David Berman was a songwriter, poet, and highly influential person. He founded the bands Silver Jews and Purple Mountains. He wrote the poetry book Actual Air and the illustrated book The Portable February. Throughout his life, he recommended a lot of books through his website, Twitter, and in interviews. This list exists to list as many of these books as possible. All suggestions are welcome, on one condition: they must include a reference that proves David recommended a book.
David Berman's book tips Public
Created and curated by Niklas
-
Bartleby & Co. by Enrique Vila-Matas
A Spanish office worker wants to be a writer but struggles to follow up his obscure first book. He takes …
-
My Prizes by Thomas Bernhard is a brilliantly mordant memoir of the background and circumstances of nine literary prizes awarded …
Niklas says: Reference: garden.pivic.com/music/david-berman/an-interview-with-david-berman-from-the-believer/
'His scorching book of letters, all written to refuse literary awards he’d won, is a thing of wonder.'
-
The fourth turning by William Strauss, Strauss, William., Neil Howe
First came the postwar High, then the Awakening of the '60s and '70s, and now the Unraveling. This audacious and …
Niklas says: Reference: garden.pivic.com/music/david-berman/an-interview-with-david-berman-from-the-believer/
'I read [it] in the Nineties. It really influenced my picture of what 2020 would look like, and 25 years later it looks to me like it’s still on course.'
-
Niklas says: Mentioned as a book tip during his Reddit AMA: www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etuxpla/
-
Dog Soldiers is a novel by Robert Stone, published by Houghton Mifflin in 1974. The story features American journalist John …
Niklas says: Mentioned as a book tip during his Reddit AMA: www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etuxpla/
-
The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton
One of the major documents of modern European civilization, Robert Burton’s astounding compendium, a survey of melancholy in all its …
Niklas says: Mentioned as a book tip during his Reddit AMA: www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etuxpla/
-
Niklas says: Mentioned as a book tip during his Reddit AMA: www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etuxpla/
-
Critique of Cynical Reason by Peter Slotjerdijk
'Critique of Cynical Reason' is a book by the German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk, published in 1983 in two volumes under …
Niklas says: Mentioned in relation to a question partly about Kant during Berman's Reddit AMA: www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etv039c/
-
Escape from freedom by Erich Fromm
Escape from Freedom is a book by the Frankfurt-born psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, first published in the United States by Farrar …
Niklas says: Mentioned in relation to a question partly about Kant during Berman's Reddit AMA: www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etv039c/
-
Niklas says: During Berman's Reddit AMA, a person asked for poetry tips if one's fave poet is Berman. He mentioned Koch (not specifically this book): www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etv9juv/
-
Niklas says: During Berman's Reddit AMA, a person asked for poetry tips if one's fave poet is Berman. He mentioned Edson (not specifically this book): www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etv9juv/
-
Niklas says: During Berman's Reddit AMA, a person asked for poetry tips if one's fave poet is Berman. He mentioned Tate (not specifically this book): www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etv9juv/
'With Tate just go get "Selected Poems". It changed my thinking [...]'
-
Niklas says: During Berman's Reddit AMA, a person asked for poetry tips if one's fave poet is Berman. He mentioned Wright (not specifically this book): www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/cdjakw/comment/etv9juv/