29 December 2012

There Is No Hockey On TV So Why Not Get Some Reading In?





I always get books for Christmas so I have a couple of books for you. First one was a present from Sonja. It is Randy Bachman's "Vinyl Tap Stories." If you like his CBC radio show (as I do) you will like the book too. It is kind of odd really reading a book and hearing the authour's voice so clearly in every word of it.

I am not going to recount Bachman's stories about his old bandmates, guitars and musicians he has encountered along his now lengthy rock 'n' roll life. The best one, for me, is about a festival he played in Seattle with Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis amongst others. Stories about The Killer are the best of all the rock 'n' roll stories: that motherfucker is something else.

Good thing Bachman kept himself cleaner than The Killer too. He may not have had these stories to tell if he had not done so.

Second one was a present from my mom. It is Kevin Chong's "My Year of the Racehorse." Widely reviewed, it is every bit as good as any of the reviews I read about it. As a fan of horse racing I have read a lot of books on the subject. This is the best one to read if you are even a little curious about a sport that appeals equally to Kings and sawmill hands such as I. And, if you are reading this some place far away from Dope City, it will give you a little different look at the city that thinks it is so fucking cool (even though it has not won the Stanley Cup since 1915) without dragging you through every piss stink back alley most Dope City writers do. Something of a must read this one is.

4 comments:

JustFrankie said...

I hope this is tons bettor than the last racing book I read, Beyer on Speed, which sounds more like a memoir.

Thanks Beer

istvan said...

Good reviews beer.I will find a copy of Keven Chong's book. Like you ,I listen to 'vinyl tap'.In fact I listen to cbc all the time.Best to you and yours in the new year.

Mr. Beer N. Hockey said...

All the best in '13 to you too ist.

Chong's book is an excellent example modern new journalism Frankie - not gonzo but very nearly as entertaining.

RossK said...

I reckon Frankie would enjoy one of my Christmas presents too...Telegraph Avenue by MChabon...EastBay, far enough South of Sather Gate that it matters, in all it's twisted glory.

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