Saturday, May 23, 2009

Recommended Reads

As a writer, I just love it when I find some drop dead amazing, spellbinding writers that keep me engaged in every word. If you remember the scene in "Amadeus" where Salieri picks up a score that Mozart left lying around, reads it and you see the intense emotion in his face as he hears the music in his head, that's the "wow" effect I feel when I read some of these writers. Sure, I wish I had the same kind of talent...or I'd take at least a fraction of it. But I appreciate it for what it is and soak it up like a sponge when I read. Anyhow, in no particular order, here's some of who's on my list these days.

- My musician/ex-talk radio friend from St. Paul, T.D. Mischke, who is flat out a killer writer. His move to City Pages was a win-win for him and us all. Read his section.

- Dale Connelly, MPR host of the internet based "Radio Heartland" who has a blog "Trial Balloon" to go with (not bad grammar...a Minnesota-ism). A genius humorist and one of my long-time radio and writing heroes.

- Rand Bishop, most notably a hit songwriter ("My List" for Toby Keith), has an entertaining, engaging and informative book, "Makin' Stuff Up", on the art of songwriting and his own experiences in the music world. I also enjoy him greatly as a speaker and performer.

- I found a book in the library I couldn't resist: "Radio On", by Sarah Vowell. A listener's diary, it was written over 10 years ago when she was in her 20s. Amazing writing. What's it like to have that talent that young?

I'm also looking forward to reading the new book by my fellow programmer at Radio Free Nashville, River Jordan, called "Saints In Limbo".

My $.02 and change...all worth checking out.

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