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I’m writing a diary for BookChat, obviously I’m a book lover. But my question this evening is: do you collect books? On any particular topic/by a favorite author/any other reason? I didn’t set out to have all the books about U2 — and I don’t think I do, but wow I have a lot. The best one is the one the boys themselves wrote: U2 by U2. They were pretty open & honest — Adam tells about his alcohol troubles with a lot of candor. Another really good one is U2: At The End Of The World, Bill Flanagan’s book about recording their 2nd masterpiece, Achtung Baby and the tour that followed. He was given amazing access, and did not write a hagiography. A fan I’ve “talked” to on Twitter, Tim Newfield, wrote U2: Rock 'n' Roll to Change the World about, well, their activism. And it isn’t only Bono — though One and Red are fantastic organizations that do a lot of good. Edge works with Music Rising, started in New Orleans after Katrina, and still doing good for musicians. And Adam does a lot of work in addiction and mental health. He got an award from MusiCares a few years ago, for all the work he’s done helping people get the help they need.
That’s just a few of the books I have; some of them are picture or lyric books that came with “deluxe” album editions, or things the band sent out as fan club gifts.
And because they sing/talk a lot about religious issues, which is a topic I’m also interested in, I have a lot of books about U2 & religion. We Get To Carry Each Other by Greg Garrett is my favorite. If you’re interested in the intersection of pop culture and spirituality, Garrett is an author you should know about. His book on the spirituality in the Harry Potter books is really good, and I have his book on the theology of superheroes on my tbr pile. And Steve Stockman’s book Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2, about their spirituality and activism, is really good.
I just bought myself the latest book about them: U2’s The Joshua Tree, which is a sociological study about music, politics and comparing the zeitgeist of the mid-late 1980s with the early Trump era. He talks about the political statements they made in the Reagan era and about Trump. One thing you can always count on Bono for is…. if he doesn’t like someone, he’ll let them know.
Anyway, I wasn’t writing this to review specific books, but to say “wow I have a lot on this one subject”. And to ask: what kind of books do you have a lot of?
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