Joshua Donellan's Blog: JM Donellan's substack, page 8
July 18, 2014
100 Books a year 2014 pt 1
A couple of years ago I started setting myself the challenge of reading at least 100 books a year. It might seem like a lot, but to be honest it’s surprisingly easy to do once you get into the swing of it. Here’s some standouts from the first 50. They are presented in no particular order or year of release. I’ve selected poetry, novels, biography, graphic novels and everything in between.
Egan’s The Goon Squad was one of the best books I read last year, so I’m not really sure why I didn’t start making my way through the rest of her catalogue earlier. I started reading this book during a visit to the Bunya mountains, and moving my butt from the fireside couch and this hypnotic novel became a herculean task. This is a dark, transcendent novel about a small ensemble of intersecting characters who are all trying to radically reinvent themselves. The themes of identity and transformation are dealt with in a bold, captivating style that somehow manages to border on the surreal whilst also providing brilliant social critique on the concept of self in the 21st century. This is a magnificent novel in so many ways. I’m going to make sure to read everything Egan’s ever written.
You know how you felt when you watched the cops on the Wire being complete, unapologetic assholes? Take that feeling, multiply it 97 million, and then transpose it to a true account of happenings in your hometown and you’ll have a vague account of how I felt reading this book. Condon’s analysis of cops who literally got away with murder (and plenty more besides) during a golden era of corruption is both illuminating and horrifying. Required reading for anyone who grew up in Queensland. The sequel – Jacks and Jokers -was released a few months ago.
While this is certainly the least of DFW’s works, this series of essays written in collaboration with Mark Costello is nevertheless an important document. Particularly if – like me – you want to be able to say “look, hip-hop IS important. David Foster Wallace wrote about it so there now SHUT UP!” Amongst the milieu of ear-shatteringly awful modern rappers – as well as a slew of brilliant MCs that radio stations bewilderingly refuse to spin – it’s important to be reminded of the impact of hip-hop as a social movement as well as something for annoying hoons to pump from the speakers of their Skyline. Sidenote: The next time someone says ‘White people who listen to hip-hop are silly! That music was invented and should only be listened to by black people!” you should ask them about the origins of their favourite jazz/soul/rock and roll/blues/r’n’b records.
It’s almost supernatural how terrible this book is. Don’t get me wrong, Franco – arguably the modern era’s most famous polymath – is clearly something of a genius. The problem is that while the book is very clever it just isn’t very good. You know when you see a band compromised of musicians who all graduated from some highly regarded musical academy and during their set they change time signatures every 14 seconds until they all just start making this weird high-pitched drone and then end by each stepping up to the microphone and reciting their shopping lists? That’s what this book felt like, plus it was filled with ironic, self-aware narcissism that was unsurprisingly every bit as dull as ironic, unaware narcissism.
Like thousands of other True Detective fans, I was drawn to this book by the HBO series. A very strange, chthonic collection, a few of the stories here are captivatingly terrifying, but there’s a lot of dross as well. The four main stories that centre around a play called the King in Yellow that apparently sends people mad are excellent. Apparently Chambers later started making heaps of cash writing sappy romance stories and just gave up on horror so that he could wrote terrible books that made him millions of dollars. HP Lovecraft, a huge admirer of his early work, called Chambers a big fat sellout. Disgusting. Now excuse me while I delete my latest manuscript and start work on my new book Ron Sexley’s Sexy adventures in Sexington: Paradise Kisses: Book one of the Romance Hot Times collection: A Sexy Times book (with lots of sex in it).
Whenever I teach writing workshops I always point to the first sentence of Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude as one of the greatest collection of words ever put to paper: Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. Marquez was an extraordinary talent and it’s no surprise to discover that he lived an equally extraordinary life. Sidenote: having spent a fair amount of time in Colombia I find it incredibly frustrating when people joke about all Colombians being drug dealers. That’s a little like assuming all Americans are corrupt Wall St lawyers. Colombia has a rich and varied culture of which Marquez is only one wonderful exemplar.
This collection of interviews with prominent Australian musicians by prolific local journalist Andrew McMillen addresses a very important issue: the relationship between musicians and drug use. As an insight into the lives and creative processes of some of Australia’s most talented songwriters it is very entertaining. However, the book’s far more important role is to present a broad range of attitudes towards narcotics – from abstinence to addiction - and their effects. McMillen focuses more on raising questions than answering them and more on stories than statistics and this approach makes his work incredibly engaging and thought provoking. I recently interviewed Andrew about the book on Exit Stage Zed, you can listen to that interview here (starts at 28 mins into the recording).
After reading this book I have one very important thing to tell you: for the love of god don’t send naked pictures to strangers over the internet! Now I’m sure many folks would think that’s a VERY OBVIOUS piece of advice, but as many people – Anthony Weiner I’m looking at you – have shown us, sometimes we need that extra reminder. Olson’s account of one of the most enigmatic and influential social movements of the last 50 years is highly captivating reading, with all the intrigue and slow-burning suspense of a Fincher film. Bonus points for her detailed descriptions of a few neat and surprisingly easy hacking tricks.
Alan Moore is like no other writer on earth. This curious, bloody and incredibly well-researched work is by far the best of the myriad takes on the Jack the Ripper tale. Moore takes that one central mystery and weaves a tale of the birth of the modern era with thick dollops of class critique, violence, history, black magic and perhaps the single greatest page ever presented in a graphic novel. I stared at that one particular page for a solid ten minutes, if you’ve read it you’ll know what I’m talking about. I hear the movie was terrible, but then again it usually is.
Possibly the best example of a brilliant book with a terrible cover. A somewhat autistic hard sci-fi novel, its concepts and philosophies are beguiling and bewildering but it gets bogged down at times by overly technical descriptions. I don’t want to give away the twist toward the end, but I will say that – like Carl Sagan’s Contact – it’s an amazing first contact story that tackles the idea of extraterrestrial life with incredible philosophical flair. Also, once you’ve been introduced to creatures that maintain invisibility by moving in between your eyes’ saccades you may be terrified always and forever.
Worth the ticket price just for the title, in my opinion. I keep coming back to this phrase whenever I’m feeling frustrated with the government – which is around every 36 minutes. Walker’s poetry is clean and unpretentious, although there’s more than a few mediocre pieces in this collection. The standout ones, however, definitely make it worth your while. This little poem in particular has stuck with me:
My teacher was told by her teacher – who loved her: You cannot shoot guns / you cannot drop bombs / your fists are forbidden to you / as are mean and hurtful words / no matter how carefully chosen. / You have one weapon & one weapon only: Use it. / It is your ability to teach.
Look, I know Winton’s not exactly an underground secret. Everyone knows how great his work is and his multitudinous accolades are all very well deserved. Winton is the master of making the ordinary enthralling, the everyday extraordinary. All of these interweaving stories are excellent, but the titular tale is perfection itself. That story is an entire world within a few dozen pages. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it months ago. It’s like he didn’t just create characters, he birthed living humans. The film is also excellent, and didn’t receive nearly as much attention as it should have, particularly considering its luminary cast.
If you have any book recommendations feel free to throw them my way! Remember, readers are the best lovers science says so!
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Contrary to popular belief, I have not actually been eaten by a rabid bear. Casino Battle Royale THE GREATEST COMPETITION OF ALL TIME STUPID WEIGHTS MACHINE FOR JERKS SOUNDS OF SPRING REVIEW (simulcast from 4zzz)Copyright © JM Donellan [100 Books a year 2014 pt 1], All Right Reserved. 2014.
100 Books 2014 pt 1
Hey there internerds, last year I did a little post talking about my favourite books I read during 2013 so I thought I’d follow that up with this little post. They are presented in no particular order or year of release. I’ve chosen poetry, literature, biography, graphic novels and everything in between. This is simply the good, the bad and the interesting.
Egan’s The Goon Squad was one of the best books I read last year, so I’m not really sure why I didn’t start making my way through the rest of her catalogue earlier. I started reading this book during a visit to the Bunya mountains, and once I started the first page transporting my butt (and the rest of my body) from the fireside couch quickly became a herculean task. This is a dark, transcendant novel about a small ensemble of intersecting characters who are all trying to radically reinvent themselves. The themes of identity and transformation are dealt with in a bold, captivating style that somehow manages to border on the surreal whilst also providing brilliant social critique on the concept of self in the 21st century. This is a magnificent novel in so many ways. I’m going to make sure to read everything Egan’s ever written.
You know how you felt when you watched the cops in the Wire being complete, unapologetic assholes? Take that feeling, multiply it 97 million, and then transpose it to a true account of happenings in your hometown and you’ll have a vague account of how I felt reading this book. Condon’s analysis of cops who literally got away with murder (and plenty more besides) during a golden era of corruption is both illuminating and horrifying. Required reading for anyone who grew up in Queensland. The sequel, Jacks and Jokers, was released a few months ago.
While this is certainly the least of DFW’s works, this series of essays written in collaboration with Mark Costello is nevertheless an important document for anyone who – like me – wants to be able to say “look, hip-hop is important. David Foster Wallace wrote about it so there now SHUT UP!” Amongst the milieu of ear-shatteringly awful modern rappers – as well as a slew of brilliant modern MCs that radio stations bewilderingly refuse to spin – it’s important to be reminded of the impact of hip-hop as a social movement as well as something for annoying hoons from the suburbs to pump from the speakers of their skyline. Sidenote 1: The next time someone says ‘White people who listen to hip-hop are silly! That music was invented and should only be listened to by black people!’ you should ask them about the origins of their favourite jazz/soul/rock and roll/blues/r’n’b records. Sidenote 2: this cover was done by the best cover designer alive today, gray318.
Like thousands of other True Detective fans, I was drawn to this book by the HBO series. A very strange, chthonic collection, a few of the stories here are captivatingly terrifying, but there’s a lot of dross as well. The four main stories that centre around a play about the King in Yellow that apparently sends people mad are excellent. Apparently Chambers later started making heaps of cash writing terrible romance stories and just gave up on horror so that he could wrote terrible books that made him millions of dollars. HPLovecraft, a huge admirer of his early work, called Chambers a big fat sellout. Disgusting. Now excuse me while I delete my latest manuscript and start work on my new book Ron Sexley’s Sexy adventures in Sexington Lovers in Paradise Kisses: Loving Love Love – Book one of the Romance Hot Times collection: A Sexy Times book (with lots of sex in it).
Whenever I teach writing workshops I always point to the first sentence of Marquez’s 100 years of solitude as one of the greatest collection of words ever put to paper:
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
He was an extraordinary talent as it was no surprise to discover that he lived an equally extraordinary life. There is a sad irony to having read this in the year of his death, of course. But it serves as an important document of one of the modern era’s great masters. Sidenote: having spent a fair amount of time in Colombia I find it incredibly frustrating when people joke about all Colombians being drug dealers. That’s a little like assuming all Americans are corrupt Wall St lawyers. Colombia has a rich and varied culture of which Marquez is only one wonderful exemplar.
Look, I know Winton’s not exactly an underground secret. Everyone knows how great his work is and his multitudinous accolades are all very well deserved. Winton is the master of making the ordinary enthralling, the everyday extraordinary. All of these interweaving stories are excellent, but the titular tale is perfection itself. That story is an entire world within a few dozen pages. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it months ago. It’s like he didn’t just create characters, he birthed living humans. The film is also excellent, and didn’t receive nearly as much attention as it should have, particularly considering its luminary cast.
Talking Smack
The Turning
We Are Anonymous
From Hell
Blindsight
Hard Times Require Furious Dancing
Actors Anonymous
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ebay ad: >>>DEBUT NOVEL: will trade for your house, degree etc. Interview with Jo Nesbo VLAD = Very Lucky Australian Dictator UNINSPIRATIONAL QUOTES EPISODE #3 DYING IN DIGITALCopyright © JM Donellan [100 Books 2014 pt 1], All Right Reserved. 2014.July 6, 2014
Poetry is Dead
Hello universe! Meeksounds and I are doubleplus pleased to announce our new project Poetry is Dead. We made these special supertimes deluxe poetry books with the EP hidden in the back on a USB (which you can just use as a normal flashdrive as well Bee Tea Dubs.) They took freaking ages to make. Here’s a few photos from the construction process. I’ll post a few videos and such soon. You can buy the EP now immediately instantly this instant.
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Can you hate the artist but love their art? For sale: Midi keyboard formerly owned by Ludwig Van Beethoven R.I.P. Rave day one. The Price is FreeCopyright © JM Donellan [Poetry is Dead], All Right Reserved. 2014.June 18, 2014
Killing Adonis Mixtape
A lot’s happened in the last four years. Australia’s had 3 Prime Ministers, the Catholics have had 2 different popes, scientists confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson and I finally fucking finished my third book. After signing with the wonderful Pantera Press two years ago, the novel has shifted and morphed in strange, wonderful and surprising ways and ended up like the Super Saiyan version of its original embryonic form. I am incredibly, stupendously, tremendously excited to unleash this little collection of letters and thoughts out into the world. I’m confident that it’s unlike anything else that will be released this year. That doesn’t guarantee that will people will like it of course, but people go wild for dinosaur erotica or goji berries for no apparent reason so there’s no point trying to keep up with the zeitgeist if you ask me. For all I know the next book craze will be a YA series written from the perspective of a time-travelling monkey ninja who speaks only in alliterative rhyming couplets (I would read the hell out of that book).
“The camera loves you JD! Actually, no, it doesn’t. But it’s okay I’m a great photographer so these’ll still look good.” -Actual quote from the photographer.
As a strange sort of preview ahead of the book’s release I made a mixtape for you. Yes, just for you. Now I know what you’re thinking, and it’s both repulsive and physically impossible. I also know what you’re thinking about the word ‘mixtape’ being applied to a book. I’m well aware this is typically the territory of wannabe rappers and gangly sixteen-year-olds trying to get laid, but I’ve been both in my time and I believe that when it comes to art, it is very much about what you can get away with.
Each of the 37 tracks here mirrors one of the chapters in the book, serving as a sort of literary soundtrack. Most of these bands were on constant repeat while I was writing Killing Adonis, so it’s also something of a snapshot of the creative process (for those of you who take an interest in such things). In addition, it features a couple of bands from my beloved hometown of Brisbane, where the novel is set. The selection samples everything from orchestral to electronic to hip-hop to post-rock. I hope you find something that takes your fancy, and as a musician myself I strongly encourage you to go out and buy the albums of any of these bands that you enjoy here. Most of them have a bandcamp site where you can get their stuff for super cheap.
Get your eyeballs ready, Killing Adonis is coming in October!
PS I just got confirmation that I’ll be appearing at the National Young Writers’ Festival around the same time the book is released. Feel free to come and heckle me.
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CARAVAGGIO. ORWELL. ABORTION. XBOX. Zeb launch video Explosions in the sky Heroes. Copyright © JM Donellan [Killing Adonis Mixtape], All Right Reserved. 2014.June 11, 2014
A regicidal thank you story.
As one of the crowdfunding rewards for We Are All Ghosts, I promised contributors a personalised poem. I got fairly liberal with the term ‘poem’ after I’d written a dozen or so and just started writing obituaries, dictionary entries and this regicidal thank you story.
It began, as these things often do, with the entrails of a goat. Betwixt that wet and slimy mass of formerly functioning organs her birth was foretold by Jill the soothsayer. Granted, the soothsayer in question had been less than reliable in the past, and what kind of name was ‘Jill’ for a soothsayer anyway? Surely Mercuria or Evangeline or Morgana would have been far more appropriate? On one occasion Jill had sworn that a particularly vital Saturday afternoon would be blue as the ocean, and the king had arranged his birthday festivities accordingly. When the heavens opened up on the vast crowd and left them scurrying for their homes covered in mud and water, he had called for Jill’s head. Fortunately the soothsayer’s guild had presciently (apropos of their trade) started a rumour that a regal order for the beheading of a fortuneteller would bring seven years of terrible famine and vastly underwhelming sex upon the monarch in question.
So she had foretold the birth of the child, many hundreds of years hence, who would be unlike any other. Who would talk to machines with as yet unknown lexicons, who would walk proudly covered in a cosmic quilt of cartoons and colour dancing upon her flesh, and regard the world with two raised fingers and an almighty roar in the key of ‘fuck you!’ And the king did not live to see her birth, for he died some years later when he slipped on the palace stairs, and cracked his head against the cobblestone floor. This may have been just as well, as his brother had been planning to poison him using the root of the deathshade tree, which induces violent diarrhoea and yellowy discharge from the eyes and is considered by most apothecaries to be the second worst possible way to die.*
So the poor king never did set eyes upon the wondrous child, but I did. And my life is much better for it.
* the first is usually listed as ‘being fucked to death by a werewolf’, in case you were wondering.
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BLACK CATS & FUTURE SPECS REVIEW OF A GIG I DIDN'T GO TO: TIKI TAANE @ THE HI-FI If loving you is wrong, I'd like to be partially incorrect. A human writes about human rights. TEQUILA WORMHOLESCopyright © JM Donellan [A regicidal thank you story. ], All Right Reserved. 2014.June 1, 2014
Casino Battle Royale
Dear Brendan,
Thank you for noticing that my website is a thing that exists, something that most of the universe has sadly not yet achieved. I’m very flattered by your offer, $85 is more than the average short story anthology will pay for a piece and considering I would have to do almost nothing to get that cold hard cash I’m sure most normal people would enthusiastically accept your offer. Unfortunately for you, I’m not even remotely normal and I would much rather live decently than make a decent living.
I have gambled in a casino exactly once in my life, when I first turned 18. I have never regretted spending $5 on anything so much. Not even the time I bought and ate an entire family sized block of chocolate whilst watching Buffy reruns, because at least that afforded me a momentary burst of sugary pleasure, even if it was followed by the need to vomit. Conversely, watching the dealer scoop up my $5 chip as carelessly as if it was a piece of lint provided me nothing but confusion, sorrow and an enduring hatred of casinos. And also the need to vomit.
I find it genuinely horrifying that an organisation that exists solely for the purpose of slowly crippling a society by preying on the uneducated and impulsive is considered a legitimate business. Recent data shows that Australians spend more per capita than ANY other country on gambling. In 2009 Australia’s total annual gambling revenue was over $19 billion. That’s BILLION. With a B. That kind of money can build a lot of schools and hospitals, instead it went into the pockets of the already rich. More specifically, the pockets of people who have become rich by exploiting and aggravating addiction rather than choosing to invent, innovate, create or cure.
I’ve taught children of problem gamblers. I’ve seen those kids show up to school with not nearly enough food, wearing threadbare jumpers and shoes with gaping holes. You can argue individualism until the bovines return to their domiciles but anyone who can look into the eyes of a kid who who hasn’t eaten a meal in days because their dad spent all their grocery money at the roulette table and then say ‘yes, this system works’ is most likely a sociopath, an idiot or a casino owner.
Writers make HOW much?
If I wanted to make money I would have chosen a career that pays a hell of a lot better than writing, like shoe-shining or being one of those street performers who dress up like statues. On the plus side, I get to spend a lot of time in my pyjamas, wake up when I want and write unnecessarily elaborate responses to spammers. So no, I will not link to your client’s casino. I will instead link to gambling help online and this very useful guide to gambling facts in Australia. And for my readers who do have some spare money to throw around, may I politely suggest that you send your discretionary income where it will be truly appreciated? Any of these are a guaranteed safe bet:
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CHARLES DARWIN VS 99 BOTTLES OF BEER XMAS BOOKS. GIANT CANVAS PREMIERE EXHIBITION Explosions in the sky How To Do Your Xmas Shopping Without Losing Your Will To LiveCopyright © JM Donellan [Casino Battle Royale], All Right Reserved. 2014.May 26, 2014
I want to throw a poem at your face.
Recently I’ve been performing this poem during school workshops and the kids keep asking me for a copy so I thought I’d just put it up here for you all to grab. I’ll probably record a youtube of it when I have some spare time (2017, perhaps). It’s free and junk, but if you like it and feel like throwing me some cash you could buy one of my books or my poetry EP when it comes out in a month or so.
Click click here (pdf download): OPENING CEREMONY
Keep making magic and remember:
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Dear vending machine in the emergency ward at the Royal Brisbane hospital: I hate you. Regurgitator superhappyxmasfuntimes @ the Zoo reviewed for rave magazine Bright Eyes @ the BNE Hifi reviewed for Rave magazine Campbell: The Shocking True Story of a ‘Man’ Who Hated The Arts So Much You’d Think An Artist Stabbed His Puppy As Part of an Abstract Performance Piece Are piñatas encouraging children to indulge in animal cruelty?Copyright © JM Donellan [I want to throw a poem at your face.], All Right Reserved. 2014.May 18, 2014
Goodbye to Ghosts (for now).
So now the hurly burly’s done. After months of rehearsal, planning, rewriting and performance our little show comes to end. The whole experience has been beautiful and bewildering. I’ll probably write about it at length once I’ve had a chance to collect my thoughts, but for now I wanted to share a few photos and a glowing review. Big thanks to the cast, my housemates for putting up with months of yelling and props strewn all over the place, crowdfunding contributors, the audiences and of course everyone who made Anywhere Theatre Festival happen. It truly is one of the world’s greatest art festivals.
Photo credits: 1. Dave Clarkey 2. Josh Donellan. All others: Bonnie Murcia Baguley
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Love Letter to Lisbon (OR Art in the Time of Recession). "Look ma, I got a book deal!" UNINSPIRATIONAL QUOTES EPISODE #3 Vandal Newman Rhinoceros in Love (reviewed for Rave magazine)Copyright © JM Donellan [Goodbye to Ghosts (for now). ], All Right Reserved. 2014.May 6, 2014
We Are All Ghosts (but not for long).
We’re only doing 4 intimate shows with a very limited capacity, so if you don’t get tix now, you probably won’t get them at all. AND THEN YOU’LL NEVER FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END! Seriously, if you ask me on twitter I’ll just lie and say there’s a fight scene with a time travelling monkey ninja.*
*Note to self: Write a play about a time-travelling monkey ninja.
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7 Best Writing Albums Eighty Nine now available for pre-order INAPPROPRIATE SHARE HOUSE BEHAVIOUR ULTIMATE COLLABORATIONSCopyright © JM Donellan [We Are All Ghosts (but not for long).], All Right Reserved. 2014.April 20, 2014
We Are All Ghosts tix are available right now and you should get them.
Click HERE for the facebook event page.
Click HERE to contribute to the crowdfunding.
Click HERE to watch an old man complaining about pears.
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Stories are important because___________ New York Limes best smelling author Explosions in the sky FROZEN FACE OF POLAR BEAR reviewed by JM Donellan (of Frozen Face of Polar Bear) Zeb launch videoCopyright © JM Donellan [We Are All Ghosts tix are available right now and you should get them.], All Right Reserved. 2014.
