The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

Kindle edition

The Husband read this book first and loved it. It's funny - he knew who Dave Grohl was, knew who the Foo Fighters are, yet wasn't really into them until we went to see them in concert a few back. Then he reluctantly came around to liking them. The Husband is a rap music fan. That's almost exclusively all that he listens to. Anything that isn't rap really isn't on his radar. So when he likes something other than rap, it takes a while for him to freely admit he likes it. 

Well, after feeling good enough to admit he likes the Foo Fighters and that he wants to be best friends with Dave, he saw that this book was out and got it from our local library. He told me I'd like it too.

I started this on September 15 and finished it on September 23. Now, I'm super behind on reviewing the books I've read, I'm writing this book in 2023 and I finished this in September of 2022. So it's been a minute. Forgive me if I don't offer too many specific details, as they've left my brain already.

I can tell you that this book was great! It's the story of how Dave became Dave - through his early years and the different bands he grew up liking, became a member of, to Nirvana and the gross apartment and room he lived in with Kurt Cobain, through the death and end of Nirvana, to beginning the Foo Fighters. And so much in between.

Dave is a storyteller, for sure. Not only in this book. If you haven't seen it, check out the Sonic Highways documentary from 2014. It's streaming somewhere, I'm sure. It follows the band in making their album of the same name. They go to different cities and the music and history of those cities influences the song, lyrics, and sound. It's really great! And gives me, at lest, a deeper appreciation for the music, knowing the back-story and not just trying to infer it from the lyrics.

Great book. Highly recommend it.

Post written on June 4, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty

Kindle edition

So, I meditate daily using the Calm app. In addition to all of the great meditations they have, they started having Jay Shetty do meditations called "The Daily Jay". I started incorporating them into my daily meditation and really liked them. 

Jay is a former monk and has great insights to share, interesting questions to ponder, and a calming voice. I still meditate with him through the app.

I learned he had a book and was excited to read it. I got the kindle edition from my local library and started the book on July 8 and finished it on September 14. This one took a while for me to get through.

So, as with many of these reviews, I'm writing them in 2023 despite finishing the book in 2022. I don't remember a lot of specifics, so here's my high-level recollection. While I liked the book, I felt it was a little too preachy, a little too "do this". That's probably intentional, this being a 
"self-help" book of sorts. I'm realizing I don't take to those quite as much as I do purely fiction books.

So, while I think there are some great points about what meditation and mindfulness can do for you, and I fully support those things (and practice them myself), I don't think I got as much out of this book as I do from the daily meditations on Calm. I think that is further evidenced by how long it took me to read this book.

So, while not a total fan of the book, I really do like Jay Shetty and his daily meditations on the Calm app.

Post written on June 4, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.