quite simply – the most recent is at the top. Now that I dumped cable, I am hoping to burn through a lot more books. However, between band practice, work, and volunteer work… I hardly have enough time to finish burying the hookers out back.
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Rae Lindsay
This is a book on how the left handed brain operates. I am a lefty, one of a very proud 10% of artists, great minds, and weirdos. Being left handed is more than just a hand preference WAY more. We are literally wired differently. Ah, never mind. You don’t care.
Memories, Dreams, and Reflections
C.G. Jung
This is another re-read (which is rare for me). This is one of the most influential books I have ever read. Like Joseph Campbell, and Alice in Wonderland… this book helped shaped my perspective. Jung was the other great mind of psychology (the first bring Freud). They worked together, and were publishing contemporaries. They broke up, though. Freud theory is we are all damaged neurotic nutjobs with mother issues. Jung took a more mystical approach. He came up with Synchronicity, which is more than a great Police disc.
What I really loved about this book is it is an autobiography. So, it reads very conversationally. This is important, as Jung’s other published works are very clinical, and generally to dense to both read and enjoy. You know how every Friday, I top my Friday Fives with a mandala? That is all Jungian, 100%.
An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport
Kenny Mayne
I am absolutely crazy for Kenny Mayne. He is an ESPN personality, and is hilarious. He is, quite likely, me in 20 years. I haven’t read this book yet. Just got it, but am very excited. If you don’t know Kenny’s work, go here or here. He is also the reason I get up two hours before game day every Sunday to watch ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown, to see the ‘Mayne Event’.
Another reason to love Kenny (as if you didn’t), my buddy Chris manages the band who does the music for Mayne Street, and Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam does the intro.
The book was enjoyable, but you should stick with his online free content. If you want to read this, borrow mine. It’s not great, unless you share the love I have for Kenny Mayne… which is clear you do not from your tone and how you rolled your eyes right there. Never mind, you can’t borrow it!
Alan Alda
You know Alan Alda from M.A.S.H. We all do. I saw him on the Daily Show a while ago pimping one of his books and I was taken. He seemed really smart, funny, genuine, and articulate (remind you of anyone?). I didn’t think much more of it until I found his most recent memoir at the thift store for $3. I like his tone, his passion, and I think I am influenced by the fact he looks almost exactly like my step dad Roger. I can’t possibly say enough good things about Roj, so we’ll table that for later.
Seriously, he looks exactly like Roj… one of my favorite people on earth.
How is the book? A little boring and preachy at times. Hey, who isn’t? Frankly, I wouldn’t have spent the $32 it said on the cover, but it is a good read at $3. Bonus? It is a first edition hardback. If you are gay about books like I am, you know a first edition hardback is a valuable collector.
* update. I am totally bored of this book and shelving it. Was about half way through.
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
Tucker Max
If you are not familiar with Tucker’s writing, go here > www.tuckermax.com. Oh, and not at work. He is a hilarious, and articulate, douchebag. If you are a narcissist, and a dude, I strongly recommend this book. It’s like he is the fraternal twin of Chelsea Handler.
Allen Raymod
This is a frightening and true tale o a Republican operative who got busted by the Feds rigging elections for the GOP. yummy. schadenfreuden. yummy. This is everything you suspected politicos do to, and every fear confirmed. That it was all an expose on Republicans, and what a fraud the Christian right is… I loved it all that much more. Should be required reading for future politicos and aspiring wonks.
Chelsea Handler
The first book from talk show hottie, and female version of me. Not nearly as good as her second book (Are you there Vodka…). I expected this book to be more salacious and dirty, it was not. She discovered her voice here, but really nails it with her second. Go ahead and skip this one.
Michael Ian Black
A series of short random funny essays. A less pretentious, poor man’s David Sedaris. I am a HUGE fan of his television work with Mtv’s The State. The most influential and important sketch comedy show evar. It’s a good read, if nothing else for the essay titles: an open letter to the first girl I ever fingered… and other luminary tales. A good read, but if it were a movie i would classify it as a ‘renter’ or a ‘netlixer’. Meaning, not exactly worth $15, but a good score from your local library. Frankly, I expected something a little better. The content feels disposable.
David Gans
well, skippy. It is exactly what is sounds like. However, unlike most books on the Dead… this isn’t written after Jerry’s death. The interviews here begin back in 1977. By the way, if you are a fan of the Grateful Dead, I strongly encourage you to visit their site. It is terrific, on every level. Go here.
I should say I was hoping for more recent content, though. There is a period from 1990 to 1995 that really intrigues me. Some of the bands absolute best live music came from the early 90’s. There was a real resurgence in their energy. Then, Bent died in 1991 and Jerry in 1995. It seemed just as they were peaking (again), they were crashing simultaneously. I need a book to take me there.
Thomas Kohnstamm
no details here, just started it as bathroom reading as a friend’s house in Seattle. Got it from the library. Details to follow, but here is the subtitle which will tell you a little more: A swashbuckling tale of high adventures, questionable ethics, and professional hedonism. I have stared and stopped this book twice now. Am about half way through it, but likely dropping it for good. It’s just a dude writing about cruising and getting drunk. That’s my life already, not exactly the escapism I am looking for in literature.
Stuck in the Box
Donna McNeely
A memoir of life’s work in local tv news. If you’re interested in that (as I was), it’s a great read. If you’re not, well then don’t. You didn’t need me to tell you that. Here, she has a website.
Are you there, Vodka? It’s me, Chelsea
Chelsea Handler
finally, a girl as funny, foul mouthed, and narcissistic as myself. Plus, she is totally hot. This is some kind of memoir/essays/autobiography. She has a late night talk show and is generally brilliant. It’s vacuous enough for late summer reading. It’s this and Olympics in grave doses. Maybe for September I should dive into something more thinky. In retrospect, I really enjoyed this one.
Rick Reilly
sports writing with a strong comic bend. Think: Bill Simmons without the Boston obsession. So far, a really quick read. It’s a series of previously published pieces. Ok, I quit after I got half way through. Every essay was a feel good puff piece about how sports makes us better people and crap like that. There was humor, to be sure, but he isn’t acerbic enough for me. He is a featured writer now on ESPN.com, and it seems like every story is a feel good one. I guess that is his beat, but it gets preachy real quick.
Hunter Thompson
This is a re-read. Just picked it up again and am really enjoying it. It is classic Thompson, pre-Gonzo. This was the book that put him on the map, 1968. This was before ‘Fear and Loathing’, or any of the Nixon stuff. he was just a journalist, but here is where he began to change to rules of the game. A great and insightful read on every level.
John Densmore
The drummer for the Doors tells his tales of living with the lizard king. I have to imagine that dealing with Morrison was a MONSTER pain in the ass. Can’t say much about this tale, though, as I am only on the second chapter. *update Just finished the book. Jim was as big of a drunk asshole as you thought he was. He eventually destroyed the band, then went off to Paris to drink himself to death. However, he accidentally ODed. It was an enjoyable read for me, but I am obsessed with rock. For you, skip it. If you want a good primer on Morrison and co, pick up Danny Sugarman’s ‘No one here get’s out alive‘.
The music is still outstanding to me, though. After reading the book, I realized I didn’t have a cd of ‘LA Woman’ (their last and best record). Had I bought it and lost it? I realize it probably never made the jump from cassette. So, I bought it last night on iTunes.
Bob Braudis & Michael Cleverly
These are more collected essays about the late, great Hunter Thompson. I am a seriously big fan of Gonzo and all the good Doctor’s work. This was super enjoyable, and makes me sad to finish. The authors are very close with Hunter, no question about that. A great read, without question. I wish this book were a thousand pages. I can never get enough of these tales.
Jay Mohr
Jay writes about his two years on SNL during the Farley, Spade, Sandler era. As an autobiography, it is a shallow piece of toilet paper. However, as a behind the scenes piece on the mechanics of SNL (which is exactly what I was looking for), a compelling read. Also, though about 300 pages, I knocked it out in a weekend. An easy read, no thinky.
Anthony Bourdain
The unrelentingly candid tv food guy (No Reservations & A Cook’s Tour) dishes on his lifelong experience in the kitchen. This is the book that got him those shows. Insightful, and he swears more than me. *ok, confession. I didn’t finish this one, as I had to read the Kitchen Readings (mentioned above) the second it was available. I had to return it to the library. I will get back to it, though. I really like Bourdain, and never miss his various travelogue shows on cable.
Rex & Sparky
a parody of the best selling book for boys on how to get in trouble. Don’t laugh, this book taught my dogs to read (and shoplift).
Stephen Levitt
a strange and compelling look at society through seemingly unrelated corollaries. OK, that was my description, and it was terrible. Let amazon explain it: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. This was a really great read, probably the best over all of 2008. Though it’s rather thinky and academic, it’s written more as conversational prose… so you don’t get intimidated by all the learning you are doing as you read. That’s a good thing.
Eric Schlosser
It is an alarming and unbiased look at fast food culture, and how it has completely shaped our society. Really enjoyable. There is also a movie out about this, but I understand they are vastly different. Read this first, if you can. This a depressing tale, but a must read. Ok, I said it was unbiased and i was kinda wrong. Though he just presents the facts… between reading this and seeing Morgan Spurlock’s amazing ‘Super Size Me‘ I am now terrified of all fast food (morally, and gastronimically). Should be required reading in America’s high schools.
Searching for the Sound
Phil Lesh
Autobiography of Phil Lesh, bass player for the Grateful Dead. A good read, and probably one of about ten or fifteen I plan on reading on Jerry and the band. I still miss Jerry Garcia, and really want to wrap my head around him, if possible, and understand him better. This was the best Dead book so far, but I am expecting to find better.
Gustavo Arrelano
A compendium of his favorite articles from his nationwide column of the same name. A funny, and thoughtful read. This guy holds all kinds of masters in Mexican history and sociology, so he knows his culture. However, half the book is making fun of crackers and Guatemalans. As Hispanics become a more dominant influence ever day in society, this is good stuff. A great read.
F Scott Fitzgerald
I have been working on this small little book for about fifteen years. I get about twenty pages through, and then lose interest. This is beach reading for me, where I have nothing to do but read. I cracked out Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ on a beach in Mexico one summer, and that was about 800 pages. I mean, it isn’t a bad read. It is regarded as the best American fiction by many an important egg head. I will finish this book before I die. Maybe a decent Colorado blizzard will get me focused. I mean, you can only play ‘Forrest Gump, the drinking game’ for like a day or two tops.
A corporate motivational book based on the teachings of the crazy fish throwing guys from Seattle’s Pike Peak Market. Point being, there probably isn’t an uglier, colder, or smellier job than being a fishmonger. However, these guys make it a party every day with a positive attitude. I have been there myself (before I knew about the management mumbo jumbo) and it’s all true.
You really need to see the accompanying video, though, to get the effect. However, it is $400 for that little gem (the 12 minute video, that is). The book, as a stand alone, is bad fiction written to a 12 year old. The principles are valid, though.
Bruce Tulgan
This is another corporate motivational book. The premise is as it sounds. Don’t work so hard to be the buddy. Sometimes, shit has to get done and people need to be held accountable. Tulgan argues the best way for this is through thorough management and feedback. Feared by many as ‘micro management’, the theme is ‘don’t let this stuff simmer. Get in and address it right away.’
A spin on the series of violently successful ‘Fish’ leadership books. I enjoyed this one more as it was real stories told by real people. To me, that is way more valuable than the hypothetical tales of the first book. Oh, and these books are tiny. Like ‘Animal Farm’, you can crank them out in one night. Read them together, in fact, the parallels are alarming (between Animal Farm & the Fish stories). I am working to be a better manager, as you can see. This isn’t just how to squeeze more productivity out of the proletariat to please the bourgeois. It is about managing relationships with people. It works on marriage, too.
If you are looking for a good leadership read, start with the Cheese book, and then crack through the Fish ones. This can all be done in a weekend.
4 Comments
March 25, 2008 at 2:49 am
I really enjoyed Freakonomics…I was just recommending it to someone. It is quirky but makes a lot of sense.
Don’t tell your brother you are reading the Cheese book. He has several rants about that whole series. Actually, do mention it to him. It is rather humorous to see him get so crazy about it.
April 18, 2008 at 9:17 am
You know what’s better than “It’s OK to be the Boss?” “Its even better not to be an a##-hole” or another classic, “Selling out in corporate America”
Only kidding Kev, I know your soul is much deeper than your froofy beer suggests.
January 23, 2009 at 7:08 am
[...] what I’m reading [...]
March 19, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I was not aware that your read. Good to know.