesey, Stephen King
"A Confederacy of Dunces"
"Handling Sin" (this is a comedy, btw)
"The Godfather"
"Been Down So Long It Seems Like Up To Me"
"Gravity's Rainbow"
"1984"
"Brave New World"
"A Clockwork Orange"
"Dreamworld"
"The Monkey Wrench Gang"
"Lord Of The Flies"
"The Old Man & Mr. Smith"
As you can see, my tastes run amok when it comes to books.
Another writer who speaks to me in this way, that is resonates on "cowboy" themes within Grateful Dead music, is Larry McMurtry (the novel "Lonesome Dove", the biography of Crazy Horse). In some ways the resonance with McMurtry's work is stronger since his writing is less spare and has more saga-like story elements.
"Yesterday this day's madness did prepare."
Sorry for the cross-posting, I originally posted this in Shakedown Street, but it really belongs in this topic which I wasn't aware of before.
I just got done with a cowboy story entitled "Them Old Cowboy songs" by Annie Proulx (who wrote the original story on which "Brokeback Mountain" was based) that appeared in the May 5, 2008 issue of the New Yorker. After finishing the story I felt that it had resonances with "Brown-Eyed Woman" and "Jack Straw". Similar textures that gave me some of the same feelings as listening to those songs and to a lesser extent "Me and my Uncle". I thought folks who visit Dead.net might find the same resonances and want to know about the story.
Be warned however that it is ultimately a sad and disturbing tale.
Keep safe,
Another Bear
"Yesterday this day's madness did prepare."
A Gun Totin, Dead Quotin Sheriff!
Gang, we've got a mystery on our hands!
PEACE
I am Kearney Street Books' publicist. Kearney Street Books is a small, independent publishing house which focuses on books about music. Currently, we are sponsoring free book discussions for Gary McKinney's new mystery novel, "Slipknot." "Slipknot" is a mystery featuring County Sheriff Gavin Pruitt, Deadhead.
Set the year before Jerry Garcia's death, "Slipknot" takes place in picturesque rural Washington, and revolves around the murder of a politically prominent environmentalist - who was going to decide whether a local forest is logged or not. The future of the local logging industry is dependent upon the decision - but so are the lives of the wildlife within the forest.
Gavin must figure out who the killer is, all the while quoting classic Grateful Dead songs, taking up jamming sessions, and dealing with his daughter's new "hippie" boyfriend.
If you are interested in learning more about "Slipknot," there are limited free copies available. If enough people are interested, a discussion group can be started.
This isn't spam - we just want to get the word out about a great book featuring the Grateful Dead. Since the music can be downloaded for free, why not allow the same in literature - except this offer is available for a limited time.
(Again, this isn't spam - there will only be a few offers made at similar sites devoted the Dead)
You can also read the entire first chapter of "Slipknot" for free at Kearney Street Books' website, kearneystreetbooks.com
You can contact me for more information,
Laura Clement
grdaed73 actually most of Kerouac's books are part of a series describing his life in semi -autobiographical form. But I think On the Road is the most exciting and fresh with the pure joy of living before he sank into the despair of an alcohol addiction. Other good ones are Desolation Angels and the Subterraneans My own favorite besides On The Road is The Dharma Bums which describes the beats in San Francisco and their interest in Buddhism and mountains and so much more and the beginning of the 60's counterculture (though there have always been countercultures). The hero of The Dharma Bums is Gary Snyder. Many of the people mentioned in Kerouac’s books are fairly well known if not famous writers.
If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake
"on the road", been meaning to read it for three decades. yes, yes,,i do procrastinate slightly. kids got it for me for my b-day, i'm 3 years older than the book. it's unbelievable how it parallels life(s) that i('ve) know(n). and now i know the rest of the story!
is there a sequel, i'd really like to see how the other my life turns out? ;)))
The Fabulous furry Freak-Brothers (not allways politically corecct hehe) The Stories of WonderWartHog
Let the Dead Bury Their Dead
I feel kind of like I'm on Reading Rainbow: Very interesting spiritual short stories,
check it out. Oh, its not a Dead book.
PEACE
Locations
...it's called "Inside Out". I've just started it so Syd isn't nuts yet, but Nick's writing style is humorous in tone (so far).
William Gibson (the cyberpunk guy) has a novel out called "Spook Country" that started out a little slow but became very entertaining. Kept me guessing until the end.
Honestly, "Gravity's Rainbow" gave me more than one headache but I should probably read it again, I understand it's an important novel.
Other than that I've been catching up on comic books, err, "graphic novels". Warren Ellis' "Transmetropolitan" is a great series, the lead character is kind of Hunter Thompson in the near future. Anything Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman (gotta read the Sandman series) is terrific. Both of these guys have also written "legitimate" novels - Alan Moore's "Voice of the Fire" is uber-creepy; Gaiman's "American Gods" and "Anansi Boys" are both excellent.
There's a book version of the PBS documentary Ken Burns "Jazz" that you should read, or at least skim through.
Cheers,
MitD