BOOKS THREAD

If you haven't seen the movie Midnight Cowboy, don't read the book Midnight Cowboy, because it goes into detail on the plot. Written by a film professor, it's a short book - 130 pages or so - that talks about what went into the making of the movie; looks at all the major plot points; and then talks about the critical and popular reaction to the film, which is the only X-rated movie to ever win an Academy Award.

It's a quick read, and really enjoyable.

Joe Bob says check it out.

 

This is the first Steven King book I’ve read and am really enjoying it. Extremely well written.

 

Finally read Geddy Lee’s autobiography, “My Effin’ Life.” A great read for Rush fans, and it probably would be interesting to other rock fans for the following reasons:

1. Lee did much more of the writing than your typical rock biography — this truly is an autobiography, and Lee’s sarcastic sense of humor comes through.

2. He is quite honest and open about his drug use and how difficult life as a musician can be on a marriage/family life. It’s a credit to Lee and his wife, Nancy, that they managed to work through their issues — and that she was OK with him writing about them.

3. The Holocaust chapter. Comprised of family stories and research by Geddy and his siblings, this is a very sobering and well written chapter you should not skip. As Lee notes, what his parents and so many other Jews endured in World War II needs to be remembered especially as fascism lurks again.

 

I read this not long after its release. A terrific rock memoir that sits right beside some of Neil Peart's books as the definitive story of the band and it's music, especially with a lot of the behind the scenes stuff. (The documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage is outstanding too.) The Holocaust chapter might be the most intense (if that's the word) chapter I have ever read in a book about a rock musician.

 

The Back Channel by William J. Burns, the current CIA director. The book, from 2019, is a perceptive chronicle of his long career as a diplomat.

International diplomacy has long been an interest of mine and one I might have pursued as a career in a different life. I've reviewed books here on the subject.

Burns is the type of nonpartisan, knowledgeable and experienced diplomat that will vanish come January 20th.

 

The Last President of Europe by William Drozdiak, about Macron. Long interested in international politics, I really looked forward to this one.

It is good, but very short (barely 200 pages) and it already pretty dated as it went to press before the pandemic.

Still, worthy read and it is not easy to find books in English about contemporary Europe and politics.

 

And now the author is a fashion model:

Celebrated New Yorker Writer Enlisted as Model

 

Our local library recently joined a broader regional network and you can request an unlimited number of books. My 87 year old aunt has recently located to a facility right by my house and she is a voracious reader, so we have been using the system a lot. Recently read two books I’ve wanted to try:

Collision Low Crossers by Nicholas Dawidoff — one of the best sports books I’ve read in along time. Obviously, I have an interest as a Jets fan, but it’s really well reported and written. You get an insight into the strange and kind of awful life of a coach.

The Kid Stays in the Picture by Robert Evans — everything I hoped for and more. An utterly engaging tale of narcissism and mostly fiction. And written in such a fun and original voice.

 

Make sure you check out Patton Oswalt's routine on Robert Evans as a delightful accompaniment to that insane book.

Patton Oswalt on Robert Evans - YouTube

 

Collision Low Crossers was great, read it years ago. Awesome story about some guy having a beef with Wayne Hunter in practice and telling everyone he'd come back with a gun and Ryan (I think) telling him, "Good, you'll need it."

 

“Frank Sinatra was on Line 3, and baby he wasn’t crooning” is good stuff.

 

"Keeping the Faith" by Brenda Wineapple about the Scopes Trial. I had really liked her previous book about another trial (Johnson impeachment) and wanted to check this out.

Probably the definitive work on the subject, but oddly paced. The trial doesn't begin until page 250 or so! And the book is only 400 pages (and that ther trial covers a mere 100 pages).