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Bowie's Bookshelf: The Hundred Books that Changed David Bowie's Life

Review

Bowie's Bookshelf: The Hundred Books that Changed David Bowie's Life

I am a lifelong David Bowie fan, and his passing was devastating for all of us. Bowie was known not only for his music, but also for his humanitarian efforts that afforded him the utmost respect of his peers. So revered was Bowie that in the mid-’70s he guest-starred on Bing Crosby's annual holiday special, and the pair gave us one of the best-selling Christmas songs of all time, "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy." Crosby, who passed away just six months after that performance, was especially taken with Bowie, as were most people who had the benefit of knowing him.

I did not realize until after his death that Bowie was a prolific reader. In fact, at one point, he would read a book a day. From this lifelong love of reading comes BOWIE'S BOOKSHELF: The Hundred Books That Changed David Bowie’s Life. This list is quite eclectic, and author John O'Connell provides a backstory for each book and how it impacted Bowie's life, music and art.

"The only art I'll ever study is stuff that I can steal from." This quote from Bowie blends perfectly with the book, which details the inspiration he took from each title. Bowie, who refused to fly and was often subjected to long train rides to get around the various countries he toured, would carry with him a series of trunks that contained up to 1,500 books that he regularly read. This insatiable love for books may have started when he worked on his first movie, Nicholas Roeg's cult classic, The Man Who Fell to Earth. Bowie was rumored to have a cocaine problem, and Roeg swore him to lay off drugs for the duration of the filming. He had no issue complying and traded one vice for another. During his downtime, he would retire to his trailer, which was lined with all of his books. An addiction to reading was born!

"I am quite thankful that John O'Connell took the time to put BOWIE'S BOOKSHELF together.... It feels good knowing that a list like this exists and, in essence, keeps Bowie's spirit alive, allowing all those who miss him to have another shared experience with one of their heroes."

O'Connell states that these 100 books are the tools Bowie used to navigate his life. Rather than poring through them one by one, I am going to discuss a few highlights. I encourage any fan of Bowie or fine literature to pick up BOWIE'S BOOKSHELF and dig much deeper. Number one on the list is A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess. There was already an obvious connection between Bowie's music and director Stanley Kubrick as his hit “Space Oddity” was inspired by the latter’s classic film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, it was Bowie's reading of this book that opened his eyes to youth as counterculture, and he just loved Little Alex and his ultra-violent, anti-establishment gang members. He would use some of this for his model of the character, which for a while was his musical alter-ego: the great Ziggy Stardust.

At the end of each book's description, O'Connell adds two categories to enhance the experience: “Read It While Listening To,” which offers various tunes by Bowie, and “If You Like This Try,” which references another book that is similar within the same genre. This is very helpful and truly personalizes the entire reading effort. It was with Junot Diaz's THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO that Bowie tapped into the whole idea of being a loner --- a theme he saw in the science fiction that he loved and would get to personify in The Man Who Fell to Earth, as well as the many sci-fi-themed songs he wrote.

Bowie remembers getting into an argument with the bassist from Blondie at a party about author Colin Wilson. Wilson was a favorite of Bowie from his youth, specifically THE OUTSIDER, a book that dealt with nihilistic lovers of art. The argument Bowie had was about his assurance that Wilson was himself an anarchist, among other things, and was purported to head a coven in Cornwall. In another case, William S. Burroughs made a link between Bowie's lyrics and the poetry of T.S. Eliot. He wanted to know if Bowie's song, "Eight Line Poem," from the Hunky Dory album was influenced by Eliot's poem, "The Waste Land." Bowie claimed at that time that he never read Eliot. However, this reference from Burroughs caused him to seek out his works, including "The Waste Land," among others. Bowie's final album boasted videos for the songs "Blackstar" and "Lazarus," which feature a character known as The Button Man, all of which were strongly influenced by Eliot's work.

My last reference is to the cult classic THE MASTER AND MARGARITA by Mikhail Bulgakov, which is a satire of Stalinist Russia. Some of the dialogue from this novel was directly used by Mick Jagger in the Rolling Stones hit song, "Sympathy for the Devil." Jagger and Bowie were close friends, and their mutual love of Bulgakov’s work was evident. Bowie referred to it as “catnip” for him, a book that he could constantly return to and find something new to stimulate his psyche.

I am quite thankful that John O'Connell took the time to put BOWIE'S BOOKSHELF together.  Readers should be inspired to seek out the books on this list, along with the musical suggestions for pairing and even the links to other similar works. When you have books, you always have friends. David Bowie was a prolific reader with boundless artistic talent and a near-genius IQ. It feels good knowing that a list like this exists and, in essence, keeps Bowie's spirit alive, allowing all those who miss him to have another shared experience with one of their heroes.

Reviewed by Ray Palen on December 20, 2019

Bowie's Bookshelf: The Hundred Books that Changed David Bowie's Life
by John O'Connell

  • Publication Date: November 12, 2019
  • Genres: Essays, Literary Criticism, Nonfiction
  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Gallery Books
  • ISBN-10: 1982112549
  • ISBN-13: 9781982112547