J.P.'s updates http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/424062 en-US Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:17:47 -0700 60 J.P.'s updates http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 31275474 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:17:47 -0700 Comment1215358 <![CDATA[new comment from J.P.]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20145773 Cats's review of Tickle His Pickle: Your Hands-On Guide to Penis Pleasing
by Sadie Allison

"The book should come with kneepads."

As Austin Powers might say, "Saucy!"
]]> 30858723 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:14:18 -0700 Comment1184530 <![CDATA[new comment from J.P.]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26396774 Sundry's review of Revenge of the Lawn: Stories 1962-1970 ("Rebel Inc" S.)
by Richard Brautigan

A genius who still isn't given his due. His best work is his shorter pieces. ]]> 30858582 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:12:46 -0700 Comment1184516 <![CDATA[new comment from J.P.]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26396397 Sundry's review of And So It Goes: Adventures in Television
by Linda Ellerbee

I read this same book around the same time. I remember Ellerbee had a type of "This Week in History"-type show on at the time which I really liked.

In this book, I most enjoyed her self-depracating humor. I recall her writing about being a young reporter for AP. She evidently wrote a friend a chatty personal letter and then accidentally sent it out on the AP wires, to newspapers across America. Thus endeth Ms. Ellerbee's career at AP.

A wonderful read! ]]> 30858071 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:08:17 -0700 Rating619472 <![CDATA[J.P. Lowe voted on a review]]> http://www.goodreads.com/ 339871 J.P. read and liked Sundry's review of And So It Goes: Adventures in Television:

"I remember loving this book. Linda Ellerbee was one of my heroes at the time. "
]]> 30858039 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:07:54 -0700 Comment1184462 <![CDATA[new comment from J.P.]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26377540 Anne's review of The Killer Inside Me
by Jim Thompson

Thompson's best---and genuinely creepy! Enjoy! ]]> 30857898 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:06:40 -0700 Comment1184448 <![CDATA[new comment from J.P.]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26371495 Melissa's review of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
by Tom Wolfe

Still the best book on Kesey & crew and the 1960's to date---it's even better than THE FURTHUR INQUIRY, Kesey's own late-to-the-party, overbaked take on the scene himself.

However, I agree with your review---these people and their activities weren't as interesting or as capital 'R' relevant as they seem to have thought.
]]> 30447196 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:50:51 -0700 Review26574991 <![CDATA[J.P. added 'Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26574991 Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson (Hardcover) by Corey Seymour
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> 29283171 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:15:17 -0700 Review25663516 <![CDATA[J.P. added 'The American Night: The Writings of Jim Morrison']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25663516 The American Night: The Writings of Jim Morrison (Paperback) by Jim Morrison
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> 28717096 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:28:02 -0700 Review25216519 <![CDATA[J.P. added 'A Spaniard in the Works']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25216519 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars to: A Spaniard in the Works (Hardcover) by John Lennon
See my review of Lennon's IN HIS OWN WRITE, which includes insights on this title.

Purchase this book only if you're a Lennon completist or the thought of padding Yoko's pocket$ makes you feel warm n' snuggly inside. Otherwise, check amazon.com for the paperback "two-fer" edition.

A SPANIARD IN THE WORKS is also notable for the cameo appearance it makes in the 1965 Beatles film "Help!" It's the book Lennon pulls from the bookshelf and kisses repeatedly in his hole-in-the-floor bedroom, as Paul plays a mad tune on the organ and an Arabian princess tries to bite off Ringo's finger to retrieve a sacrificial ring he was wearing. George was smoking a bong. Or not---it's been a while since I last saw "Help!"

As John might say in this book, "Hatty Reeving to Etch and Awl!" ]]> 28713961 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:09:59 -0700 Review25214054 <![CDATA[J.P. added 'In His Own Write']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25214054 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars to: In His Own Write (Hardcover) by John Lennon
I read this title in a paperback "two-fer" edition back in the early 1990s. It was sandwiched together with Lennon's other Beatles-era book, A SPANIARD IN THE WORKS. Yoko, ever anxious to turn a buck off Lennon's legacy, has since reissued the two collections of nonsense verse and stories separately, in facsimile first-edition hardcovers. If you're a Lennon completist, then fine. Otherwise, trawl amazon for the "two-fer" version.

I guess you've got to know a bit about British nonsense verse and the British cockney tradition of word games---"Take a butcher's up the apples & pears", and that sort of thing. The selections here can be especially fun if read aloud. Otherwise, they will often seem like gibberish.

Lennon was breaking no new ground here, poetically. Authors such as Edward Lear and G.K. Chesterton (whose works Beatle John was clearly familiar with) had been mining similar veins decades before Lennon did. There's nothing especially profound or insightful here either. But there is a sly sense of humor and fun as Lennon plays with the English language and takes the piss out of literary pretense. An example from Lennon's poem "I Sat Belonely":

I sat belonely down a tree,
humbled fat and small.
A little lady sing to me
I couldn't see at all.

I'm looking up and at the sky,
to find such wondrous voice.
Puzzly puzzle, wonder why,
I hear but have no choice. . .

So, if this seems like your cup of tea (British pun intended), go ahead and imbibe with my blessings. IN HIS OWN WRITE, and its companion A SPANIARD IN THE WORKS, are good fun for a rainy afternoon---but best taken in small doses.

Lennon had a deft pen. But I think it was wise that he kept his day job.
]]>