New Book: KISS: Behind the Mask by David Leaf and Ken Sharp

I finished reading Choke by Chuck Palahniuk last week at some point. I then spent several days in flux because I recently downloaded a dangerously addictive bundle of solitaire-like card games for my phone. Anyway, Choke was good, and it was a really quick read. Palahniuk does a great job of getting into the main character’s head. I’d definitely be interested to see what the big screen version of this was like, seeing as though the main character is a sex addict and, at one key point, sharts out some anal beads that had been stuck for several days.

I have moved back to music history, to KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography by David Leaf and Ken Sharp. Interestingly, Leaf had completely his portion of this back in 1980, after interviewing the band about their rise to glory the previous year. For one reason or another, the book didn’t get published, then sat dormant for about fifteen years, until Leaf and Sharp (a Kiss fanatic who had written articles about the bad) met. Once Sharp found out that Leaf had written a book about Kiss, he demanded to read it, did so, loved it, and convinced Leaf to publish it, with Sharp contributing to the band’s post-1979 exploits. The rest, as they say is history. Or should I say KISStory? No, I guess history is the proper term, as KISStory isn't a real word. One thing I thought was interesting right off the bat was the picture on the cover. These days, there just aren't too many rockers who are willing to put on six-inch platform boots, paint their faces, and hang out on the ledge of what appears to be a thousand-foot-tall building.

Books read in 2009:
The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis

Oh The Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey

I Hate New Music: The Classic Rock Manifesto by Dave Thompson

Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe

Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector by Mick Brown

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga by Ian Christe

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk