Book Report Time

Here is a very brief summary of the last Five Books I have read.

Stung: The Incredible Obsession of Brian Molony by Gary Stephen Ross – I grabbed this one after seeing the movie that was based on the book. I like placing a bet or two and heading off to Vegas from time to time. Thank God it is not an addiction. Basically Molony embezzled ten million dollars form the bank he worked at in Toronto to feed his gambling habit. In the end he lost every cent of it to the casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. A good read that was tough to put down.

Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs by John Bowe, Marisa Bowe, and Sabin Streeter - How I wish I read a book like this when I was a senior in High School. As a matter of fact instead of forcing kids to read Treasure Island in high school they should make them read this one instead. Basically the authors go around to numerous people and have them talk to about their jobs. Every job imaginable is covered here from CEO of a Fortune 500 company to a call girl. It is very interesting to read about jobs in which I knew nothing about. I highly recommend this to anyone who is contemplating a career change or about to pick a major for college.

Pimps, Ho’s Playa Hatas, and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends by John Leguizamo- I can’t really say why I bought or read this book. I am not a huge fan of Leguizamo’s work and I am not really into tell all biographies. But, for some reason, I was in Borders one day looking for a book I could take with me on my flight to Vegas and this one caught my eye and I started reading it. It is a quick read and the author tells some interesting stories. Still, War and Peace is safe.

The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz – I have read a number of books about the fab four over the years. This is by far the most exhaustive and the best. It is almost 900 pages and covers all of the bases. From the early days in Liverpool to their stint in Hamburg to becoming the biggest and most important rock and roll band in history. All the stories are here warts and all. It took me a good month to read it but it was worth it as it is an excellent source for all things Beatles.

One More Time: The Best of Mike Royko – My love for Mike Royko is well documented. I grew up reading him in the Sun Times when I was a kid and then in the Tribune in my teens. In my mind he was the best columnist that ever graced our fair city or for that matter any city. He was human with all the faults that come with the territory. In this book, the best of his columns are reprinted for all to enjoy. It was truly a pleasure to re-live them all.