More Towels : In Between the Notes

Rating:
Summary: This is just a great book for before bed.
Review: No this isn't fancy writing or poety. This is just a really nice book to read a few pages from before you doze off for the night. With this book I have not failed to go to sleep without a smile in the last 2 weeks. I have read it slow to savor its deep kindness and humility. I wish more men could talk openly like this and be less macho and full of themselves. Perhaps we women too have part to do with it in that we don't really want to know an aweful lot sometimes if the man is just simply beautiful and fun to be around. I highly recommend this book. Its an amazingly funny book that deserves a couple of weeks in bed with you. Highly Recommend for those wanting to smile at night.

Rating:
Summary: WARNING: Do not read in public places!!!
Review: The first time this book embarrassed me was in my doctor's office. I was in the waiting room with three or four other people when I laughed so hard my gum shot across the room. The second time was at a restaurant on my lunch hour. I made the mistake of trying to continue to read once the laughter began and I actually wet myself - and no, I do not have a history of bladder control problems. And no, I am not going to use my name in this review. This is a very funny book, just be careful where you read it.

Rating:
Summary: Real writing talent and gobs of humor.
Review: There are two things that set this memoir apart from many others I've read: humor and real writing talent. That is not to say that I haven't enjoyed a lot of memoirs, several by musicians, it is just to say that MORE TOWELS has more to offer, for my tastes at least. HOLLYWOOD ANIMAL really failed to make me care, and Sting's book was interesting but not entirely engaging. Like most people's lives, memoirs often lack a traditional arc, and this is true of More Towels, but Jarrett has natural writing skill and a fantastic sense of humor, and he is so self-deprecating that, between laughs, you find yourself rooting for him. My only complaint about the book is that we have no idea how he made the leap from musician to writer. There are at least ten years unaccounted for. In spite of that minor glitch, I loved the book and recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Harrowing, hilarious and subtly heartbreaking
Review: There were a few sections of this book that touched me in a way that surprised me. Jarrett's reaction to his grandmother's death was one, his description of his girfriend at her brother's funeral was another. There were other touching moments too, but then this is a book of moments, moments that paint a picture of a desperately unhappy man coming to terms with his limitations as a musician and as a human being. In the second half of the book Jarrett's inner turmoil starts to seep to the surface and he begins to act out in more dangerous ways. As others have noted this is a very very funny book, but it is also an honest account of one musician's efforts to come to terms with his internal demons.

Rating:
Summary: Real writing talent and gobs of humor.
Review: This book was poorly written and not at all funny. Basically it's a vanity piece about the author's (not at all interesting) sex life. The writing is dull and amateurish. There is no story or message and certainly no humor. I usually pass books on after I read them. I threw this one out.

Rating:
Summary: STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER, MISTER
Review: While I certainly wouldn't want Grant Jarrett dating a friend or family member, I'm glad he wrote this book. In addition to being a musician, Jarrett is, or was, a chronic womanizer whose lechery apparently knew no bounds. Although this alone would not make a particularly interesting book, the humor, the writing, the attitude and the self-effacing honesty in "More Towels" make it an exceptionally enjoyable memoir. Some of my favorite chapters were "Dishonorable Discharge," wherein Jarrett fears he may have a social disease, "I like Television," in which he dates a woman with a heart condition that could make sex a fatal act, and "Sex, drugs, and take me to the hospital," which describes his first (and hopefully his only) experience with drugs. And there are many more. If you have a sense of humor you will laugh and if you have a heart you'll feel for this unhappy young musician. But keep him away from your family.

Rating:
Summary: Laugh-out-loud funny!
Review: Yes, "More Towels" is an incredibly funny book, but I think what's so special about it is that, although Jarrett sometimes behaved deplorably, he seems somehow decent and likeable. I actually found myself feeling sorry for him a few times even though he refused to justify or defend any of his behavior. There are chapters that will make you laugh so hard your stomach will ache, but there is also another side to the book. Most compelling was the second half, where you watch as Jarrett unravels emotionally. He keeps you laughing but you know that there is pain at his center. I hope there's more to come from this talented writer.