Sedaris’s early diary entries are interesting from a historical perspective, and are occasionally mildly amusing, but as the years go on, his life really blossoms, his observations get sharper and wittier, and the book becomes hilarious. Tales of hitchhiking and menial jobs in his 20s, meeting his boyfriend, homophobia and bigotry, struggles with alcoholism, adjusting to New York, international travel…
An excellent memoir. Nash takes you through the heady, exciting times of his first band, The Hollies, through CSN, CSN&Y, and his solo career. He talks about his deep friendship with Mama Cass, his many romances (including, of course, Joni Mitchell), detailed accounts of his good friendships with Stephen Stills and David Crosby, and his rocky one with Neil Young. …
I haven’t read as much fiction as I intended, so I went for a classic that’s been sitting on my shelf for decades. A very well written character study. The protagonist, a writer, travels to Venice in the hope that it will cure his writer’s block. While there, he becomes spellbound and obsessed by a beautiful teenage boy. First published…
This book is a best seller and has been translated into over 24 languages. It’s an old book that has recently experienced a resurgence. I really hated it. It lays out 48 “laws” explaining how to obtain power. Perhaps if you’re a cunning, evil, amoral person whose only intention is to grab power at all costs, often at the expense…
A medical history of the major breakthroughs in cardiac medicine, from cardiac bypass to angiography to pacemakers to heart transplants to artificial hearts. Interspersed are stories relating to himself and his family, as well as some of his patients. I’ve always found books like this interesting, and I did find this one illuminating, but I’m a big fan of Atul…
A memoir by Nivrana’s manager. An interesting accounting of Nirvana’s meteoric rise, from the early indie days through the massive success of Nevermind, and the rest of their recording career. There’s more about the recording business (and less about Cobain) than I expected, but the genius of Cobain’s songwriting and vision for the band comes through very clearly. Many interesting…
A really fabulous book about the loneliness you can feel when you live in New York City. The book is a very insightful meditation on being alone, with the author discussing New York artists whose work reflects that loneliness. There are great sections on these artists, most of whom I was familiar with (Warhol, Hopper, Basquiat, Klaus Nomi) and some…
Although I was only 9 years old in 1969, I was a rabid Mets fan, and the magic of that incredible season has stayed with me for the last 50 years. I’ve read many books and articles about that season, but this one is especially good, as it is written by former team member Art Shamsky, the right fielder. He…
While most of my high school friends and peers were assigned this book in whatever history course they were taking, I somehow managed to avoid reading this book until now. I now wish that I had read it back then, when I was more impressionable and would have been more shocked by man’s inhumanity to man. Still, it’s hard to…
A series of essays by the Korean-American author. Some of the essays resonated more with me, especially the ones about his gay activism. Others, about tarot cards and astrology, drag culture, and being a writer, didn’t hold much interest for me, although his writing style is great and I enjoyed reading the book, even those essays that didn’t really hit…
A bizarre (and very British) story about a thug, Lionel, who looks after his ward and nephew, Des, providing him with fatherly (and very anti-social) advice. Des manages to figure out how to lead a gentle, productive life despite Lionel’s bad influence, until Lionel (while in jail) wins 140 million pounds in the national lottery. Lionel’s thuggish nature, however, isn’t…
Very disappointing. I love the show Broad City, and I really like Abbi’s character. I was hoping this book would be funny, but it just wasn’t. Not even a snicker. It starts out with her getting in her car for a road trip, but the road trip aspect of the book is very meandering and disjointed. Her musings about show…
A huge, very detailed, excellent biography of a very interesting character. I’ve always had a fascination for the so-called “beat” writers (although Burroughs, as I learned, bristled at being categorized as such), and WSB was undoubtedly the most interesting of the bunch. The book chronicles, in extensive detail, the insanity that gripped much of this man’s life. The myriad places…
I’m very into music, with the music of the 60’s being my favorite genre. I read a lot of books about that era, but this one is undoubtedly the best one I’ve read so far. Filled with fascinating inside information, not just about the artists, but about the social, political, and cultural climate that gave rise to the music. The…
The ultimately triumphant tale of a child, Corey Friedman who, at a young age, developed Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorder, all of which combined to make his life a living hell. After trying nearly every psychoactive drug imaginable (and suffering terrible side effects) and struggling terribly through setback after setback. He manages, through sheer will and determination, to…