WHAT I€™M READING
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday November 21, 2009
Reg Mombassa, artist and musicianReg Mombassa €” real name Chris O'Doherty €” is one creative guy. But when it comes to books, this artist prefers to stick to the facts. "I probably should read more novels but really it's just some man or woman making things up," he says. "I would rather read something factual."Mombassa is reading D-Day: The Battle for Normandy by Antony Beevor. "I really like reading history books ... It is about a horrific event but what is good about the book is the personal details and anecdotes from the people involved."A confessed "top-drawer nerd" at school, the original Mambo man still likes to juggle his history books. "I tend to read a few at once," he says. "Another book I'm reading is In Search of the Dark Ages by Michael Wood. It's a fascinating period of history because not much was written down. It was a period of chaotic and rapid change after the fall of the Roman Empire."The co-founder of rock band Mental as Anything has dabbled in comic novels. "The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien influenced me a lot because of its absurd humour. It's about bicycles that turn into people by molecular transference," he says.Something about the unknown intrigues the New Zealand-born artist. "I also like popular science, quantum physics and astrophysics. It fascinates me that there is this tiny alien world in the quantum universe." Just Six Numbers by Martin Rees and Companion to the Cosmos by John Gribbin are among his favourite reads.Robert Crumb's illustrated adaptation of the Book of Genesis tops Mombassa's reading list. "It combines all my interests," he explains. "I read a lot of commentary and history about the Bible and how it was put together and where it was derived from and I've always liked Robert Crumb's graphics."Susie CameronThe Mind and Times of Reg Mombassa by Murray Waldren is published by HarperCollins, $75.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald