Currently reading?

[heartofdavid]

@ ariel - that's a good one. Napier-Bell's website contains several references to David and Japan. I don't have the link but it should be easy to find doing a search.

[arieleleven]

@ ariel - that's a good one. Napier-Bell's website contains several references to David and Japan. I don't have the link but it should be easy to find doing a search.

Thanks, heartofdavid! I'll go check that out shortly.

I must say I have been enjoying this book so far...there's nothing like a good gossip-filled read for Labor Day weekend.

[sheisnot]

Just finished some more... "The Sarantine Mosaic", "The Lions of Al-Rassan", & "A Song for Arbonne", all by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'm currently reading "Celtic Myths & Legends" by Peter Beresford Ellis.

[sheisnot]

I wish DS would talk more in interviews about the books he's reading. I discovered Paul Auster's novels through DS and they're fantastic.

[arieleleven]

I wish DS would talk more in interviews about the books he's reading. I discovered Paul Auster's novels through DS and they're fantastic.

I have heard for ages that Paul Auster is a great read and I keep forgetting to investigate his works. I think I will have to move him up to the head of the queue after I finish the SN-B book.

[heartofdavid]

I wish DS would talk more in interviews about the books he's reading.

I wish more interviewers would ask him things like that instead of the same old questions, over and over.

Discovered a few authors I like from mentions by David, like Alan Hollinghurst, Michel Houellebecq and Milan Kundera.

Oh, and currently reading "True Enough" by Stephen McCaulley, third book in a row I'm reading by him. It's okay, would recommend "Alternatives to Sex", his most current one.

[sheisnot]

I wish DS would talk more in interviews about the books he's reading.

I wish more interviewers would ask him things like that instead of the same old questions, over and over.

At one point in my life I harbored fantasies of being a rock journalist, solely because as a fan the questions I really wanted answered by my favorite artists were never even asked. If I was interviewing Mr. Sylvian, I would (after getting over my initial shock and bewilderment) ask him the following questions, in no particular order:

1. What is the last book you read?
2. If you own an iPod or other mp3 player, what are the top ten songs (by play count) on it?
3. What is your favorite food? Why?
4. What are your favorite movies? List as many as you like.
5. How old were you when you lost your viriginity? Was it to a boy or a girl?
6. Can you drive a stick shift?
7. What color of socks do you prefer?
8. Do you sing in the shower? (If so, can I come and listen?)
9. What turns you on?
10. What was the last album you bought?
11. What is your happiest memory?
12. What is your worst memory?
13. Would you like my phone number? (Too bad, here it is anyway.)

You get the gist. THAT'S what I would like to read, that's the stuff I want to know. I find knowing the more normal, day-to-day stuff about people way more interesting than the usual interview fare.

[heartofdavid]

There you go! Those are the types of questions I'd like to know the answers to!

#5 - according to a very old interview Steve gave in a Japanese magazine, the answer for David would be 14 - girl, and for Steve 15 - girl; he also said he and David had similar tastes in women.

But I'd like more details and to hear it from David himself.

[Silver Moon]

Those are good questions, Sheisnot! I would be curious myself!

...And that is very interesting, Heart! Although I would also like to hear it from David himself...

-K-

[Poisoned_Apathy]

That's a good list of questions. I also like daily life things. I've always thought that small details make the differences.

I would add something like what's his favourite place for a walk , or his perfect plan for a sunday afternoon...

[arieleleven]

#5 - according to a very old interview Steve gave in a Japanese magazine, the answer for David would be 14 - girl, and for Steve 15 - girl; he also said he and David had similar tastes in women.

But I'd like more details and to hear it from David himself.

Very interesting!! I would like to hear more details from them both.

[heartofdavid]

It's the small details that combined give a real idea of what a person is like.

That's partly why I found "The Last Romantic" to be dull. All the historical stuff, the details with dates and all that, was informative (sometimes) but a yawn to read. Most of the quotes from David came from old interviews, and he tends to interview likes he's prepared his answers before hand, stock answers that can be long rambles but don't end up saying much about him or his opinions, they're a distanced discourse on a topic. That seems to have changed since blemish, he's more forthcoming, let's the humor and emotion show a little.

[arieleleven]

It's the small details that combined give a real idea of what a person is like.

That's partly why I found "The Last Romantic" to be dull. All the historical stuff, the details with dates and all that, was informative (sometimes) but a yawn to read. Most of the quotes from David came from old interviews, and he tends to interview likes he's prepared his answers before hand, stock answers that can be long rambles but don't end up saying much about him or his opinions, they're a distanced discourse on a topic. That seems to have changed since blemish, he's more forthcoming, let's the humor and emotion show a little.

I agree re: the importance of details, and I too thought those were excellent interview questions.

I have a friend who will be visiting London next week and she is supposed to bring me back a copy of "The Last Romantic"....thanks for the warning here. Now I will be able to read it and not be terribly disappointed by its shortcomings!

[heartofdavid]

It's worth reading for filling in some of the facts. I just felt that at the end I knew no more about the person than when I started reading. I guess that's the downside of doing a biography without any input from the person you're writing about, all your sources are second hand, there's no opportunity for rebuttal or clarification. It has a lot of quotes by David but you have to keep in mind they're out of context, they're used to illustrate what the writer wanted to say.

I just don't get into all the info about release dates, chart positions, and that type of stuff, doesn't interest me at all.

[arieleleven]

It's worth reading for filling in some of the facts. I just felt that at the end I knew no more about the person than when I started reading. I guess that's the downside of doing a biography without any input from the person you're writing about, all your sources are second hand, there's no opportunity for rebuttal or clarification. It has a lot of quotes by David but you have to keep in mind they're out of context, they're used to illustrate what the writer wanted to say.

I just don't get into all the info about release dates, chart positions, and that type of stuff, doesn't interest me at all.

I'm not interested in that sort of dry, impersonal, statistical data either.

When I read a biography, I hope to at least get a taste of what the subject is really like, and that can only be successfully achieved if the person in question is an active part of the book, at least that's my take on it.

But I figure that, if nothing else, I can add to my collection with the acquisition of this tome.