Book Reviews: Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page and Scott Weiland Not Dead & Not For Sale

 

 This book was not very long but it definitely an interesting powerful read. Scott Weiland (lead singer from the Stone Temple Pilots) has had a very turbulent and creative life. He made a lot of bad decisions (over and over again apparently) but he somehow never gave up. 

The book itself was not very long and very readable. Weiland describes the horrors of drug abuse in a matter of fact way that never wallows and glorifies the filth of it like other band member books (Motley Crue for one). He is very open and frank about his mistakes but the intriguing part to me was how he was able to maintain his creativity during some very dark times.

A lot of songs were written when he was dealing with his dark moments. It is thought-provoking to read his song lyrics as they relate to what he was going through at certain times in his life. I was very inspired by how he never stopped creating and kept pushing himself forward. 

The book is a documentation of a man who made a lot of mistakes and how he acknowledges his mistakes and really wants to do better. 

I definitely would like to own this book and that is the highest recommendation I can give for a book review.

Next, the not so great book by a rock and roll legend.

Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page is a book of photos but was actually kinda boring. The lack of text was the problem. No new insight into Led Zeppelin.

 A lot of pics that if you are a fan of Led Zeppelin, you have probably seen before but that is a "rare"  picture in that particular shoot that hasn't been shown before.

A lot of pictures of the stamps on his passports were featured. Again boring. How in the world did such an talented, creative, business savvy man make such a mundane book?

If you are looking for any new insight or clarification of legendary rumors about the band, this is not the book for you. Jimmy Page wanted to highlight the most important and impressive moments of his musical career. But there is barely any text worth reading among the pages.

He is obviously an extremely private person who wanted to just display his life's work through pictures and let the pictures speak for himself.

I would have enjoyed this book so much more if he talked more about his creative process and how he overcame his addiction to drugs. Also I would have loved to get his insight on the music industry today. I will search recent interviews for the answer to those questions.

Check this out from your local library or just go to your local bookstore, sit down and flip through the pages for free. Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE Led Zeppelin fan who has a collection of Led Zep tabletop books. This book should have been the best Led Zeppelin fan book to add to my collection but I was really disappointed in the lack of interesting content in this book.

Both books can be found on Amazon.

Have you read any of these books? Tell me what you think.

Thank you for reading!

I Am Not A Zombie Fan But I Loved iZombie Dead To The World

I really do NOT get the whole zombie obsession. The concept of dead rotten bodies being cool is really strange to me. But I really did love reading this graphic novel by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred by DC Comic's Vertigo.

When I saw the cover of the comic in the library, I immediately thought "That looks like Debbie Harry of Blondie". Loved the art and the funny strong writing. This is a new twist on the zombie lore. Gwen Dylan is the main character.

This is the first book in the comic series. I hope to be able to find the other books in this series.

No, this did not make me a zombie fan. Warm Bodies the movie was  just passable to watch and I have never watched The Walking Dead but I really enjoyed this comic. I was even grossed out with all the zombie talk will watching Dylan Dog. Yes it was a lame movie but the lead actor is really cute.

Have you ever heard of or read the iZombie comic series?

Thanks for reading!

My Thoughts And A Review - Finding Me By Michelle Knight

This book will make you definitely count your blessings and appreciate your freedom.

Michelle Knight is the first of the three women kidnapped by Ariel Castro. She underwent horrible torture, abuse and isolation at the hands of that horrible man. But don't let that stop you from reading this thought provoking book.

I was amazed and comforted immediately at how insightful and forgiving this strong young woman is. Her book is a book of hope not of despair. Michelle focused on seeing her child again. She constantly demonstrates a huge amount of inner strength to overcome more than a decade of abuse.

Overall, she describes the abuse in a bit of detail but not in overwhelming graphic detail. You understand the horrors Castro inflicted upon the women but she also talks about the small but important ways she took a positive view of life one day at a time.

I read this book in almost one sitting. It is very easy to read and very interesting. We have all see the news reports about what happened and wondered how the women were doing since their release. Michelle has absolutely decided to move forward in her life and live a full life with healing and determination.

How can any of us complain about the little things in life when we realize how horrible things were for this woman and she came out of this terrible situation stronger and with so much hope. I admire her strength and it inspires me to be thankful for the many things I could take for granted.

Every woman should read this book as a warning of being too trusting with strangers. Michelle had a very troubled childhood and it is sad that this horrible thing happened to her. But I am so happy that she and the other women were found and released. I hope peace, healing and happiness for them all.

Freedom is so precious. The ability to go wherever whenever you choose is a blessing and a privilege. Take a moment every once in a while to realize not everyone has the freedom and is in as safe an environment as we are.

Tell me what you think of this book.

Thanks for reading!

What I Am Watching and Reading Lately

 I love this TV series so much. Not only is Timothy Olyphant super sexy, the show is extremely well written.  This is a DVD series I will add to my collection.

 My favorite thing about watching this DVD was the wardrobe but not the writing. But the wardrobe does not have the absolute perfection of real shows and movies from this time period.  I am a film wardrobe geek and I am very picky about how current movies depict wardrobe accurately. At times the wardrobe looked too costumey.

 Honestly, I did not get what all the hype about this show is about.  I wish there was a stronger and longer storyline about black characters during this time in history.

 Awesome describes this DVD. Loved the strong independent lead woman character. Loved the 1920s wardrobe and production design. All the characters were well written and developed. I was surprised by storylines that involved current issues such as abortion and drug addiction. I highly recommend this DVD.

 A lot of time was spent on special effects and not enough time was spent writing a strong script. A smart plane that will replace humans interesting and scary concept.

 There is a big twist you really do not see coming but it does nothing to save this safe you can guess the plot and the ending movie. Go watch Top Gun instead. All this movie did was motivate me to exercise harder to get in shape like Jessica Biel. Not Joking. LOL!

I wanted to like this graphic novel so much but I didn't. Maybe I needed to be a gamer to appreciate the gaming reference in the storyline. Just didn't find the story or the art very interesting.

My previous post about what I'm reading and watching is here.

Thanks for reading!

A Few Of My Favorite And Not So Favorite Things - Reading And Watching

Batman Beyond - I LOVE everything about this animated TV series from the voice actors, writing, character design, color palette (red skies set the exact mood) and the music. This version of Batman is set in the future and Bruce is an old man guiding a teenage younger version of himself in a tricked out Batsuit. Whenever I watch a Batman movie, TV series or read a comic, when Bruce is handsome, I enjoy the story even more. After watching this well crafted series over and over during the years, this was money well spent.

 I was so excited when I saw this Dr. Strange DVD on the shelf at the library. It goes into much detail about the origins of Dr. Strange. Not knowing any of his back story, it was interesting learn more about a character I enjoyed reading in The New Avengers comics.  The action scenes were the best part of watching the show. It is not often you get to see how a group of magically powered superheroes would fight each other. The worst thing was how long the story was bogged down in Strange's sad and arrogant past. I wanted the plot to be more about magical fight scenes with the evil baddies. Not a good storyline balance at all.

 Hanna is a young female action hero with an twist. The plot is not necessarily original. It seemed by the end it was a movie to set up other movies. After listening to the commentary, the movie as written made a lot more sense. I could get the "story tale" motif after the director explained it. Lots of very well choreographed fight scenes that were awesome to watch. Loved seeing a female lead know how to take care of herself.

A sequel made for no reason than it will make more money for all those involved. The first Pirates of the Caribbean was the best and the second was good too. The Spanish sailors seemed really interesting but they really were not in the story very much. I am a huge mermaid fan so I was very disappointed by the "woman in fake fish tails" boring design. Don't get me started on the mermaid "attack teeth". I was glad I didn't pay money to see this at the movies.

I got inspired to take up my knitting again after seeing a character knitting in a movie recently. This is the video that taught me how to knit. Very good instruction. Fun to watch and some danceable music too. I checked out from the library and enjoyed it so much I purchased it. This DVD will be perfect for anyone of all ages to learn how to knit. I just re-watched it as a refresher and it was knitting again in no time.

 The first three Shabby Chic books Rachel Ashwell brought out were my favorite. I'm not a fan of the Shabby Chic decor as much as I was in the past. Love the soft pastel color palette but creeped out by the scraped off painted furniture. In this book, the version of Shabby Chic is mixed up with western items. I just didn't like the two styles together. 

Too many stories of drug abuse and cheating on their girlfriends and wives, I didn't enjoy reading this book at all. For some reason, I have been reading a lot of books about the sordid lives of rock stars. The waste of life, talent, money and time don't not make for a positive reading experience. It does jolt me back into the reality of what it would be like to date a musician (some not all of course). It takes a strong person to live a healthy productive life on the road in a band and a strong person to be in a relationship with that person. 

What have you been reading and watching lately?

Thanks for reading!

My Many Thoughts After Reading The Dirt By Motley Crue

I have never been so glad to finish a book in my life and I do NOT mean this in a good way. After wading through the many tasteless road and life stories of the band Motley Crue, I was left with the feelings of disgust for the endless bad behavior and thankful for the boring but mostly happy life I've had.

My overwhelming question about this book was: What is the point of doing this in the first place? Was it a way to bring bad boy attention to the band (marketing ploy?) or was it a set the record straight to tell their side of the sad childhood and party boy exploits themselves?

If you have read the book then you would know that this is about the sad and successful history of Motley Crue. Lots and lots of stories about the cliche rock star bad boy making the bad decision of indulging in bad decisions of spending too much money, sex with too many women and addiction to a lot of drugs.

I'm not really a Motley Crue fan and this book did not inspire me to listen to more of their music. This is how much I realized I didn't like this book. Usually after I read something, I get inspired in some way. But I was thankful for the reality check.

As I read the book, I was struck by two things: how disrespectful the band members were to women and in general how selfish they were. They did not care about any of the consequences of their actions. After years of working hard  for their success, it was very sad to see them destroy their lives and the lives of other people.

After going to see Alice in Chains in Raleigh recently, I was still walking on the air with thoughts  of the rock and roll fantasy life of music and travel. Reading the The Dirt book brought those thoughts crashing to reality. Living life on the road is hard. Making a living as a musician is very hard.

Keeping a healthy committed relationship alive and well while on tour is extremely hard. You will have to be a very strong woman to be in a relationship with a man in a band. The music and the band will usually come first in the life of a musician.

I have never been a groupie and I could not for the life of me understand why so many girls would consent to the terrible things these guys did to them . Were the lurid backstage/hotel sex stories all true? How could people who did that many drugs remember everything in such detail?

Lessons learned while reading this book:

Get out of your own way.

Being persistent will help you reach your goals.

The rock and roll lifestyle is not glamorous.

Money can buy things but it cannot make you happy.

No matter how far you run/travel, there you are. You can't run from your problems.

Your health is the most precious thing you have. Don't waste it.

Taking drugs impacts everyone and everything around you. You will have to deal with addiction for the rest of your life.

Show business is a business. Know where your money comes from and where it goes.

I would never want to be that girl that a guy in a band would write a demeaning story about in a tell all book.

Respect your gifts and your talents.

Learn from your mistakes. Change. Don't make the same bad decisions over and over. 

   

If you are in a band, want to be in a band or you want to date someone who is a musician, read this book. The Dirt is an extreme example of the dark side of becoming successful musician. Success is hard work and staying successful is even more hard work. There are a lot of sacrifices that will have to be made.

At the end of the book, the guys seemed to be coming to terms with their mistakes and trying to live better lives. I hope the best for them and their families. Motley Crue is so lucky to be alive and have a second chance at life.

Here is an earlier post about Alice in Chains and Motley Crue.

Have you read The Dirt or a book like this about a band?

Thanks for reading?

Book Review and My Thoughts About Don't Eat this Book by Morgan Spurlock

This book might  inform you and then scare you into eating a healthier diet.

These are some things I learned while reading this interesting and at times funny book.

I never realized how little I knew about the foods I have been eating for years and the overall big business of the Food Industry.

I had already decreased my visits to fast food restaurant before I started reading this book. So glad of this because I would have been really been even more grossed out.Eating at fast food places excessively is extremely bad for your overall health. I cannot say I will never ever eat a burger again but I thankfully am lot more aware of what it might contain.

Your eating habits define your health. If you want to be healthy eat healthy foods. Everything in moderation.

McDonalds is not the enemy. That is not what this book was about. Eating greasy salty foods everyday and not exercising will sabotage your health. Think about what you put into your mouth and what the effect on your longterm health will be.

The McDiet had a horrible impact on Spurlock's health but not exercising made everything worse. The rundown of his doctor's check up reports were was the scariest information in the book. Obesity and high blood pressure can end your life.

Creepy fact: Food is not supposed to be indestructible. An example in the book was of a french fry left in your car for weeks. A regular potato will age over time and start to decompose. This is normal. The fast food french fried will look a tiny bit different but because of the preservatives and oil will stay about the same.

Not being educated about how fast food is prepared and being persuaded by advertising lead me to a life long bad habit of making very bad food choices. This resulted in me playing a potentially dangerous game with my health. I had experienced some of the side effects he described in the book but I always thought that was normal. Food is supposed to give you energy NOT weight you down and make you feel bad after you finish eating it.

Soda: Nothing good to say about it. No nutritional value. Soda makes you fat. I don't even want to think about all the gallons upon gallons of sweet tea I had consumed from many years. Never did I ever take seriously the fact that sugary drinks can make you gain weight. I haven't drank soda in many months.

I wish I had read this book many years ago. Maybe I would not have gained all the weight I gained over the years. Thankfully, I have lost a lot of weight but I have a ways to go before I reach my healthy goal.

Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and Supersizing of American By Morgan Spurlock is a very interesting book that will probably change the way you think about eating out. Healthy is always better in the long run.

Sidenote: I haven't seen the documentary. To be truthfully, I'm a little scared to see this book be brought to life. I'm still getting over being grossed out.

Have you read this book? Do you eat out a lot? How healthy do you eat?


Overall this book was an easy read but I did kinda glance quickly over the statistic parts of the book. I got my wake up call big time. Clean up your diet. Eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible.

Here is another book review I did previously  - 201 Healthy Smoothies and Juices for Kids.

Thanks for reading!

Book Review: 201 Healthy Smoothies and Juices for Kids by Amy Roskelley

Book Review  

201 Healthy Smoothies and Juices for Kids

Fresh, Wholesome, No-Sugar-Added Drinks Your Child Will Love

Amy Roskelley, Founder of SuperHealthyKids.com with Nicole Cormier, RD, LDN

I was in the library looking for recipe books for smoothies and noticed this book. Don’t let the title fool you, all the recipes are adult friendly. I am not a cook by any means. This means I don’t really like to spend a lot of time preparing any type of food or drink. The recipes were not only simple and easy for anyone with a juicer or a blender but each page included facts about the preparation and nutritional information for the fruits or vegetables.

Lots of interesting combinations of flavors to suit a lot of different tastes and preference. Since I have stopped drinking sodas, I am always searching for healthy smoothie and juice ideas. The colorful easy to read layout of the pages were a nice addition. This book was a enjoyable very easy way  to learn new smoothie or juice ideas for use in everyone’s goal to become more healthier.

Paperback

Price on Cover 15.95

Pages 239 (including index)

Here is the link to it on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Smoothies-Juices-Kids-No-Sugar-Added/dp/1440533644/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395694846&sr=8-1&keywords=201+healthy+smoothies+and+juices+for+kids+fresh+wholesome+no-sugar-added+drinks+your+child+will+love

Thank you for reading :)