Picture this: It's the 1960s, your Welsh hometown is dying, and everyone's telling you to accept reality and move to London. Instead, you read about American libraries closing down and think, "You know what? Opportunity." So you buy crates of abandoned books, ship them to Wales, open a bookshop in an old fire station, purchase a medieval castle, and turn it into a 24-hour honor-system bookstore. Then, for your next trick, you declare your town an independent kingdom and crown yourself monarch. The media goes insane, tourism explodes, and suddenly your "joke" has spawned dozens of copycat book towns worldwide and an international literary festival that attracts more visitors than your entire town's population. Meet Richard Booth, the Oxford-educated madman who proved that sometimes the most ridiculous ideas are also the most brilliant. This is the story of Hay-on-Wye: the town that books built, the kingdom that never was but somehow still exists, and the beautiful audacity of believing that literature can literally save the world—one used paperback at a time.

GET A BOOK ABOUT IT HERE: To support independent book shops use this link.

Or to just use Amazon use this link.

BECOME AN Elton Reads A Book A Week CONTRIBUTOR HERE:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Elton Reads A Book A Week Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Tips!⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠SOCIAL MEDIA!⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠This is the LINK TREE!⁠⁠⁠

⁠Join the Discord server!⁠

EMAIL: eltonreadsabookaweek@gmail.com

The following section is reserved for the people, places, things, and more that Elton probably offended in this episode--

THE APOLOGIES SECTION: Pee-pees, horse politicians, Pac-man, decent people, Hay-on-Wye, the 1960s, fictional pregnancies, etc.

A special thanks to Diedrich Bader and Jenna Fischer for all their inspiration.

[Books, True Story, Biography, Welsh History, Independent Bookstores, Small Town Success, Entrepreneurship, Literature, Tourism, Medieval History, Book Towns, Hay-on-Wye, Richard Booth, Hay Festival, Used Books, Secondhand Books, Literary Tourism, Book Collecting, Wales Travel, Castle History, Eccentric, Self-Made King, Visionary, Maverick, Underdog Story, Against All Odds, Audacious, Unconventional Success, Supporting Local Business, Anti-Corporate, Community Revival, Sustainable Business, Cultural Preservation, Historic Preservation, Honor System, Trust-Based Economy, Comedy Podcast, Educational Entertainment, History Podcast, British History, European History, Business Success Story, Cultural Stories, Travel Stories, Inspiring, Funny, Unbelievable, Motivational, Quirky, Heartwarming, Revolutionary, Transformational, "How books saved a town", "Real life kingdom", "Medieval castle bookstore", "Honor system bookshop", "Self-proclaimed king"]

Brian Wilson had a gift, and a curse. His mind worked in a magically musical way, in that he could "see" whole, elaborate songs all in his head. It also allowed him to manifest those wonderful ideas in the real world, via the help of his family and friends. It would lead him to cofound a group that would change pop music forever, and have his particular genius recognized the world over as a unique and singular voice in the pantheon of singer-songwriters and composers.
His mind was also his worst enemy that would send him spiraling into madness and self loathing that he would turn to drugs and nefarious characters for help, eventually becoming a recluse and musical oddity.
"As a cofounding member of the Beach Boys in the 1960s, Wilson created some of the most groundbreaking and timeless popular music ever recorded, forever expanding the possibilities of pop songwriting. Derailed in the 1970s by mental illness, drug use, and the shifting fortunes of the band, Wilson came back again and again over the next few decades, surviving and--finally--thriving. Now he weighs in on the sources of his creative inspiration and on his struggles, the exhilarating highs and the debilitating lows. Whether he's talking about his childhood, his bandmates, or his own inner demons, Wilson's story, told in his own voice and in his own way, unforgettably illuminates the man behind the music, working through the turbulence and discord to achieve, at last, a new harmony."

Join Elton as he ventures through Brian Wilson's second attempt at a memoir, and listen to him wrestle with guilt about taking advantage of the dead. Um,...oh, that came out wrong.GET THE BOOK: ⁠⁠From Amazon⁠

⁠From an Indie Book Seller⁠

BECOME AN Elton Reads A Book A Week CONTRIBUTOR HERE:

⁠⁠⁠Elton Reads A Book A Week Patreon⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Tips!⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠SOCIAL MEDIA!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠This is the LINK TREE!⁠⁠

Join the Discord server!

EMAIL: eltonreadsabookaweek@gmail.com

The following section is reserved for the people, places, things, and more that Elton probably offended in this episode--

THE APOLOGIES SECTION: Beach Boy fans, Brian Wilson's ghost, falsetto singers, gangster rappers, Elton John (probably), Bernie Taupin (also probably)...

A special thanks to Diedrich Bader and Jenna Fischer for all their inspiration.

Elton's diving into Arthur C. Clarke's absolute acid trip of a book (okay, maybe just the ending), "2001: A Space Odyssey" – you know, the one with the soft spoken computer that murders it's crew to keep a secret? [SPOILERS] And those mysterious black rectangles that basically trolled humanity for millions of years.

Here's what's happening this episode:

Who was Arthur C. Clarke anyway? Turns out the guy invented the satellites that keep your phone connected to the world...in the 1940s. He even predicted we'd all be doom-scrolling on the internet way before anyone knew what WiFi was. Plus, he was part of sci-fi's holy trinity with Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. So, a nerd circle jerk. Well, maybe not...THAT, but a pretty important guy. He did well for guy who started out fiddling with radar during WWII.

Join Elton as he walks through this wild ride from cavemen discovering tools to humans becoming space gods. There's evolution, mystery, and murder A.I., and honestly? A lot of nerdly nerd stuff that'll make your brain EXPAND in the best way. Don't worry – Elton takes a brunt of the load.

The Clarke-Kubrick team-up: Clarke and director Stanley Kubrick basically wrote the book and movie at the same time, which sounds like a nightmare but somehow worked. They turned a short story called "The Sentinel" (Arthur hates that) and turn it into the most mind-f*cking sci-fi movie ever made, though it wasn't all dry humping and champagne.

Whether you're into classic sci-fi, love a good book-to-movie story, or just want to understand why HAL 9000 is everyone's least favorite AI, this episode's got you covered. Fair warning: you might have an existential crisis. So, go easy on the sci-fi.

GET THE BOOK: ⁠From Amazon

From an Indie Book Seller

BECOME AN Elton Reads A Book A Week CONTRIBUTOR HERE:

⁠⁠Elton Reads A Book A Week Patreon⁠⁠

⁠⁠Tips!⁠⁠

⁠⁠SOCIAL MEDIA!⁠⁠ ⁠This is the LINK TREE!⁠

EMAIL: eltonreadsabookaweek@gmail.com

The following section is reserved for the people, places, things, and more that Elton probably offended in this episode--

THE APOLOGIES SECTION: Sci-fi fans, nerds, Arthur C. Clarke, special effects teams, drug addicts, spoilers, and other nerds.

A special thanks to Diedrich Bader and Jenna Fischer for all their inspiration.

[MUSIC]Arabesken über 'An der schönen blauen Donau' von Johann Strauss (Schulz-Evler, Adolf)

Charlie Albright (Piano)Publisher Info.Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumCopyrightCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Also sprach Zarathustra, Op.30 (Strauss, Richard)

University of Chicago Orchestra (orchestra)
Barbara Schubert (conductor)Publisher Info.Chicago: University of Chicago OrchestraCopyrightCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Misc. NotesPerformed 27 May 2000, Mandel Hall. From archive.org.

Join Elton as he stumbles through the lives of two women; one real, one fake. This time around Elton's irreverence locks onto "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue", a book all about cutting deals with the devil, living forever, and learning that, when cutting a deal with Satan, it's all about the details. On his hilarious journey, Elton discovers the nature of how others affect your identity, and what a Faustian bargain is all about. Come along,...and stop all that "smirkstibating."

"France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name."

GET THE BOOK: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E Schwab

Elton Reads A Book A Week Patreon⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Tips!⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠SOCIAL MEDIA!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠This is the LINK TREE!⁠

EMAIL: eltonreadsabookaweek@gmail.com

The following section is reserved for the people, places, things, and more that Elton probably offended in this episode--

THE APOLOGIES SECTION: Satan, God, fanatical Christians, Rodney Mullen, Tony Hawk, skateboarders from the "Golden Age", and psychologists, and Goethe.

A special thanks to Diedrich Bader and Jenna Fischer for all their inspiration.

[Addie LaRue, V.E. Schwab, invisible life, forgotten curse, immortal woman, dark fantasy romance, contemporary fantasy, book review comedy, YA fantasy, adult fantasy crossover, Faustian bargain, deal with devil, supernatural contracts, cursed deals, immortality curse, dark magic, price of wishes, soul selling, supernatural consequences, devil's bargain, looking glass self, social identity, self perception, identity crisis, how others see us, social psychology, Charles Horton Cooley, invisible identity, forgotten existence, social reflection theory, book comedy podcast, funny book review, literary humor, book roast, comedy book club, sarcastic book review, witty literary analysis, humorous fantasy review, book parody, literary comedy, fantasy podcast, book podcast, solo podcast, literary podcast, bookish humor, reading comedy, book discussion, fantasy book review, romance fantasy, dark academia adjacent, book recommendations, fantasy book lovers, bookstagram, booktok, book community, reading humor, literary memes, book obsessed]

Oh, those damn Democrats and their getting hacked by Russians, and putting thumbs on the scales of primaries, LOSING THE 2016 ELECTION! How did this happen? How did they get here? Where did it start? THERE'S SO MUCH DRAMA! It's crazy that they've gotten this far as a political party! Join Elton on a weird ride through former DNC chairwoman Donna Brazile's memoir "Hacks", as he tries to make sense of donkey politics.

"From Donna Brazile, former DNC chair and legendary political operative, an explosive and revealing new look at the 2016 election: the first insider account of the Russian hacking of the DNC and the missteps by the Clinton campaign and Obama administration that enabled a Trump victory.
In the fallout of the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee--and as chaos threatened to consume the party's convention--Democrats turned to a familiar figure to right the ship: Donna Brazile. Known to millions from her frequent TV appearances, she was no stranger to high stakes and dirty opponents, and the longtime Democratic strategist had a reputation in Washington as a one-stop shop for fixing sticky problems.
What Brazile found at the DNC was unlike anything she had experienced before--and much worse than is commonly known. The party was beset by infighting, scandal, and hubris, while reeling from a brazen and wholly unprecedented attempt by a foreign power to influence the presidential election. Plus, its candidate, Hillary Clinton, faced an opponent who broke every rule in the political playbook.
Packed with never-before-reported revelations about what went down in 2016, Hacks is equal parts campaign thriller, memoir, and roadmap for the future. With Democrats now in the wilderness after this historic defeat, Hacks argues that staying silent about what went wrong helps no one. Only by laying bare the missteps, miscalculations, and crimes of 2016, Brazile contends, will Americans be able to salvage their democracy."

GET THE BOOK: ⁠American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump⁠

BECOME AN Elton Reads A Book A Week CONTRIBUTOR HERE:

⁠⁠Elton Reads A Book A Week Patreon⁠⁠

⁠⁠Tips!⁠⁠

⁠⁠SOCIAL MEDIA!⁠⁠ ⁠This is the LINK TREE!⁠

EMAIL: eltonreadsabookaweek@gmail.com

The following section is reserved for the people, places, things, and more that Elton probably offended in this episode--

THE APOLOGIES SECTION: Voters, The United States of America, Houston, democracy, strategists, the numbers 3,4,5,6, and 7.

A special thanks to Diedrich Bader and Jenna Fischer for all their inspiration.

Just when you thought it was safe to vote again, he's baaaccck! Yes, while we're in the midst of a second Donald Trump term, Elton read a book about the first, and whoa was it an eye opener. Join Elton as he headaches his way through how we all got here in the first place. It's going to be a bizarre journey into the heart of frustration, with a cast of ridiculous characters to help you not wish the next four years, were forty years in the past already.

GET THE BOOK: American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump

BECOME AN Elton Reads A Book A Week CONTRIBUTOR HERE:

⁠Elton Reads A Book A Week Patreon⁠

⁠Tips!⁠

⁠SOCIAL MEDIA!⁠ This is the LINK TREE!

EMAIL: eltonreadsabookaweek@gmail.com

The following section is reserved for the people, places, things, and more that Elton probably offended in this episode--

THE APOLOGIES SECTION: The non-racists, The Dukes of Hazzard, voters, whiffle ball pros, George Washington's desiccated corpse, Washington reporters, etc.

A special thanks to Diedrich Bader and Jenna Fischer for all their inspiration.

This is my first ever "Short-isode", a shorter format episode that I did quickly. Please forgive me.

Okay, okay, I'm behind. I tried to to reach for the sun and got burned. Luckily, I managed to get this together, so all hope is not lost. I promise I'll do better next time. Until then, this peace offering about weird taxes, and weird political promises, plus MUSIC!

The next full episode about the book "American Carnage" by Tim Alberta, will be up very soon.

Here are the lyrics to the song "American Carnage" (American decay):

"From the ashes of Bush, the ratings slung low, Obama rose up, and stole the whole show G-O-P party's in ruins, no vision, no fight Their base fell asleep and has been there all night.

[PRE-CHORUS] Bombs away, by progress on display, Change hit the right like a brick to the face. Factions at war, blood on the walls, A billonaire bullshitter grabbed them by the balls

[CHORUS] American Carnage, for American decay, Marching to the edge, to throw it all away American Carnage, it’s a G-O-P ride No place to run—no place to hide.

[VERSE] Jordan and Cruz on absolutist fire, Boehner and Mitch try to hold the line. Coups and clashes, the rhetoric like acid, That's it! Impotence grew, and the base got flaccid.

[PRE-CHORUS] Bombs away, on progress on display, Change hit the right, like a brick to the face. Factions at war, blood on the walls, A billonaire bullshitter grabbed them by the balls

[VERSE] On a golden escalator, came a golden clown, He tore them to shit, and burned their house down. Trillion-dollar debt for a nationalist jerk-off, Morals and family values are sold off

[CHORUS] American Carnage, for American decay, Marching to the edge, to throw it all away American Carnage, it’s a G-O-P ride No place to run—no place to hide.

[BRIDGE] Muslim bans, walls, and the families torn, The old guard’s dead, now the new breed’s born. Cultural shifts, tech disrupts, America’s soul ripped and fucked up.

[BREAKDOWN] How did we get here? Do we survive? Is this a death rattle, Are we alive? Decades of division, resentment, and greed, The roots of the party now strangled by sleaze.

[CHORUS] American Carnage, for American decay, Marching to the edge, to throw it all away American Carnage, it’s a G-O-P ride No place to run—no place to hide.

[OUTRO] It’s American Carnage, (AMERICAN CARNAGE!) Our American Carnage (AMERICAN CARNAGE!) We won't get very far with...(AMERICAN CARNAGE!) We'll all have to live with...(AMERICAN CARNAGE!)"

APOLOGIES SECTION (The following section is reserved to apologize to the numerous people, places, and things Elton offended in this episode.): Oral sex, punk rock, elephants, people expecting whole episodes, people who dislike unintelligible lyrics in songs, etc.

A special thanks to Jenna Fischer and Diedrich Bader

Dating in the age of the internet is a weird endeavor. All of the indulgence of endless choices, and the anxiety of communicating with people rolled into one. What's a single person to do? Luckily, comedian Aziz Ansari wrote a book about it and Elton is here to talk about it. Does that help you find that special someone in this sea of misfit toys? Maybe? Elton's no "love doctor," but he is awkward enough for everyone involved. Listen to this episode and get a wild ride through modern dating, and some tips on how to improve your odds!

GET THE BOOK HERE!--> Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

BECOME AN Elton Reads A Book A Week CONTRIBUTOR HERE:

Elton Reads A Book A Week Patreon

Tips!

SOCIAL MEDIA! https://linktr.ee/EltonReadsABookAWeek

EMAIL: eltonreadsabookaweek@gmail.com

The following section is reserved for the people, places, things, and more that Elton probably offended in this episode--

THE APOLOGIES SECTION: The LGBTQ+ community, mouth fingering fetishists, the English language, sociologists, dating, God, people living in apartment buildings, etc.

A special thanks to Diedrich Bader and Jenna Fischer for all their inspiration.