Some people have asked what are my favourite books (non-advertising).
At the agency, I ask everyone to list their all-time favourite top 10 books, films, and tracks on the central server.
(Kind of like “Desert Island Discs”, you have to restrict it to 10.)
That way anyone can check in and get ideas for new stuff to read or listen to, whenever they want.
So this is my book list.
There are loads more, but this is the top 10.
Not in any order.
(non-fiction):
Chickenhawk Robert C. Mason
Wild Swans Jung Chang
History of Western Philosophy Bertrand Russell
Liar’s Poker Michael Lewis
Grand Central Winter Lee Stringer
Down and Out in Paris and London George Orwell
Moab is My Washpot Steven Fry
E=mc2 David Bodanis
Zeno and the Tortoise Nicholas Fearn
Keys to the City Joel Kostman
(fiction):
Einstein’s Dreams Alan P. Lightman
Alfie Bill Naughton
Pat Hobby Stories F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Damned United David Peace
The Tesseract Alex Garland
Trainspotting Irvine Welsh
On Broadway Damon Runyon
Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole
Complete Prose Woody Allen
Golfing For Cats Allen Coren
RSS Feed
Twitter
Email
I’d forgotten all about The Tesseract, although Garland’s description of the man who has to cut his hands off for touching his master’s horse has always stayed with me.
While I’m here, I’d recommend The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis (fiction) and Migrations by Sebastaio Salgado (non).
ok thats a tough one to do but id also like to know what your favourite top 10 movies are?
Someone asked me that last night and its such a difficult question to answer at the top of your head, i can probably do it if it was categorised but my all time top 10 is really hard.
If i had to name one movie that I have watched many times and love it would be Jacob’s Ladder.
Have you read any Derek Raymond? I suspect you might like him a lot:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Died-His-Eyes-Open-Factory/dp/1852427965/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226668042&sr=8-2
fiction. two things really blew me away:
1. Daniil Kharms (author) and his short stories
2. DBC Pierre’s “Vernon God Little”
non-fiction.
1. David Rieff’s “A Bed for the Night. Humanitarianism in Crisis”
2. Philippe Van Parijs’s “What’s wrong with free lunch?”
Ah, but does David Peace fall into fiction or factual. I know that it is a work of fiction but it is so close to the bone as to make it virtually factual. Either way it is astonishing. Good choice.
I once worked out my top ten films, and almost in the exact order 1 to 10. It took hours, but I was set watching at the time (clearly not very well), so I had time on my side. I wrote down the 16 or 17 films that in my mind were a 10. Then went through a process of elimination, working out which was the weakest, rather than which was the strongest. I think I based it on what film I’d like to be watching right at that moment.
I found it easier to find the weaker one, than the strongest. I came down to 3, then could go no further - The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction and Chinatown.
Thanks Dave (was one of those who asked for your book list). Will cut and paste to do a check on amazon for review before buying.
Ben: sorry, just wondering why Rachel Papers over London Fields? His later books get weirder, I find. Salgado - how about Workers?
Thanks.
Mark G.
You’re right, it’s actually non-fiction.
Years ago John O’Driscoll shot a Heineken poster with Joe Jordan, who told him everything about the Leeds incident that’s in the book.
I think it’s only called a novel for legal reasons.
Dear Dave
Down and Out… has been on my must read list for ages! Read an excellent Cloughie book - Provided You Don’t Kiss Me: 20 Yrs With Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton and will check out The Damned United next. I’ll recommend The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle for a bit of fiction and Accidental Empires by Robert X. Cringely for some fact. Movie wise can’t rate All The President’s Men highly enough.
John W. I agree about Accidental Empires.
If you like that you’ll love Insanely Great by Steven Levy.
The true story of everything that happened at Apple from the beginning to today.
Dear Dave
I love the Apple story. Thanks for pointing that one out.
Books that I enjoyed in the same ball park are Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte and Silicon Snake Oil by Clifford Stoll.
Dave, one question. I think I already asked about it but I’m going to do it again since today I got commandered to look through 100 or so pages on corbis to look for an image of a desk for an ad. How does one take the next step after the conceptual scribbles and ideabashings are over? Do you just go out and shoot it? Show the client the scribbles first? Sorry that I’m seemingly always off-topic here.
Vik.
There aren’t any rules.
We used to just show clients magic marker roughs.
But nowadays most people Mac something up, with images taken from Google, Getty, Lensmodern, or one of the photo libraries.
You can’t shoot it before the cleint’s approved it, because he won’t pay if he doesn’t like it.
Thanks. I like how you’ve not linked anything through to a certain online bookstore, I hate when people do that.
Mine? Catch 22.
Dear Dave (and anybody else that is listening)
Something for the weekend? I’ll just throw you another non-fictional book that I thought was interesting; Sweet Talk - The Secret History Of Confectionary by Nicholas Whittaker.
Gordon.
I looked up Derek Raymond on Amazon and read a few pages.
I’ve got one problem with him I find with lots of English crime authors,
In narrative he writes middle class, in direct speech he writes working class.
So, on the first page he describes Hangar Lane as “Ghastly”.
Then a few pages later he decribes someone as “a strange sort of ice cream”.
(Ice cream freezer - geezer.)
This jars for me.
Kind of like someone switching into a ‘telephone voice’.
That’s why I prefer Irvine Welsh or Damon Runyon.
They use the same form consistently, for third person narrative or first person speech.
But thanks for recommending it.
I’m sure that’s only my problem and lots of people would like it.
Now then Dave I’m not sure you’re being fair on Raymond there. He has a knack of digging up some nice old vocabulary and making its proper meaning stick to it again. Long before the word “ghastly” was used to describe people who “weren’t quite our sort”, it had the meaning “provoking the kind of horror evoked by the sight of death or carnage” (OED) - which, if you read the rest of the book, is significant. As well as being a cracking description of Hangar Lane. He does something similar with the word villain.
Derek Raymond the man was actually upper class, not middle class as you seem to imply, and after being kicked out of Eton spent his early career amongst professional criminals, working for the Krays for a time. It might be a hint of his class diving that has set your finely tuned sensitivities alight.
I still think you’d like him, if you gave him the chance. In fact I’m going to drop one of his books round at your office.
Just a paperback. Not covered in blood or anything, don’t worry.
Hi Dave, I want to ask you, do you know any books about BMP or John Webster?
G.
I don’t, I wish I did.
But I will do a post on BMP, so thanks for that.
Al, I read The Rachel Papers at just the right time to get the most out of it (15), and I’m sure much of Salgado would work for non-fiction.
This post has been fascinating. With all works of art, there are bound to be many greats that you haven’t experienced, so recommendations like the above will guide the next visit to Borders/Amazon. Thanks.
Can we do movies next, or have access to the CST server?
Thanks Dave.
Top 10 movies would be good but I heard Slumdog Millionaire is a masterpiece so I may have to reserve judgement until then.
…until I’ve seen Slumdog Millionaire that is. I believe it’s on mainstream release early January.
No real books on BMP but I think Leslie Butterworth’s book on Planning a few years ago had smatterings on BMP.
Dave - I think you contributed to that “Laws of Advertising” book? Was there something on someone at BMP?
I’ve been encouraging my team to read (such an old-fashioned concept) and have set up http://stufffrombooks.wordpress.com/ as an online book club. Inspired by your recent Private View in Campaign I wanted to start with Bill Bernbach’s Book but couldn’t find it anywhere, either in print or as a second hand. This is shocking - how much money can it take to keep such an important book in print..
Ha! Did you know, D&AD even discontinued their Copy Book (along with all the other titles). Plus, the new D&AD annuals are not openly sold. You either have to be a winner or join D&AD. If you like Ian, I cn try and find my copy, photocopy it and mail to you.
I’m not in Europe so it’ll take a while.
Why do I do it?
Because when I attended the D&AD Workshop years ago, a top agency guy sent me the 100 Greatest Ads book - which was already discontinued.
I’m by no means as rich or successful but I think if we don’t do our part to keep the industry alive, we are as much to blame for falling standards.
There’s another - When Advertising Tried Harder.
Contains DDB, Ogilvy and PKL work.
Hope this helps.
Hi Ian,
I did write a chapter in that book.
It’s about strategy and briefing, in particular Binary Briefing.
Which is a fast way of writing a powerful brief, and simple enough for creatives and consumers to get their heads round (which most briefs aren’t).
Nothing about BMP though.
Suggested Chickenhawk to a bunch of friends this weekend. Haven’t thought about it for years, then twice in one week!
Yeah, Dave.
I remember.
I did a review and got a free book - right after I paid 50 quid for it.
Thanks.
Sorry to clog up your blog Dave and I know you didn’t ask for it but I couldn’t resist young master Kay’s request for a top 10 movie list. It’s almost impossible but I’m going for:
Dr Strangelove
North By Northwest
Some Like It Hot
Sunset Boulevard
All The President’s Men
The Commitments
A Bridge Too Far
The French Connection
The Graduate
Annie Hall
I’m sorry Dave but it’s been bugging me. I don’t know how I could have done it but I’ve just got to replace
The Graduate with The Producers (original of course) in my top 10 movie list. What’s yours?
P.S Can’t recommend highly enough the book Provided You Don’t Kiss Me: 20 Years with Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton.