I have so many books to read (and hopefully review). Admittedly, I obsess over books, especially biographies. A collection of books is like a wine cellar for the mind.
I just started the Willie Nelson autobiography, “It’s a Long Story.” It’s hard for me to think of anyone who has experienced a more interesting life with so many incredible folksy stories than Nelson. I’m only a few chapters in, so far, and there have been times when I just had to stop cold. Put the book down. Ponder. Think a bit more. Absorb. Take it in. Then, continue.
To me, that’s a *great* book.
This book might seem like the biography of a country singer and songwriter. That would be missing a much bigger picture, with many life’s lessons for us all, bravely shared through the mistakes of a flawed but honest man who has made many, while also pushing creative boundaries and defying expectations, yet always remaining true to himself.
I don’t think many of us appreciate, even to this day, his importance as a historical, cultural, and certainly a musical force. He’s been the iron bridge between tradition and rebellion, young and old, country and urban, folksy twang and sophistication…..as though he’s the single crossroads of Americana. The cultural evolution of America over the last 70 years has been — Willie Nelson.
READ MY WILLIE NELSON CONCERT REVIEW HERE
I’ll try to finish this week, write a full review, then move on to several other books (some of you have sent books to me, and I’ve been slow to get to them — which isn’t a lack of interest, but rather a shortage of time).