Tony O’Neill’s Favorite Books

One of our favorite authors, Tony O’Neill, recently provided us with a list of his favorite books, which you can find below. Prior to publication of his autobiographical debut novel, Digging the Vein, O’Neill was a professional musician, playing in several notable bands including Kenickie and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. O’Neill’s novels recount his harrowing years as a heroin and crack addict with the brutal honesty and authenticity that is only acquired through first-hand experience. With a subject matter that is oft-misunderstood and stigmatized, O’Neill manages to masterfully capture the mind of an addict and the attendant struggles of addiction with a sympathetic degree of dark humor. O’Neill’s talent as a writer has won him praise amongst literary critics and authors alike – as noted in prior posts, numerous authors, including Bret Easton Ellis (author of American Psycho and The Rules of Attraction), cite O’Neill’s novels as personal favorites.

O’Neill is also an accomplished non-fiction writer, having co-authored several memoirs including the New York Times’ bestseller, Hero of the Underground: A Memoir, with Jason Peter (a former NFL player turned addict) and Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, with Cherie Currie, which became the source material for the 2010 movie The Runaways. Moreover, his novels Sick City: A Novel and Black Neon are currently being adapted into a television series by Stone Canyon Productions, with William De Los Santos penning the script.

For more information concerning a particular book, click on the associated image (via Amazon).

No Beast So Fierce