Bruce Dickinson: An Autobiograhy

I pre-ordered this bad boy when I first heard about it. I think Dempz tipped me off? Maybe not. Anyway...

This year has been pretty hard to get through books and movies due to fatherly responsibilities, but I managed to get through this one quickly. I just worked out.

First off, it has an awful cover. The hairy-armed awkwardly foreshortened picture on the front sucks. As does the tacky diamond plate text. But that's besides the point. The contents are good. It's legit. And it makes up for the crappy cover with a great classic era Maiden shot on the back.

Secondly, this isn't a Maiden bio. It's a Bruce bio. So while Maiden feature predominantly, there's a lot of fencing and aviation in the pages. Especially the latter. Bruce also made the decision not to include any births, deaths, marriages, so you don't get any insight whatsoever into his relationships over the years.

I found it a very informative book with a unique voice (pun intended). Oh, speaking of puns, Bruce quite likes them. He drops a few cheesy puns that he probably thinks are witty. I dunno, they're alright. But anyway, these aren't the same ol' Bruce stories you've heard time and time again. This is his life in his own words and from his own perspective. It's cool. I've read "Run to the Hills" (the official Maiden bio), and this adds a lot to that story.

I don't think this holds up to the likes of Ozzy's or Slash's bios, for instance, but it's still worth reading.

Up the irons!

For the Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records

Brent told me about this book. It had totally slipped my radar. Anyhow, I was on Amazon Prime in second and one-click-ordered that shit.

I had an unusual run of free time for a few consecutive nights in a row and was able to fly through it very quickly. I found it really engrossing as a metal nerdario. Metalheads are part historians / part archaeologists. That's just in our blood. So reading books like this is fundamental to feed that quest for knowledge.

You learn a lot about Metal Blade, Brian Slagel, and a host of historical metal tidbits. The Metallica stuff is especially illuminating. But what's coolest of all is really the nostalgia of the 80's and 90's and thinking back to the pre-internet days of discovering new bands etc. It was like a big ass low-fi global scavenger hunt. I'm not gonna wax on about how it was so much better, cuz I like going to youtube and bandcamp just as much as the next guy. But there's a certain magic that just isn't there anymore. Not talking about the music. Cuz the music is still amazing. But in the quest. In the discovery. The chase is just so much easier these days. And like Lemmy said, the chase is better than the catch...

The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom

I believe it was my boy, Clint Ford, who recommended I read this. It's a gnarly story about Polish POW's who escape a hard labor camp in Siberia during WWII. They walk to the camp and they walk away from the camp. They walk thousands of god damn miles in this book. It puts LOTR to shame.

Anyhow, walking aside, this is a great book about the will to live and the will to conquer. It's about love, sacrifice, selflessness, friendship, and being a complete bad ass. Oh, and death. Lots of that going on.

Evidently the book was made into a movie which I've since added to my Netflix queue. I'll peep that at some point.

I've read some stories and watched some documentaries about bad ass people doing bad ass things. Solo treks across Antarctica. Plenty of mountaineering adventures gone horribly awry. People do some really brave and mind-blowing things in the face of certain death. But the people who escaped the prison camp in this book take the cake. They're next level.

Highly humbling and inspirational.

The Walking Dead: 28 A Certain Doom

Another installment of the Walking Dead. This one was action packed from opening to closing. Lots of twists, turns, and edge-of-your-seat moments. The psychological twists and dangers are far more dangerous than the Walkers.

A main character snuffs it in this one. It's a really enjoyable read. Not because a main character kicks the bucket, but just because there's a lot of action crammed into the story. You'll fly through it. Kind of left you with a bit of a clean slate, to be honest. Not sure what's in store next...

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck

I came across this book a while back but I really don't recall how. Probably in my feed aggregator. I bought it and just got around to reading it. I actually suggested it for my work's book club and they read it but I didn't have time to keep up with their schedule so I missed out on the conversations. I heard they were lively and involved.

Anyhow, it's a really good book. It's a quick read. Short. And it has a casual, effortless flow to it. With a title like, "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck," you know the author is a bit irreverent and unconventional. Manson is younger than I am and evidently he's a "star blogger." Haven't read his blog though. Prolly not as good as Cürrent 451. I mean, does he have an umlaut in his blog?

The book is draws most of its content from Buddhism and Stoicism. Therefore, I could relate. Because it's so short and easy to read I think it'd be good to reread real quick and take notes. See how I could practically apply some of the content to work and life situations.

I suggested Marie read it cuz I think she'd get a lot of value from it.

Since I don't know a ton about Stoicism I picked up, "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius for $1 on Amazon. So I'm going to dig into that. Certainly won't be light reading, but it'll be something outside the norm for me cuz I don't really dig into much classical literature.

A few people ask me what books on Buddhism I recommend. Honestly, if you want to dip your toes in the water then then this is a good a place as any to start. If it makes sense and you want to learn more then I'd get into some real Buddhist literature.

Metal Gods: A Tribute to Judas Priest

I pre-ordered this as soon as I saw the post on social media. I think Mark Rudolph is incredibly talented and I was stoked to dive into his third book in homage to our metal gods (Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost, and Judas Priest).

Temple of Void was honored to be involved in the second book. We recorded a Celtic Frost cover for the LP that accompanied the book's release. Very cool. And just like the last two, there is a good showing of Detroit talent in "Metal Gods." Members of TOV, Acid Witch, and more, all make fine contributions.

One of my favorite stories was actually the fashion show. I thought it was well written and I give the artist props for taking a chance. Everyone could have just illustrated the lyrics, but this was pretty clever and witty.

Of the three books, this one is has the most pages. And now Mark's moved on from self-financing it and he's gotten involved with Decibel Magazine. They've partnered with him to produce and sell the book. It retains the exact same high production values and format as the first two, but it just happens to be sold by Decibel this time.

Oh, there is one gripe, though. The fucking typo's. There are numerous typographic errors in the book. The most egregious being on the first page. How did he misspell "Exhumed"? I was extra surprised cuz you'd think that Decibel would have put an Editor on it... Guess not.

Anyway, that's a small blemish on an otherwise stellar book. Definitely recommended.

Black Metal: The Cult Never Dies Vol. 1

This is a follow up to the more comprehensive tome, Evolution of the Cult. Dayal didn't put everything in one gigantic book, so he's spreading it out with smaller additional publications like this. The Cult Never Dies reads like an extension of the first book. There are zero surprises there. I'm sure there will be a Vol 2 and I'll order that once it's out. Even though I don't listen to the majority of bands that are covered, I still find it interesting from a journalistic perspective.

Radical Candor

I joined my office's book club again, this time to read Radical Candor. The title piqued my interest so I gave it a whirl.

It was so-so. If you're a new boss or never managed people before then you might actually find a lot of good in this book. But if you've been in management for a while then this is pretty stale, to be honest. There's nothing new in the book. Nothing earth-shattering. And unfortunately nothing really "radical."

Should we all care deeply about our team and talk candidly? Absolutely. Do I need to read a couple hundred pages about it? Not at all. Would have been fine as an article or a TED Talk.

Oh well.

Born Standing Up

I can't remember who told me to read Steve Martin's bio. Someone freaking recommended it to me. Anyway, I grabbed Born Standing Up a little while ago and just read it. It's a very fast read. Only 200 pages and they fly by. You could read it in one sitting pretty easily if you don't have anything to do.

I didn't realize that it was a bio that focused exclusively on his standup career and didn't really delve into his movie side. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of his standup. It's his film career that I much prefer. But I loved his books, too, so I figured I'd check it out. He's a freakin great author. Shopgirl was good but An Object of Beauty was GREAT!

Anyhow, this is a fun, fast read. It documents Steve's humble beginnings, his slow ascension to stardom, and it reveals a lot about his process. His dedication and laser focus on honing his craft is second to none. Steve got where he got through sheer force of will. I think many people would have given up long before Steve started to see some payback for his efforts.

I can't do anything about the time in which I was born, but given the chance I think coming of age in the Summer of Love would have been a pretty groovy time to be alive, if ya know what I mean.

Recommended. But would like to read something that documents his time from when he started getting into films and then eventually into books.

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories

What is there to say about Lovecraft that hasn't already been said? His stories are wildly influential and his reach is eternal. His lore will live forever.

And with good cause.

This is a fantastic collection of classic Lovecraft stories. I'd read some before but many were new to me. This is a great start for anyone interested in fear, dread, and suspense. His stories suck you in from the very start. They have to as they're all either short stories or novellas. There's no bullshit. The plot just builds and builds as the tension is heightened with every turn of the page. This is awesome stuff for nerds of any age. It'll definitely be something I turn young River on to when he's ready. Lovecraft paints such vivid pictures in your mind. Pictures of mind-bending physics and monolithic scale. Pictures of cosmic terror. It rules.

I love that they're all quick reads, too. Makes it easy to get through at your leisure. You can read something else simultaneously and easily flip between two books if you like.

Essential. Yeah.

Set the Boy Free

I loved this book. It blew Morrissey's autobiography out of the water. Where Moz's was lyrical and abstract, Marr's was down to Earth and straightforward. Where Moz's was confusing, Marr's was educational. Moz wrote like a pretentious poet and Marr wrote like a regular bloke.

I'm not shitting on Moz as a singer/song-writer/performer. He's a fucking god. But as an author? He sucks. I had his first fictional novel in my Amazon WishList, but after reading his bio I took it out.

Anyway, this is about Marr's bio. And it rules. There's an obvious three act story going on. Pre-Smiths, The Smiths, and post-Smiths. And he treats each area with careful consideration. There's no one area that stands out any more than the rest really. They're all equally engrossing.

It's quite an inspirational tale. And definitely recommended if you like the Smiths or play guitar.

Metallica: Back to the Front

I think I originally saw this book in Steve from Crypt Sermon's Instagram feed. I hadn't heard about it, but being a sucker for metal bio's I snapped it up.

Best $25 I've spent in ages!

This book is REALLY fucking well done. It's a big, heavy tome, that covers the time leading up to and immediately after Master of Puppets. Of course, it ends with the untimely and tragic death of Cliff Burton. But it really is a great testament to Cliff and his legacy. You definitely get the feeling that he was the focal point and the glue of Metallica during that era. We all know that Metallica is James and Lars's band, but Cliff was the soul. It's undeniable. The guy was cool as James Dean.

A nice surprise was the fact that James and Lars don't come across like complete tools. In reflecting on their past they somehow reverted to their naive, energetic, cool younger selves. This isn't the "Some Kind of Monster" bullshit. This is classic stuff.

The story is told through the words of all the people who were there, from roadies to fans to producers, to girlfriends, to the band themselves. The layout is great. It's a labor of love.

Get it now!!!!

High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way

Mike Mentzer is one of my favorite classic-era bodybuilders. Given I think they had the best physiques, I'm interested in their training methods. Not so interested in the 'roids, though. Funnily enough that's not covered in the book. Go figure.

Anyway, Mike has a very scientific approach to lifting and he was famous for the method he dubbed HEAVY DUTY. He got to a point where he was advocating lifting just once a week! One working set per body part! But the intensity was through the roof. Every workout was supposed to take you beyond your limits. Total pukers. A lot of people claimed bullshit on his method, but he had a lot of devotees including the mass-monster Dorian Yates. Now, these guys got huge by the normal methods; high volume and steroids. But once they were there some of the incorporated or totally switched to the HEAVY DUTY method.

Whether it works as a total method or not is besides the point to me. I was able to read it and take aspects of his theory and apply them how I saw fit. Last week was my first week lifting and applying his methods and I really dug it. It's great to mix things up. I'll be re-reading and referencing this book for a while to come. For sure.

He had such a great mustache, too.

Hard-Core: Life of My Own

How could I not buy this? You kidding me? Even if it was half as good as John Joseph's it'd be worth the read. My only concern was that he'd write the whole thing in ALL CAPS and punctuate every sentence with random "HAHAHA"s. If you've read some of his facebook rants you know what I mean.

Anyway, shit was off the hook. Immediate comparison to JJ's book...well, they're very different. JJ's is longer and thus has more detail, and his tone is far more cinematic and dare I say...high-brow. It feels like JJ had a really strong Editor on his book and it's really well done. Harley's is definitely more gritty. Definitely more street. He doesn't hold back. It's not as "high-brow." It feels really conversational and less like a story or a movie. This book reads as if you were just hanging with Harley and he was spinning some yarns and tellin' some old tyme tales from the LES. He's not afraid to talk some shit. Shocker. It's awesome.

It doesn't matter which one is better. They're both gripping and insightful.

If you like hardcore then this is a must-read. No doubt.

Cro-Mag. Skinhead. Buy This. Nooooooooooowwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!