The True Story of....

I love to read.  I have a decent collection of books, but am trying to curb the book-spending, so have started visiting the library again.  I've been stuck on autobiographies for a couple years now, and just can't stop indulging in the true stories of famous people, as told by themselves.  Not biographies, those books written by people about other people.  Those are always missing something.  And I especially detest "unauthorized" biographies.  Those writers are nothing more than glamourized gossip columnists.  Instead of reading an unauthorized biography, I'd rather wait years for that person to finally choose to tell their own story.

Right now, I'm working on 3 books (yes, three.).  1.  I, Tina - Tina Turner; 2. Wonderful Tonight - Pattie Boyd (mostly talks about her marriages to George Harrison and Eric Clapton), and 3. How I Lost 5 Pounds in 6 Years - Tom Arnold.  I borrowed #2 and 3 from the library at the same time, and am reading Pattie's book first.  Tom will wait a little bit.  But then, I got a call from the library last week, saying that Tina's book had arrived, and was waiting for me to sign out.  So I'm reading #1 and 2 at the same time.

Last week, I read To Hell and Back - Meat Loaf, in less than 3 days.  Great book.  I highly recommend it.

My personal collection is varied.  Here's my Top 5 favourites of those I own:

1.  The Dirt - Motley Crue (and most everyone who had read this will agree it deserves top spot.  Read it.  But if you do read it, keep it away from minors.  It should come with a parental warning on the cover.)
2.  Heroin Diaries - Nikki Sixx (Best to read this after The Dirt, when you gain an appreciation for Nikki Sixx's story telling abilities.  It's deep and very dark, but ends on a positive note - he's alive.  I love Nikki Sixx.  Number one on my list of things to do before I die is to meet Nikki Sixx.  Number 2 on that list is to french kiss him.  And I know I'm not the only one with this wish.)
3.  Hitman - David Foster (An amazing music man, Canadian, nonetheless.  The man responsible for bringing many big music stars to the spotlight, including Michael Buble.  He's arrogant, but is totally allowed to be.)
4.  Hitman - Bret Hart (Yes, two books by the same name, by two Canadians, telling very different stories.)
5.  Slash by Slash (I love rock star autobiographies.  This story was surprising.  Behind the big black hair and top hat is a very talented man who is also lucky to be alive.)

Close but not quite:
6.  The Chris Farley Show (not an autobiography, because he died before this was written.  It's in the same format as The Dirt, with many people adding their personal experiences to the mix.)
7.  The Hardest (Working) Man in Show Business - Ron Jeremy (the porn star.  A little too much name dropping for my liking.  But considering what he does, and how he looks, he's got a lot of friends in high places.)

Keith Richards' book comes out next week.  I can't wait.  That will be a goooood one.