Neil Peart - Paperback Writer

Have been enjoying a good read that jumped off the bookstore shelf into my hands last week, Traveling Music by Neil Peart. I was initially resistant, because I confess, I've never been a Rush fan - I know that's blasphemy to some of you, but different strokes for different folks. I know good drumming when I hear it, though, and Neil is a player. I didn't realize the guy was a writer, though, and he's quite a good one. It's a fun read for musicians in general, drummers in particular, and anyone else with a sense of the romance of the highway. Neil casts a reflective eye on his music and times, from the frame of reference of his travels and the music he is listening to on the road. Not surprisingly, his taste in music at times diverges from mine - he doesn't seem to care much for The Beatles, for God's sake - but the guy reveals himself to be a venerable human being and a well-read adventurer with enormous appetite for and curiosity about life. I'm also now looking forward to reading his Ghost Rider - Travels on the Healing Road, an earlier travel opus he apparently wrote about his journeys while recovering from some harrowing family tragedies.