David Bowie Book Club launches with 'tale of two Londons' | Lifestyle.INQ

OCTOBER 27, 2022

David Bowie's favorite reads will be the focus of a book club launched by his son. © AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND GUAY
David Bowie’s favorite reads will be the focus of a book club launched by his son. Bertrand Guay / AFP

Director Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie, has launched the Bowie Book Club, inviting readers to work their way through some of the late icon’s favorite books.

Jones announced the book club on Twitter at the end of 2017 and revealed that it would begin by delving into the work of Peter Ackroyd, giving readers until the start of February to read the first title on the list.

“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,” wrote Jones on Twitter.

The first book will be Ackroyd’s “Hawksmoor,” which will serve “as an amuse cerveau before we get into the heavy stuff,” said Jones.

“Hawksmoor” previously featured on a list of David Bowie’s top 100 books that was shared in 2013 and that will presumably serve as a basis for the book club selections.

Peter Ackroyd is a London-based novelist, biographer and historian. “Hawksmoor” revolves around a detective of the same name, who is investigating a series of murders committed at 18-century churches. Meanwhile, it tells the story of Nicholas Dyer who, two-and-a-half centuries earlier, is commissioned to build a series of London churches, in which he plans to conceal a dark secret.

David Bowie’s estate calls the book a “gripping and terrible tale of two Londons.”

To join in, grab a copy of “Hawksmoor” and follow Duncan Jones on Twitter: twitter.com/ManMadeMoon. AB

RELATED STORIES:

Jordanian graffiti artists brighten Amman’s drab streets

Likhaan 11, or why we must start this year reading Philippine literature

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

MOST VIEWED STORIES