1. God of Speed – Luke Davies,
After a seedy/saucy reading from his book about Howard Hughes, Luke Davies wanted everyone to know that he does not approve of the man’s ugliness and misogyny. He wrote a fictionalised account of the extraordinary man’s addictions to sex and drugs and other problems that led to his fall from a great height. Possibly not a book that I would have read if I hadn’t heard Davies speak about it but now I am quite interested to learn more about a man he described as unlovable and “a dried up husk of a man”.
Pauline and Luke Davies
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2. Lullabies for Little Criminals - Heather O’Neill
If Heather O’Neill moved to Palmerston North I hope she would be my new best friend. I thought she was great and all reports suggest that her book is likewise.
3. Where Do Underpants Come From? – Joe Bennett
Obviously the answer is China and this book is mostly about that country and its absolute massiveness, which left him in awe. Joe Bennett used to be a teacher and he gives us a lesson in Chinese history in the book with suggestions as to where the country is headed – probably global domination of more than just the world’s supply of underpants. He put on a fantastic and funny show for us.
4. Cockeyed – Ryan Knighton
When Ryan was fourteen he ran over someone with a forklift, he covered up for himself by telling his boss at the time that he was going blind (after telling us this chairperson Kim Hill said “and God punished him for that”), several years later he was diagnosed with a condition that meant eventual complete blindness. The star of Saturday night’s film “As slow as possible” is also a travel writer going around the world one sense at a time to teach people to appreciate their other senses. ”Cockeyed” is Ryan’s memoir, for a fairly young man he had many ridiculous and funny stories to tell and I want to hear more of them.
5. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz
Unfortunately Junot was obviously tired and possibly a bit grumpy so wouldn’t be persuaded to read from his book again today so I suppose I’ll have to read it for myself. And maybe I’ll learn a little about the Dominican Republic. It sounds very good and has won Junot lots of prizes.
