I was an incredibly nerdy bookworm all through my early childhood and primary school.
I had the reading age of a 16-year-old by the time I was five, and I remember being taken up to the Year 3’s classroom when I was in Year 1, so they could see how badly they were being owned by one of the smallest Year 1s in the school.
Unfortunately this led to some pretty hectic bullying, which I tried to avoid by spending all my lunch breaks in the school library. Having no friends also left me with plenty of spare time, which I spent volunteering at the local town library after school.
Yes, I really was that much of a nerd.
I ditched recreational reading throughout most of my teens. This was mostly because I’d been seduced by learning guitar and music in general, although going to boarding school meant I had friends and therefore a social life for the first time ever.
While music and I have had some great times, I’m stoked to be reading regularly again.
Once a nerd, always a nerd.
Here are some of the reads of last year that have stuck with me. You can check out my favourite reads of 2010, if you’re super-keen.
BOOKS
John Joseph - ‘Evolution of A Cro-Magnon’
This is the autobiography of John Joseph - the former frontman of seminal NYC hardcore band Cro-Mags, a devoted vegan and Hare Krishna.
Joseph spent his childhood and adolescence in and out of abusive foster homes and juvenile detention, with stints of homelessness, violence and drug dealing peppered in between.
Afer deserting the Navy, Joseph found himself hanging out with hardcore royalty Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins. He also met the notoriously wacky H.R. from Bad Brains, who sparked his interest in spirituality.
Joseph’s stories are intense, unbelieveable, hilarious and tragic. He is clearly nostalgic for a New York that no longer exists, back when Guidos and drug dealers ran the place instead of the real estate agents that hold the city hostage now.
There are plenty of things Joseph says that I don’t necessarily agree with, but that’s the beauty of a good, honest autobiography - the subject is protagonist, antagonist and fifth business all at once.
Malcolm Knox - ‘The Life’
I’ve been a big fan of Knox’s non-fiction work for a while now, and I’m happy to report his fiction is just as fantastic.
The Life tells the story of Dennis Keith, a former pro surfer who is now on the disability pension and living in a retirement village with his elderly mother on the Gold Coast.
What happened to knock him from the top of the world into a passive existence? Why is his brother in prison? What does his mother know and why isn’t she letting on?
The Life is heartwrenching, funny and gripping. What a combo.
Ange Takats - ‘The Buffalo Funeral’
A self-published gem, The Buffalo Funeral is a memoir by singer-songwriter and reformed journalist Ange Takats about her time working as a video journalist in Thailand.
Leaving Sydney for adventure in south-east Asia at just 22 years of age, Takats finds herself supplementing her meagre paycheck by playing covers gigs in seedy bars, with two local musicians taking her under their wing.
Battling recalcitrant camera-men, a dodgy boss and a bit of a language barrier, her work life is just as interesting - not to mention frustrating.
One of the few memoirs written by a person under the age of 35 that is actually worth reading.
Anna Funder - ‘All That I Am’
Set in Germany in the years leading up to World War II, All That I Am tells the story of a small group of anti-Nazi activists, who fled Berlin for the relative safety of Britain to continue their campaign against the evils of the Nazi Party and Hitler.
Based on the true story of the author’s (now deceased) friend Ruth Blatt, the novel’s a great insight into a part of history that gets skimmed over.
Author Anna Funder has been at great pains to point out that it is a work of fiction, but has included a big list of research sources at the end - just in case you wanted to get nerdier.
You can hear an interview with Funder on Conversations with Richard Fidler here.
MORE GREAT BOOKS:
“When It Rains” by Maggie MacKellar (Buy)
“Our Band Could Be Your Life” by Michael Azzerad (Buy)
“Bossypants” by Tina Fey (Buy)
“Dirty Deeds” by Mark Evans (Buy)
ZINES
Wasted Opportunities #1
Wasted Opportunities is pretty simple as far as zines go - black and white photocopies, scrawled front cover and Q&As with bands. It works though, and is one of the most refreshing fanzines I read last year.
This first issue also has an interview with Andy Hayden, who runs the excellent Poison City record label (and the Poison City Weekender) .
‘Support’
From what I remember of Sex Education at school, we were taught about different types of contraception and to make sure we weren’t pressured into sex. When I write it out like that it seems a little inadequate, but like many things you can’t really teach sex through theory and book work.
We definitely didn’t discuss consent in great detail, or the horrors of sexual abuse and their long-ranging effects.
Support is full of advice and things to think about with regards to friends and lovers who are dealing with recovery from sexual abuse. It manages to be informative without being preachy and doesn’t get too bogged down in wanky feminist/queer/survivor constructs.
In an ideal world there would be no sexual abuse for people to deal with, but considering this world is less than ideal, it’d be great to see some of the content in this zine adopted in the Sex Ed curriculum.
Maybe one day.
Rocket Queen #1 & #2
Rocket Queen is a two-part series of zines written by the eponymous stripper Janet.
Unlike the more famous Diablo Cody, Janet started stripping for monetary reasons.
“On the whole, I feel less degraded stripping than I have doing any other kind of work,” she explains early into zine one.
“At least now I’m my own boss. I don’t have to talk to any customer that’s pissing me off, I can be lazy and lie around if I don’t feel like working.”
Anyone who’s worked in hospitality or retail can relate to that.
During the first zine, Janet is working in a strip club in a small tourist town. The second zine sees her moving to New Orleans to take part in the the Mardi Gras and the generally robust sex industry the city is famous for.
Along with all that, Janet talks about the archetype of the sacred whore, embarrassing stripping moments, and the important place sex work has in society.
If you ever wanted an inside account of stripping without self-conscious self-deprecation or vapid pleasantries, you should read this.
I bought this zine from Smells Like Zines earlier in the year. I can’t find it online, but if you get in touch I’m sure Elouise will be able to sort it out for you. It’s well worth the effort.
Learning To Surf
I mowed through this zine in one sitting. Not because it’s thin, but because the writing was just that good.
Featuring musings on Superchunk, James Taylor, Black Wine and the Minutemen, Mike Faloon makes writing about music look easy, which it’s not.
I found out about this zine through the Revenge of Print Facebook group, which encouraged people to make at least one zine during 2011.
Buy it here and chuck a couple of extra $ in for postage if you live in Australia.
MORE GREAT ZINES:
Jerkstore #9 and #10
I Was A Teenage Mormon
Limited edition zines by Max Lavergne
Let me know your good reads for 2011.
