Kristen Sinclair

Title: Life on Tour with Bowie – a Genius Remembered Author: Sean Mayes Source: Goodreads Publisher: Music Press Books (2016) ★★★★ I’m immediately suspicious of any kind of memoir conveniently published to cash in on a rockstar’s death. Take Mick Wall’s Lou Reed biography ‘The Life’ which appeared shortly after the musician’s passing in 2013 which, although an interesting enough read, felt insincere and rushed. This recent reissue of Fumble frontman and Bowie pianist Sean Mayes’ 1978 touring diary has been accused of the same crime; however, Mayes’ material is distinctly different. Its unbiased, genuine view of life on the road during Bowie’s Isolar II /Stage tour, post-“Heroes” and Low, is insightfully untainted by the icon's recent demise.      Mayes died from AIDs in 1995 and so never witnessed the publication of his writings; described as a “prolific” diarist by pal Kevin Cann, he has attempted to streamline the masses of r...

Title: How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits Author(s): Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret, Sophie Mas Publisher: Ebury Press (2014) ★★★★ “Be unfaithful: cheat on your perfume, but only on cold days.” This book is the bible of every wannabe-Parisienne. Four best friends and life-long inhabitants of the City of Light indulge supposedly satirical yet strangely convincing aphorisms, faux pas, colloquialisms, tips on etiquette, style, sex, home décor, recipes and how to spend idyllic days among the boulevards of the Île-de-France. Teeming with sometimes amusingly useless advice (“Always hire the less attractive babysitter”, “Randomly exclaim, ‘This is the most wonderful day of my life!’”), you often find yourself mentally taking note of the odd nugget of uniquely Parisienne wisdom: “Never wear your glasses, especially if you’re nearsighted. That way, you won’t have to acknowledge people you know. You’ll have that aloof look…”. It...

Title: Just Kids Author: Patti Smith Publisher: Bloomsbury (2010) ★★★★★ “No one expected me. Everything awaited me.” I almost always find that the best part of an autobiography is the beginning: the writer’s youth. Once they’re rich and famous, it’s not nearly as interesting a read. Strictly speaking, Just Kids isn’t an autobiography, it’s a memoir: “…a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies…a true fable…a portrait of two young artists’ ascent”. Although I am a fan, I knew very little about Patti Smith’s personal life, and the very fact that there is little mention of her music career somehow cements the book’s appeal for me. Just Kids details Smith’s love affair with photographer and fellow artist Robert Mapplethorpe during New York of the late sixties and early seventies: the time of Andy Warhol’s Factory stars and drag queens, musical revolution, psychedelia and, of course, drugs. A little like Morrissey’s autobiographical offering, Just Kids...