Some Books I've Read Recently

Here is a little review of some books I have read over the last month. I am interested in all sorts of reading material, as you will see. No, I didn't count the MAD magazine I keep in the bathroom, or the directions to Lipton Ice Tea Mix. Here goes:

#1 Personality Crisis: Warm Beer & Wild Times
by Chris Walter

One of Western Canada's rowdiest Rock & Roll bands of the Hardcore 1980's is back... In book form. Chris Walter has just released the band's biography, Personality Crisis: Warm Beer & Wild Times on G.F.Y. Press (www.punkbooks.com). Join the band on the road, at the squats and through some sticky predicaments. Frozen cat included, this vibrant tale of a group of traveling minstrels is a page burner by any sense of the phrase. Check it out and you won't be disappointed.

I first heard of Personality Crisis through a friend, but hadn't actually heard any of their music. (I was in diapers during the early 80's). Still, I'm intrigued by all things punk rock and Canadian, so I looked up the band online. I found a Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/personalitycrisistherealpc

For some reason, the songs won't play on my computer. Strange. Luckily, local God-send radio host Nardwuar The Human Serviette had the author, and former PC guitarist and bassist Richard Duguay on the show. (You can find the interviews on Nardwuar's site at: www.nardwuar.com under archived interviews). You'll also hear some songs by the Winnipeggers as well as some other 'period' tunes.

I've read plenty of biographies in my day, and most are about as exciting as a stale cracker. Chris Walter has worked his own personal writing style into the pages of this book, and my only gripe is that I wish it was longer! Good thing Chris has also written a number of fiction books, which are available on his website. Check it out! www.punkbooks.com

The Book is called Personality Crisis: Warm Beer & Wild Times
It's not fiction, but some would classify it under Stranger Than Fiction

#2 Punk Rules OK
by Chris Walter

After reading Walter's latest book, Personality Crisis: Warm Beer & Wild Times, I felt I owed it to myself to check out some of his other works. Let me tell you- I read this book faster and more intuitively than any book I've read in a long, long time. The pages flowed, the 4 or 5 mini-stories meshed together flawlessly, and best of all, the good guys win and the rich bad guys get their come-upin's.

Without giving too much away, the story is about a Punk Rocker who finds a backpack stuffed with money in a park on Vancouver's Downtown East Side. What the punk doesn't know, is that the money is intended to be a political bribe, which he accidentally intercepts. First order of business: buy a shopping cart full of booze, and party it up with some new-found friends. Second order of business: purchase a backline and form a kick-ass band ready to record & hit the road.

The book has plenty of twists, loveable and hate-able characters, and some love & lust thrown in for good measure. Author Chris Walter has created an all-too-real look at the punk subculture, with a none-too-real event - finding a sack full of money - at the heart of it all. If you are into punk rock, debauchery and wild stories, pick up this book and see if you can match my speed: I read this book in 3 days (of and on)! No kiddin!!


#3 Fight Club
by Chuck Palahniuk
Yeah, yeah we've all seen the movie. Brad Pitt and his abs. Edward Norton and his awkwardness. A great film, and who can forget the Pixies tune at the end. Where is my mind indeed.

What I'm talking about here is a book. Well, a book on tape. Ok, I cheated on this assignment. Still, running on a treadmill is a lot less awkward with a walkman than a book. Wouldn't you agree? Special Thanks to The Library for that one. Cheers!

What I'd like to say here might sound cliche', but the book contains a LOT more than the movie. The main elements are still there: The insomnia, the split personality, the violence, the army of Space Monkeys ready to take on the establishment. It's all there. But in this case, you can use your imagination to picture things more gruesome or catastrophic than they care to show you on tv or at the movies. That might sound strange, like telling a kindergartener to picture a word in your head, and spell it out. Try picturing a gaping wound in your cheek that you can stick a finger through. I wish I had read the book before I saw the film. Then again, I probably wouldn't have liked the movie as much. "You call that festering? Come on!" Both are great in my opinion, but for different reasons. No the book doesn't have punching sound effects, but I can create those in my head, for a much smaller budget.


There are hints of the great Irvine Welsh in this book (The Acid house, Glue, Trainspotting) but not in the literary sense. More of the emotional, or mental picture sense. I actually laughed out loud a few times too. I don't remember laughing during the movie. Okay, maybe when Tyler spliced porno scenes into Bugs Bunny Cartoons, but that's it. My next mission is to find a copy of Fight Club on DVD, watch it and compare notes.

If you liked the movie, you'll probably like to book for it's "Added Features".
If you weren't crazy about the movie, found it confusing or dumb, you might like the book because it explains things several times, and you can just rewind and read it again if you missed something.

Either way, if you can separate this book from the movie, read it with a fresh outlook, and maybe using yourself as the main character, instead of Norton & Pitt, then it might just hit you. I still used Meatloaf as Bob Bitch Tits though. Nice job by the casting director on that one.


Time to hit the books! Wonder what I'll read next? A Comedy? Maybe I can just step on the weight scale. Horror? The instructions for my bathroom tile cleanser. Or hey, if I'm looking for that great Canadian tragedy, I'll just look at my bank statement. Keep on readin, folks. No matter how rich or poor you are, nobody can ever stop you from reading.