On My Radar - Friday Edition

Even though I live in Nashville, the home of country music, I am not a huge country music fan. Like everyone, I have my own personal taste in music. The country music that I like tends to be either old school George Jones or Merle Haggard, or more contemporary folk-country like Nanci Griffith or Todd Snider. But I try to take each performer on their own merits.

To be honest, I haven't heard that much of the music of Chely Wright but I know of her. In reading the publicity about the book, she sounds like someone I'd like to read about:

In her memoirs, titled 'Like Me,' Chely traces her musical journey back to her childhood in Kansas. She chronicles her dreams and aspirations of a career in music, and the harsh realities of recording contracts and concert tours. Chely shares stories from her seven trips overseas to perform for U.S. troops, as well from as her friendships with stars like Vince Gill and Brad Paisley.

I think I'd like to read this book.

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http://chely.com/

http://www.randomhouse.com

On My Radar

Today's On My Radar is LIFE WOULD BE PERFECT IF I LIVED IN THAT HOUSE by Meghan Daum. They say don't judge a book by its cover, but, after many years in book retail I can tell you that people do. We all do. Book titles also grab us and I am not ashamed to say a book with a cute title will get my attention every time.

I used to change the furniture around in my bedroom several times a year. I would get bored with the layout and try to find the perfect way to display all my stuff. I didn't know about feng shui. I didn't know what I was doing was called "interior decorating." And I certainly didn't know all the jokes about guys who liked it.

But this book is about the house...not a home, the actual physical house. To be more precise: the perfect house. The ideal of it, the search for it and the dream of it making you whole.

I have never read Ms. Daum, but I just went to her website and subscribed to her column.

I want to read her book.

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http://www.meghandaum.com

http://www.randomhouse.com

What I'm Reading Now

I love her on the Daily Show with John Stewart and now I'm getting to know why she's so damn funny. So far I've learned that she was practically "allergic to the Sun" growing up, that she wanted to marry Jesus, and she was desensitized to porn by the time she was nine years old.

And I'm only on page 57.

I KNOW I AM, BUT WHAT ARE YOU? by Samantha Bee arrives June, 2010 from Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

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On My Radar

Having worked in many bookstores, the name Nathaniel Philbrick is to me synonymous with books about the sea: MAYFLOWER, SEA OF GLORY, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA. However, his forthcoming book (Due May 4th), THE LAST STAND: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, is the inside story of the famous battle which took place in eastern Montana Territory, near what is now the town of Crow Agency, Montana.

A late-blooming history buff, my interest in this book was whetted by this video, presented by the publisher:



There are a lot of people who think they know about the battle depicted in this book -- and a lot of what people think they know isn't true. This book promises to be a history lover's delight.

Kirkus, in a starred review, said: "A master storyteller’s vivid take on one of the most notorious military disasters in U.S. history." That's enough for me.....

I wanna read it.

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http://www.nathanielphilbrick.com/

http://www.us.penguingroup.com

After taking my sweet, savoring time through over 600 pages on the life of Willie Mays, it was only fair that I run full-tilt through an easy read. Jason Mulgrew delivers that and more in EVERYTHING IS WRONG WITH ME: A Memoir of an American Childhood Gone, Well, Wrong.

Mulgrew goes to pains describing himself as fat, pasty-white, pathetic and a loser. What he is, however, is a gifted humorist with a talent for self-deprecation. There were no less than two places in the book where I thought I was going to pass out from laughing so hard.

If you read my past reviews you will discover I have an affinity for funny memoirs. I am still in love with Diana Joseph. This book stands up well with any I've read. I have no problem suggesting this book if you like to laugh while you read. While being an easy read, this book is by no means simple. The author clearly grew up with an amazing cast of characters in his neighborhood and his eye for detail and the quirks of life serve the reader well.

Mulgrew has a popular blog (though I hadn't read it before the book), and it is bookmark-worthy in its own right. I look forward to getting my Mulgrew fix online while I wait for his next book.

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http://www.jasonmulgrew.com

http://www.harperperennial.com

Say.....Hey, this Book is Amazing

I have probably read over a hundred biographies in my life and I have to say that I just finished the best one I have ever read. WILLIE MAYS: The Life, The Legend by James S. Hirsch should be on every baseball fan's reading list.

I remember the tail end of Mays' career. The clearest memories I have are in the final year with the Mets. By this time, his peak years were way behind him and he was a shadow of his former self. However, as Hirsch makes very clear, Willie was a difference maker until the day he retired.

The detail within the book is a reflection of the research done (24 pages of Notes and 5 pages of Bibliography along with a 29 page index). But I have to say -- while most bios give you facts and historical context, Hirsch has succeeded in delivering a book which allows the reader into Willie Mays' head and into the heads of his friends, teammates and opponents. According to Hirsch, Willie still remembers in great detail events of particular games played more than three decades ago.

All of this is to say that this book is easily the most in-depth, thoroughly researched biography I have ever had the pleasure to read. I feel like I really know Willie Mays -- a man who lived as private a life as he could while simultaneously being probably the greatest baseball player who ever lived. (A case Hirsch makes.) And because I now "know" Willie Mays, I can announce: I really, really like him.