READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

[mdrs]

Have you read any good books about rock and roll that you would recommend to us?

 

I'll start by mentioning one;

 

Riding Shotgun, by Gerry McAvoy

http://www.ridingshotgun.co.uk/

 

It about Rory Gallagher, who many of you may already know about. It's written by Gerry McAvoy, who was Rory's bass player, and the closest thing to a real friend that Rory seems to have had. The book is excellent. Well written, interesting, and emotional. Rory's music soared to rarified heights. But his life story is pretty sad. This book is well worth reading.

 

Don

[The Geoff]

I've just finished reading the whole 'Master & Commander/Far Side of the World' series of 20 books by Patrick O'Brian.

 

Fabulous, and bereft that there will be no more.

 

Geoff

[Gruupi]

I don't really read books much anymore. A handfull of magazines is all I have time for. I take the "New Yorker" and am 10 or more issues behind in reading. I read "Guitar Player" of course and occasionally another music mag or two. I went on an intense period of reading alot of the classics just after I got out of college. I didn't own a T.V. for several years and read quite a bit. After a while it gets hard to find good books to read, I hate starting a book and not finishing it. Anyway with the internet and magazines I get my fill of reading.

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

The DaVinci Code.

[A String]

I just got a copy of the Bob Dylan Biography, but I haven't read it yet.

[Justus A. Picker]

Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

The DaVinci Code.

I found that somewhat disappointing. For all the controversey it generated it was just a so-so murder mystery. Didn't live up to the hype.....

[mdrs]

I really enjoyed the DAVinci Code a lot. I read it before all this media hype/contraversey arose. So, I was lucky that my enjoyment of it wasn't affected by all the media bull!!

 

I have a stack of music related books awaiting my attention....

 

I got the Dylan book, Amazing Journey...the life of Pete Townshend, a bio of Zappa, a couple of bios on Keith Moon, and "Here, There, and Everywhere" written by Geoff Emerick who was a recording engineer for the Beatles. Now I just gotta sit down and actually READ them!!

 

I just started Roy Buchanan; American Axe by Phil Carson. It's starting out a bit slow. But I always enjoyed Roy's amazing guitar style. So, I'd going to finish it for sure.

 

Don

[mdrs]

Geoff B...great suggestion. I'll have to order those.

 

Years ago I read the entire Horatio Hornblower Series, by C.S. Forester. They were great. I dont' live close enough to the ocean anymore to allow for much sailing. But, O'Brian's series might get me close to sailing???

 

Don

[Gifthorse]

We were soldiers once was good

 

I loved the Da Vinci code, I thought the end dragged for about 30 pages though.

 

I read it like 2 years ago. To me the intrigue in it wasn't whether it was real or not. To me the whole concept of Da Vinci and the code is preposterous. I thought it just gave me food for thought about greed, politics, religion.

 

I was fascinated, and still am in the Fibanacci sequence. My buddy Bill said at Berkely music school they studied it and how it correlates to music. It appears to be truly a universal proportion to everything.

 

I love to read, I am lazy to get into a book. Once I do I read the whole thing in a day.

[The Geoff]

If you liked Forester you'll love O'Brian. Great period detail right down to forms of speech. All based on Royal Navy Records, Captains' and First Mates' logs and the diaries of Ordinary Seamen.

 

I found the DaVinci Code a 'Ripping Yarn', but the standard of writing was awful. It was obviously written to be a film from the beginning. He even states that the 'hero' had an uncanny likeness to Harrison Ford - yet Tom Hanks got the gig(!?!).

 

There's nothing new in it either. I have books from the 70s & 80s postulating all the 'facts' about Jesus, Mary Magdelene and the Knights Templar that were brought up in it. I really don't know what all the hooha was about.

 

If you like military things, look for the 'Sharpe' books by Bernard Cornwell. These are to the army what Hornblower is to the sea.

 

Geoff

[Hardtail]

Originally posted by flagshipmile:

I love to read, I am lazy to get into a book. Once I do I read the whole thing in a day.

I recently read "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (again).

 

If you can read that one in a day, I would be impressed.

[Gifthorse]

Hehe I have my limits of course

 

 

HAHA, I am a fast reader, I also eat way too

fast, I drink too fast, I walk fast, I can play fast on guitar, I go to a million tangents fast, I think fast. I musta been a shrew (that farted alot) at some point.

[Greg B.]

Wonderland Avenue--Bio of Danny Sugarman--Doors manager, record exec, etc. Excellent read.

 

Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race --Brock Yates--If you are into cars at all, check this one out. Great book.

 

That Cobra in the Barn-Great Stories of Automotive Archaeology--Cool book about finding cars in barns, garages, etc.

 

The Ultimate Guitar Book--Tony Bacon

 

What can I say...I love cars and guitars...and I love to read about them.

[Steevo]

As far as Dan Brown goes, his book Angels and Demons is, IMO, better than the DaVinci Code. Deception Point and Digital Fortress are good too. Everyone should check out Michael Crichton's 'State of Fear'. Nobody footnotes like MC. I've been reading him since Andromeda Strain ... damn I'm old.

[Sleaze_Disease]

Right now I'm reading a really good book about the music business. It's nice because it's written so that common people can understand it. And I'm also reading a book about guitar and amp maintenance.

[BiC]

I've been reading all of Trump's. I'm currently on, "The Art Of The Deal".

 

They are my "sitting on the crapper" books!

[jimash]

I'm hooked on Stephen Baxter currently.

Reccomended : Manifold Time

 

Not really a rock and roll book but I liked Lisa Mason's "Summer of Love".

[picker]

Hammer of The Gods, A bio on & about Led Zeppelin,

Hellfire, a bio about Jerry Lee Lewis. That movie with Dennis Quade was based on it.

Unforgettable Fire, about U2

Caught in The Crossfire, about Stevie Ray Vaughn.

 

All of them were really good.

 

If you have any interest in history, I highly recommend "The Killer Angels" By Michael Sharra. It gives a very readable narrative history of the Battle of Gettysburg, along with a concise but accurate examination how it affected the outcome of the Civil War.

[JoeWalsh21]

Ive read the autobiography of Johnny Cash and The pillars of the earth (very historical, quite graphic in every way...) But I really really really recommend it, I hated to read untill I read that book not to mention it was #1 international best seller. Its by Ken Follet

[spiral light]

I just finished A Peoples History Of The United States by howard Zinn last night. I have my eye on A Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez for now. I am also in the middle of The Map That Changed The World: William Smith And The Birth Of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester on audio book. I have a bunch of books to read, so little time.

[mdrs]

A Hundred Years Of Solitude is a masterpiece! It's a Must Read!! If you like it, try "Love in The Time Of Cholera", and The General In His Labyrinth", both also by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

 

If you're looking for classics, I'd recommend anything by Hemmingway. Start with The Old Man And The Sea, which is an easy read. I think I've read everything he ever wrote....he was an amazing persona and marvelous writer.

 

Don

[mdrs]

More music related book recommendations;

 

"Ghost Rider; Travels On The Healing Road", by Neil Peart. The man may be the best drummer around. While he is not the best writer, this book is compelling at times, and an amazing personal story. Well worth the read. This man went thru A LOT, and came out alive, intact, and productive.

 

"Mozart", a great bio by Marcia Davenport.

 

Don

[alittlebatty]

Lets see....there's a tome I dip into here & there called "She's a Rebel" (a history of women in rock),

it's a huge book,and it's written in such a way you can read a chapter here,a chapter there,and stay in the groove of it. Another book I just picked up & am beginning to read is "The Creative Habit" by Twyla Tharpe,and is written for all creative types no matter what medium you use. I have Anne Rice books waiting for me on the bookshelf as well.

[Gruupi]

Iv'e tried reading "A Hundred Years of Solitude" twice. I get about halfway through and it just bogs down for me and I just can't keep on, it gets boring I guess. That happens to me alot, I'll read through a book with a strong start and just lose interest.

 

It took me forever to get through Herman Hesse's "Steppenwolf" The whole first 2/3 is just kind of depressing and plods along. But boy does it have a strong finish. I also read Henry Miller's "The Rosy Crucifiction" around this time which has a similar theme, throwing away a mundane middle class life to pursue pleasure and art. A song that I was listening to alot that also had that theme was Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues". Learn to work the saxaphone, I'll play just what I Feel.

[spiral light]

Originally posted by Gruupi:

Iv'e tried reading "A Hundred Years of Solitude" twice. I get about halfway through and it just bogs down for me and I just can't keep on, it gets boring I guess. That happens to me alot, I'll read through a book with a strong start and just lose interest.

 

It took me forever to get through Herman Hesse's "Steppenwolf" The whole first 2/3 is just kind of depressing and plods along. But boy does it have a strong finish. I also read Henry Miller's "The Rosy Crucifiction" around this time which has a similar theme, throwing away a mundane middle class life to pursue pleasure and art. A song that I was listening to alot that also had that theme was Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues". Learn to work the saxaphone, I'll play just what I Feel.

I also have a bunch of Hesse and Kafka to get to.

[Justus A. Picker]

Philip Roths "The Plot Against America" is a chilling look at a fictional America where Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindberg becomes President leading us down the path towards fascism. Good very disturbing read.

[J J]

Originally posted by A String:

I just got a copy of the Bob Dylan Biography, but I haven't read it yet.

Is it the "Studio A" one or is it the one called "Dylan," which has a bunch of cool pictures?

 

I read most of "Dylan" and it really sparked quite an interest. I recommend it.

[revolead]

Originally posted by Justus A. Picker:

Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

The DaVinci Code.

I found that somewhat disappointing. For all the controversey it generated it was just a so-so murder mystery. Didn't live up to the hype.....

I agree with you on this one, Picker. I actually thought the movie was better than the book simply because from a writer's perspective, Dan Brown is about as crappy pop fiction as they come. His story was intriguing his writing was for a Hollywood audience. Hence why it made a good movie.

[revolead]

Originally posted by Picker:

If you have any interest in history, I highly recommend "The Killer Angels" By Michael Sharra. It gives a very readable narrative history of the Battle of Gettysburg, along with a concise but accurate examination how it affected the outcome of the Civil War.

They made a movie based on that book. It's called Gettysburg, and if you haven't seen it you should. I need to read the book so I can compare the two.

 

Let's see, books I've read:

 

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin was awesome. Probably one of the best anti-communist novels I've ever read, even more so than 1984 or Brave New World.

 

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is probably the best book I've ever read in my life, and I think it says a lot about individualism, something to which all guitarists can relate.

 

Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert Massie is a great book, also for those into history. It tells all about the last days of the Romanov royal family and about finding their remains and the daughters. The original point was to bring closure to the Anastasia debate, and in many ways it did, but there is still one body missing, however, the chance of survival (especially after you read what happened) is very, very unlikely.

 

I have more but I'll stop...

[jimash]

"sitting on the crapper" books!

Dude that's why god made Guitar Player !