Dude. I am old enough to remember when there was a time before Zakk Wylde. (Which is really effing scary, since he claims to have been around for 25 years now. Yikes. No wonder my neighborhood Mary Kay saleswoman told me she lusts after my face. Here I thought it was a compliment…)

I have decided that makes me too old for the test that is included in his new book, Bringing Metal to the Children: The Complete Berserker’s Guide to World Tour Domination. After all, I may or may not have been doing this before Zakk Wylde. Or maybe I was doing it with him…

Still, you guys know I’m a sucker for this sort of book. It won’t be out until May, which is a long time for me to wait. Anyone know of an advance copy you can send my way???

And remember, keep an eye on Rocks ‘n Reads for all the reviews of my music-oriented books — and anything else that strikes my fancy along the way!

Holy open tabs, Batman. It seems there’s been a bonanza of rock books I need to tell you about. And that doesn’t include the ones people have sent me for review! (Remember to keep an eye on Rocks ‘n Reads for the books I review. They’re not all rock books, you know — although the majority are.)

Coming in the Spring will be Ronnie James Dio’s memoir. Well, in the title, it’s called an autobiography. Later in the article I read, it’s called a memoir. Ultimately, I’m not going to quibble (at least until I review it) because, hey, this is Ronnie James Dio. If he wants to call this book a bass drum, I might look at him funny. But I’ll read it anyway.

Although, given that he’s now watching out for us from the wherever-after, it’ll be hard for him to call it anything without a Ouija board. Which I do NOT own.

Next up is some good, old-fashioned fiction. Check THIS one:

Former BROKEN HOPE/current LUPARA guitarist and author Jeremy Wagner has signed a book deal for his debut novel, “The Armageddon Chord”. The book is slated for release in August 2011 in digital format, trade paperback, and a special, limited-edition hardcover through kRP Publishing.

Okay, this guy needs to raise Lupara’s profile ’cause I haven’t heard of them yet. But check OUT this picture of Jeremy. He ought to be the movie version of my Daniel. I am following him on Twitter. Wonder if he’ll be interested…

Back to the books…
Think there are enough bios about Metallica floating around the world? Nope. Me, either. (or me, too, depending on how you answered.) Now there’s word of one from British rock critic Mick Wall. It’s called Metallica: Enter Night — The Biography. And if the interview I’ve linked to is any indication, let’s hope there are smaller paragraphs in the book… holy text blocks, Batman! Yikes! That was HARD to read.

Think we’re done???? I mean, hello? I said this was a MEGA book coveting!

Duff McKagan, who I might be falling in love with after watching him (and his wife. OMG, talk about Kerri come to life!) on Married to Rock, also has an autobiography/memoir coming out. Yep, add that puppy to our list.

And finally…
This last book has less of a metal feel to it. In some ways, it’s a history book that might be more important to me (yes, to ME) than Dio’s book. That’s because it’s a history of MTV. Here’s what the article said:

“MTV Ruled The World: The Early Years Of Music Video” is the first-ever book to focus solely on the channel’s important building-block years, specifically from the MTV’s launch to when its original group of VJs left the channel.

Greg Prato is the author. He’s written other books with really long titles; ahh, non-fiction. How I do love thy coloned titles.

Did I mention I’ve got a crush on Jeremy Wagner now? Did I NEED to???? Sheesh. His wife is one lucky woman.

There ya go. Four, five books, and two crushes. I’d say that’s a pretty good take for one day…

All right, I’m moving to California so I can be closer to our friend Mary, over at BookHounds. Seriously. I’m the rock and roll fiction expert, but SHE gets all the books! What’s up with THAT???

Yep, that means this book came to me via Mary. Well, the book itself hasn’t. Not yet. Just the knowledge of it has. That’s why I’m writing this post: I covet this book. Gotta read it.

It’s Rules to Rock By, and it was written by Josh Farrar, who’s been around the music biz a bit more than I ever was. Here’s the blurb:

You’d never guess it now, but Annabelle Cabrera used to be a rock star. And not like her mom or dad called her a “total rock star” after she won a spelling bee or something. She was a real rock star, the bassist of Egg Mountain, the most popular band in the New York music scene. But when her parents uproot her from Brooklyn and move her to Rhode Island so they can record their own album, Annabelle feels lost. Starting a new band isn’t as easy as she’d hoped, the school’s rival band is a bunch of bullies, and her parents are so immersed in recording that they’re completely neglecting Annabelle and her younger brother. How can Annabelle truly make herself heard?

And while we’re dishing on Mary, let me point out another one she’s brought to my attention: Steven Tyler’s upcoming memoir, Does The Noise in my Head Bother You? Yes, boys and girls. Steven Tyler. Aerosmith. One half of the Toxic Twins (and the cool light blue t-shirt I have that pokes fun at them. Dad of Liv. American Idol judge. And on and on.

You know, together, Mary and I could rule the rock and roll world, at least in books. Maybe that’s why it’s so bloody hard to get our hands on promo copies of some of these babies…

Thanks to the lovely Janet Reid, I discovered Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad.

It’s yet another rock and roll book I totally need… Here’s the blurb:

Jennifer Egans spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each others pasts, the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs, over many years, in locales as varied as New York, San Francisco, Naples, and Africa.

We first meet Sasha in her mid-thirties, on her therapists couch in New York City, confronting her long-standing compulsion to steal. Later, we learn the genesis of her turmoil when we see her as the child of a violent marriage, then as a runaway living in Naples, then as a college student trying to avert the suicidal impulses of her best friend. We plunge into the hidden yearnings and disappointments of her uncle, an art historian stuck in a dead marriage, who travels to Naples to extract Sasha from the citys demimonde and experiences an epiphany of his own while staring at a sculpture of Orpheus and Eurydice in the Museo Nazionale. We meet Bennie Salazar at the melancholy nadir of his adult lifedivorced, struggling to connect with his nine-year-old son, listening to a washed-up band in the basement of a suburban houseand then revisit him in 1979, at the height of his youth, shy and tender, reveling in San Franciscos punk scene as he discovers his ardor for rock and roll and his gift for spotting talent. We learn what became of his high school gangwho thrived and who falteredand we encounter Lou Kline, Bennies catastrophically careless mentor, along with the lovers and children left behind in the wake of Lous far-flung sexual conquests and meteoric rise and fall.

A Visit from the Goon Squad is a book about the interplay of time and music, about survival, about the stirrings and transformations set inexorably in motion by even the most passing conjunction of our fates. In a breathtaking array of styles and tones ranging from tragedy to satire to PowerPoint, Egan captures the undertow of self-destruction that we all must either master or succumb to; the basic human hunger for redemption; and the universal tendency to reach for bothand escape the merciless progress of timein the transporting realms of art and music. Sly, startling, exhilarating work from one of our boldest writers.

Bring it ON, boys and girls! Or publicists or whoever can hook me up…

How can I NOT be fascinated with Scott Weiland??? The drugs, the success, the way it’s all played out in public… Of COURSE I want to know more.

Now, I can. Scott’s wife (do you believe she’s stayed by his side through all this? Good for her; I know it can’t have been easy) has a new book out, called Fall To Pieces. Go figure, but I really dig that Velvet Revolver song.

And yep, you know I need to read it, even though it covers more than her life with Scott. It’s a personal journey, as well.

I continue to drool…

And I’m meowing at the cover of Francis Ray’s It Had to be You. LOOK at this cover model!

Hot, huh?

Yep, it’s another rock book — about a hot rock producer and … of all things, a violinist!

What a cool twist. Violins and rock music… sounds a little bit like a certain Finnish band I happen to simply adore…

Given how much I liked What the Librarian Did (read my review) despite its flaws, I’m curious to know if Francis Ray can pull off the rock world, too.

Oh, I’m just going to shamelessly cut and past what Blabbermouth said.

Chronicle Books has just released “The Ultimate Metallica” book of photographs by legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin.

Halfin has documented METALLICA for nearly 25 years, from their beginnings as a scrappy, furious garage band to their current status as the heaviest and most popular metal band in the world. Featuring a foreword by METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich and an afterword by guitarist Kirk Hammett, “The Ultimate Metallica” collects the best of Halfin’s amazing images, taken over the years with access granted exclusively to him as the band’s main lensman. His candid photographs — taken on stage, backstage, on and off tour — are supplemented by text from many people close to the band, including managers and music writers, plus some colorful personal observations from Halfin himself.

Ulrich says of Halfin’s work, “He just gets right the fuck in there. . . . Every drop of sweat, every molecule of saliva, every out-of-place nose hair, it all gets captured cuz he’s just fucking there.”

Ross Halfin has toured with and photographed many bands, including IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, KISS, THE CLASH, SEX PISTOLS, and THE WHO. He lives in Surrey, England.

Okay, so not so mmrow on the out-of-place nose hairs, but the rest? Total. Mmrow. I need this book. Research, don’tcha know… research.

Now, I’m not the world’s hugest Queen fan, and I totally didn’t get the significance of Queen with Paul Rodgers.

That doesn’t mean the idea of a behind-the-scenes book about the pairing doesn’t get me all excited. Especially after these three I mentioned last time. And after the fact that Iron Maiden somehow inspired this post (and gave us Wardrobe Girl), I think it’s fairly well established that if it’s about rock and roll, I can pull inspiration from it.

(Then again, this particular oldie was NOT inspired by rock and roll but by my very own grocery store. So who really knows what’ll inspire me — and when. Maybe I should instead say that by reading all these nonfiction rock books, I’m picking up the details that fill in the cracks of my own music industry background and allow you guys, my readers, to live and breathe this world with me as accurately as possible.)

Anyway, here’s the latest book: Rockmos!

Only 111 are going to be printed. Boo for me and the hopes of getting a review copy. A small percentage is going to be donated to charity (nothing like what I’ll be doing in November and December this year!), and all prices that I’ve seen aren’t in US dollars.

Still, I can covet…

I’m typing this with a cat on my lap, so please ignore any typos. I should mention I’m also using a laptop. And I’m short. That means not a lot of real estate for a cat AND a computer.

Welcome to my life.

Let’s focus on what really matters around here. No, not more griping from me. Books!

First up is the new one from Nikki Sixx, who sorta pissed me off by saying he didn’t want The Heroin Diaries to become a PSA for suburban housewives. I’m a writer, thankyouverymuch, even if I am home all day long and live in the suburbs of Mars. And besides, Nikki, you wrote a book I related to. Bite me.

His book, once the biting is over, is called This is Gonna Hurt. It’s a memoir. It’s a photo gallery. It’s Nikki and it’s gonna be all-around cool. I hope.

And yes, it’ll have a soundtrack from Sixx AM. I hope you guys remember how much I liked the soundtrack to The Heroin Diaries. If not, here’s a link to some thoughts on the subject from Chelle.

Not enough real-life rock and roll for you? I know. I don’t delve into it here on the Meet and Greet nearly often enough. I’m making up for it today, I suppose.

Next up is I’m in the Band, written by the ultra-gorgeous (or so I perceived her when in my 20s and seeing White Zombie for the first and only time. Only? Hmm. Maybe not…) Sean Yseult. Yes, Sean’s a woman. And she’s compiled ELEVEN years of tour diaries into this one book. I’m in heaven, and not just because of the Spinal Tap reference there. Sean’s diaries went to eleven, everyone!

STILL not enough?

Yeah, for me, either. So now let’s move on to Corey Taylor. Maybe you’ve heard of his band, Stone Sour. Or that other side project he’s got. I think it’s called something like Slipknot. His book is called The Seven Deadly Sins, and it talks about the WILD years with Slipknot. This is a Susan Must Have book.

Hell, all three of them are.

So… if you’ve got connections or are in the know or what have you, why not send your favorite rock and roll writer a review copy? I’d be glad to read and review it over at Rocks ‘n Reads, where all the cool book reviews hang out…

(Damn. Only one of the three has a buy link up at Powells.com. C’mon, publicists! I NEED these books! And no, I can’t buy them myself. Seen my royalty checks lately???)

My good friend Mary sent me the heads-up about this one: Olivia Cunning has a new series she’s launching. The series is called Sinners on Tour. The band at the heart of the series is called Sinners. Each member will have his own book.

The first book is called Backstage Pass.

Of course I want to read (and review) this one. Perfect for me, no?

What more do I need to say? Other than darn it, I need more time to write! (and yes, I’m drafting this while my arm is bad. Like you can’t tell?)

Yes, I am coveting a cookbook.

But… of course it isn’t ANY OLD cookbook.

Nope. It’s a cookbook written by Steve “Buckshot” Seabury, and it’s called… Mosh Potatoes – Recipes, Anecdotes And Mayhem From The Heavyweights Of Heavy Metal.

Among some of the contributors are said to be: LAMB OF GOD, the guys in TYPE O NEGATIVE (sob), GUNS N’ ROSES, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, OVERKILL, TESTAMENT, QUEENSRŸCHE, BISON B.C., STEEL PANTHER, MUDVAYNE, LIFE OF AGONY, DREAM THEATER

Here’s the press release I saw. Beware the annoying Bing pop-ups. Here’s an interview with Buckshot (and why they didn’t just come right to me, I don’t know…).

Hopefully, I’ll have a review for you one day…

Well, okay. Maybe I don’t covet this one, but it’s definitely interesting enough to tell you guys about. Make conversation in the comments (I’ll add my own, too. Promise! I won’t leave my 2c at your blogs) ’cause this one? It’s a conversation piece and then some.

It’s called Sex Tips From Rock Stars: In Their Own UNCENSORED Words

Yes. I’m serious. And look who’s in it:

* Acey Slade (MURDERDOLLS, DOPE)
* Adde (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR)
* Allison Robertson (THE DONNAS)
* Andrew W.K.
* Blasko (OZZY OSBOURNE, ROB ZOMBIE)
* Brent Muscat (FASTER PUSSYCAT)
* Bruce Kulick (KISS)
* Chip Z’Nuff (ENUFF Z’NUFF)
* Courtney Taylor-Taylor (THE DANDY WARHOLS)
* Danko Jones
* Doug Robb (HOOBASTANK)
* Evan Seinfeld (BIOHAZARD)
* Ginger (THE WILDHEARTS)
* Handsome Dick Manitoba (THE DICTATORS, MC5)
* James Kottak (SCORPIONS, KINGDOM COME)
* Jesse Hughes (EAGLES OF DEATH METAL)
* Jimmy Ashhurst (BUCKCHERRY)
* Joel O’Keeffe (AIRBOURNE)
* Lemmy (MOTÖRHEAD)
* Nicke Borg (BACKYARD BABIES)
* Rob Patterson (KORN, OTEP)
* Toby Rand (JUKE KARTEL)
* Vazquez (DAMONE)

Okay, so only Evan Seinfeld and Lemmy would be reason enough to make me pick up this book; more and more, I am lapsing back into my pre-radio days of the only important thing being the music, not the people behind it (weird, considering I almost went to work for a record label. Or three).

Look at this, from the Press release quoted at Blabbermouth:

“Sex Tips from Rock Stars” is the world’s first extensive study of rock stars concerning sex, in which many of music’s most celebrated rockers share their dos and don’ts on a long list of sexual topics. They provide you with an abundance of uncensored bite-sized tips and tongue in-cheek pointers on every single aspect of sex — from dating to divorcing.

Some ideas are practical and surprising, others are as naturally wild and crazy as their millions of fans would expect. These international rock stars take you deep inside their uninhibited world of sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll as they come clean on their dirty little secrets for the very first time. Your own carnal fantasies will come alive when you find yourself taking on this book’s raunchy ideas and super-hot sex tips, all with the confidence of the rock stars themselves. Don’t say you weren’t warned!

… I’m speechless.

Really. Talk to me.

Yeah. I know. You’re going to fall over from the shock of this book I’ve come across.

It’s called Metallica: All That Matters, and it’s written by Paul Stenning.

Like always, anyone who’d like to buy me a gift or send me a review copy is welcome to.

I don’t think I need to say much more than this, huh?

But to change things up a bit. Sort of. Not really, I came across Olivia Brynn’s Falling Star. It seems to ONLY be an e-book and the only link I’ve got is to Liquid Silver books. Yeah, I should probably suck it up and buy it; Lord knows, it’s not terribly expensive. But the aspiring book blogger in me wishes all these books would show up on my doorstep so I can pretend I’m an important reviewer and all.

(btw, the link for Falling Star will take you to Liquid Silver books, not to Powells. So if you click through and then buy something, I won’t get the pennies I would if you bought through Powells. Just so you and the FTC know what’s up here.)

Yep, more books about music are crossing my radar. Two this time.

First is from Bravewords.com. All Pens Blazing is described this way:

Neil Daniels has interviewed a staggering 65 of the world’s most successful writers of heavy metal and hard rock. Many of these writers are successful biographers, editors and long-standing freelancers who have interviewed some of the genre’s leading artists from KISS to METALLICA and BLACK SABBATH to SLAYER. They’ve travelled the world over, lived in tour buses, got drunk with their idols, attended some of the greatest gigs in history and are still alive to tell the tale. It’s all here; the wild stories, the anecdotes…and the advice!

Second is one from GalleyCat, the industry buzz machine. It’s called Precious Metal:

To celebrate the release of Decibel magazine’s DaCapo anthology, “Precious Metal,” the LA Times has collected some heavy metal memories from rock journalists around the country–an oral history of this strange genre of American rock.

The collection includes the stories behind such classic metal albums as Black Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell” and Slayer’s “Reign in Blood.” In the article, rock reporters reminisce about heavy metal dinners, drug abuse, and satanism.

Books make great gifts, you know. And since *I* already own multiple copies of The Demo Tapes (Years 1 AND 2), getting them for me for the upcoming December holidays isn’t so smart. Getting them for you, on the other hand, is a brilliant idea. Even better, get copies for ALL members of your family!

But a review copy of these books I’m coveting? Talk about making Hanukkah the holiday of hope! After all, there’s a new change a-brewing here at West of Mars. Stay tuned for it; you’ll dig it. Of course.

And, hey! My friend Carol at Carol’s Notebook had some thoughts about the Demo Tapes: Year 1. Why not stop in and check them out??

The problem with being a writer is that there is NOT enough time to sit and read. I’ve talked until I’m blue in the face about how many books are here, waiting to be read — a number that never seems to shrink, either.

So what am I doing? Adding to my wishlist yet again. Now, mind you, I’ve got over 1800 books on my wishlist. I know I’ll never get my hands on them all, let alone read them all, even if live to the ripe old age of eight hundred. When I add things to my wishlist, it’s a crapshoot, a roll of the dice. Will I get this book I want to read, or not?

I’ve come across another one — thanks to the very neat Joanne Rendell — that I absolutely must read at some point in my lifetime (the sooner the better!): This Little Mommy Stayed Home, written by Samantha Wilde.

Here’s the blurb:

Joy McGuire has gone from being skinny and able to speak in complete sentences to someone who hasn’t changed her sweatpants in weeks. But now with a new baby to care for, she feels like a woman on the brink and as she scrambles to recapture the person she used to be she takes another look at the woman she is: a stay-at-home mom in love with her son, if a bit addled about everything else.

C’mon, all you moms out there! You TOTALLY get this. This was you. Admit it. And while I was able to shower AND change my sweats, this blurb really describes me back then.

One of these days, I’ll get my hands on a copy and see just how closely it parallels my life. I’ll even review it if I can get a copy sooner rather than later.

Just right now… excuse me while I go hug my kids. Now school-aged, I’m darn glad they’re not babies anymore. I don’t miss those addled days of parenting an infant.

And if you’re looking for the usual fiction, stay tuned. I’m all tied up in another piece that might make some rounds as a short story. Or not. We’ll see. In the meantime, don’t forget … Demo Tapes: Year 2 on September 12! Preorder through me ONLY.

Dewey used to do a Sunday Book Coveting post that I always loved to scroll through.

Now I’m doing one of my own.

I’ve come across two books that I am dying to read. They’re very different books, yet they’re both perfect Susan reads.

The first is Do the Devil’s Work For Him: How to Make it in the Music Industry (and stay in it!)

(Why do non-fiction books ALWAYS have these really long titles????)

Authors Amy Sciarretto and Rick Florino have teamed up and interviewed lots of music biz folk. It sounds like Amy joined the industry not long after I left it; heck, I could have been her. So of course I’ve GOT to read what she’s got to say.

And to switch gears to a nice paranormal romance, Number One Novels alerted me to this one. It’s called Salt and Silver, and it is the debut novel by a woman named Anna Katherine. I love the mental image of a guy sitting by a trap door all day long, waiting for demons to escape through it. Just… ooh. I love it. I’ve got to read this and see where it goes.

So… to the authors of these two books, I invite you to send me a review copy. While I don’t review books here on the site, I would be glad to hook up with my good friends at Front Street Reviews, or with any of my many book blogging friends and guest review over there.