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Post by nowheregirl on May 6, 2007 11:14:23 GMT 1
Have you read any books about John Lennon?
"Lennon" by Ray Coleman was the first one I read and I still think it's the best biography of John, though I know a lot of people have criticised it for not giving a balanced picture.
I like books by people who actually knew John – Cynthia, May Pang, Julia Baird... I also enjoyed Pete Shotton's book "John Lennon In My Life" – I thought it was hilarious in places.
"The John Lennon Encyclopedia" by Bill Harry is another one that it's useful to have, although you probably wouldn't want to read it all from beginning to end. Which other books would you recommend?
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Post by lennonfan on May 10, 2007 18:10:59 GMT 1
I agree about the Ray Coleman biography and Cynthia's book 'John'. Haven't read the others you mentioned yet. I do have some various tribute magazines about John/the Beatles.
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Post by nowheregirl on May 11, 2007 13:46:58 GMT 1
Yes, I have some too. I think sometimes those magazines can be as good or even better than some of the books you can get.
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Post by nocturnalquadruped on Jun 21, 2007 11:29:11 GMT 1
The first book I read about the Beatles was called "Shout, the true story of the Beatles" by Phillip Norman. It's a cracking read, this book also got slammed as being too easy on the boys but I found it excellent. I found the book so descriptive in parts I was almost wiping the cavern dandruff off my shoulders. Even though the book was sensationalised I read Arthur Goldmans "The lives of John Lennon" Goldman spends a lot of energy digging for dirt but even so some of the book is quite good and Goldman certainly goes a lot deeper than most authors. I will read anything once if it is to do with Beatles but Shout was the best for me. I quite readily recommend it.
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monkey99
Magic in the air
[M:200]
Posts: 42
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Post by monkey99 on Jun 21, 2007 13:30:49 GMT 1
NOt really about John, but in a way it is.
Surely you have read Lennon Remebers.
Which was his famous interview with Rolling Stone magazine where for about the first time John let the world know how he really felt....about everything. At one point he says he is tired of hippies bugging him and comes right out and says F... You
Johns non stop swearing throughout the interview lead National Lampoon ,on one of their albums to do a song, based on Johns interview.The singer sounds just like John, he is supposed to be John saying what he said in the interview, complete with an F word almost every 10 seconds.
They titled the song, Magical Misery Tour
Its great
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Post by nowheregirl on Jun 21, 2007 13:47:37 GMT 1
I've read "Lennon Remembers", though I don't actually own it. It's a great book. Some of the interview is available online on various websites, but not everything that's in the book. I think "Shout" was the first book I ever read about the Beatles too. I enjoyed it, though I've since seen a lot of people say it's biased against Paul but I didn't really notice that. I would recommend it as a good introduction to the Beatles for new fans, as it covers their whole career from beginning to end. I borrowed Albert Goldman's book from the library a few years ago. I was prepared for it being bad as I'd read the reviews of it first, so none of it really shocked me. Some of it has been proven to be lies, but other parts I think are probably based on truth though exaggerated to show John as negatively as possible. The good points are that, as nocturnalquadruped said, it goes into a lot more detail than most other books, even devoting whole chapters to people such as Yoko's first and second husbands! It could have been a really good book but it was spoiled by the way he obviously didn't want to say anything good about John at all. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're the type of person (like me) who wants to read absolutely anything about John and who won't let it change your opinion of him. I think Ray Coleman's book "Lennon" is a much better one to start with.
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Post by Euan Buchan on Jun 21, 2007 15:48:05 GMT 1
I've read all my Lennon books I did like Julia & Cynthia's books
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Post by nocturnalquadruped on Jun 24, 2007 9:09:59 GMT 1
I own a copy of Lennon Remembers and I have to agree, it is a good read even though the interview was conducted at a time when John was against everything the Beatles had achieved, for forthright answers and honesty you can't beat it.
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Post by AimeeAndBeatles on Jun 24, 2007 22:16:16 GMT 1
I have a book of the Playboy Interviews with John. quite interesting. one of my friends thought it was funny I bought it. (got it at a flea market)
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Post by Paola Lennon on Jun 25, 2007 18:43:06 GMT 1
There's a book by the magazine LIFE and it's name is Remembering John Lennon 25 Years Later (it was in 2005) and it has wonderful images and memories by some photographers. I really recommend it!!
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Post by nowheregirl on Oct 28, 2007 15:36:43 GMT 1
I've started a list of books about John Lennon in the Library section (in the Members Only Boards). I know it's not a complete list yet, so if you can think of any more you're welcome to add them.
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starshyne
Trying to change the whole wide world
[M:260]
Posts: 115
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Post by starshyne on Oct 31, 2007 2:47:03 GMT 1
Great idea! I have so many John books!
But I think everyone should read Loving John by May Pang (if you can find it). I also think the Imagine book that was released around the time of the movie is a good one.
Sara
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Post by thefadedline on Nov 6, 2007 18:09:11 GMT 1
I really enjoyed the book by Ray Coleman. It sounds cheesy but I felt I knew him a little having read it. I mean that in the sense that it is a very well-written book.
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Davey
Trying to change the whole wide world
[M:206]
THANK YOU JOHN!
Posts: 130
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Post by Davey on Nov 6, 2007 22:15:34 GMT 1
I read some passages of "The John Lennon Encyclopedia" by Bill Harry and I love that book. Lennon Legend by James Henk..that's wonderful! I love it too! The NY years by bob gruen....amazing!!!!
The lives of JL I heard that it's all a bounch of lies.
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Post by nowheregirl on Nov 18, 2007 14:53:39 GMT 1
I found this article about a new historical fiction novel about John. It sounds interesting - has anyone heard any more about it? Novel pays tribute to John Winston LennonFollowing the advice that writers should write about a subject they know well, Dothan resident Jude Kessler used her passion for the Beatles in her first novel, especially one particular Beatle — John Winston Lennon. Her book, "Shoulda Been There," is a work she describes as documented historical fiction based on Lennon's colorful and tragic life. Kessler poured over about 300 books and visited Liverpool with her husband Rande seven times to get all the details right, interviewing Lennon's friends, relatives, classmates, early band members, teachers and first manager, Allan Williams, among others. The people of Liverpool gave her unprecedented access to help Kessler understand their native son. In each chapter she dispels a Beatle myth and tells stories for the first time in print. Kessler started with all the information she could find on each incident, then filled in the gaps about what might have happened, constructing the scene and putting it down on paper. "You begin to think the way he thinks, to talk the way he talks,"she said. Kessler's thorough research makes the book a good value for the $29.95 price. Its 750 pages contain a dictionary of historical characters, glossary of colloquial "Scouse" terms unique to Liverpool, footnotes and photographs from the Kesslers trips to England.
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