It’s two years since David Bowie’s death but the Starman’s legacy continues with the launch of The David Bowie Book Club. Set up by his son, film director Duncan Jones, it’s using the list of Bowie’s 100 favourite books to get people round the world reading together.
Bowie, said his son, was a beast of a reader who “voraciously consumed” a book a day, from Dante and Camus to Beano and Viz (the Thin White Duke was a big fan).
My dad was a beast of a reader. One of his true loves was Peter Ackroyd’s sojourns into the history of Britain & its cities. I’ve been feeling a building sense of duty to go on the same literary marathon in tribute to dad. Time allowing…#Read-ItBig’nsTheBrain
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) December 27, 2017
The first book club title for discussion is Peter Ackroyd’s 1985 novel Hawksmoor. But if you’ve got a copy you might want to flog it rather than read it: since The Bowie Book Club launched over Christmas second-hand copies have rocketed in price, with second-hand paperbacks advertised at as much as £900 on Amazon. Jones slammed the “price-gougers” cashing in on the frenzy to find copies of the book, which has been out of print since 2010, and promised to make the next pick easier to find.
Alright gang! Anyone who wants to join along, we are reading Peter Ackroyd’s “Hawksmoor,” as an amuse cerveau before we get into the heavy stuff. You have until Feb 1. ❤️
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) December 27, 2017
Join The Bowie Book Club through Twitter using #Hawksmoor, and Jones will announce the next pick for The Bowie Book Club via @ManMadeMoon in February. The complete list of Bowie’s top 100 can be seen here.
