What Pohoda Reads: From Nick Cave to David Bowie
Do you know which Pohoda 2025 artist has written a book about food? Why is High Fidelity – the inspiration for the famous rom-com starring John Cusack – worth reading? And which illustrated children's book features Pohoda Festival? Here are our book recommendations for when you want to experience music beyond just listening.
20. March 2025
Gabriel Sebő, Catering & Gastro
"Did you know that one of Pohoda 2025’s rap headliners is also a chef and food guru? American rapper Action Bronson is a well-known chef, foodie, traveller, and lover of quality gastronomy. His book, F*ck, That’s Delicious, explores the power and significance of food, community, family, travel, music, and culture. Experience gastronomy ranging from New York family classics to authentic street food and Michelin restaurants, guided by the gastronomic guru and headliner of Pohoda 2025.
Paula Poštolková, Production Management
"As a huge comic book fan and an admirer of Nick Cave, I highly recommend Mercy on me, a comic book by German artist Reinhard Kleist. The author even came to Bratislava in 2018 to present the Slovak translation at the Bratislava book festival – though, sadly, I don’t have a photo with him :). The comic vividly portrays Cave’s early years as a struggling musician in Berlin and London, as well as his later success with the Bad Seeds. The black-and-white aesthetic is the perfect match for such an eccentric hero as Nick Cave."
Majo Tesák, COO & Project Management
"What came first, the music or the misery? Did I listen to music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to music?" High Fidelity is the ultimate early-2000s rom-com-drama – whether as the film with John Cusack buried under piles of vinyl and midlife crisis woes, or as a novel. And since it never really answers the question above, you’ll have to look elsewhere. I’d start with a top-three selection of local pop music theories by the brilliant Karel Veselý – the Xanax-fueled musical guidebook Všechny kočky jsou šedé (All Cats Are Grey); the encyclopaedia of Black music from plantations to BLM, Hudba ohně (Music of Fire), and a treatise on love songs of the 20th and 21st centuries, Hudba srdce (Music of the Heart).
Alright, if that’s still not enough, try moving from theory to practice. From the recent musical odysseys that have merged with my bed, I pick the battle between Anthony Kiedis vs. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, that is, Scar Tissue vs. Mo’ Meta Blues, which ends 1:1 for me, even though they compete in completely different disciplines. Kiedis in Scar Tissue in a cyclical pharmaceutical haze, one that can even dim the California sun, and Questlove in Mo’ Meta Blues in a nerdy, good-natured breakdown of structures – whether it's the entire book or the hip-hop of the '90s.”
Lukáš Grešš, PR & Media
"Dave Grohl—an unbelievably amazing musician and an insanely good storyteller. And not just when it comes to music. His book, The Storyteller, will convince you he excels at life’s stories too. And he certainly has plenty to tell. You don’t need to know every detail of his life to take a guess at everything he’s experienced with Scream and Nirvana. Why he "took a little side trip" from the legendary Foo Fighters to join another legendary band, Queens of the Stone Age. In his storytelling, you'll hear about various musical icons and key moments in music history, and it’s hard to believe one person could experience all of this in a single lifetime—a lifetime that, thankfully, is still unfolding, unlike that of many of his friends.
It’s rare to get so close and deep into the feelings of your idol, like you do in this book. By the way, it’s beautiful to realise how such legends perceive each other. Suddenly, you realise that the untouchable musicians and singers you admire also have their own untouchable idols. That your favourite singer and drummer sees other musicians in the same way you do. And that, in the grand scheme of things, everything is as it should be, and we’re all just human. Suddenly, you realise they’re the same kind of person as you, and maybe you have more in common than you think. For example, for me and Dave, it’s the way we don’t measure time by months and years, but by music and albums that help us recall the past.”
Barbora Bodnárová, Contracts & Artist Hospitality
"I prefer autobiographies – who’s got time for judgmental opinions and moral dilemmas? Ideally, ones from the golden age of rock ’n’ roll, when cocaine was actually pure, and speedball preserved more than it killed. Try Slash, Eric Clapton or Ketih Richards.
But even more than reading, I love looking at pictures – it’s less effort. And when it comes to music books, nothing beats sound pop up books with Paw. They’re now available in a translated version (not that it really matters), and they’re embracing modern genres too. Hip-hop is already in my shopping cart, and so is Paco DJ."
Jana Kopecká, PR & Media
"I can’t wait to start reading Acid for the Children – the autobiography of legendary bassist, actor, and now writer, Flea. He didn’t get his nickname “Flea” for nothing. And while I’m not a huge fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers, I find Flea as a person absolutely fascinating. Thanks to him, the Atoms for Peace concert at Pohoda 2013 remains one of the most beautiful live music experiences of my life.
If you want to introduce your kids to iconic musicians, I highly recommend the Little People, BIG DREAMS series by Spanish author Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara. These books show that even the biggest stars were once just kids with dreams, that one shouldn’t be afraid to chase their dreams, no matter how crazy or unrealistic they may seem, but most importantly, that it’s worth being true to oneself. We have David Bowie at home, and thanks to it, even my three-year-old daughter now knows not only why each of his eyes was different but also how a little dreamer became a respected artist.
By the way, did you know that Pohoda features in a children’s book? With everything you’d expect – concerts, a Ferris wheel, food stalls, kids in strollers, and even legs sticking out of tents – all beautifully illustrated by Mária Nerádová. In Poďme objavovať Slovensko (Let’s Explore Slovakia), a little piglet travels around Slovakia with its parents, making a stop in Trenčín and at our festival. A must-read if you’re raising little Pohoda fans!"
Monika, Booking & Contracts & Artist Hospitality
"Dežo – I first discovered Dežo Ursíny thanks to my secondary school teacher, who also taught us Slovak literature. She gave me a burned CD of the album 4/4 by him and Ivan Štrpka and, like this, not only did she subtly helped me with one of the A-level questions in Slovak (Ivan Štrpka and the so-called Lonely Runners), but she also opened the world of Dežo Ursíny’s music to me. It was only when listening to that album that I realised Dežo had composed the music for the musical Neberte nám princeznú (Let the Princess Stay with Us), which I adored as a child – and suddenly, everything clicked.
When Moja milá pani (My Dear Lady) came out, I got it as a birthday present and devoured it. It’s a book about Dežo, but in his own words – letters he wrote, often featuring lines that later became lyrics in his songs. You can see how he thought, what he was going through, and I absolutely loved the way he put words together. I really need to revisit it."
For each recommended book, we suggest our Pohoda 2025 playlist as the perfect background soundtrack.