favorite books/authors

[mojo_pin122]

dear charlie:
what were some of elliott's favorite books/authors, or books he owned, etc.? i'm looking for some new good reads and i remember a thread about some books in his possession through an interview or something like that(i vaguely remember A Catcher in the Rye being one of them). also; some of your fav. books/authors?

[JordanL]

I read the book Benjamin Nugent wrote about Elliott and in it he mentioned that Elliott read a huge science book, on physics or something while he was on tour. If you're looking for a good book to read, you should check out "The Devil in the White City." I enjoyed it!

[meepghost]

There have been some sweetaddy threads about this in the past. I remember Elliott was a big fan of 'existential' literature, specifically Dostoevsky, Beckett, and he had read Proust. I believe he also read a collection of short stories called 'getting it in the head' by mike mccormack. oh he also liked kafka.

[philmcflurry]

Either/Or is named after a book by Soren Kierkegaard, a Christian existential author. He said it in the famous Morning Becomes Eclectic interview. 'Tis a good book.

[charlie]

just to add one more, elliott's dad gary said elliott was a big fan of t.s. elliot's writings.

[meepghost]

The Mole People

(as mentioned in autumn's book)

[thischarmlessjew]

Dostoevsky is the shit.

[joega1111]

hmmm thats interesting. i know elliott's girlfriend suggested the name "elliott" but perhaps t.s. eliot was an additional reason

[ParentheticalThought]

In the Under the Radar interview (the last one he gave), these books were listed as being in Elliott's livingroom (tho whether they were his or Jen's isn't clear).

Nine Stories by JD Salinger
Birth of the Clinic - An Archeology of Medical Perception by Michel Foucault
Group Portrait with Lady by Heinrich Boll

the kids' book Everybody Poops was also in the livingroom. Not sure if I'd recommend that in the same way tho :-D

[jaygw03]

J.D. Salinger, Nine Stories
Foucault
In ES and the Big Nothing it said on one road trip he read a science book in one hand and a history book about WWI in the other hand
Kierkegaard and Dostoevsky definitely
Given he had a song called "Christian Brothers" I'm guessing he like James Joyce a lot, but I don't know that for sure.

[tomislav]

Given he had a song called "Christian Brothers" I'm guessing he like James Joyce a lot, but I don't know that for sure.

I've got a bottle of cheap whiskey called 'Christian Brothers'...

In the Under the Radar interview (the last one he gave), these books were listed as being in Elliott's livingroom
Birth of the Clinic - An Archeology of Medical Perception by Michel Foucault


Foucault was definitely his.

[solveig]

*

[solveig]

catharine mackinnon
was mentioned
(heavy-duty)
(feminist theory)

[numero9]

Elliott had a history of philosophy literature. That's where "Either/Or" and Kierkegaard come in. Undoubtedly, I feel Kierkegaard was a big influence on Elliott. He must have studied him in college, as he was a Philosophy major. Besides the others mentioned, Elliott joked about "Fear and Trembling" and Kierkegaard during a Heatmiser concert. He also was a big fan of Kafka's "A Hunger Artist" He explained that people would understand him more if they read that short story, he cited in an interview.