Against the Written Word, Ian F. Svenonius
Against the Written Word, Ian F. Svenonius
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
Club: $8.47

Against the Written Word

Author: Ian F. Svenonius

Narrator: Ian F. Svenonius

Unabridged: 6 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/03/2023


Synopsis

If the Gutenberg Bible is the alpha, Against the Written Word is the omegaAgainst the Written Word is the most important, most revolutionary book produced since the advent of the printing press; the book that will liberate readers from reading, writers from writing, and booksellers from peddling their despicable wares.This book ushers in a new era of freedom from reading and all its attendant bedfellows such as Enlightenment thinking and the mass alienation wrought by the phonetic alphabet. Against the Written Word will be a tremendous best seller and simultaneously the last book that anyone will read. With nineteen essays ripping, shredding, tearing apart all the bugaboos that haunt humanity nowadays, Against the Written Word is a must-read for any aspiring radical or would-be gnostic who has a penchant for words, thought, clothes, intoxicants, music, art, expression, etc. The work is presented in a range of writing: essays, screenplays, lectures, sci-fi stories, and manifestos, with topics that include “the rise of incorporated man,” “tourism as the neoliberal mode of military occupation,” a workshop on songwriting for the purpose of suggestion and mind control, and many more.This book will correct the paucity of thought that characterizes the modern bookstore and will practically sell itself. It will call out from the shelf to ingratiate itself to the unsuspecting everyday book browser, who will be hooked and then hungrily consume it. Infected with a wild-eyed evangelism, they will then proliferate it among their friends and acquaintances. These new readers will disseminate it, and so on. Soon this work will define an epoch and steer thought from here on out. The bookseller will be surprised and pleased to find that it will be the only book they need to stock. Against the Written Word will be dominant in a manner the market has not seen since the Bible tore up best-seller lists in the Middle Ages or Mao’s Little Red Book wowed the critics in Red China.

About Ian F. Svenonius

Ian F. Svenonius is the author of the underground best sellers Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock ’n’ Roll Group, The Psychic Soviet, and Censorship Now!! As a musician he has created more than twenty albums and countless singles in various rock and roll combos (Escape-ism, Chain & the Gang, The Make-Up, The Nation of Ulysses, etc.).


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ben on January 26, 2024

Of punk's many appealing qualities, its moral clarity may be what keeps it vital and attractive for generation after generation. A graduate of the DC scene (perhaps punk's most ethically didactic scene) Svenonius has a gift for saying things that are true but drawing the conclusion so far that, like......more

Goodreads review by Jason on August 04, 2024

Another great book by Svenonius. Though "Supernatural Strategies" and "Censorship Now" were better. Despite the title, this book is really a collection of essays, and even some short fiction; only the first section is a screed against reading. As always Svenonius is funny, thoughtful, and provocativ......more

Goodreads review by Δnd on January 26, 2023

(Note: This is not a "Review" by a "Reviewer", but a "Laudatory Appreciation" by a "Serious Appreciator") The book to end all books. The new "Good Book" or "Perennial/Final Testament" which is much needed for navigating our current dark age. Svenonius' keen historical sense allows him to present lase......more

Goodreads review by Keith on December 07, 2024

4.5. I was expecting something far more obtuse, but this is a distinct and fairly coherent cry against the momentum and direction of our modern society. It is amazing to me that a book published in 2023 can still feel so prescient, especially with the perspective on AI. I’d rather corporate book club......more

Goodreads review by Woody on July 08, 2024

More madness from Chain. Not sure the written word can survive a book this profound......more


Quotes

"Ian Svenonius’ career in comedy has involved various vehicles, but the silly-serious approach is consistent throughout." The Tribune (UK)

“Wielding the satiric tone of a Gen-X Jonathan Swift or leftist Andy Kaufman…Svenonius is an engaging companion…He lands some scathing blows, as when he links internet porn to contemporary Christianity by noting that both are ‘anti-intellectual, patriarchal, have an elitist or outsider self-image, and are aesthetically garish.’“ Publishers Weekly