"My Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal" by Russell Brand

I recently finished reading Russell Brand's first installment of his autobiographical "Booky Wook" series and quite enjoyed it. I think I enjoyed this one more. The first one, he tried more and I laughed more I think, but with this one, I could better see the celebrity that I know him as, and he had more stories about time spent in the U.S., which being American I can better relate to. In his first book, there were tedious details about his childhood and adolescence to give background into who he is, but in this one, he made the stories more relevant for what the reader probably wanted. Also, it helped that during this book, he was sober and clean--so that whole dramatic scene was eliminated and other topics could be focused upon. I much liked reading his stories about filming "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" in Hawaii, being friends with Morrissey and Noel from Oasis (respectively), his crush on Helen Mirren and meeting various celebrities during his MTV VMA hosting and filming "Get Him to the Greek." Particularly funny and somewhat inspiring was a story about a media debacle that Brand caused when he joked on air about having sexual relations with one of their guest's granddaughters. In that particular situation, Brand went through a bad time and learned some valuable lessons about going too far with his humor and how to be more vigilant of potential domino effects. I enjoyed Brand's second book and would love to meet him in person someday! I would probably want to discuss his books in detail, as there were many fascinating stories.

Between a Heart and a Rock Place, A Memoir by Pat Benatar

So I now feel like I know Pat Benatar. She seems pretty cool lady who really has her head on straight. Her book was a pretty good read, for women especially, since she's a tough cookie who juggled being the lead singer of a rock band and mothering 2 children. Her husband is her longtime guitarist in her band, which is interesting. I am always way more fascinated by couples who are in the same band together, because I know it's not easy and there are so many layers that can complicate things. When a couple makes it work for the long term, I am awestruck. I respect her for making it work and not giving up. There was a time when Benatar and her now husband were broken up, too, which was inspiring to read about. I liked reading about the mistakes and misjudgements she made while young, because it shows she's human and had a past that wasn't really what you would expect of a famous female rock singer. It wasn't anything bad, just unexpected and interesting. In this particular memoir, it was delightful to find out about the person on the other side of the songs that you hear on the radio. I don't know that I could rouse up one bad things to say about Pat Benatar. She wrote about living in back country Hawaii for a while, which would be so amazing. I don't know why more celebrities don't get homes that are clear away from much civilization and people prying into their private lives. I always admire when people do that, because it seems like a no brainer for gaining a sense of peace aside from the celebrity and vanity of it all. Anyway - what I found most interesting in Benatar's memoir was the battle she and her band went through with their former record label, Chrysalis. It was very eye-opening for a musician. All in all, a good read :) I recommend.