šŗšø
This is one of the only novels over 500 pages that not only did I read through to the end but also devoured each page. Ive never known of a book around 600 pages to absolutely speed through immense amounts of plot as this book does but it feels like a list of slimy gossip plastered onto you until youāre absolutely coated in grimy stories of poisoned smack or bitten off noses.
the way this book also proudly flaunts its anti-capitalism and anti-America ideology is also so pleasing- so many of the characters are absolutely blinded by the bright lights of the post war boom and the new reinstatement of the American dream.
If youāre looking for a book that not only exudes with the sounds of the platters and frank sinatra but also shows you the obvious underbelly of American history then read the FUCK out of this book.
Apr 3, 2025
Related Recs
š
This was the second book Iāve ever read thatās written in the 2nd person. Previously, I found it hard to get used to, and honestly a little clunky. Somehow McInerney achieves to make this flow as easily as anything. It truly feels like you are the subject of the story. BL.BC follows you, a fact checker wanna-be-fiction-author at a big publication in Manhattan, as you waste away to late nights of coke binges and crowded parties. Praised often as one of the first great anti-quests, BL.BC achieves the great feat of making you care about, and enjoy, the miserable journey of such a win-less character. This is one of those reads that just feels iconic.
Aug 3, 2021
š
LA getting you down? because its Too Boring? Escape into this provocative - bordering-smut novel
that takes place in more exciting, drug fueled times. Itās called āThe Shardsā and I read it earlier this summer and could not put it down. Like most of Ellisā writing, itās got well dressed preppy hot people and cocaine and serial killers. After reading āThe Shardsā, Iāve been very visually inspired by 1980s LA š„š„š„
Dec 16, 2023
š
"Fame requires every kind of excess. I mean true fame, a devouring neon, not the somber renown of waning statesmen or chinless kings. I mean long journeys across gray space. I mean danger, the edge of every void, the circumstance of one man imparting an erotic terror to the dreams of the republic. Understand the man who must inhabit these extreme regions, monstrous and vulval, damp with memories of violation. Even if half-mad he is absorbed into the public's total madness; even if fully rational, a beaurocrat in hell, a secret genius of survival, he is sure to be destroyed by the public's contempt for survivors. Fame, this special kind, feeds itself on outrage, on what the counselors of lesser men would consider bad publicity - hysteria in limousines, knife fights in the audience, bizarre litigation, treachery, pandemonium and drugs. Perhaps the only natural law attaching to true fame is that the famous man is compelled, eventually, to commit suicide.
(Is it clear I was a hero of rock 'n' roll?)"
the rest of the book sucks
Nov 6, 2023
Top Recs from @glenbek
š
If youāre lucky enough to have a cinema nearby that shows certain films on actual film stock then I canāt recommend it enough.
All of the mistakes and signs of use on the film stock, that are apparent to you throughout the runtime, adds another layer of immersion to a cinema experience. No one else will see that particular showing of that particular film except for the people in that room with you at the time.
One of my old drama school teachers once told me a fun little story about the gaps between each frame. He said that all those empty gaps which are only fractions of a second between frames being processed and projected are all registered in our brains when we watch a film on celluloid. He also said that our brains see these blank spaces and instinctively imagines what would fill the empty gaps so, we feel more immersed in the film as our brains try to connect these dots in front of us.
I donāt know if thatās true at all, but Iād like to believe so.
Oct 15, 2024
every time I give this a relisten Iām always shocked by how consistently great it is as an album. Obviously, āThe Idiotā gets a tonne of praise and deservedly so, and even though this album helms a lot of Iggy Popās most popular singles, I never see people talking about it as an album and what it does brilliantly.
even with āThe Idiotā, Iggy Pop was very much performing under David Bowie wing and environment- a lot of dark and brooding electronics and atmosphere which complimented Iggy well but, here he is definitively Iggy Pop.
I think people forget that āpunkā music (which Iggy hated the label of) doesnāt necessarily fall into a genre, more so an attitude of performance. This is proved time and time again in this album, as Iggy covers styles of hard rock, blues rock, ballads and soul- all unmistakably polished with a punk edge.
Punk isnāt the music you play, just how you play it (at least I think so), and itās so obvious that Iggy and the band just had a blast recording and performing this, they donāt take themselves seriously, if anything, poking fun at the restrictions of rock and pop songwriting in the process. Yet, the album never feels like itās smarter than you, itās inviting you in to feel the excitement.
Such a blast of a record, if you need a pick-me-up like I did today, give this a whirl!
Nov 4, 2024
š
Been a very slow year with not much acting work at all but, last year I managed to get a line of dialogue in the last season of house of the dragon, and also filmed two seasons of a kids show for the BBC.
Iām happy I stuck with this wish, even if itās painful to continue pursuing it sometimes :)
Oct 18, 2024