What are you currently reading?

[Lopez]

I've been on a big Ramones kick recently. A while back I read Joey's bio by his brother (excellent), Johnny's autobiography (just OK and too short), Dee Dee's bio by his wife (very poorly written), and a short history of the band (not bad). Just finished Dee Dee's autobiography. Oddly he only mentions that he had a wife on the next to the last page and the book's almost 300 pages long. He talks mostly about his rotten childhood and his never ending quest for drugs. I have no idea how he found time or the lucidity to write a book. Up next are The Ramones at 40 and Marky's autobiography. There's a couple extensive volumes about the band, which I'll eventually get to, but there's nothing just about Tommy as far as I can see. At the same time, I'm reading a bio about Gene Clark of the Byrds. (I take a bus and a train to and from work every day, so I have plenty of time to read while I'm commuting amongst the iPhone zombies.)

[SteveSly]

Steve, if you haven't started Woody's book yet, you are in for a good time. I'm more than half way through and will probably finish it this weekend. It's an interesting story of how Woody started out playing drums in a farming community in northern England and eventually lands the drum spot in the Spiders from Mars. Besides talking about himself he speaks about Bowie and his rise and fall as Ziggy Stardust. He heaps lots of praise on Mick Ronson and Trevor Bolder, but Trev remains a mystery character. He doesn't say much about him as a person. I kind of wish there were a bit more detail in the book, but then it would be 600 pages instead of 300 and it might get tedious, I suppose. Lots of interesting stuff about touring and the weird Bowie hanger-oners. Having seen the Ziggy tour and been a huge Bowie fan in the early 70s, I'm loving this book.

Cool, I have not started it yet. Currently in the middle of Lemmy's autobiography (which is great BTW), but Woody's book is next.

[Lou]

Just finished Swan Song, by Robert McCammon. An excellent, though rather long, read about the breakdown of society in America
after the entire country is ravaged by Russian nukes. Very entertaining!

[kid_runningfox]

Just finished: Neil Peart - Travelling Music
Now Reading: Gunter Grass - The Tin Drum

[SteveSly]

Just finished Swan Song, by Robert McCammon. An excellent, though rather long, read about the breakdown of society in America
after the entire country is ravaged by Russian nukes. Very entertaining!

Read that years ago and remember really liking it. I always thought it would have made a great movie or mini-series. I read one other McCammon book that I thought was good, but the rest of his stuff left me kind of cold.

[Lou]

Read that years ago and remember really liking it. I always thought it would have made a great movie or mini-series. I read one other McCammon book that I thought was good, but the rest of his stuff left me kind of cold.

I thought the same thing about it being great movie material. What was the other one of his that you liked?

[Lopez]

Just finished Swan Song, by Robert McCammon. An excellent, though rather long, read about the breakdown of society in America
after the entire country is ravaged by Russian nukes. Very entertaining!

Excellent book. Loved every bit of it. It's the only one of his I've read. I've tried to read Stinger a couple of times, but never got more than a dozen or so pages into it.

I love apocalyptic novels. I've read Alas Babylon, Earth Abides, The Stand, A Canticle for Leibowitz, A Boy and His Dog, On the Beach, Day of the Triffids, and Mr. Adam.

[SteveSly]

I thought the same thing about it being great movie material. What was the other one of his that you liked?

It has been so long I don't remember. I think it had something about a "Wolf" in the title.

[Grimjack]

In the midst of Art Pepper's autobiography 'Straight Life'. One of the best music (auto)biographies I've ever read. Quite a story from quite a storyteller. He doesn't pull any punches...this is a brutally frank recounting of a life spent in and out of prison, rehab and cults. A guy who recorded legendary sessions and did photo shoots barely able to stand up because he was either devastated by withdrawal or out of his mind on drugs. A guy who EVERYONE had written off or forgotten about who came back from rock bottom and showed his critics a thing or two. A guy who poured his emotions into his music and left it all on stage night after night.
Even if you have ZERO interest in jazz, if you enjoy music biographies you'll really enjoy this. You may not like Art Pepper much as a person after reading it, but you'll certainly find him interesting. And it may make his music compelling to listen to...I certainly came away more interested in hearing his later work which I've now come to appreciate more than his early work.

[interbellum]

Just finished Swan Song, by Robert McCammon. An excellent, though rather long, read about the breakdown of society in America
after the entire country is ravaged by Russian nukes. Very entertaining!

There were a couple of his books translated in Dutch about 20 years ago, like Mine (about the kidnapping of a baby) and Stinger, which I liked. But the best one was for me Boy's Life, which has the same atmosphere as a lot of Stephen King-books with children as main characters.
Too bad Swan Song wasn't translated.

[interbellum]

It has been so long I don't remember. I think it had something about a "Wolf" in the title.

Probably The Wolf's Hour (1989) (according https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R._McCammon)

[Lou]

There were a couple of his books translated in Dutch about 20 years ago, like Mine (about the kidnapping of a baby) and Stinger, which I liked. But the best one was for me Boy's Life, which has the same atmosphere as a lot of Stephen King-books with children as main characters.
Too bad Swan Song wasn't translated.

Boy's Life is the name of the one I couldn't remember, but wanted to get to next. Thanks for the reminder!

[SteveSly]

Probably The Wolf's Hour (1989) (according https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R._McCammon)

Yup, that is the one.

[interbellum]

Started reading "The Last Days Of Night" by Graham Moore about Edison VS Westinghouse.

Just finished this one. Great adventure in which Tesla also plays an important role. Based on real history, but the events have been slightly condensed to make it a good story.
For the exact time-line, the author has made a page on his site: https://mrgrahammoore.com/books/the-...ical-timeline/

[interbellum]

^^The Last Days Of Night is being prepared for a movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5718944/...?ref_=tt_bd_sm

I'm curious about this film, but also about Moore's debut: The Sherlockian:

[MudShark22]

Back on a graphic novel kick, specifically Jonathan Hickman stuff. Finished The Nightly News and now gotten through 3 volumes of The Manhattan Projects.

[wideopenears]

Just finished David Mitchell's last one, "Slade House." This guy is in my top five for current fave fiction writer.

[SteveSly]

Currently reading "Outliers" by Malcom Gladwell. Pretty interesting stuff.

[JKL2000]

Anyone read any of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin books? I'm thinking of giving them a try. Old fogeys seem to love them.

[lak611]

I'm reading this for a book club I just joined.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[per anporth]

Just finished The Player of Games, my first dibble with Iain M.

(I remember reading The Wasp Factory, on a spit of land poking out into the North Sea, in unseasonably warm spring weather, 28 years ago)

[rapidfirerob]

Finished Hillbilly Elegy and about to start No Beethoven by Peter Erskine.

[Jerjo]

Anyone read any of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin books? I'm thinking of giving them a try. Old fogeys seem to love them.

I read the first one and while it was a good yarn, to plunge in without an background into those times raises the difficulty level. I've been recommended that something like this is essential to grasp the historical context and faithful authenticity. Someday I'd like to buy all the books at once and start plowing through them, then the Hornblower books.

https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Words-Com...Aubrey-Maturin

[JKL2000]

I read the first one and while it was a good yarn, to plunge in without an background into those times raises the difficulty level. I've been recommended that something like this is essential to grasp the historical context and faithful authenticity. Someday I'd like to buy all the books at once and start plowing through them, then the Hornblower books.

https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Words-Com...Aubrey-Maturin

I've read the same comments about the first book, and apparently the following ones are a bit different.

[Lou]

"The Hymn" , by Graham Masterton

People are willingly setting themselves on fire as a means to obtain eternal life.