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Bowie's Books

The Hundred Literary Heroes Who Changed His Life
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( 1,648 ratings, 366 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Three years before his death, David Bowie compiled a list of 100 books that profoundly influenced his life, forming a literary autobiography. From classics like Madame Bovary and A Clockwork Orange to The Iliad and The Beano, these books fuelled his creativity and shaped his identity. John O'Connell's Bowie's Books offers one hundred short essays exploring this list, revealing insights into Bowie's multifaceted persona, artistry, and the cultural era he inhabited. This beautifully illustrated volume goes beyond a mere reading list, providing a unique lens on one of our greatest cultural icons.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Bowie's Books is an ideal gift for Bowie fans, book lovers, and anyone interested in the intersection of popular culture and literature. Its accessible style and rich insights suit readers keen on arts, culture, and personal histories of creative icons.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Brilliant. The unwritten Bowie book that needed writing' — CAITLIN MORAN

'Splendid. Provides plenty of evidence of Bowie's restless, rummaging intelligence, and his pleasure in the fact that books allow readers to slip into someone else's skin and try it on for size' — THE TIMES

'A witty and enlightening analysis of Bowie's 100 essential books . . . A handy, amusing, light-touch precis' — OBSERVER

'What is your idea of perfect happiness?'
'Reading.'

'What is the quality you most like in a man?'
'The ability to return books.'

Three years before he died, David Bowie made a list of the one hundred books that had transformed his life – a list that formed something akin to an autobiography. From Madame Bovary to A Clockwork Orange, the Iliad to the Beano, these were the publications that had fuelled his creativity and shaped who he was.

In Bowie’s Books, John O’Connell explores this list in the form of one hundred short essays, each offering a perspective on the man, performer, and creator that is Bowie, his work as an artist, and the era that he lived in.

Brilliantly illustrated throughout and the perfect gift for Bowie fans and book lovers, Bowie's Books is much more than a list of books you should read in your lifetime: it is a unique insight into one of the greatest minds of our times and an indispensable part of the legacy that Bowie left behind.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Caitlin Moran praises it as "the unwritten Bowie book that needed writing," highlighting John O'Connell's brilliant and engaging exploration of Bowie as a passionate reader.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781526605818

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 September 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 229g

Pages: 288

About the Author

John O’Connell was born in 1972. A former Senior Editor at Time Out and music columnist for The Face, he is now freelance, writing mainly for The Times and the Guardian. He interviewed David Bowie in New York in 2002. He lives in south London with his wife and two daughters.

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