A Year in Reading: Hamilton Leithauser

Life by Keith Richards: Any Stones fan will enjoy this. The only problem is you have to get through the drug-filled later 70’s and 80’s, which are kind of a rock-n-roll fantasy drag. I wish there’d been a little more talk about the records and a little less of the drogas, but what are you gonna do. He really warms up by the end though, and even has a recipe for bangers and mash. Most of the history is stuff you’ve heard before, but it’s fun to hear it from Keith’s mouth. It’s most interesting to hear him talk about the other dudes…I guess he does love Mick like a brother–although they’ve had their differences–he adores Charlie, hates Bill, and had an antagonistic, but mutually respectful relationship with Brian. Mick Taylor is aloof, and Ronnie is a hard-core Stone. I’m so surprised that Mick wrote the “Brown Sugar” riff.

Stoner by John Williams: My favorite book I read this year. He has a plain-Jane, perfectly mild style that is so satisfying. It’s like a great roasted chicken. It’s the life story of a guy named Stoner, who comes to work in the academic world, and is basically screwed over from all sides time and time again. Between his wife and the dean of students, he’s just not catching any breaks. There is less humor here than, say the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man, but the matter-of-fact storytelling hooked me like a fish. I didn’t know a thing about John Williams beforehand, but after reading Stoner, I picked up Augustus (which I also recommend) and Butcher’s Crossing (which I haven’t yet read).

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah: The author was lost in the wars of Sierra Leone and picked up by roving packs of guerilla warriors. At something like the age of 13 he was given an AK-47 and enough drugs to numb himself to the massacres he then unleashed. His reintroduction to society is actually the most interesting part.

God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens: Hitchens is an atheist who is basically making the claim that religion—and thus God–are man-made inventions that are more excuses for violence, repression, and intolerance than anything else. Science and reason are his new dogma. It is a very interesting read because he is articulate and funny, and he has many things to say about discrediting the foundations of the Bible, the Koran, and the Torah (among others). The histories of all religions are so jam-packed with violence and abuse, the point is hammered home a little too hard at times…and I’d be left wondering “what about the people who didn’t kill or molest anyone?” He’s a really brilliant guy though and even if I wasn’t necessarily convinced, I think it’s worth the read.

Hamilton Leithauser is a songwriter and musician living in New York City. He has released several solo records in the past few years, as well as a brand new single “Heartstruck (Wild Hunger).” He has two little daughters.