I'm enjoying this, though I can't help but feel that he is greatly overestimating his influence on the BB's songwriting.

I'm on page 150 and he's talking about Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations. Anyone that knows the BB's knows that the Wilson brothers started taking drugs during this time period.

Mike's holier-than-thou attitude about his cousins' drug abuse can be rather off putting and I expect it to get unbearable over the next 300 pages.

But it's good in that it's salacious - if you like that kind of thing.

Mike Love is a very petty man who has a habit of carrying grudges well past their sell-by date.

I thought chuck berry did most of the bb's songwriting?

Couldn't help it. I read that Dennis Wilson book. It was ok.

I'm going to read either Runaway Jury or A Painted House by John Grisham next.

Just seen the comments he made re: child pornography a few years ago: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/16/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/john-grisham-child-pornography/

He didn't think that one through, did he?

The best book I've read this year so far, Yuval Noah Hurari, called "Sapians"...it'll change your mind, no matter what it is....honestly

The Crossing by Michael Connelly.

Well-written as always but becoming cliched at this point.

The dialogue, the villains decision making, the confrontations with other detectives, the departmental politics and the scarcely believable love interest that adds nothing to the story are all becoming pretty trite at this point.

"Being Elvis - A Lonely Life," by British rock journalist Ray Connolly. Not the comprehensive account of The King's life covered in Peter Guralnik's masterful two-volume bio, but a lively account of Elvis that emphasizes his basic loneliness and insecurity. Well worth reading.

"The Wine Dark Sea," the fifteenth of 20 Patrick O'Brian novels about Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon (and spy) Stephen Maturin in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Era. The movie Master and Commander is sort - of based on some incidents in the books.

I have finished the 20 books of the Master and Commander series mentioned above. That's about 6000 pages.

If you've thought of reading a long series, but didn't want to get trapped and bored in the middle, I can recommend this one. If you like first book, or even the first chapter, you'll probably like the main characters and the series.

The Drop by Dennis Lehane was very good and you could probably finish it in a day since it's only 207 pages long.

I think I preferred it to the movie if I'm being honest.

I'm not sure if I believed Tom Hardy enough in the role, not sure if he hit all the right notes.

I don't enjoy fiction. I read non-fiction, history and law mostly.

For the 2nd time I'm reading Akhil Amar's The Constitution: a biography. I recommend it to those who are into the Constitution (but not as a complainer).

I ME MINE: EXTENDED EDITION

This was my first time reading George Harrison's book. I did enjoy the beginning portion, telling his story in his own words and even seeing some photographs that were from his private collection. However, overall, I thought the book could have had more. Three-quarters of the book are lyrics to his songs. Most have a short blurb about the song itself but very brief. Overall, I'm disappointed in this book as I would have liked to have heard more about George from his own mouth rather than just his lyrics.

I have been a fan of Bruce Springsteen's music since 1984, when I was in my early teens and he released his commercial breakthrough Born in the U.S.A.

When his autobiography was announced, I was not that interested in buying it. Not because of the topic, but I thought that I knew his story. Well, I was wrong. This book really enlightened me.

For example, prior to reading Born to Run, I had thought of his wife as nothing more than a modern day version of Yoko Ono. I thought she was responsible for breaking up the E Street Band in 1989 and that she was a homewrecker. It turns out that Patti is the best thing to ever have happened to Springsteen.

While he had long ago admitted to seeing a shrink, I never knew about the crippling depression he suffered at various phases of his life. I knew that Bruce's relationship with his father was strained growing up (not that uncommon). However, I never knew that his father has severe mental issues that went untreated until Bruce was in his 30s.

There are plenty of funny anecdotes, honest revelations, and insight that are discussed. Most of the chapters or sections are short, so it is easy to follow.

As an added bonus, I got to meet Springsteen last November when he was doing a book tour. I was able to shake the man's hand and get a picture with him, something I will never forget. I also rec'd an autographed copy of Born to Run.

I thought the book was good but it glossed over the later part of his career (90s and 00s). I was disappointed how he devoted so little time to discussing The Rising, which was a key part of his career resurgence and American history.

I also learned of the complete ambivalence toward the Irish side of his family which devolved into stereotyping at certain points, which is ironic since his dad is half Dutch.

His father was clearly mentally ill and Bruce didn't/doesn't seem to have much empathy.

I'd say his upbringing was no different to most kids of that era, but he seems rather coddled.

JAMIE LEE CURTIS: SCREAM QUEEN

A very well constructed and painfully researched book. It took author David Grove 5 years to write it according to him. The book deals primarily, as the title suggests, with Jamie Lee Curtis' horror career. It goes in depth and behind-the-scenes on all of her horror films such as HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, PROM NIGHT, TERROR TRAIN, ROADGAMES, and HALLOWEEN II. If you are a fan of Jamie Lee or this particular point in her career, I would definitely recommend this book! It has a lot of wonderful information about her life and career. I honestly felt that the last 2 or 3 chapters could have been omitted and the book would have been fine. Also, the only knock against it that I have are the author seems to repeat himself ad nauseum at times, plus there were a few grammatical errors in the book. But if you can look past that, I found it to be well worth a read!

I just read Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward it was good a little on the depressing side I would recommend

Currently reading Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño about half way through it is very good so far

I'm just about done with River of Doubt about Teddy Roosevelt's post-presidency trip down the Amazon River. Quite revealing about a former President and how the post-presidency can be a period of letdown for one that some feel the need for which to compensate.

HALLOWEEN

This was a film analysis for the original HALLOWEEN film. It wasn't quite what I expected. I was expecting more discussion about camera angles, lighting, etc. This went in a completely opposite direction: discussing psychology, the origin and tradition of Halloween the holiday, the culture of the 1970's when the film was released, etc. It wasn't a bad read, although some of the theories the author discussed I don't necessarily agree with while others I do. A short read (it comes in just at 100 pages), just again, not the particular film analysis I was expecting.

SUSPIRIA

A great film analysis that went scene-by-scene dissecting what each frame meant. It also provided some throught provoking theories such as does this story take place in the real world or is it a fairy-tale? Another short book coming in at only 88 pages. I wish it would have went longer as I enjoyed this one more than the HALLOWEEN analysis I last read. Not a bad case study at all if you're a fan of the film although be warned, a lot of the text deconstructs the lighting in great depth!

MS. 45

My second time reading Alexandra Heller-Nicholas' work (the above mentioned SUSPIRIA being my first) and I wasn't as impressed the second time around. I do enjoy how she sets her books up: chapter 1 deals with the groundwork for how the film got made: script, casting, locations, etc., chapter 2 deals with a scene-by-scene analysis and chapter 3 deals with the films release and legacy. With this book being so steeped in gender roles/feminism, I felt she would sometimes go off on tangents that would last a few pages before getting back on topic. Furthermore, she reference the 2014 Alamo Drafthouse Bluray/DVD release that housed a few special features. The special features were enjoyable, albeit a little thin in my opinion. Already having seen these, she referenced them a lot and as such, don't know if that's due to laziness on her part, difficulty in finding quoteable material for her book, or because the information was just that valuable. But having seen and heard these recently, I was disappointed in how much she relied on them for this book. I will give her credit however that she was able to pull material for Zoe Tamerlis Lund, which was a nice balance to the disagreements over who wrote what between her and director Abel Ferrara. For those who don't know, star Zoe Tamerlis Lund died in 1999 due to heart failure caused by drug abuse so finding interviews conducted before her death with which to pull quotes from could present a problem. Overall, not a bad book, just not as enjoyable as her first that I read but I would definitely read more of her work.

I finished The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano hands down one of my favorite books I have read

Currently reading History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

Finished History of Wolves on Sunday it was good at it first I didbt think i would like but it was really good thriller.

By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolano on deck

Do you read mostly Fiction or Non Fiction.

I looked them up , Fiction.

I love Bolano. Have you read 2666? It's a monster of a book , but it's worth the effort.

@ Dues
I think I've only read about half dozen non fiction probably should read more but I find fiction more enjoyable. I kind of like the visualization i create with fiction that I can't with non fiction if that makes sense. That and I replaced fiction books for tv shows because I got rid of cable and Netflix which was kind of a rash decision that I'm to stubborn to go back on

@Helen
I have 2666 but I have not started it yet. I was about 1/4-1/2 way through Savage Detective I really loved it so i got 2666 and By Night in Chile but 2666 being 900+ i put it on hold probably until midsummer or fall most likely the last book I read in 2018. My friend gave me two books last month and she has been asking me if I read them yet kind of annoying me into them.

Bolano is really good I plan on getting more of his work when I finish what I have

You may like Enrique Vila-Matas and Mario Vargas Llosa too. Their stuff reminds me of Bolano.


I'm going to pick up History of Wolves, it looks interesting.

I heard Conversation in a Cathedral by Mario Vargas Llosa was really good, Bolano got me interested in Latin America literature so i going to try and read more of it

Hopefully you won't be disappointed i wasn't

I like it, I get it.

Wish I could cut the cord on Cable but my wife really enjoys it and her shows and I want her to be happy.
Happy Wife, Happy Life.

I could go without regular television but do enjoy movies classics and New.

I read mostly Non Fiction bit my wife only reads fiction and always looking for good books.
I will pass these recommendations on to her.

Just finished Camino Island by John Grisham. It's probably the worst Grisham book I've read. Starts really well but ends up quite a pedestrian read that never gets going.

It’s been on sale for 3.99 but the reviews have been awful so we passed on it.