6/23/2004
"KISS Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography" by David
Leaf and Ken Sharp.
I had heard that the first third of this book ( written by Beach Boys
biographer David Leaf based on some brief interviews given at the time
of the height
of the band's popularity) contained some real revelations where the
band "finally takes off the masks" and since KISS was the first band
that ever intrigued me, I couldn't resist. Of course, that hype was just
the usual baloney from the KISS marketing machine. There is nothing new
in these pages to anyone with a cursory knowledge of the band and who
has read the Gene Simmons autobiography (guilty!). However, what I personally
found fascinating was the other two thirds where the band and associates
comment pretty candidly on every single KISS release - not just the good
and/or successful ones. They discuss the writing and recording aspects
which is something I always find interesting. It's quite amusing to hear
Paul Stanley talk about his good intentions (Mott the Hoople, Raspberries,
Free's "All Right Now", and Led Zeppelin are all frequently name checked)
vs. the eventual results.
2/2/03
“The First To Die” by James Patterson. I
so enjoyed "Along Came a Spider" that I grabbed up this recent effort by the
same author. It's nowhere near as good. Strictly a standard pulp police drama
with your standard pulp plot twists which any fan of the genre will see coming
a mile away. That being said, it certainly was an easy read as I was able to
finish this 400+ page book in two days on the set without breaking a sweat.
1/25/03
“Erasure” by Percival
Everett. As is often the
case, a lot of nosy rosy’s asked me what this book was
about while I was in the middle of reading it. Only this time I couldn’t
give them the one word summation they are looking for. It’s definitely a satire, but it shoots at many targets and hits them all,
including publishing, Oprah, and black urban culture. Not
fall down laughing funny, but definitely worthwhile. This
book has the scent of “important” on it, but don’t let that scare you away, in fact being seen reading this might make you seem smarter!
Not so good was “LAMB: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood
Pal” by Christopher Moore.
Ha-ha. I get it. It’s funny to think of Jesus as a real kid
getting into mischief with his best friend, but this joke was stretched waaaay
too thin. It’s a great idea, but this
book had about as much depth as a good Saturday Night Live sketch. If you find the idea that Jesus’ best friend
is named “Biff” extremely funny, than you might enjoy this book more than I
did. I could only get through
the first 100 pages.
10/25/02
I just finished re-reading "The Nearest
Faraway Place," the Beach Boys biography
written by the recently deceased Billboard
editor Timothy White. This is not the place
to start if you're looking for information
about the Boys. This is actually more like
a history of California (I'm not kidding,
the Beach Boys don't even exist until 177
pages into the book) with the Beach Boys
and their genealogy used as mile markers.
I didn't find it interesting.
07/29/02
"Along Came a Spider" by James
Patterson. I am always a sucker for Grisham
type crime trash and this oldie but goody
fits the bill. Although some of it is a little
dated (the book is from 1992), especially
the pop culture references that are sprinkled
throughout, it was great for mindless summertime
passing of time.
06/14/02
"The Operator" by Tom King.
This
is a successful attempt at a serious
biography
of entertainment mogul David Geffen.
I say
serious because the focus was not meant
to
be the typical Hollywood tell all,
and it
does succeed except that Geffen's life
is
so star crossed that it simply has
to include
a little kiss 'n tell. It all makes
for a
very entertaining book that also manages
to reinforce my cynicism about the
record
industry.
03/14/02
“Bias” by Bernard Goldberg. This
book by a 28 year veteran of CBS News documents the liberal slant network
television
news applies to its coverage. Some of the examples he sites will make you
think twice about national media stories
(particularly political ones) and how
they
are presented. However
he also says that this bias is not necessarily the product of any
sort of grand
conspiracy, it’s just that most news
professionals
happen to be liberal by nature and
their
viewpoints unintentionally color their
coverage. Not as scandalous as the breathless press
this book has received led me to believe.
2/22/02
Not too many interesting books lately. I
did read the Gene Simmons autobiography.
Not a whole lot unexpected here. It's at
least 200 pages and I still didn't feel like
I know anything about the guy that I couldn't
have guessed. Oh, and I still am convinced
that KISS are/were indeed satanic.
11/28/01
I'm still working on my John Adams
book.
Unfortunately, I didn't realize that
there
was a brand new hot book written about
him
until I saw it featured in book stores
over
the weekend. I have a definitely "not
hot" version of his life. Oh well.
i
still am enjoying it more than the
George
Washington bio I just completed. It
might
be because I simply identify with Adams
more.
11/03/01
"Revolutionary Road" by Richard
Yates. This book is fantastic. I found
it
strangely uplifting considering it's
nominally
about selling out and the futility
of living
past 30 years old. Now I'm moving on
to my
endeavor to learn about American history
by reading a biography of every US
president
in order. And yes, someone does have
too
much free time on his hands.
10/25/01
"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley.
"Surviving an IRS Tax Audit"
by
Frederick Daily. Yes, I'm being audited.
No, I don't think this book is going
to help
me.
"The Complete Notes" by Bill
Bryson.
Jarvis from [spunge] gave this to me
as a
going away present last year in the
hope
that it would help explain England
to us
Yanks. It doesn't but I enjoyed it
nonetheless!
"The Fallen Man" by Tony Hillerman.
I got this book for free with my first Amazon.com
order two years ago and never read it figuring
anything that they give away has got to be
bad. It was actually not bad. Sort of a native
American John Grisham type thing.
"Glam!" by Barney Hoskins.
Only
an American could make the story of
glam
rock so clinical and boring. Sir, I
demand
you give back the exclamation point.
"Poison Heart: Surviving the Ramones"
by Dee Dee Ramone. Kind of a depressing
book,
actually.
"King of the Night" by Lawrence
Somebody. A fairly interesting biography
of Johnny Carson. He and I are a lot alike!
Yeah, right.
9/6/01
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay"
by Michael Chabon
09/05/01
How Deep is the Ocean? Brian Wilson and the
Beach Boys by Paul Williams. This is the
worst, most self indulgent book I've ever
read about the Beach Boys. I should have
expected it from a hippy who also loves Bob
Dylan and the Grateful Dead. Avoid!
09/04/01
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
9/03/01
Shopgirl by Steve Martin.
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