Little Old Book Reader Me: My 2009 Reading List

Nick Tosches: 'Dino - Living High In The Dirty Business Of Dreams'
Dazzling Dean Martin biog, and by a nose, the best thing I've read this year. (A+)

Andrew Chaikin: 'A Man On The Moon - The Voyages Of The Apollo Astronauts'
Spellbinding history of NASA's Apollo missions. Sci-fact that makes sci-fi redundant. (A)

Bob Woodward / Carl Bernstein: 'The Final Days'
Depressing descent into Nixon's post-Watergate heart-of-darkness. (A)

Evan Wright: 'Generation Kill'
Iraq's answer to Michael Herr's 'Nam classic 'Dispatches'...but no where near as good (B-)

Randall Sullivan: 'LAbyrinth - Corruption & Vice In The LAPD'
Shaky investigation into the murders of Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur (C-)

The Editors Of Rolling Stone: 'The Ballad Of John Lennon & Yoko Ono'
Brilliant anthology of RS Lennon/Ono pieces. (B)

Alan Moore: 'The Watchmen'
As good as everybody says it is. A mindblowing work of sheer genius. (A+)

Alex Ross: 'The Rest Is Noise'
Or: 'Modern Classical Music For Dummies'. (A-)

The 9/11 Commission Report
Essential Noughties text (Ungradable)

Matthew Smith: 'Victim - The Secret Tapes Of Marilyn Monroe'
OK-ish Marilyn biog. Frankly, not dirt-rakey enough for me. (C-)

Kenneth Starr: 'The Official Report of the Independent Counsel's Investigation of the President'
The Monica Lewinsky Scandal, in all it's grubby /funny / shocking glory. A great read. (B)

The 1973 Harlem Globetrotters Annual
Cheap Hannah Barbera cash-in. Fun, but basically rubbish. (D)

Suzy Kalter: 'The Complete Book Of M*A*S*H'
Glossy coffee-table 'mash'-note (ha ha) to the peerless TV comedy/drama. (B-)

Daniel Woolff: 'Dream Boogie - The Triumph Of Sam Cooke'
Serious music biog. (A)

Joan Didion: 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem'
Collection of short, down-beat, hep-cat late 60s new-journalism. (B)

Keith Badman: 'The Beatles Diary Vol.2 - After The Breakup 1970-2001'
Day-by-day accound of the Fab's post-Beatles careers. Dull, at length. (C-)

John McEnroe: 'Serious'
Wildly entertaining sports autobiog from The Mac. (B+)

Studs Terkel: 'And They All Sang'
Anthology of Terkel's encounters with popular musicians. (B-)

Phil Hardy & Dave Laing: 'The Encyclopedia Of Rock Vol. 2: From Liverpool To San Francisco'
7os Rock music encyclopedia compiled by the era's top music hacks. A nice period-piece. (B-)

Stephen E. Kercher: 'Rebel With A Cause: Liberal Satire In Postwar America'
High-brow-ish history of satire in the US. (B)

Bob Woodward: 'The Secret Man'
More Watergatery from the Washington Post's finest. Inessential, but die-hards will dig. (C+)

Lewis Carroll: 'Alice In Wonderland'
Undeniably druggy children's classic. Such an odd little story. (A)

Enid Blyton: 'Five Go To Demon's Rocks'
Lashings of ginger beer and scenes of mild peril a-go-go. Timmy the dog steals the show. (C+)

The Bible
Quas-historical self-help science fiction classic. (A)