taming the tiger

taming the tiger, by tony anthony

as far as dramatic christian stories about conversion go, this would have to be near perfect in terms of the formula: really bad person (in this case, a kung fu expert who uses his skills to maim and kill people for money and retribution) goes to prison and then finds jesus.

i don't mean to come across as cynical in this - 'taming the tiger' really does have all the ingredients of a storming good christian story of redemption. truth betters fiction in a number of episodes in the book. we get to hear all about tony's rigorous training in china as a child, rising to be become a world kung fu champion, then a bodyguard, losing the love of his life and becoming angry. using his abilities in the service of the underbelly of the world. before the cypriot police catch up with him and throw him into one of the worst prisons of the world. he becomes a christian there and returns to england (where he was born). he gets married to a nice christian girl and then winds up in prison again after accidentally killing a woman in a road accident. that stint in prison gives him a chance for more self-examination, not to mention an opportunity to demonstrate good overcoming evil in the prison environment.

potentially open to criticism for being sensationalist (for the writing style as much as the content), 'taming the tiger' is well worth a read - very entertaining and easy reading.

a royal duty

a royal duty, by paul burrell

i suppose i should start by explaining why i read this book. i can't really think of a good explanation other than the fact that i read the first few pages to see what a royal biography was like and ended up getting hooked. sucker.

i had also forgotten what a huge stink this book made when it was first released. paul burrell, former footman to the queen and butler to diana, was accused of all manner of things when it came out - betraying the royals' trust, profiting from the memory of diana - that kind of thing.

in actual fact i found that this was a very even handed account - only mildly sensational and other than that, just a really interesting insight into the way the royal family functions. the book notches up a gear in the final third with the death of diana and with burrell being charged with stealing diana's personal property.

all the while, the thing that emerges is a story of a butler who is absolutely enamoured with his employer, a man under the spell of diana's charms - to the point of obsession, and at the expense of his own family. burrell sees upholding the memory of the princess as his life's calling. and i think that is a believeable motive, despite the vast sums of money that he has made from the book. although, i have to admit that when i heard the other day that he is planning to release another book on diana soon, his credibility starts to slip. he claims that it is because people are starting to forget her. cynics say it's time to make some more money. i think it is more a factor of an obsessed man who knows deep down that his main importance is in association with diana - without that he becomes little more than an expert on royal etiquette.

i suppose that seems like a bit of mean assessment. when you read the book you sympathise with burrell, and it is surprisingly well-written. and i think it holds true that this book is probably the most crucial one available for anyone who wants to know what life is like behind the windsors' front door.

on the stereo: 'the mp' by the album leaf, from the album 'one day i'll be on time'. http://www.albumleaf.com/

sharon osbourne extreme

extreme: my autobiography, by sharon osbourne

anna got this from her book club, i think. i came across it when i was looking for something a bit lighter to read...

i suppose it's a bit of a "girl's book", but it's also a rather interesting insight on the music industry of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

sharon osbourne is famous to most people for being the wife of ozzy osbourne, former lead singer of black sabbath. but apart from this significant accomplishment, she was also on the inner circle of the british music industry.

her father was an artist manager, and was responsible for bringing rock n roll to britain. he turned down management of a new band called "the beatles" because he thought the idea of british rock was a joke. instead he continued to focus on bringing american acts like chuck berry over to the uk. other famous artists he represented included ELO in the 70s (by then he had caught on to the idea of british music).

sharon became involved in the industry, and much of this book is about the corruption and criminal under-current of the music business. nothing girly about that! sharon herself was (is) a bit of a hard woman - not afraid (it transpires) to use her excrement (literally), her language and her fists to prove a point. before i leave off talking about the music industry bits of the book, i should also say - did you know that sharon once managed the smashing pumpkins? she ditched them because billy corgan was a royal pain in the arse.

the rest of the book is about her relationship with ozzy - enduring weekly beatings and his insane drug and alcohol addiction. she also talks about her kids and her fight with cancer.

so lots of aspects to this book - well worth reading for either the music industry stuff or for the human drama.

on the headphones: 'un bacio (ali n. baskin remix)' by ennio morricone, from the album 'morricone rmx'.

bono on bono

bono on bono, conversations with michka assayas

for a long time i've held a kind of ambition to meet bono. i guess that is a fairly cliche ambition, but there it is. a wave of excitement swept through new zealand a few months ago - U2 were returning after about 12 years of absence. people went crazy paying amazing prices for tickets on internet auction sites, queued through the night, and spent hours trying to buy tickets online. in the event, for now we have all been treated to a stunning display of anti-climax. the tour was postponed, and for a very good reason - one of the band members had a sick relative (the edge's daughter?).

part of my build-up to the concert was reading this book. anna gave it to me for my birthday, a couple of weeks before the st patricks day concert. so, in lieu of the certainty of actually ever sitting down with bono and having the kind of conversation that takes days (or even decades) to complete and understand, michka assayas steps into the gap. and can i say right now, this book most definitely makes its way to the top of the pile of books on U2 or bono you should ever bother reading. bono, that man of mystery, is best revealed through his own words. not that that makes him any more straightforward - he describes himself as "a scribbling, cigar-smoking, wine-drinking, Bible-reading band man..." our friend alex, who's also reading the book said, "I'’m kind of surprised, impressed and disappointed in Bono'’s character all at the same time".

and so there he is. we all look for heroes - people who embody the ideal of what we believe. and after years of holding bono up as a hero (i've called U2 my favourite band since i was about 7) i'm learning to see him, and others, as people - complicated, flawed and open to acts of incredible stupidity and goodness. when you see that, you become more honest about yourself too i guess. so now i try to see bono as being bono, or better yet, paul hewson. and every time recently i've been tempted to see one of my heroes or friends as somehow removed from the harsh realities and complexities of life, the failings of humanity, the pitfalls of life, i think of biblical characters like king david - a shocking sinner and a man after God's own heart... crucially, david always admitted when he was wrong and developed some kind of real relationship with God, all the while acknowledging God as the higher authority. he was a man who undoubtedly knew the meaning of grace. and so, it seems, is bono.

as a christian i would have asked bono a different set of questions to those that michka assayas asked, and to be honest sometimes the conversation seems to get a little too hot in the spiritual kitchen for assayas, which can be a little frustrating. i found that conversations about bono's political involvements got a bit tiring, but i guess that's where things are at in his life.

anyway, this book is pretty addictive, the conversation style draws you in. this is easily one of the most crucial books (if not most crucial) on bono available. i hope there is another one in 10-20 years.

on the headphones: 'no more cotton' by sacred spirit, from the album 'culture clash vol 2'.

miles: the autobiography

miles: the autobiography, by miles davis and quincy troupe

this is a classic of jazz writing. and while i'm reaching for superlatives, can i also say that it is pretty much an essential read for anyone interested in jazz?

miles davis was apparently quite well-known for getting details wrong, but even if every detail in this book isn't entirely accurate, it still gives great insight into the jazz world he inhabited.

nearly every famous name in jazz was associated with davis at some point in their career, and his life spanned pretty-much every jazz movement from big band to acid jazz, although this account ends before the last couple of albums he did.

now, as for the writing itself, the text sounds like miles sitting down and rabbiting off his recollections (although i'm sure putting the book together was actually a bit of a nightmare for quincy troupe) and that works well. the book is somewhat famous for the way it liberated the word motherf****r - miles found ways to use it in every conceivable way. so if your ears burn, then this might be a struggle. not only that but miles comes across as a tiny bit racist and sexist - i'll leave it up to you to decide how much irony i'm using in the words 'tiny bit'.

gladometer ('how glad am i that i read it?') rating: pretty glad.

on the headphones: 'into the ocean' by evermore, from the album 'dreams' (not jazz by the way). www.evermoreband.com