books: what are you currently reading?

[Silence Dogood]

Just finished 'Brothers.'  It was good but since I've read so many books about VH, I knew most of the material already.  I was hoping for a personal glimpse into the VH family (and some was), but it was more of a quick account of the VH years up till Roth left.  The final bits of the last chapter were very personal and beautifully written.  I wish the whole book would've been like that. 

[Queequeg]

Candide is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947).

It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world.

Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds".

[Myopic Squirrel]

His is one of my favorite: "The secret of being a bore is to tell everything".

My brother points out that occasionally, when he asks me something, I "build the watch" rather than just tell him the time. 

[mike in lytle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1kt-Nh0aeY
Mike

[Silence Dogood]

I've had this book for a long time and have recently sort of rediscovered it.  Great for the bedside when I only want to read for a few minutes.

[Silence Dogood]

Here is another I've been keeping by the bedside.  Some of these stories are very strange and hard for a modern reader to relate to, even modern readers who enjoy old books.  But other tales here are timeless and very enjoyable.  Some are quite terrifying as well.  These are not stories by Yeats, but ones he collected and anthologized. 

[StringPicker6]

For Christmas I got Steve Luthaker's autobiography (guitarist from Toto). Then I got a bad cold and was able to finish the whole book in a few days while I recovered. It was pretty good, but not as rock and roll as I had hoped. Overall, a good book if you are into late 70's adult contemporary music.

[StringPicker6]

I just finished "Rambling Man, My Life on the Road" by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly.  Absolutely wonderful book.  If you've ever dreamed of grabbing your guitar, hopping on a freight train or hitchhiking out your front door, this book is for you.  Very funny stories also, and I never wanted the book to end. 

[Silence Dogood]

I've been nostalgic lately and was listening to lot of 80s music from when I was a kid.  I spent a good week or so in Heart's albums from this era.  It led me to Ann and Nancy Wilson's book, Kicking and Dreaming.  I did the audio version which had them reading their respective parts.  I think the book is from 2012, so lots has happened since.  It was pretty enjoyable, but like most musician memoirs, it sort of fell flat after the parts about their heyday.  Not a bad read (listen) though. 

[StringPicker6]

Buddy Guy's autobiography is still one of my favorites. The thought of growing dirt poor in the south and making it big in Chicago is a real American dream come true.

[Silence Dogood]

Buddy Guy's autobiography is still one of my favorites. The thought of growing dirt poor in the south and making it big in Chicago is a real American dream come true.

Read that years ago.  Seems like I remember that he used a bit of wire from a screen door nailed on a board as his first "guitar." That's someone who let nothing stop him from learning to play!

[Silence Dogood]

I have been reading some books with my children by Gary Paulsen.  He's got a series of books (the first called Hatchet) about a boy called Brian who survived a two-seater plane crash and lived for a time stranded alone in the woods.  All he had was a hatchet he had taken along for the trip and he learned how to live off the land, etc.  There are several books in the series and they are all great reads, and all pretty short.  They are geared toward younger readers but I really enjoyed them myself.  The author knew a lot about living off the land, the pleasure and benefits found in solitude, and the emptiness of the modern world with all its noise and gizmos. A coworker recommended the book Hatchet to me and I'm really glad he did.  I'd have missed it otherwise. 

[lackstone]

I have been reading some books with my children by Gary Paulsen.  He's got a series of books (the first called Hatchet) about a boy called Brian who survived a two-seater plane crash and lived for a time stranded alone in the woods.  All he had was a hatchet he had taken along for the trip and he learned how to live off the land, etc.  There are several books in the series and they are all great reads, and all pretty short.  They are geared toward younger readers but I really enjoyed them myself.  The author knew a lot about living off the land, the pleasure and benefits found in solitude, and the emptiness of the modern world with all its noise and gizmos. A coworker recommended the book Hatchet to me and I'm really glad he did.  I'd have missed it otherwise. 

Had Hatchet on tape narrated by Peter Coyote. Traveled between Louisville and Chicago a lot and this was one of the titles. My kids loved the story so it got a lot of play. Plus, Coyote's narration was excellent.

I'm reading En l'aire by Bert Hall. He was a real-life stumble bum faking his way through life but he was one of the original members of the Escadrille Americaine (Lafayette Escadrille) of WW1 fame. I just finished Eddie Rickenbacker's Fighting The Flying Circus. Both books are here:

https://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?s=59eb8cf3a3a3972d4e7a945ffcd0fa24&t=36635&goto=nextnewest

[Silence Dogood]

Had Hatchet on tape narrated by Peter Coyote. Traveled between Louisville and Chicago a lot and this was one of the titles. My kids loved the story so it got a lot of play. Plus, Coyote's narration was excellent.

I'm reading En l'aire by Bert Hall. He was a real-life stumble bum faking his way through life but he was one of the original members of the Escadrille Americaine (Lafayette Escadrille) of WW1 fame. I just finished Eddie Rickenbacker's Fighting The Flying Circus. Both books are here:

https://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?s=59eb8cf3a3a3972d4e7a945ffcd0fa24&t=36635&goto=nextnewest

We are doing the audiobooks in the Hatchet series, all read by Peter Coyote.  He did such a great reading and made these already-great books even better. 

Speaking of audiobooks, I'm read-listening to Mike Campbell's autobiography, Heartbreaker.  Mike does the reading himself which only adds authenticity to the story.  He has a very distinctive, down-to-earth speaking voice and the book wouldn't have been served as well by anyone else doing to reading. 

I've been a fan of Campbell's guitar work for a long time.  He has a very commanding yet understated style that always added the perfect layers to Tom Petty's music.  I'm only about a third of the way through the book but am enjoying it a lot. 

He tells a story from early on in his career about a random guy coming up to him after a show and giving him a Gibson J45. Wow!  He goes into detail about all his guitar purchases and acquisitions along the way, making it a great read for guitar nuts like us. 

And once again, I'm grateful for my local library where I was able to check out this book.  Public library = tax dollars well-spent.

[Silence Dogood]

We are doing the audiobooks in the Hatchet series, all read by Peter Coyote.  He did such a great reading and made these already-great books even better. 

Speaking of audiobooks, I'm read-listening to Mike Campbell's autobiography, Heartbreaker.  Mike does the reading himself which only adds authenticity to the story.  He has a very distinctive, down-to-earth speaking voice and the book wouldn't have been served as well by anyone else doing to reading. 

I've been a fan of Campbell's guitar work for a long time.  He has a very commanding yet understated style that always added the perfect layers to Tom Petty's music.  I'm only about a third of the way through the book but am enjoying it a lot. 

He tells a story from early on in his career about a random guy coming up to him after a show and giving him a Gibson J45. Wow!  He goes into detail about all his guitar purchases and acquisitions along the way, making it a great read for guitar nuts like us. 

And once again, I'm grateful for my local library where I was able to check out this book.  Public library = tax dollars well-spent.

I'm chiming back in here with some more thoughts on this book.  I'm about 3/4 of the way through and have enjoyed this more than any other musician memoir I've ever read, and I've read a bunch of them. I am pacing myself with it because I don't want it to end. Campbell goes into such detail in his story-telling. It's just a very enjoyable read.  The story of how the Boys of Summer collaboration came about with he and Don Henley was fun to learn about.  I knew Campbell co-wrote it but the details are great.  I won't spoil it for you.  Tom Petty turned down that song and lived to regret it.  Campbell was about to lose his house just before that deal happened.  I can only imagine what all that must've been like to experience. 

Anyway, do read this wonderful book if you are interested in musician memoirs. 
  

[StringPicker6]

I need to read that book. I feel like brilliance of Mike Campbell is finally being told.