Monday, January 17, 2011

Book Review Time

I had forgotten how big a Rolling Stones fan I used to be.  I was going through some stuff trying to find my ticket stub from the '89 tour so I could take a picture of it for this post.  I didn't find it, but I found a bunch of other stuff - some of it, just a small sample, is pictured above.  Can you believe they actually made (and I actually bought!) Rolling Stones puffy stickers?!  Mine are unopened.   I looked on ebay, and they aren't worth much - less than 5 bucks.  (My Beatles bobble-heads and flicker rings, which I also found during my excavation, are worth considerably more, but not a fortune.  I don't think I'd part with them, though).  Anyway, also up there in the picture is a polaroid  I took at the Rock Circus museum in London of Keith Richards' snakeskin jacket from the '77 tour, an "Out of Our Heads" pin, and some 3D glasses and a bumper sticker from the '89 tour.  I had fun going through all that old stuff, but now I'm a little obsessed with finding my ticket stubs.  Where could they be?

So, anyway, I finished the Keith Richards autobiography a couple days ago.  I have to say, I loved this book.  Keith is not going to win any awards for being a great and prolific "writer."  He writes like he talks, and at times, it's hard to follow.  But when you get into the book, it's not hard to switch your brain over to Keith mode.  Then, the book feels more like a conversation.  He tells some good stories, seems incredibly sincere, and sets the record straight on a number of myths and rumors that have been swirling around for years. He doesn't just talk about the Stones, but also about his childhood, his family, England, and most of all, music in general.   In the last chapter, there is even a recipe and cooking tips!  By the time I finished the book, it was like Keith was an old friend.   And now that I'm done, I sorta miss hanging out with him.  So, if you like the Stones, or guitars, or good stories, then you will probably like this book too.  Thank you Keith... I enjoyed it.

This was the first book I read on the Kindle that my brother got me for Christmas.  The Kindle is great!  Easy to use, very portable.  And now I don't have to find a place to store a gigantic hardcover book.  The only thing I sort of missed out on were the large color photos in the hardcover version of the book.  I went to Border's the other day and looked at them, though.  That was good enough for me.  So, thanks to Jeff for that.  Time to choose my next book. 

Our weekend was good.  Daphne stayed in Manassas Friday night, so Kev and I got to go out to dinner and a movie.  This time, we saw the Black Swan.  I did not enjoy about 99 percent of it.  It was creepy and scary and gorey, and overall very unpleasant to watch.  But I have to say in retrospect it was very well done.  Great story, visually stunning, and Natalie Portman was great in the role.  So props to the filmakers for that.  I don't need to ever see it again.  (Shudder).

Yesterday, Kev and I made lasagna together, and there was nary an argument!  I am so excited about our new ability to cook together without incident! 

And, I borrowed the Wii Fit from my brother, and we had a lot of fun with that this weekend.  I got to be a flying chicken and a penguin, I got to do Kung-Fu and ski jumping, I got to walk a tightrope, and I got to watch Kev play the hulahoop game, which was very entertaining. 

So, good reviews all around.

I think there's only one day left for the sit-com poll, so get in your vote if you're gonna.  New poll coming soon.  Hope your weekend was good.  Happy MLK!

2 comments:

Anne Bentley said...

I love the flying chicken game!!

Gye Greene said...

Sorry I missed the sitcom poll.

Bought The Lady an e-book reader for Christmas. Don't think she's used it yet, though.

Thx for the book recommendation. I've added it to my list.

Collectable stuff: Yeah, that's the problem with "valuable" collectable stuff (like on Antiques Roadshow) -- to realize the money, you have to sell it. I'd rather just keep it.


--GG