The Junky's Christmas

early influences

I read these two books in high school. What does that say about me? I got them both off of my dad's bookshelf. They are both journalistic masterpieces, but my favorite is the gonzo exploits of Hunter S. Thompson in Las Vegas. It is one of the very few books that I've ever read more than once.
Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test was the true story of the development of LSD and it's connection to Ken Kesey and The Grateful Dead. I got lost in this book and it took me forever to read. I don't even really remember how it ended. I might have found it's lucid, coherent narration to be perhaps a bit dry and uncompelling. Whereas with Thompson, you can literally feel the madness, seeping off the page.
Both good reads, and perhaps a little bit influential to me at that age.

books n drugs

I came across this interesting list in my secondary read yesterday. Imaginary drugs from literature, film and television. Check it out:

1. Soma - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
2. Moksha - Aldous Huxley, Island
3. Moloko Plus - Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange
4. Can-D, Chew-Z - Philip K. Dick, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
5. D, Mex Hit - Philip K. Dick, A Scanner Darkly
6. Vurt - Jeff Noon, Vurt
7. Ecstacide, Faith Salts, Christendine, Buddhine, Algebrine, Authentium, Amnesol, Duetine, and many more - Stanislav Lem, The Futurological Congress
8. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash*
9. Kryptonite - Joe Shuster/Jerry Siegel, Superman
10. Magic Potion - Albert Underzo/Rene' Goscinny, Asterix the Gaul
11. Spice or Melange - Frank Herbert, Dune
12. Glitterstim, Carsunum, Ryll Spices - Star Wars literary universe
13. Number Twelve - Nick McDonell, Twelve
14. Space Honey - Futurama
15. Synthehol - Star Trek: The Next Generation
16. Chemical -Ray Loriga, Tokyo Doesn't Love Us Anymore
17. Abulinix - Benjamin Kunkel, Indecision

I like how almost all of this list is science fiction. I can think of one they missed: Dylar - Don DeLillo, White Noise. While hyperlinking this post, I came across this list of fictional medicines and drugs. It's a much longer list which draws from a broader range of sources, including songs, cartoons and video games

*currently reading

Light Reading

The Curious World of Drugs and Their Friends

A Very Trippy Miscellany

by Adriano Sack and Ingo Niermann

This is my secondary read of the moment. I like to always have another book to read, for when I get tired of my primary book. Ususally it's a graphic novel or something with lots of pictures in it, something funny or non fiction. These usually take me a lot longer to read because I keep them in my car and sometimes forget about them for weeks or even months at a time.