BOOKS THREAD

Finished Delta Lady, Rita Coolidge's new bio, a quick read that is timely given the death of Leon Russell. Not bad, contains the usual 60s-70s rock star excess, lots of booze, drugs, various infidelities and artists screwjobs (in her case she claimed she co-wrote, with Jim Gordon, the piece that eventually became the piano coda to "Layla"). Some good stuff on Joe Cocker and the legendary Mad Dogs and Englishman tour.

 

Gunslinger: The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre Hardcover – October 25, 2016
by Jeff Pearlman (Author)

If you enjoy sports and you are on a six hour cross country flight, this will definitely make the time go by quicker. Well written, well documented, fascinating story.

 

I had the same problem with Dave Eggers' Heroes of the Frontier that I have with much of his stuff. He's a great writer, but I find his characters and some of the circumstances he places them in unbelievable.

 

Reading book one of "My Struggle" Karl Ove Knaussgard. I like the style, the a novel diary. Doesn't stop to describe people or their backgrounds, trusts that the reader will orient themselves eventually. Sometimes takes a little too long to get characters from point A to point B with the interim description serving a debatable need. But it starts when he's about 16 and so far he's done a great job describing a lot of the joys and sorrows of that particular age. I like it so far, about 200 pages in. He's written like 6 installments for more than 1,200 pages total.

 

Just finished "The Trespasser" by Tana French, part of her Dublin Murder Squad series. Holy fuck she's good.

 

No idea how I missed it upon its release a few years ago, but I just finished Duff McKagan's memoir, It Ain't Easy. A very good, entertaining book and probably the best look at the inner madness of Guns N' Roses that I have come across.

 

Cool, I've read all her others. I'll have to pick this up this Christmas.

 

The Recovering from Surgery reading list so far (week 4 of 8)....

"Not Dead Yet" by Phil Collins. A memoir of the 1980s pop icon and future A1 obit subject.

"The Best in the World....At What I Have No Idea" by Chris Jericho. Third autobiography of the pro rassler.

"The Junction Boys" by Jim Dent (Is he in prison still?). Tells the story of how Bear Bryant nearly killed his aTm players in 1954.

"Saban" by Monte Burke. An unauthorized biography of the devil himself.

"The Force Awakens" by Allen Dean Foster. Because whatever. Just wanted to test out my library's new ebook lending service.

 

Just watched the related doc. Will have to grab the book.

 

If you liked "Where Did You Go, Bernadette?" then you'll like Maria Sample's new novel, "Today Will Be Different." From my vague recollections of the first book, it could be the same main character... or at least her cousin. Also, just like in the first book, there's a twist eventually.

I found both incredibly unsatisfying, mostly because of the unnecessary late twists.

 

I really liked Bernadette but gave up on "Today Will Be Different" after about 50 pages. I can't remember the last time I didn't finish a book I started. I found the main character (I've already forgotten/blocked out her name) so irritating that I just couldn't continue.

 

The debate about whether Phil Collins's death would be A1 material is one of the great ones around here, maybe that is why his memoir is titled "Not Dead Yet". Just finished it and thought it was terrific. Very entertaining and Collins's sense of humour is all over the pages. Like Rod Stewart did in his memoir, he isn't afraid to poke fun at some of the missteps he made in his career or life. The chapter on his involvement in Live Aid is really good.