[POLL] Best Twin Peaks book

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Your favorite Twin Peaks book

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer (Jennifer Lynch)
21
48%
My Life, My Tapes (Scott Frost)
11
25%
Twin Peaks: An Access Guide to the Town
1
2%
The Secret History of Twin Peaks (Mark Frost)
11
25%
 
Total votes: 44
claaa7
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[POLL] Best Twin Peaks book

Post by claaa7 »

Before this year I hadn't read any of the Twin Peaks books out there but with the purchase of The Entire Mystery as well as The Secret History of Twin Peaks I started getting into them one after the other. the only one i haven't read at all is The Twin Peaks Access Guide and as i could only find the Dale Cooper book in digital format i've only made it about 2/3 of the way through that one (don't really like reading on a computer screen). in my experience tie-in novels and spin offs rarely adds much of substance to a series but the novels related to Twin Peaks really help build the world and add even more depth to the series and film. having finally read The Secret Diary it was great to see the first half of Season 2 again with that in mind and i really liked how they even quoted dialouge verbatim at one point.

the audiobook with Sheryl Lee that we got this year was a real gift too.. there's so much to the Twin Peaks saga that has been added just this year that was barely imaginable just some time back. it sure helped to bring even more gravitas to the book, which is already a relatively well written book by Jennifer Lynch imo. it's not great litterature but when coupled with what we know from the series and the character of Laura it does hold a lot of weight and at times is pretty hard to read - and even harder to listen to.

my personal favorite book, however, is Mark Frost's own addition with The Secret History of Twin Peaks. it had a bit of a slow start (not to mention in a handwriting that was hard to read) but once it got off the ground i thoroughly enjoyed exploring the myths, secrets and shadow history of T.P. it probably helps that i'm already interested in government conspiracies, cover-ups and UFO lore and am somewhat well versed on these subjects. Seeing Frost incorporate that and weave it into the rich tapestry of Twin Peaks made me happy, although one must remember that there's still a lot of mystery to the story that the various documents builds. we don't know what in the dossier is a cover-up, what is real, and what is misconstructions, etc. as many others my only real gripe with the book is the many inconsistencies and retcons as it pertains to the original series but i'll reserve judgement on that until the Final Dossier is released.

i would have loved to hear the audiobook of Secret History but at the same time i can't imagine that fomrat lending itself very well to that format.
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DoppelBocker
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Re: [POLL] Best Twin Peaks book

Post by DoppelBocker »

I can't vote as only have read TSHoP so far. I did purchase "The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer" a few months ago and will dive into it tonight (perhaps I'll pick up the new audio version released this year as well if really like the book). Really hard to find most of these; perhaps I'll call local book store and see if they can order them for me but I suppose the big question is are there digital copies of all these? (thinking of picking up a tablet)

As far as unofficial books go, I did pick up "Twin Peaks FAQ" by David Bushman and Arthur Smith. Not as satisfying as I was hoping for and pretty lengthy without whole lot of substance (in my opinion) but is interesting in parts. They list the following additional official material:

-"Diane...The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper" by Scott Frost=45 minute audio book of Cooper musing in taperecorder to Diane before start of his case in Twin Peaks until 19 hours after the attempt on his life (cliffhanger of S1). This was released shortly after the start of S2. This is a separate product from the "My Life, My Tapes" book by Scott Frost released in 1991 mentioned in the poll.

-Twin Peaks Gazette: Officially licensed magazine that ran from 1991 until plug pulled on the series (monthly magazine supposed to run much longer as 12 issue subscriptions being offered at time but only up to 4 issues not counting the fan produced 5th issue). Any digital copies?

As far as unofficial material:
-Fanzine "Wrapped in Plastic" 1992-2005. Perfect example of something I'd like digital copies of as opposed to hard copies.
-Reflections: An Oral History: Interview compilation 2014.
-Twin Peaks: FAQ (already mentioned above)
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Novalis
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Re: [POLL] Best Twin Peaks book

Post by Novalis »

I went with the Secret Diary because I think it addresses an important lacuna in the series and ties in very well with FWWM.

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer
Lynch, Jennifer

Others I have read / listened, am in the process of reading, or am soon to read:

Welcome to Twin Peaks: An Access Guide to the Town
Lynch, David; Frost, Mark

Diane...The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper
Frost, Scott

The Secret History of Twin Peaks
Frost, Mark

The Final Dossier (forthcoming)
Frost, Mark

I also consider these nonfiction works about the series to be worth reading:

Twin Peaks: Unwrapping the Plastic
Boulègue, Franck

The Essential Wrapped In Plastic: Pathways to Twin Peaks
Thorne, John

Full of Secrets: Critical Approaches to "Twin Peaks" (Contemporary Film & Television)
Lavery, David

Blue Rose Magazine
As a matter of fact, 'Chalfont' was the name of the people that rented this space before. Two Chalfonts. Weird, huh?
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Fred
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Re: [POLL] Best Twin Peaks book

Post by Fred »

I am reading Unwrapping the Plastic by Franck Boulege at the moment. It is one of the most interesting books I have ever read about Twin Peaks. I like the chapters that analyse TP in terms of Jungian psychology. So I would certainly recommend it!
Mr. Jackpots
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Re: [POLL] Best Twin Peaks book

Post by Mr. Jackpots »

You're going to have to run this poll again after the final dossier is released next month.

Secret Diary all the way.
claaa7
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Re: [POLL] Best Twin Peaks book

Post by claaa7 »

per Mr. Jackpots suggestion i am bumping this thread after the release of "The Final Dossier"... anyone think this trumps the other TP books?

personally i stick with The Secret History but i will probably see those two books as a pair sharing the top spot for years to come. they form a great narrative together that really expands on the World of Twin Peaks, perhaps even more than one could have hoped imo.
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