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Shit Magnet: One Man's Miraculous Ability to Absorb the World's Guilt
Jim Goad's prison-bound memoir.
328 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2002
18 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
About the author
Jim Goad
25 books192 followersGoad started his writing career with the magazine "ANSWER Me!" Which got connected with a triple suicide by British gothics and of the white house shooting of Francisco Martin Duran.
In 1998 he was convicted of abusing his girlfriend and was released in 2000. In prison he wrote his autobiography "Shit Magnet."
In 1998 he was convicted of abusing his girlfriend and was released in 2000. In prison he wrote his autobiography "Shit Magnet."
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 16, 2020
There really isn't any reason to read this book. I initially thought the author had some intellect and insight. But in retrospect, I feel he lacks class, and this ruins his message and his credibility. That said, he certainly caused me to think about a few things, although the thoughts I had weren't the most inspiring.
For instance, I appreciate the fact that this book will offend the average person. And if it doesn't, then you're as dead to the world as I would suggest the author is; dead because he asserts his right to offend only as a backlash for the world offending him. But the wonderful aspect of this book's offensiveness is the briefly discussed subject of his Answer Me! censorship trial. He makes a provoking point: Our right to speak freely extends to EVERYONE, no matter how offensive they are. I personally cringe at some of the things that are published, broadcast, or are otherwise disseminated on a daily basis in our culture. Although I am chiefly offended by the conservative bible-thumping self-righteous residents of our country who tell lies about their adversaries in a back-slapping money-grabbing run to the bank that masks itself as entertainment, there are people on the left who can be pretty offensive too. One of these people is Jim Goad. But this book takes a very dark turn that overshadows the interesting and thought-provoking subjects that he briefly discusses; a turn that is offensive to anyone with even a basic degree of common sense and decency.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANYONE CONDONE THE ACT OF STRIKING, HITTING, BEATING, OR CAUSING ANY BODILY HARM TO A WOMAN JUST BECAUSE SHE LANDED THE FIRST BLOWS. Most of this book, actually more of a screed, is Mr. Goad's attempt to build a case proclaiming his innocence for brutally pummeling the crazy teenage paramour he fooled around with while his wife was dying of cancer. He spends a lot of time telling us how terrible he feels for hitting, first his wife and then his illicit lover, but then goes out and does it again and again. How anyone can find any sympathy for him is beyond me, but we are led to believe that we should because he just can't help himself.
Why do we live in a society where people can assert that their evil behavior is some symptom of a greater underlying societal fault, for which we must accept and feel sympathy for this behavior because society is to blame for their warped mindset? I don't buy it, and no one else should either. We can't all be accepted for who we are if we do things that have no value, whatsoever, in our collective agreement to respect one another. I wonder if Mr. Goad can even respect himself, which is probably why he has so many adherents.
When I think of what makes this book tick, it's the fact that some people are naturally drawn to anyone who talks loud, walks with a swagger, and seems to make sense only because they are yelling at you. Fox News is oozing with people like this, but at least Jim Goad is firmly on the other side of the political fence. But can Goad really take credit for potentially giving Kurt Cobain the idea to commit suicide, as he asserts in this book? I'm sorry, but that's just too conceited for me to accept. Therefore, and yet again, I think this book lacks credibility because of his clouded ego.
My fiancée asked me why I was reading this book. I thought I was reading it to learn a little more about an interesting man who made headlines in my hometown many years ago. But as I got further into it I realized the author was just bitching and moaning and acting like a New Jersey schmuck with anger management issues. He'll probably want to beat ME up now for writing this bad review.
But this is the crux of Mr. Goad's writing and persona: he wants to be hated; he wants to be a badass; he wants to stick his middle finger in the face of a society that he doesn't fit into. If you can stomach this kind of attitude, or perhaps you feel as jaded and individualistic as the author, then you will love this book. He is a pretty decent writer, and he knows how to turn a phrase, but his subject matter is just too reprehensible for my tastes.
For instance, I appreciate the fact that this book will offend the average person. And if it doesn't, then you're as dead to the world as I would suggest the author is; dead because he asserts his right to offend only as a backlash for the world offending him. But the wonderful aspect of this book's offensiveness is the briefly discussed subject of his Answer Me! censorship trial. He makes a provoking point: Our right to speak freely extends to EVERYONE, no matter how offensive they are. I personally cringe at some of the things that are published, broadcast, or are otherwise disseminated on a daily basis in our culture. Although I am chiefly offended by the conservative bible-thumping self-righteous residents of our country who tell lies about their adversaries in a back-slapping money-grabbing run to the bank that masks itself as entertainment, there are people on the left who can be pretty offensive too. One of these people is Jim Goad. But this book takes a very dark turn that overshadows the interesting and thought-provoking subjects that he briefly discusses; a turn that is offensive to anyone with even a basic degree of common sense and decency.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANYONE CONDONE THE ACT OF STRIKING, HITTING, BEATING, OR CAUSING ANY BODILY HARM TO A WOMAN JUST BECAUSE SHE LANDED THE FIRST BLOWS. Most of this book, actually more of a screed, is Mr. Goad's attempt to build a case proclaiming his innocence for brutally pummeling the crazy teenage paramour he fooled around with while his wife was dying of cancer. He spends a lot of time telling us how terrible he feels for hitting, first his wife and then his illicit lover, but then goes out and does it again and again. How anyone can find any sympathy for him is beyond me, but we are led to believe that we should because he just can't help himself.
Why do we live in a society where people can assert that their evil behavior is some symptom of a greater underlying societal fault, for which we must accept and feel sympathy for this behavior because society is to blame for their warped mindset? I don't buy it, and no one else should either. We can't all be accepted for who we are if we do things that have no value, whatsoever, in our collective agreement to respect one another. I wonder if Mr. Goad can even respect himself, which is probably why he has so many adherents.
When I think of what makes this book tick, it's the fact that some people are naturally drawn to anyone who talks loud, walks with a swagger, and seems to make sense only because they are yelling at you. Fox News is oozing with people like this, but at least Jim Goad is firmly on the other side of the political fence. But can Goad really take credit for potentially giving Kurt Cobain the idea to commit suicide, as he asserts in this book? I'm sorry, but that's just too conceited for me to accept. Therefore, and yet again, I think this book lacks credibility because of his clouded ego.
My fiancée asked me why I was reading this book. I thought I was reading it to learn a little more about an interesting man who made headlines in my hometown many years ago. But as I got further into it I realized the author was just bitching and moaning and acting like a New Jersey schmuck with anger management issues. He'll probably want to beat ME up now for writing this bad review.
But this is the crux of Mr. Goad's writing and persona: he wants to be hated; he wants to be a badass; he wants to stick his middle finger in the face of a society that he doesn't fit into. If you can stomach this kind of attitude, or perhaps you feel as jaded and individualistic as the author, then you will love this book. He is a pretty decent writer, and he knows how to turn a phrase, but his subject matter is just too reprehensible for my tastes.
August 21, 2018
Goad’s bleak, psychopathic journey to nowhere.
Part autobiography, part prison memoir, ‘Shit Magnet’ is Jim Goad raw, a piercing, testosterone-fueled journey into the mind of an anti-social sociopath. His writing is at turns brilliant and childishly sarcastic, but never boring. If you envision an angry teenage boy from an abusive home who never mellowed but instead grew angrier with age, Goad is that but with a gift for the written word he uses to browbeat the reader into submission. Goad’s social commentary is incredibly astute and savagely sarcastic, he proclaims an admiration for H.L. Mencken and the influence is unmistakable.
Who the hell is Jim Goad? The 90’s produced a pop culture underbelly that was inherently nihilistic, brimming with anger and self-loathing. The oft-ignored children of hippies consumed industrial music, grunge music, ultraviolent films like True Romance and Natural Born Killers and their literary cousins, the ‘Zines'; underground magazines with small print runs and cult followings. Jim & Debbie Goad’s ‘Answer Me!’ was undoubtedly the highest evolution of the Zine art form, angry and designed to shock adults and appeal to a new generation of readers. Jim’s savage social critique and psychopathic views published in Answer Me! produce legal controversy (an obscenity case against a magazine shop). Goad also recounts the triple suicide of some young, British neo-nazi fans, which he describes with his own darkly descriptive flare. As life stories go, it’s an impossibly ugly autobiography that omits any sunlight from Jim’s past; it’s all bad, all gloom. After all, we can’t have anyone thinking that a mind this dangerous had any happy moments (especially growing up), can we? That would be boring and actually humanize the author, there’s clearly an image of invincibility to project here.
Goad displays simmering contempt for his late wife Debbie, repeatedly describing how “stupid" and self loathing he found her to be, the ten separate occasions he hit her are recounted with a calculating, matter-of-fact tone that shows limited remorse. Jim begins an affair with a younger, deranged fan and fellow Zine writer named Anne. The affair continues as Debbie is diagnosed with cancer and for this affair Goad demonstrates genuine regret. But the humanization is short-lived and it’s back to Jim Goad vs. society and all of their fake bullshit. Despite several violent arguments with Anne including a restraining order which Goad files against her, Goad continues to see the woman. Like Icarus flying closer and closer to the sun, Goad pushes this toxic cycle too far. He uses Anne for sex one time too many and once again they fight, but this time Jim snaps and takes her on a violent ride, beating her to a bloody pulp in the process. Recounting this violent episode, Goad shows zero remorse and instead writes with an energized zeal about finally giving Anne back the violence she delivered to him sevenfold. Of course, Ann calls the police and Jim is incarcerated for two years.
Goad’s prison stretch produces remarkable writing, I liken it to pouring jet fuel on a raging bonfire. He describes his environment with a visceral bitterness that recalls Solzhenitsyn in the gulag, of course without the 'triumph of the human spirit’ part. Goad ends his prison sentence claiming that the experience traumatizes the convict and makes men into animals or institutionalized dependents, however he offers nothing as an alternative for felons which allows his bitterness to outshine what could have been a constructive critique of the prison system. It’s also worth noting that this supposedly counterproductive imprisonment has the desired effect, Jim Goad hasn’t beaten a woman since(?). Which brings us to the modern day. These days Jim Goad writes a regular column for Taki Mag as well as books, he also survived his own bout with cancer, and more importantly, became a father. In recent interviews, Goad has actually talked-up his late wife’s contribution to ‘Answer Me !’ and taken much more accountability for his actions on that fateful day with Anne.
I can’t help but wonder if ‘Shit Magnet’ wasn't ultimately a cathartic enema for his rageful, burning mind?
Part autobiography, part prison memoir, ‘Shit Magnet’ is Jim Goad raw, a piercing, testosterone-fueled journey into the mind of an anti-social sociopath. His writing is at turns brilliant and childishly sarcastic, but never boring. If you envision an angry teenage boy from an abusive home who never mellowed but instead grew angrier with age, Goad is that but with a gift for the written word he uses to browbeat the reader into submission. Goad’s social commentary is incredibly astute and savagely sarcastic, he proclaims an admiration for H.L. Mencken and the influence is unmistakable.
Who the hell is Jim Goad? The 90’s produced a pop culture underbelly that was inherently nihilistic, brimming with anger and self-loathing. The oft-ignored children of hippies consumed industrial music, grunge music, ultraviolent films like True Romance and Natural Born Killers and their literary cousins, the ‘Zines'; underground magazines with small print runs and cult followings. Jim & Debbie Goad’s ‘Answer Me!’ was undoubtedly the highest evolution of the Zine art form, angry and designed to shock adults and appeal to a new generation of readers. Jim’s savage social critique and psychopathic views published in Answer Me! produce legal controversy (an obscenity case against a magazine shop). Goad also recounts the triple suicide of some young, British neo-nazi fans, which he describes with his own darkly descriptive flare. As life stories go, it’s an impossibly ugly autobiography that omits any sunlight from Jim’s past; it’s all bad, all gloom. After all, we can’t have anyone thinking that a mind this dangerous had any happy moments (especially growing up), can we? That would be boring and actually humanize the author, there’s clearly an image of invincibility to project here.
Goad displays simmering contempt for his late wife Debbie, repeatedly describing how “stupid" and self loathing he found her to be, the ten separate occasions he hit her are recounted with a calculating, matter-of-fact tone that shows limited remorse. Jim begins an affair with a younger, deranged fan and fellow Zine writer named Anne. The affair continues as Debbie is diagnosed with cancer and for this affair Goad demonstrates genuine regret. But the humanization is short-lived and it’s back to Jim Goad vs. society and all of their fake bullshit. Despite several violent arguments with Anne including a restraining order which Goad files against her, Goad continues to see the woman. Like Icarus flying closer and closer to the sun, Goad pushes this toxic cycle too far. He uses Anne for sex one time too many and once again they fight, but this time Jim snaps and takes her on a violent ride, beating her to a bloody pulp in the process. Recounting this violent episode, Goad shows zero remorse and instead writes with an energized zeal about finally giving Anne back the violence she delivered to him sevenfold. Of course, Ann calls the police and Jim is incarcerated for two years.
Goad’s prison stretch produces remarkable writing, I liken it to pouring jet fuel on a raging bonfire. He describes his environment with a visceral bitterness that recalls Solzhenitsyn in the gulag, of course without the 'triumph of the human spirit’ part. Goad ends his prison sentence claiming that the experience traumatizes the convict and makes men into animals or institutionalized dependents, however he offers nothing as an alternative for felons which allows his bitterness to outshine what could have been a constructive critique of the prison system. It’s also worth noting that this supposedly counterproductive imprisonment has the desired effect, Jim Goad hasn’t beaten a woman since(?). Which brings us to the modern day. These days Jim Goad writes a regular column for Taki Mag as well as books, he also survived his own bout with cancer, and more importantly, became a father. In recent interviews, Goad has actually talked-up his late wife’s contribution to ‘Answer Me !’ and taken much more accountability for his actions on that fateful day with Anne.
I can’t help but wonder if ‘Shit Magnet’ wasn't ultimately a cathartic enema for his rageful, burning mind?
August 4, 2019
There isn’t a single reason in the world for me to like Jim Goad. We’re mostly politically opposed, he doesn’t like feminists, and he spent time in jail for brutally beating his girlfriend (with whom he was cheating on his cancer-stricken wife, who later died). He writes for Taki magazine now and spends a lot of time debunking “hate crime hoaxes,” and thinks white men are an oppressed class.
But—Jim’s also an outstanding writer, lays himself and his own bullshit bare for his readers, and unflinchingly dissects the rot of American institutions with ease. That, I like; I also like stepping out of my reading comfort zone at times, so even though it turned my stomach to read about his delight in beating a smaller, younger woman to a bloody pulp (and the point, gentlemen, is not that she hit first—it’s that you’re all twice our size and strength and can do immense damage to us with just a few closed-fist blows), I can choose to look away or keep reading. I’ll usually always choose to keep reading.
But—Jim’s also an outstanding writer, lays himself and his own bullshit bare for his readers, and unflinchingly dissects the rot of American institutions with ease. That, I like; I also like stepping out of my reading comfort zone at times, so even though it turned my stomach to read about his delight in beating a smaller, younger woman to a bloody pulp (and the point, gentlemen, is not that she hit first—it’s that you’re all twice our size and strength and can do immense damage to us with just a few closed-fist blows), I can choose to look away or keep reading. I’ll usually always choose to keep reading.
May 31, 2015
a sociopath's stroll down self-pity street.
March 5, 2008
what can one say about Goad that hasn't already been said? most people hate him, and those that genuinely love him scare me. a lot. he can be funny though, even as he nails himself to his own cross.
August 5, 2014
I first learned of Jim Goad after I learned he was an accomplished writer who wrote for the same magazine I write for in Portland. This book is amazingly honest in it brutality and is written in a sense that its hard to argue with anything he says, even if its wrong. It's no wonder why his work is so polarizing. Jim says things that won't be said and things people don't want to hear. Everything is articulated in a valid sense even if it may or may not be correct . The book captured my feeling about living in Portland and really feel that he brutally makes the reader empathize with what a pit his life was. I've never met Jim Goad but I've met plenty of people who have A lot of people have said that in a personal sense he's actually really pleasant to be around . In fact my senior editor at my college newspaper dated him after he got out of prison and said he was the best boyfriend she ever had. Compared that to his career and there really is another layer of honesty that seem to be at a more logical sense to show how sincere he really is, be it BRUTAL honesty that I think lends itself to his integrity as a writer. This book has been one of the best books I've read in the past 3 years. It would never get made but this book NEEDS to be a movie
January 22, 2009
This book started off weak... a lot of "poor me the shit magnet" type ranting. I think that was a clever ruse to scare off the folks who couldn't hack the larger story and the bigger picture because once he got started telling his story, it was brilliant and enjoyable as all hell. I might even use the word "transcendental"... oh wait, I just did.
ps. Street Boners is some fucking funny shit where you can read more Goad more of the time.
ps. Street Boners is some fucking funny shit where you can read more Goad more of the time.
March 21, 2011
Really humanizing. I read Answer Me! and mostly hated the fanzine, but appreciated it in a lot of ways, as well. This autobiography was enlightening, honest, interesting and well-written - and made me really really sad. All the wrong people vilified Jim Goad when they should have been defending him for being the extreme that proved their points. Shined a light on the worst part of this society. Totally worth reading.
January 26, 2010
Jim Goad is a man who did some questionable and, at times, violent things in his past, but his biography lays his life bare before the reader. Never shy from the controversial, the former editor of the now infamous 'zine ANSWER Me!, does not hesitate to talk about how terrible things in his life affected him. You can read more of my review at http://ireadoddbooks.com/?p=68
January 26, 2022
A sociopath with sterling politics, Goad is at his worst when bragging about himself or marinating in self-pity about his family and at his best when talking about events, women, and politics, a dichotomy which has carried through to his later enlightenment and realignment to the Dissident Right.
December 1, 2021
This book is a real joyride if you can keep the author's tangible disease from infecting you, shouldn't be hard for stable people. The plot points and the writing continually up the ante from the first page, and by the time we're in prison with Jim, I was reading it with a full smile. Jim redirects all the energy Hunter S Thompson used up getting loaded and sustains his own constant high of unrighteous anger. If you'd stop thinking about authors like they're your ex lovers I'm sure you'll appreciate it. Not for the depressed.
August 18, 2007
Yuck. All of Joad's brains are sunk into this lavishly self-defensive whinefest.
December 26, 2008
Enjoyable if you don't have tender sensibilities. I enjoyed reading this book quite a bit, I'd enjoyed Jim Goad's writing prior to reading this book and it didn't disappoint.
October 11, 2009
Extremely entertaining book by a wonderful guy... Jim Goad is an angry white male and makes no excuses about it. He has a gift for language - the book is simply SUPERIOR.
July 16, 2017
Jim Goad is a better writer than you are.
April 29, 2022
This is a good book.
Some would call it a Neo-Nazi book. An Alt-Right book. I say, fuck off. I say, get a grip. Grow up. I say, READ IT .
Do the work and read the work before assigning people as being this, that or the other.
Many will feel it is nasty book. I like a nasty book. Being the transgressive artist I am. But, transgressive artist, doesn't mean I'm a transgressive in general. Whereas, Goad is, and more.
Like most nasty books, it is only deemed as such, because we are overly sensitised mentally ruled drones. It is easy to term Goad's work as being nasty, due to what we have chiselled into us, in relation to the nature of violence against women, people, and topics as unsensitive as racism, white anger, white this, male that, this or that - all subjects that we Rw forced to submit to, to the herds way, or risk being labelled a flight risk or a dangerous individual. Fuckers.
This book isn't nasty. Some of the flowery, not so flowery, words may make yah squirm, but its brutally honest.
It is, angry, yes, vengeful, I mean, we all are, let's not lie to ourselves, and sadly, for me, too long in the tooth in relation to some aspects and subjects matters.
But, it is good. Dark. Funny. Staccato fire assaultive.
This book is compellingly raw, abrupt, vicious, honest. Goad is nothing but honest and to the point.
A recommended read. Just needs a trim of 50 pages or so.
Some would call it a Neo-Nazi book. An Alt-Right book. I say, fuck off. I say, get a grip. Grow up. I say, READ IT .
Do the work and read the work before assigning people as being this, that or the other.
Many will feel it is nasty book. I like a nasty book. Being the transgressive artist I am. But, transgressive artist, doesn't mean I'm a transgressive in general. Whereas, Goad is, and more.
Like most nasty books, it is only deemed as such, because we are overly sensitised mentally ruled drones. It is easy to term Goad's work as being nasty, due to what we have chiselled into us, in relation to the nature of violence against women, people, and topics as unsensitive as racism, white anger, white this, male that, this or that - all subjects that we Rw forced to submit to, to the herds way, or risk being labelled a flight risk or a dangerous individual. Fuckers.
This book isn't nasty. Some of the flowery, not so flowery, words may make yah squirm, but its brutally honest.
It is, angry, yes, vengeful, I mean, we all are, let's not lie to ourselves, and sadly, for me, too long in the tooth in relation to some aspects and subjects matters.
But, it is good. Dark. Funny. Staccato fire assaultive.
This book is compellingly raw, abrupt, vicious, honest. Goad is nothing but honest and to the point.
A recommended read. Just needs a trim of 50 pages or so.
August 13, 2018
The Author lived in that zoo know as Portland. I had hoped to learn more about the City and not just about the one oddball woman. Worth your time if you are interested in our prison system.
December 15, 2023
One of the most morally questionable books I’ve ever read, but simultaneously one of the best. An honest and uncompromising look into an intelligent but troubled man.
Read
May 2, 2024There's probably Something in this book worth reading, but there is no hint of it in the first 25 pages. Life is too short for this crap.
October 29, 2021
Jim Goad is something else. A visceral experience.
March 17, 2017
The darkest, yet most thrilling book I've ever read.
August 5, 2024
One could argue that Jim Goad has a dark mind, but he speaks many truths. Here are just a couple of the gems that I took from Shit Magnet:
"Violence never solved anything? HA! It solves everything! It always has. Violence makes the world go ’round. It is an inescapable historical principle. There isn’t a nation on earth that wasn’t built on its enemies’ corpses. Each word in every history book is written in the losers’ blood."
Or:
"Societies only condemn violence when it threatens their own safety. And they applaud whatever violence alleviates the threat."
I am looking forward to reading some of his other work.
April 25, 2008
a hard book to read of a self absorbed man. harsh language and it not an easy read. not all books should be pleasant, for you to learn from. i do not recommend it though, unless you are into this type of nonfiction writing. i know my review is vague--he is a hard man to discibe without 4 letter words.
May 20, 2014
Insightful, angry read.
Want to read
March 30, 2013I can't seem to get very far
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews