Great Reads by John Biggs

1 week ago | johnbiggs.substack.com | John Biggs

Donald Trump finally got the military parade he had long wanted—an event initially inspired by the 2017 Bastille Day parade he saw in France. After being blocked during his first term, he returned to office surrounded by loyalists willing to carry out his demands. The parade, staged in Washington DC on his 79th birthday, was nominally meant to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, but in reality, it served as a personal display of power and ego.

2 weeks ago | johnbiggs.substack.com | John Biggs

Being a writer isn’t hard. You just have to try to tell the truth every day, forever, and do it quickly—because by the time you’re done, the truth will have changed. When you’re writing fiction, it’s fairly easy to tell the truth: you take what happened to you and change the names—or, barring that, imagine yourself in a wild predicament and get yourself out of it. For journalists and nonfiction writers, it’s a bit harder because, as we said before, the truth changes daily.

1 month ago | johnbiggs.substack.com | John Biggs

This weekend was my birthday. We ate, drank, and played music in the dark — and it was a great time. It’s nice to have a weekend so full of light and love and happy faces. It almost let me forget everything else. Last week I also interviewed Bille August, a director of great renown who has been making art for 45 years. You’ve likely seen Pelle the Conqueror, The Best Intentions, or Night Train to Lisbon. He has a new film, The Kiss, coming out.

1 month ago | johnbiggs.substack.com | John Biggs

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Mar 28, 2025 | johnbiggs.substack.com | John Biggs

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