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Geddy Lee Memoir and another book called Earth something or other.

I'm always reading something, because some things never change. I used to read 3 or 4 books at one time, but that has changed slightly, since I now only read 2 at a time. As I finished My EFFIN Life by Geddy Lee, I began Earth's The Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg.

So, let's "discuss" Geddy's book, first. Yes, I am a RUSH fan, that's no secret, but this is not 100% a RUSH book. His book goes into his childhood, his parents survival in the death camps of World War two and then he delves into the beginnings of his band and life during and after it. I'm also a lover of history, I always have been, going back to taking classes in high school that could teach me about other counties histories, as well. I was one of 2 females in East Asian Civilization learning about Pol Pot while other girls were majoring in Home Ec, so I Love history lessons. But, I digress.

My high school boyfriend and I had a very special relationship and the background music of that relationship was often RUSH, INXS, and Fleetwood Mac, with RUSH being the front runner. As Geddy sang about subdivisions and not fitting in, we lived our fairytale relationship out and sang along to those melodies. It's a strange thing being the owner of memories that someone else is no longer around for, so I hold RUSH close to my heart, no pun intended, because that band has weaved itself into the literal fiber of that time in my life.

Geddy is actually named Gary, and Geddy was a nickname due to his mother's thick accent causing his name to very much sound like she was saying 'Geddy' and Lee is simply because he changed his stage name from Weinrib to Lee, to make it simple. He's not one to not acknowledge his Jewish heritage. He grew up in the throes of following the patterns established with Judaism, but got away from it as he got older. He reestablished a fondness for Judaism as he found time to reflect, you know, as he aged. I can appreciate that. Youth often has us not finding fondness for anything we find outside of what we selfishly want to find ourselves doing. I enjoyed his stories about his religion, his parents death camp survival, and his life as a youngster. He included how he met Alex (his name is different too!), formed a band or two and then fully dove into RUSH and making it the best it could be. I absolutely adored Neil's entrance and fully appreciate that he catered to the image he fondly remembered at that entrance.

Do you need to be a RUSH fan in order to enjoy this book? Well, maybe. I don't know that the average reader is going to appreciate some of the subtleties of the in's and out's of the actual band dialogue and organization. But, I will say, if you're a fan of early music from the 1960's or 1970's, you will enjoy hearing about that coming of age moment of Geddy's. Would my daughter ever read this book, no. And she reads a ton. Would my youngest son read this book? No, and he reads nothing. Would my middle son read this book? He's a bigger RUSH fan than me and I took him with me to see Geddy in person at his speaking engagement for this very book, so that's an easy, yes. And now the book is being handed to my husband, Bill because, yes, he is a major RUSH fan and has seen them at least 8 times. I highly recommend this book to fans of RUSH, rock music, or learning about a time some have forgotten. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Okay, back to that Earth book. First, let me say that the reviews for this book are mostly positive. Have I become a book snob? I wrote my first book almost 2 years ago and I went over it repeatedly, working the dialogue out so much so, that I now curse as much as my first husband did. The dialogue was okay in this book, but it did not suck me in, unless Frank was in the picture. My book changed me, I worked through it so deeply. I have strangely adopted my first husbands way of talking, I focused on the conversations...dove into them, hoping to reel in others. Earth did not suck me in, have I said that enough? I need to be enthralled with a paramours dialogue. And hey, where did the title even come from? I'd love to know how that title is that book. I might have titled it Quiet Arthur or Frank's Little Brother. I'm being sarcastic, but those titles do seem more appropriate.

Anyway...I liked the book, not loved it. Earth had me sort of intrigued, but not enamored by the lead characters. Arthur was quiet and I was a bit quiet in high school, so that part was relatable, but his manner of living had me a bit bored. I wanted to know more about his brother and his secret life. His older brother was named Frank and he had a secret romance with a teacher...come on, that is way more intriguing than Arthur pruning flowers for the old lady down the street. Arthur secretly loved Nola, a popular classmate and that was sweet, but the fact that they end up together was already figured out by me, the minute they introduced her into the story. Something terrible happens to Frank and I truly want to know what happened. The after part of Frank's tragedy simply had me saying to myself, 'when is Arthur ending up with Nola, already?' Eh, it was alright, not even a book I'd recommend to my daughter. Well, maybe I'd ask her to read it and see if she thought what I did. I'd give it 3 stars of 5. It's okay, not spectacular, not something I'd read again or really shout about. I need a book about Frank, no pun intended, because my fathers name is Frank.


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