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Books I Read In 2011

I've had time to do a lot of reading this year (no TV, stretches of unemployment, free books). Aside from those I have dipped into for research purposes, here is what I have read in 2011, old and new. A few books I didn’t quite finish, some I will gladly read again.

Shorty Loves Wing Wong by Michael Smith
It’s Lovely To Be Here by James Yorkston
£20,000 by Bill Drummond
Boxer, Beetle by Ned Beauman
The Dead Queen of Bohemia by Jenni Fagan
Whores: An Oral History of Jane’s Addiction by Brendan Mullen
The Torrents of Spring by Ernest Heminway
The Essential Tales Of Chekhov ed. Richard Ford
The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis
Vivian And I by Colin Bacon
Disgrace by JM Coetzee
Little Hands Clapping by Dan Rhodes
A Guide To The New Ruins of Great Britain by Owen Hatherley
Apathy For The Devil: A 1970s Memoir by Nick Kent
Point Omega by Don Delillo
Cafe Lehmitz by Anders Petersen
Haiku U by David M Bader
The Last Bachelor by Jay McInerney
Money by Martin Amis
Ten Stories About Smoking by Stuart Evers
The Petting Zoo by Jim Carroll
The Tenderloin by John Butler
Dazed & Aroused by Gavin James Bower
A Kind Of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth
Caribou Island by David Vann
The Wrecking Ball by Christiana Spens
Cold Water by Gwedoline Riley
Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey
Rule Of Night by Trevor Hoyle
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Good Life by Jay McInerney
King Crow by Michael Stewart
Beaver Street: A History Of Modern Pornography by Robert Rosen
The Dodgers Retirement Party by Gerald Locklin
The Cellar Gang by John Carder Bush
Cold Light by Jenn Ashworth
The Final Testment of the Holy Bible by James Frey
Dirt Music by Tim Winton
Legend Of A Suicide by David Vann
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Breath by Tim Winton
Some Hope Trilogy (Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope) by Edward St Aubyn
In The Wild by Jon Krakauer
Vault: An Anti Novel by David Rose
Waterline by Ross Raisin
Pilgrims of The Mist by Sheila Stewart
A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 
How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran
Jack’s Return Home (aka Get Carter) by Ted Lewis
White Riot: Punk Rock And The Politics of Race by Stephen Duncombe and Maxwell Tremblay
GB84 by David Peace
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Nog by Rudolph Wurlitzer
The Sexual Outlaw by John Rechy
Fante: A Memoir by Dan Fante
After The Fire, A Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld
Made In Britain by Gavin James Bower
Chavs by Owen Jones
Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger
Notes From Walnut Tree Farm by Roger Deakin
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
Do It For Your Mum by Roy Wilkinson
Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew by Bernard Hare
The Pornographer’s Poem by Michael Turner
Cain’s Book by Alexander Trocchi
Dave Grohl by Paul Brannigan
The Quarry by Damon Galgut
English Journey by JB Priestley
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Sunset Unlimited by Cormac McCarthy
The Savage Messiah by Laura Oldfield-Ford
The 39 Steps by John Buchan
Something Like A House by Sid Smith
My Dark Places by James Ellroy

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Favourite Albums Of 2011

In no particular order, these are some of the albums I have enjoyed this year. Double click the clips to watch the videos on full screen.

Wild Beasts - Smother
Cerebral Ballzy - Cerebral Ballzy
Death Grips – Ex Military



The Unthanks – Last
British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall
Black Lips – Arabia Mountain



Frankie And The Heartstrings – Hunger
Fucked Up – David Comes To Life
Iceage – New Brigade



Oneida – Absolute II
Wu Lyf - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
Demdike Stare - Tryptych
Wiley – 100% Publishing



The Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem III
Pete And The Pirates – One Thousand Pictures
Odd Future – various mix tapes
Tune-Yards – W H O K I L L



Honourable mentionsfor single tracks to: I.R.O.K, Kate Bush, Tyler The Creator, Lana Del Ray, Mogwai, PJ Harvey, Mariachi El Bronx, Cher Lloyd, The Fall, Josh T Pearson, Clean George IV, Frank Ocean, The Spartan Dreggs....