Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording with Wilco, Etc. by Jeff Tweedy

In an honest, funny look at his life, indy musician Jeff Tweedy opens up about his family, his career, and how his brain works. It's fascinating!

It's no secret I love a good music bio, and what separates the good from bad is honesty and introspection. Tweedy owns it here, with a self-deprecating humor that certainly entertains. He's thoughtful about his creative process without being precious about it, and he reminisces about former friendships, band breakups and makeups, and even how his marriage works.

Confession: I will read this book again, on audiobook, because Tweedy narrates it himself! (I couldn't wait, so I read it on paper first.)

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

What if the fate of humankind rested on the skinny shoulders of a washed-up pop star?

When the rest of the galaxy discovers that Earth exists, we're forced to defend our sentience: Are we people, or are we meat? Based on a horrific past war and its time-tested truce agreement, the pre-ordained litmus test is, of course, an intergalactic singing-and-entertainment contest. Like Eurovision, but weirder.

This book a hilarious pop culture fest in the best kind of way.

It's also written in elaborate similes and Vegas-showgirl feathered headdress adjectives and expressively convoluted sentences that take lux vacations to exotic locales for up to half a page at a time and twist themselves inside out and backwards in a primitive mating ritual before they bleed out fuschia glitter and then expire. You'll either like that or hate it.

Start Without Me by Joshua Max Feldman

No pressure - it's just Adam's first holiday with the whole big family since he got out of rehab. He probably won't disappoint them in any new and dramatic fashion, right?

Meanwhile, an exhausted flight attendant ponders her own impending Thanksgiving celebration with the insufferable in-laws. Marissa and her husband are already arguing and it's probably not going to get better over dinner. But spending the day with her own family would be even worse.

The intersection of these two characters makes for a funny, sad, and completely engrossing story. You'll relate if you've ever made a snowballing series of poor decisions. These are people trying to do right, failing, and then wondering if it might be easier to just quit.

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

In a series of short stories we discover one man's effect on popular music in the past, the present, and the near future. Also, we see the world around him and it's interconnectedness.

Bennie was a punk kid in a rotten band who couldn't get a date. Bennie is a record company owner navigating a new world of tech. His long-time assistant takes care of everything - and pockets quite a lot, too. Her best friend in college met a terrible end. Her son is interested in pauses during songs.

This book won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and I have no idea why I have not read it until now. It's all the things I love: music, fandom, quality writing, interconnected short stories.

The Haters by Jesse Andrews

Three teens ditch out of jazz camp to hit the road and try their luck as a band: Wes and Corey are enthusiastic but merely average players on bass and drums - Ash, on the other hand, is exceptional as a blues fusion guitarist and songwriter and singer and instigator and dream girl ...

It's a fantastic road trip book with relatable characters and the kind of accidents and happenstance that occur on an ill-planned youth odyssey. The gang's on-going banter about band names especially rings so, so true.

This book's been getting a lot of press as a hot summer teen fiction release, and it's well worth the time.

The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer

I will be talking about this book for a long time to come - after listening to the library's audiobook (not simply read but PERFORMED by the author) I bought a paper copy so I can post-it note and highlight parts that will bear heavy repetition for their deep resonance.

The book is about her life as a performance artist and indie rock star, and the book is about her successful, ground-breaking crowdfunding via social media. It's about her marriage to writer Neil Gaiman, and it's about her life-long friend and guru Anthony.

But mostly, this book is about the give-and-take of  all relationships: drop a dollar in the living statue's bucket, get a flower; open your heart and mind, receive love. She looks at her art in the way it's building a relationship with her fans - not just as the number of units sold in the usual corporate commercial model.

She's got some fantastic perspective for artists of all types concerning self-worth, doubt, and dealing with criticism. The lesson to glean from Henry David Thoreau: take the donuts. The analogy of "blender setting" for how real-life experiences get chopped up and changed in the art blender.

She's controversial, and there's a strong wave of haters. But it ain't me, man.

Hollow Man by Mark Pryor

What's it like to be a functional, passing-for-normal psychotic?

Dominic is an American lawyer who grew up in England and supplements his income as a musician in the thriving Austin scene. He's a part of the justice system and works hard for his clients.

And yet there's something he's hiding. He's known he was a psychopath since childhood and his move to the US may have been strategic - he's spent his life controlling himself (and everyone around him, honestly).

So when an opportunity for a long-shot windfall drops in his lap, it's not a big leap for him to enjoy a life of crime. It may be both the perfect crime and a way to get revenge on someone who's trying to tarnish his reputation ... or maybe not. It may all fall apart.

I loved the unpredictability of the storyline - how far will the scam go, and who will it take down? It's an interesting look inside the head of someone decidedly different and also a frightening look at how reasonable and rational planning a crime can be. I'm really enjoying Pryor's style of writing (he also writes the Hugo Marston series) and his characters - who all share just a bit of his own backstory, once you read his bio!

Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain by Alan Light

The song, album, and film "Purple Rain" epitomize a certain spot on the 1980s timeline, and I was surprised when I read this book was being released for their 30th anniversary. (It seems like just yesterday!)

Written by a former Rolling Stone editor, this book is chock full of memories and stories from the making of Prince's 1985 magnum opus. Unfortunately, very little of the information is from the notoriously press-shy artist himself - but the story stands up pretty well without Prince's input due to the wealth of truly inside information mined from band mates, friends, rivals, and business partners.
Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman participated fully in this book, and their up-front-and-personal insights may be the best look we'll ever get into the operations of Prince's mind; they were friends and collaborators in a way Prince has rarely allowed. The book also does a nice job putting the music and film into historical perspective, with criticism and analysis from the 80's but also delving into the larger context of their legacy.

It's not the kind of book you read if you're not already a fan of Purple Rain - but for those who are already fans, this deeper look at the behind-the-scenes machinations and little-known facts is a fun way to reminisce and revisit a classic.

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

Duncan is one of the world's biggest superfans of an obscure 80's musician nobody's ever heard of, and he runs a website dedicated to cracking the mysteries of Tucker Crowe's art and life. His long-time girlfriend Annie runs a tiny museum in their forgotten English seaside town. When a new album of old Tucker Crowe music is released, every thing changes: Duncan loses touch with reality, Annie gives up on Duncan, and the reclusive Tucker Crowe steps into the real world.

Hornby is widely known for his music geekiness (he also wrote "High Fidelity" about a record shop, which was eventually was turned into a John Cusack film), and this book is a wonderful multi-faceted look at fandom.

These are characters you enjoy spending time with, and their eccentricities are of the real-world kind. You probably know someone (or are someone) like these people. Nobody's got it all together - not by a long stretch - yet you find yourself rooting for them to get their shit together and SUCCEED just like you would a friend.

I listened to the excellent audiobook version of this novel recorded by three readers: American Bill Irwin, and Brits Ben Miles and Jennifer Wiltsie. Since the book is told in three voices, it was fun to have an audiobook read that way too. Later in the book it gets slightly odd, as there are conversations between the characters - for example, you hear Annie in Duncan's section, so that guy was mimicking the voice of the woman reading her sections. Not terrible, just a bit unusual.

And My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You by Kathi Kamen Goldmark

In one amazing, unforgettable day singer Sarah Jean Pixlie gets fired from a major country music star's roadshow, finds out a song she recorded on a whim months ago has gone viral and has made her a hot commodity, and has a one-night stand that will change her life. And that's just the start of this novel about musicians and the music business, about honkeytonk bars and awards shows, and about parenthood in all its forms and flavors.

I picked up this book after reading several tributes to the author, who passed away in 2012 and was the founder of the all-author band the Rock Bottom Remainders. As a working musician and author, Goldmark gave the book a definite insider feel - you know the behind-the-scenes scenes are as true to life as you're going to find.

It's a funny, fluffy book with few major surprises - but I didn't even mind the thin plot when there was so much fun to be had with this rowdy bunch of characters. It's light, but fun.

Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Ben Greenman

As a founding member of The Roots and a talented record producer, Questlove (or ?uestlove) has made his name in the hip-hop industry. But many don't realize he's actually a music fan first with a base of amazing depth and breadth, a true walking encyclopedia of music and musicians.

I'm not a hip-hop fan, but I am a music geek and I've read a lot of cool things about Questlove and his music geekdom. I read a positive review and thought I'd give this book a try. And I'm glad I did.

Ahmir's life is interesting, as are the stories of creation and evolution of The Roots. But what's more interesting are his opinions on music, his memories on sounds that stopped him in his tracks, and the fanboy moments that left him speechless. His loving Prince even though his parents disapproved; his loving the Beach Boys even though he's a big black hip hop guy.

I really enjoyed the book, and he made me go back to listen again to some great music in order to hear it Questlove's way. Music geeks unite!