01.01.2003
Very fascinating to see inklings of what was in the mind of an influential songwriter/musician. Seeing the small beginnings of working at odd jobs to pay for equipment, firing band members who don't make it to practice, it all shows you how human he was and as such, his flaws.
08.20.2002
Don't laugh......
Yes, I'm an old softie at heart. If you're getting married and need a little help with traditions and what not, pick this up. Personally, I was clueless about who does what in a wedding, what the different traditions are, etc. This helped somewhat but there is just waaay to much to remember.
02.05.2002
08.13.2001
"Twilight of the Idols" and "The Anti-Christ" were the last two books Nietzche wrote before crossing over to insanity. They represent his most uncompromising attack on the traditional morals and values of Western society. In comparison to most of Nietzsche's other works, these two are small in volume but make up for it in directness. Personally, I think Nietzsche got fed up with trying to explain the intricities of his philosophy and for these books he stripped his philosophy down as much as possible.
02.27.2001
I haven't been slacking off but lately most of the material I've been reading haven't really been worthy of putting up here, including a certain children's book that I read at the suggestion of a friend of mine (the agony!)
That and techbooks, music magazines, and online mags have all I've had time to absorb lately.
01.12.2001
I got this one as a gift and immediately got into it. This book covers the various different Satanic movements and the history of Satanism. Some of the passages seemed similar to what I've read in other books but what seperates this book is the interviews with well known Satanists. It touches on most of the prominent Satanic groups, from the Church of Satan, Temple of Set, and even the Norwegian Black Metal devil worshippers.
10.15.2000
I've always been a Clive Barker fan, mostly of the movie adapations of his books. This is the book that Hellraiser was based on and I must say that's it far exceeds the film. However, I can see how if the movie was made closer to the book it probably would have ended up with a NC-17 rating. Barker's descriptions make your skin crawl. I think what I like most about his writing style is how he blends the sensual with the grotesque seamlessly. After finishing this book I picked up most of the other books he has written.
08.10.2000
Okay, I never read comics anymore. I pretty much stopped collecting or reading them back in 1994 (except for the limited, "This Metal Sky", courtesy of Positron! Records). Anyway, a friend of mine was showing me his collection of comics one night and a few caught my eye. I have to say, after a few seconds of looking through Gloomcookie, I was hooked. Maybe it's because this book hits so close to home, every character reminds me of someone I know. I was so estatic after reading the first issue I went out and bought as many issues as I could and even e-mailed the writer/creator. She was very nice and even wrote me back within a few hours. If any of you pick up issue #5 you'll even notice a certain tour that is mentioned here on Diablerie.
Here's one of the other comics that fascinated me. It's like one of those fairy tales that has a frightening twist to it. It kind of reminds me of nightmares that I used to have as a kid. I was disappointed that this is only a 4-part mini-series but it's still a great story.
6.6.2000
This is where I usually talk about a book I'm reading or just read. Lately, I've been stuck reading tech manuals on programming languages and since I doubt most people are interested in reading about the lovely aspects of Tcl, I'll talk about the last fiction novel that I read.
Okay, let's forget for a moment that it's written by the founder of $cientology.
Even though this book runs over a thousand pages, it reads very quickly. It's
one of those fun books that you just pick up when you're in the mood for something
not too heavy in plot. One thing I would NOT do, don't see the damn movie.
It's terrible and I actually wasted my money seeing it because I liked the
book so much. Oh, and the movie only covers the first half of the book anyway.
Book Recommendations & Favorites:
Typical fiction:
Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice. Read the first two books in the series before this one. I love Anne Rice and my favorite novel out of the Vampire Chronicles is this one. The goriest and most erotic of the whole series.
The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu. Okay, Codrescu isn't that great of an author but I'm usually fascinated by books based on strange historical events and this is one of them. For those who don't know, Countess Bathory killed and bathed in the blood of over 650 virgin girls in an quest for immortality (fact).
Ancient Egypt:
Ancient Egypt edited by David Silverman. I love Ancient Egypt if you didn't know already (my online handle is Osiris). This book was much better than my college textbook from my Ancient Egyptian archaeology course. Pretty much touches on everything and is accurate for once. There are a lot of books out there that are misinformed or just plain inaccurate. Stay away from the books by Sir Wallis Budge, he tended to fill in gaps in his research with assumptions (most of his books were published around 1910).
The Passion of Isis and Osiris by Jean Houston. I usually only read the first part of the book, the part about the legend of Isis and Osiris. I consider the tale of Isis and Osiris to be one of the greatest love stories of all time.
Philosophy & Religion:
Beyond Good & Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche. Even if you don't agree with Nietzsche's ideas (I do on most but are sceptical of some) you should pick this up. Beyond Good & Evil gives insights into the pusuit of truth and the shortcomings of organized religion. I like Nietzsche's other books as well but I feel this one is the best introduction to his philosophical views.
The Devil's Notebook by Anton LaVey. Okay, so other Satanists might give me a hard time for recommending this book instead of The Satanic Bible but I feel this one is the best primer for the uninitiated. Some of LaVey's ideas are very similar to Nietzsche's, which is probably what he based them one. The thing is, I never felt like I fit into any religion before I read his books. I've always doubted Christianity and the hypocrisy of their Church. I had these ideas long before I heard of the Church of Satan and I just found a label under which to put my beliefs.
Paradise Lost by John Milton. The fall of Satan from heaven, as told from his point of view. I still read this one often.
Music tech and industry:
All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald Passman. This a must for any musician wanting to learn the pitfalls and traps of the music business. Unless you want to get screwed in the longrun, pick this up.
Modern Recording Techniques If you just starting out and are confused about the studio terminology and methods you've been hearing about, this book with help. It's pretty basic but for those who are just getting into recording this book will teach you about mike placement, effects routing, mike selection, filters, and just about everything else. If you need to learn advanced mixing techniques or help with recording on a DAW, this will book won't cover those areas.
Various others:
The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil. Yes, that Kurzweil, the one who founded that line of synthesizers and professor at M.I.T. . I picked this book up after watching Kurzweil give a presentation about the future of computers and technology on New Year's Day 2000 (CSPAN). What's scary is that some of the technologies he mentions have already been developed but are not yet cost effective (but they will be in a few years).
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell by Marilyn Manson. Tells the truth about the rumors and his life before and after fame.
