Bowie Book Club Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan The Bowie Book Club Podcast Download

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Medium is the Massage by Marchall McLuhan, a stew of images, aphorisms and (maybe unfounded?) optimism that will loosen up those tired media muscles.

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Our Bookshop

Visit our lists on bookshop.org and help support the podcast (and independent bookstores too!)

Stuff We Talked About

Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan
New Dark Age by James Bridle
Bulldog News magazines, newspapers and ice cream in Seattle's U District!
AdBusters
The Stranger Seattle's only newspaper
Sabotage Noise zine
Laura Cannell's Bandcamp
Omicron, the Nomad Soul - it's a video game! With Bowie as a character!
Bowie's 1999 BBC Interview
Blank Check podcast

What Are We Reading

Greg:

The Thin Man - Dashing Dashiell Hammett
Frankisstein - Jeanette Winterson
Measuring the World - Daniel Kehlmann
No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy
Barton Fink / Miller's Crossing - Joel and Ethan Coen

Kristianne:

Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum
The Warm Hands of Ghosts - Katherine Arden
Brigands and Breadknives - Travis Baldree

What Song Did We Choose?

What's Up Next

Left Hand of Darknessby Ursula K. LeGuin

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Diary of a Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Diary of a Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley, which (much to our surprise) is not Chronicles of Narnia fan-fic despite the appearance of a Big Lion who solves everything. Also features drugs that are fiended after throughout.

The Spear of Destiny by Trevor Ravenscroft Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read (or maybe just encountered on the Astral Plane?) The Spear of Destiny, Trevor Ravenscroft's minimally factual tale of the occult and its hallucinatory hold on Adolf Hilter.

Backstage Passes by Angela Bowie Aug 18, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has

reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Backstage Passes by Angie Bowie, a tell-all that includes flying saucers, devil-haunted pools, and John Bonham's breakfast. Oh, and David Bowie too.

Egon Schiele - The Paintings Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Egon Schiele - The Paintings, a collection of works by a very proflic narcissist who packed a lot of splayed figures and elongated fingers into his brief life!

The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis, a story of large glasses of gin, otherworldly chemistry and, why not, fake eyebrows too.

The Gift by Vladimir Nabokov May 26, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read The Gift by Vladimir Nabokov, a multi-level marketing scheme to get you into an emigre's state of mind.

Nova Express by William Burroughs Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has

reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Nova Express (https://bookshop.org/a/105/9780802122087) by William Burroughs - maybe it's science fiction? Maybe it's a spell to thwart mind control ? Maybe it's just not meant to be read?

Dancing in the Streets by Barbara Ehrenreich Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Dancing in the Streets by Barbara Ehrenreich, a survey about how people have collectively let their hair down over the past few centuries.

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith Feb 17, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Bowie Book Club, where wild speculation and grasping for straws about Bowie’s favorite books has reigned supreme since 2016. This time we read Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith, which is about how awful it was to travel before you could use noise-canceling headphones to eliminate any possibility of getting into a conversation with someone about murder.