Keith Richards - Life

Don't go into this one expecting a lighthearted autobiography that you can bang out in a day or two as we've come to expect (or so it seems) from the celebrity type. "Life" at times felt as long as the road Richards is taking us down yet I didn't feel like it was time wasted, because on that road I learned about things i never really expected going in and that, for me, is always a good thing about any type of book.

Keith talks extensively about music; not just the Rolling Stones but the music in his soul, that which has inspired him throughout his lifetime and journey as a musician and a writer. I think the book does a great job of revealing Keith Richards as a true songwriter and not just someone who takes a credit for doing so, a craftsman who bleeds for his craft.

Yes, there is extensive talk of the drugs but not in the way I think I expected to read. It's easy to go into this book thinking it would primarily be a journal of drug use and the after effects - instead, we learn how they became a part of his life and how they affected each area of his life without clouding the telling of those stories to the point where the drugs become the main character.

I feel like there is an automatic perception of Keith Richards that paints him as a very simple guy - almost a caricature of the Rock and Roll druggie stereotype but what this book does, is prove that there is a complexity,  wit, intellect, substance and heart to this guy.