Liz Hogg is an American classic and electric guitarist, composer and songwriter. She is releasing her new album Goodbye World Hello Something, November 12. The album second single, Irreversible, has just been released. It will be followed by One Thread in mid October.
We asked Liz for her reading list. Liz loves books, her favourite writer is Fyodor Dostoyevsky, there are two other Russian master on her list, as well as other gems. Here is Liz’s Reading List and her words about each of her choices.
Anne Frank: The Diary Of
This is one of those must-read books for anyone, but I didn’t get around to it until 2024 just before I had tickets to see the Anne Frank house on my first visit to Amsterdam. While I expected it to be shattering, you really don’t know what you’re in for until you read for yourself. I’ll just say that people should dust this off and general WWII knowledge to get a real grasp on what words like “Nazi” and “fascist” really mean. Live is valuable, and celebrating or mocking brutal murder in any shape and form is wrong. While seemingly a shallow detail, the well-chosen magazine cutout of Ray Milland still hanging on her wall will stick with me forever; great taste in popular culture that girl had.
Albert Goldman: Ladies & Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!!
This is just an amazing, thought-provoking, no BS, and unapologetic read. Arguably nothing’s influenced me more than being 13 and getting into Frusciante’s 1st solo album era and the VPRO interview+doc / short film he did in ’94. Every single line he spoke was branded deep into me and I still revisit a lot of those ideas and like to theorize about them – one of his friends in the doc mentioned reading that book as a kid, so it was in the back of my head to read it someday. I got around to it in 2016 and, though it made me a more cynical person, which may have seemed hard to do as a lifelong NYC resident, it helped me understand the world better and reconfirmed my belief in his main ultimate legacy: freedom of speech, which cuts both ways.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky: The Brothers Karamazov
It’s hard to pick one novel by my favorite author but this one sums up his beliefs best. It’s the closest my atheist self has come to believing in God again since I was a little kid, but I really think for anyone of any background, this book will make you a better, more compassionate and understanding person. Just read it slowly and consistently because it’s hard to keep track of the web of characters and plot, especially in translation. I did 50 pages a day every day until it was done and reread every page if I got even a little lost. I’m a strong proponent of reading, and doing a lot of things, at least initially, slowly.
Leo Tolstoy: War & Peace
This book is a masterpiece on so many macro and micro levels. It covers so much ground in one succinct whole: philosophy, history, romance, religion, fate, you name it. One of my favorite things about it (and that many 19th century Russian authors do well): he manages to set the Napoleonic wars as a backdrop to the heartbreak of the most pure thing that exists: the heart of a 16 year old girl. I find it fascinating that so many old 19th century Russian men seemed to understand on the deepest level, the power and potency of feelings in young women, and how that can impact huge worldwide events. However silly it sounds, they make it make sense and show how these things are all intrinsically connected and how important it is to take care and treat those emotions properly because it seems that they are actually at the heart of what makes the world spin, no exaggeration!
Norman Mailer: The Executioner’s Song
About 10 years ago, I decided to leave my comfort zone and start reading some American novels. My mom recommended this one. It’s hard to pinpoint why this book is so good but something about the story and Mailer’s writing make it a really great and fascinating read I recommend to anyone.
Ivan Turgenev: Smoke
This is one of those books that you hate to love, because the story doesn’t end how you want it to, and it’s painful even – but you can’t deny the impact and the great ideas that he transmits. In my opinion, this is the beginning of Russian existentialism (definitely not the oft-cited Dostoyevsky who for most of his adult and writing life, was over-the-top religious as well as nationalist, especially relative to his peers). Turgenev’s other books are really different and also great, but this one affected me the most.
You can listen to Curl, the first single from Goodbye World Hello Something on my radio show Amazing Songs & Other Delights.
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