The Tao of Willie by Willie Nelson (with Turk Pipkin)

The premise of this book is how to live life according to Willie's interpretation of the Tao te Ching. The Red-Headed Stranger gives some great insight into life and happiness, and how to live for the now. My favorite line says it all "Are you happy now?"

The book is chock full of anecdotes from Willie's life, as well as a smattering of his favorite jokes, all applied to the idea of the Tao In essence, he says, there's no sense in getting all keyed up over things in life.

It is part biography, and you will get a few tales of the different stages in his life, though I think that the idea that he was intentionally applying the Tao to his life at an early age is a little far-fetched. It's easy to see that in his current life, however.

When you get through this book, if you don't feel calmer and more happier, then you obviously read it too fast, and missed the basic principles. Even if you don't use this as a Cowboy Taoist bible, you should be able to come away with a clearer respect for the ideas incorporated within.

Rate this one 7½ stars.

Mostly Bob by Tom Corwin

Bob was a dog. Bob used to be Red, the neighbor's dog. Bob became Bob, the writer's dog. Bob is dead. Let's write a three page paean to Bob and publish with one sentence per page so it makes a 200 page book. That sums it up in a nutshell.

Rate this one 4 stars, with 3 of those for the sentimental aspect.

You Can Get Arrested for That: 2 Guys, 25 Dumb Laws, 1 Absurd American Crime Spree by Rich Smith

The premise here is the absurd dumb laws that are actually on the books in some cities and states in the United States. You can access a listing here, which may not be the exact list the author used, but almost all of the laws he broke, or attempted to are listed.

The author and a friend head to California for a cross-country trip, all the while attempting to break some of the more ridiculous laws on the books in several states. At first he has only a smattering of successes, most of the time with rather boring results. It seems to me tide turns about midway through the book, when the unfortunate coincidence of their Cornish flag they are displaying (they are from Cornwall in the U.K.) has a resemblance to the flag that a local violent gang displays. They are briefly met with hostility by local police until the error is cleared up. It is at this point that the book started getting more interesting.

All in all, its not an entirely satisfying book as far as road trip books go that I've read. But if you are unfamiliar with the strange laws, or just like the idea of breaking laws just for a laugh, you probably can't go wrong with this one.

Rate it 6 stars.

The Grilled Cheese Madonna (and 99 Other of the Weirdest, Wackiest, Most Famous eBay Auctions Ever) by Christopher Cihlar

Some of the strangest things have turned up for sale on eBay. Sometimes the sale of these things garners a lot of media attention. This is the subject that the author covers in this book. From the attempted sale by a woman of her virginity, the guy who claimed "a piece of the shuttle Columbia broke my rake" and was trying to sell the broken rake, and the one young man who tried to sell his soul, all the most outrageous sales over the history of eBay are here.

They are divided into several sections, each covering a specific type of auctioned item. In many of the cases, eBay pulled the item from its website because it violated their policies. i.e. You can't sell body parts. as people become more ingenuitive, eBay's policies on what can be sold become more restrictive. The secondary aspect of the book is the author's half-hearted attempt to educate his readers on how to get a sensational type of item on the site (and probably in the process become fodder for the sequel).

Even if you know about every one of the notorious sales herein, you will still find the book enjoyable, even if only as a reminescence. And it is easily read in an hour or so.

Rate this one 7½ stars.

Busy bees

I haven't been here in so long, I almost forgot I even had a blog. I've been doing some reading over the past few months, but not near as much as I used to read. Over the next few days, I will try to dredge up memories of the books I read, and post them. After that, expect me to be more frequent. At least I'll try to be.

Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail by Christopher Dawes

Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail by Christopher Dawes

This is the ultimate in road trip books. The author, a music writer for several magazines, has a neighbor. That neighbor is the extremely eccentric former drummer for the punk rock band, The Damned, known to the worlds at Rat Scabies. Rat is a stoner and an obssesive even in his advancing years. One obsession that Scabies has is the Holy Grail, or more specifically the aspect of it that concerns Rennes-le-Chateau in France.

For those of you, who like me, have not ventured into the world of The DaVinci Code, this may or may not be a total mystery. Having caught History Channel programs on the subjects covered in Dan Brown's book, I have a little bit of a jump on it.

Although a thorough understanding of the details and the mysteries involved might come in handy, this is more or less really a road book. Think Hope and Crosby on drugs. Some of the passages in Dawes story are frankly more hilarious than anything Hope & Crosby did on the big screen.

I have to say that this book will likely leave you wanting more. If thats the case, I will frequently be tackling other books on the subject and will update you on the best and worst of the selection. As far as Dan Brown's book, I'm going to commit the ultimate sin of a fanatic for books....I'm going to wait for the movie.

I'll rate this one 7 stars. Enjoy.

Winthrop

The Flag, The Poet and The Song by Irvin Molotsky

The Flag, The Poet and The Song by Irvin Molotsky:

I found this book to be extremely irritating. As far as history books go, it is a far cry from the standard. The author, contrary to most historical texts I have read, frequently interjects personal opinions on the events he desribes. For instance, early in the book, he mentions, not once, not twice, but three times in the same paragraph the fact that Francis Scott Key, the writer of the Star-Spangled Banner, owned slaves. The point being that he, the author, was critical of someone whose words espoused freedom should have been a slaveholder. Molotsky does this personal interjection more than once throughout the book. In its strictest sense, a historian should be more objective when writing.

As a historical piece, it is quite fascinating, especially since he covers areas that are not that well-known to most American citizens, including the fact that the burning of Washington during the war of 1812 was instigated by a similar act taking by the U.S. Army in Canada just a few weeks earlier.

Most of the first few chapters tell the story of the war as it lead up to the British army's failed attempt to take Baltimore and Fort McHenry, from where, as a prisoner on a British ship, Key wrote the words to the American national anthem. Later chapters detail the rise in popularity and its official recognition as the national anthem.

All in all, it is well-written and were it not for the frequent interjections of opinion, I might have given it a higher rating.

Rate this one 5½ stars.