what are you reading?

I just finished Old Bones by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. This is my second Preston & Child book, the first being "Relic". This one was a bit more lean than Relic and I really enjoyed it. These two write a good thriller and I look forward to reading some more of them. I see I have 2-3 more of their thrillers in my "to read" pile so they will be readily at hand when I'm ready for another!

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I read the first 3 chapters of The McCartney Legacy, from the Kindle sample. By request, the book was subsequently bought by my public library, and is currently in my possession. I'm about halfway through it now, but I haven't relished all the Beatles squabbles. I finally came across a golden nugget while reading this morning. I love Paul's explanation of how he came to land on Wings as a band name. It's just a few line story of Linda's precarious pregnancy delivery, and how Paul imagined wings in his prayers. I can relate to such emotion. The other stuff has little meaning for me.

Addendum:
I'm almost at the end of this book, and I found another golden nugget. I'm relaying it here, but it will go unread, since it's unlikely anyone backtracks on this thread. Paul is still trying to free himself from his Apple contract, so he's meeting up with George and Ringo. John is stuck in the states. In passing, George profoundly mentions that "we are all prisoners here", which inspires Paul to write a song. "If we ever get out of here, though of giving it all away, to a registered charity...".

I only made it part-way through McCartney Legacy before too many other things needed my time, but what I was enjoying about the book was details about how the songs were recorded, (assuming I'm not mixing up which book that one is.) But each of The Beatles were clearly miserable around that time, and it saddened me that the people who brought us some great music, (IMO), that generations of people are still enjoying weren't happy.

I am going to get back to that book...some day. To my surprise, I had apparently recommended that the library get a book on J. Edgar Hoover, which they just got, so that's what I'm currently reading. I don't know why I submitted the purchase recommendation. It must have been on a "best of" list somewhere. But it should be interesting. And if not, maybe I can get back to Legacy. (Now I've got the song "Get Back" playing in my head. LOL)

Joyful Uke said:

each of The Beatles were clearly miserable around that time, and it saddened me that the people who brought us some great music, (IMO), that generations of people are still enjoying weren't happy.

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That IS the story. It's so sad, but especially for Paul at the time, it's impossible to separate the critical response to his early solo stuff, including from fans, from the feeling that he'd committed the unforgivable sin of not being John Lennon. Places like Rolling Stone were so completely in John's thrall that Paul couldn't get a kind word out of them for much of anything (with the odd exception of Red Rose Speedway, which really doesn't hold up, imo). It really took until the last few years before people started talking about Ram as a masterpiece, which it is...

...and I'll be the first to admit that not all of his early solo stuff was! And Paul would be second in line, I think. Crawling out of an alcohol-fueled tailspin at the loss of his oldest and closest friends, and (functionally) the entire world turning on him after (perhaps overly) lionizing him for half his life was HARD. And he was still in his 20s while he was going through most of it! (He turns 30 just as this volume comes to a close.)

I do get that it's not all a fun read, and I mentioned above that the tension was so powerfully communicated that MY stomach was knots for a week. I won't spoil the Nigeria stuff for folks who haven't gotten there yet, but as much as I thought I knew about the making of Band On The Run (I've probably watched half a dozen making-of documentaries, including some official ones, plus read about it in other bios), I had no idea how much physical peril they were in, and how often.

The legal heat that he got for his drug use was also NOT fun and games. It's why he couldn't come to the US to meet with the other three face-to-face and resolve all this. They'd all decamped here, but US government was adamant about keeping Paul out, and was simultaneously trying to deport John of course. So he couldn't come to the US, and Lennon couldn't leave, knowing he'd never get back in. Yeah, things changed later, but it took several changes of administration, the death of J. Edgar Hoover, and Lennon getting his green card before any of it really changed. I'm really looking forward to the next volume, which will include Paul and John reconciling (in 1974, with May Pang opening the door), and the beginning of his conquering America a second time.

The years covered in this volume were packed with dark, dark days and very little light. I remain amazed that Paul got through it at all, AND managed to create a handful of classics that people will care about for generations.

You can definitely skip some of the worst parts to focus on the writing and recording stuff, but even that is tough. His band didn't trust him, they were grotesquely underpaid while Paul's money was locked up (Apple wasn't paying him ANY royalties during these years), and audiences were just not at all sure to do with him yet. He wasn't playing a note of Beatles music, and there wasn't much of a show to put on with what the band had in hand yet. You can feel the tide start to turn as 1973 rolls around, as Band on the Run follows the non-album single Live and Let Die, but man, it's a haul to get there, no doubt.

A tie-in to my recommendation that the library get the J. Edgar Hoover book, perhaps.
I do recall reading in Beatles related books about the attempt to kick John out of the country. I only have over-the-air TV, and they had Dick Cavett shows on until just recently. I got to see the shows that John and Yoko were on, talking about John wanting to stay in the country.

I did know that the individual members of The Beatles were unhappy, but it came through so vividly in Legacy. (Though at the moment, I suspect that George was the most unhappy, and he never found peace with it all. Just my impression.) It also is clear that Linda had a tough go of it being with Paul, and that she helped him immensely. She probably doesn't get enough credit from the fan base. Sure, she wasn't a musician at Paul's level, but that she was able to hang in there at all and brave enough to take part in the band when Paul was struggling and the world was not at all kind to her (or him) is a show of great strength and ability.

Red Rose Speedway was never a favorite of mine, but I've recently been enjoying some of the tracks. IA, not his best post-Beatles album, though.

Anyway, I do plan on getting back to the book - and not skipping any of it - but this Hoover book sure is a long book....

I don't know who decided that there should be only 24 hours in a day, because I seem to often need more than that. LOL.

I recently finished reading the entire Luthier's Lounge forum here on UU and Uke Luthiers on the Cosmos. I feel I have learned a lot of great information.

Joyful Uke said:

I do recall reading in Beatles related books about the attempt to kick John out of the country.

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There's a terrific documentary about it too, The US vs. John Lennon. Hoover got Nixon fired up about it, but it really did grow to encompass very nearly the entirety of the nation's power structure.

Joyful Uke said:

she was able to hang in there at all and brave enough to take part in the band when Paul was struggling and the world was not at all kind to her

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Even if reading the Paul parts of the tale can get gruesome to read, I agree, pretty much everything about Linda in this book is fantastic. Spine of steel, that one, expressed in a loving and playful manner more often than not, but she was every bit Paul's match in the "force of will" category at his best, and he often wasn't at his best these days.

Joyful Uke said:

I suspect that George was the most unhappy, and he never found peace with it al

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That has become my impression too. I think his grievances were mostly legit, but ultimately, the source of the dissatisfaction was within himself. I think he understood this to enough of an extent that he devoted himself to working on according that inner balance. Not as much because he was a spiritual seeker in general, which he obviously was, but even more than that, he understood that his reaction to stuff was part of the problem as the circumstances themselves.

Joyful Uke said:

I don't know who decided that there should be only 24 hours in a day, because I seem to often need more than that. LOL.

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All that work nonsense getting in the way of reading and uking. The nerve!

I'd be curious to read the McCartney book. Even after all I've read on the Beatles I'm still not totally sure what I think of him. At times I think of him as a villain. He was absolutely ambitious and gifted but he would often let his selfishness and self interest get in the way, would call out his bandmates and treat them as less than equals and lectured them making me think he was one of the major driving forces in causing friction and discord within the group. On the other hand he was somewhat a hero. After Brian Epstein's death the Beatles were without a rudder and no one was stepping up so Paul took it upon himself to do something and give the band some direction. His driving force may have made them continue on and produce more work than what the remaining band members would have driven to do otherwise. I seem to recall both John and Ringo stating as much. He had the bands (and as such his) best interests in mind when he resisted the wills of the others in taking on Allen Klein to manage their business interests. Paul's fatal mistake there probably was suggesting Lee Eastman, Linda's father, to manage rather than trying to rally for a more neutral alternative. I think McCartney was probably a bit of both hero and villain. One of my take aways in reading "Tune In: The Beatles All These Years" is that both McCartney and Lennon were more than capable of dick-ish behavior.

Just began reading a really engaging novel (after being on the library’s ebook wait-list for months): Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld.

The chief characters are comedy writers on a weekly late-night TV show obviously modeled after Saturday Night Live. Very funny so far.

mikelz777 said:

I'd be curious to read the McCartney book. Even after all I've read on the Beatles I'm still not totally sure what I think of him. At times I think of him as a villain. He was absolutely ambitious and gifted but he would often let his selfishness and self interest get in the way, would call out his bandmates and treat them as less than equals and lectured them making me think he was one of the major driving forces in causing friction and discord within the group. On the other hand he was somewhat a hero. After Brian Epstein's death the Beatles were without a rudder and no one was stepping up so Paul took it upon himself to do something and give the band some direction. His driving force may have made them continue on and produce more work than what the remaining band members would have driven to do otherwise. I seem to recall both John and Ringo stating as much. He had the bands (and as such his) best interests in mind when he resisted the wills of the others in taking on Allen Klein to manage their business interests. Paul's fatal mistake there probably was suggesting Lee Eastman, Linda's father, to manage rather than trying to rally for a more neutral alternative. I think McCartney was probably a bit of both hero and villain. One of my take aways in reading "Tune In: The Beatles All These Years" is that both McCartney and Lennon were more than capable of dick-ish behavior.

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I think Paul did suggest at least one other alternative to Klein that wasn’t the Eastmans. Someone with Legacy in hand might have the name.

I think they all were capable of less than admirable behavior at times, (though less so with Ringo, maybe), but they sure did create some great music. But I do think that after Brian’s death, Paul pushed to keep them going, which got us those last great albums. It must have been a tough time for them all which may explain part of the squabbling.

Patty said:

Just began reading a really engaging novel (after being on the library’s ebook wait-list for months): Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld.

The chief characters are comedy writers on a weekly late-night TV show obviously modeled after Saturday Night Live. Very funny so far.

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My library doesn’t have that one, (at least as an ebook.) Maybe I’ll recommend that they get it. Sounds good!

Joyful Uke said:

My library doesn’t have that one, (at least as an ebook.) Maybe I’ll recommend that they get it. Sounds good!

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I stayed up WAAAY too late last night reading it.

Just started Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris. It’s the story of the hunt for two of the signatories of Charles I’s death warrant, who fled across the Atlantic. I’m really enjoying it so far, also finding it amusingly pertinent as the UK approaches the coronation of Charlie Mk. III

Just finished A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger. Really enjoyed it. It's similar to the Misewa Saga series by David A. Robertson but actually better: tighter plot, better characters. I like the blending of the traditional Indigenous storytelling and mythologies with the modern world (Walking In Two Worlds (Floraverse books) by Wab Kinew is that too, but even more modern/near future).

The Bluest Eye.

mikelz777 said:

I'd be curious to read the McCartney book. Even after all I've read on the Beatles I'm still not totally sure what I think of him. At times I think of him as a villain. He was absolutely ambitious and gifted but he would often let his selfishness and self interest get in the way, would call out his bandmates and treat them as less than equals and lectured them making me think he was one of the major driving forces in causing friction and discord within the group. On the other hand he was somewhat a hero. After Brian Epstein's death the Beatles were without a rudder and no one was stepping up so Paul took it upon himself to do something and give the band some direction. His driving force may have made them continue on and produce more work than what the remaining band members would have driven to do otherwise. I seem to recall both John and Ringo stating as much. He had the bands (and as such his) best interests in mind when he resisted the wills of the others in taking on Allen Klein to manage their business interests. Paul's fatal mistake there probably was suggesting Lee Eastman, Linda's father, to manage rather than trying to rally for a more neutral alternative. I think McCartney was probably a bit of both hero and villain. One of my take aways in reading "Tune In: The Beatles All These Years" is that both McCartney and Lennon were more than capable of dick-ish behavior.

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I've read in more than one account that John was a misogynist. And yet, he wrote my favorite song, Imagine. George was my favorite. He was a peacemaker. I don't believe he ever caused any friction in the group.

Nickie said:

I've read in more than one account that John was a misogynist. And yet, he wrote my favorite song, Imagine. George was my favorite. He was a peacemaker. I don't believe he ever caused any friction in the group.

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George was my favorite as well. I always enjoyed listening to his interviews because he always seemed so thoughtful and level headed. I read one of his bios late last year and learned that he was quite a ladies man and that faithfulness was something he wasn't very good at. Both John and Paul had such huge egos that it would have been miraculous if it didn't cause some kind of friction along the way. John was violent with multiple women in his life which is very troubling no matter how you look at it. Ringo always seemed to be a go along, get along kind of guy.

I just finished The Innocent by Harlen Coben. His "thing" is definitely plot twists and I've enjoyed each book of his that I've read. His books are kind of like potato chips. They're pretty easy to consume and they make you want more. I'll be reading more of him in the future.

mikelz777 said:

Ringo always seemed to be a go along, get along kind of guy

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Yes, he seemed really amiable. I think that perhaps because he was so low-maintenance emotionally, so low drama, some people underestimated him musically, as just a necessary appendage of the three geniuses. To me, he was one of the all-time great drummers.

Just finished Out of Sight, by Elmore Leonard.