Best new books of the month
- Text by Shelley Jones
![Best new books of the month](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/books-april-2015_2023-03-27-081454_agqn.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
Lots of memoirs this month. Dig into this selection of wild characters and adventurous lives.
Anger is an Energy: My Life Uncensored by John Lydon
The second memoir from former frontman of punk pioneers The Sex Pistols, Anger… is a no-holds-barred account of Lydon’s harsh upbringing in London and the working-class values that informed his later approach to music. Poverty, fame, scandal and honesty abound.
Narcisa Our Lady Of Ashes by Jonathan Shaw
A drunk encounter with Charles Bukowski in LA in the mid-’70s inspired then writer and punk bum Jonathan Shaw to hitchhike to and around central and south America. When he returned to New York he found work as a tattooist and established an iconic style that saw fans like Johnny Depp quick to sign up. This new work of fiction – about a passionate and doomed romance – exhibits his flair and finesse as a storyteller, taking inspiration from the things he has seen and people he has met along his travels.
Under Major Domo Minor by
Patrick Dewitt
Patrick Dewitt’s last novel Sisters Brothers was a Man Booker-nominated romp through Gold Rush California and the thieves, hit men, drunks and darlings that populate its wild landscape. His new novel Under Major Domo Minor is a gothic romantic black comedy set in a castle where things are not quite what they seem.
Dress Rehearsal Brags by
Graham Bendel
Writer and punk filmmaker Graham Bendel’s ‘Diary of a Nobody’ has been described as “Catcher in the Rye had the lead character been into Killing Joke and had accidentally dry-humped Tanita Tikaram at a Desmond Dekker gig”. Hilarious, sad, insightful and smart, Dress Rehearsal… is an A-Z of the underground, seen slightly from side of stage.
Latest on Huck
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Autism cannot be cured — stop trying
A questionable study into the ‘reversal’ of autism does nothing but reinforce damaging stereotypes and harm, argues autistic author Jodie Hare.
Written by: Jodie Hare
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Bristol Photo Festival returns for second edition
After the success of it’s inaugural run, the festival returns this autumn with exhibitions, education and community programmes exploring a world in constant motion through still image.
Written by: Ben Smoke
![Documenting the life of a New York gang leader paralysed by gun violence](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/web-Eyanna-has-always-been-Maliks-primary-caregiver.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
Documenting the life of a New York gang leader paralysed by gun violence
New photobook ‘Say Less’ is a complex yet humanising look into a life wrecked by gun violence and organised crime.
Written by: Isaac Muk
![The woman who defined 80s Hip Hop photography](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/7_ULTRAMAGNETIC-MCS_NYC-1990.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
The woman who defined 80s Hip Hop photography
A new exhibition brings together Janette Beckman’s visionary and boundary pushing images of an era of cultural change and moral panic.
Written by: Miss Rosen
![In photos: the dogs of Dogtown](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/saguy_dogtown_02_RGB.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
In photos: the dogs of Dogtown
A new photobook documents Venice Beach’s four legged friends and their colourful cast of owners.
Written by: Isaac Muk
![Inside the battle to stop coal](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/DSC00173.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
Inside the battle to stop coal
As the legal challenge against Britain’s first deep coal mine in 30 years reaches the High court, we talk to activists at the centre of the fight to stop it.
Written by: Ben Smoke