I say it will love of course. One of my best friends of all time is a huge Deadhead....like HUGE. Like growing up if we were in his car that's all we listened to. He'd always be like "Oh, this is 10/9/74 [don't know if that's an actual Dead show]" and then proceed to tell me the highlights of it and where Jerry's guitar solos really tickled your balls. His dad's favorites were Van Morrision, Dylan, and the Dead.
Love Gaiman. Sandman is a great comic. And American Gods is a great read (shows good too). I love his depth of world mythologies. I have not read Anansi Boys but perhaps I'll scoop it up.
Oh snap! I didn't realize the show "Good Omens" was from a Gaiman (/Pratchett) book.
Well that's one iteration of a Deadhead and I'll agree - they're the worst kind. Same with other groups that have massive followings. If you haven't noticed, I am a huge Phish fan, but respect that it's not everyone's thing and wouldn't force it on someone. That's sort of what got me into jambands beyond the Dead. I could only listen to so much of the same catalog before branching out into others like Phish, who incorporate so many more genres and influences into their catalog. The Dead has stayed pretty constant over the years, which isn't a bad thing because they're pioneers at what they do, but others have built and expanded on their legacy in much better ways.
So turns out this local guy I know that's been in the audio/video industry for more than 25 years just started his own company earlier this year. I stumbled upon his business page on Facebook and Instagram last night and now we're talking business.
Funny, I love beat but also found Naked Lunch difficult and have never fully been into Kerouac novels. I enjoyed Dharma Bums but also read that character as a bit of a jerk while reading it, so I guess I was sort of in between your two readings.
I hope I didn't paint my friend as the worst kind of anything. He is fanatical and we rib him for it but he's steady that way. I'm sure his interest w/ the banjo (he prior played guitar) did, in fact, begin with Jerry; however, he goes balls deep in things and he probably didn't consider Jerry an accomplished enough banjo player. I don't mean that as a knock - it's simply a fact. Jerry was certainly competent but he's not holding a candle to the most elite banjo players for technique and I think that's probably what my buddy was looking for.
I absolutely loved Jitterbug Perfume as well, but haven't made it though any other Robbins books. Any recommendations on where to go from there?
I think @Lord Diaper Baby has it pretty well covered but either Skinny Legs, Cowgirls or Still Life with Woodpecker would be my starting point. Probably Still Life first but you're pretty golden with any of those.
Still Life is prob a better book to justify to a newer reader than Another Roadside, if I were to revise my list; but I'm biased as Another Roadside was the first Robbins book I read.
Kerouac’s Desolation Angels is a wonderful read also. I love Thompson, though like most I prefer the frenetic energy of Fear & Loathing to Rum Diaries but I enjoy everything I have read of his; Hell’s Angels and Fear & Loathing: On The Campaign Trail ‘72 are fun reads as well.
One of my favorites. He grew up and taught in Central Illinois (where I am from). It took me a couple of attempts to get into Infinite Jest but once it got going I could not put it down. I think my finger was permanently creased from flipping back and forth to the footnotes. I loved his essay collections; Supposedly Fun Things I’ll Never Do Again and Consider The Lobster, I frequently pick those up and reread certain essays.
