Friday, December 23, 2011

Tim Riley

NPR critic Tim Riley is the author of Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (Knopf/Vintage 1988); Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary (Knopf/Vintage1992, Da Capo 1999); Madonna: Illustrated (Hyperion 1992); Fever: How Rock'N'Roll Transformed Gender In America (St. Martin's/Picador 2005).

His latest book is Lennon: The Man, The Myth, The Music.

Some time back I asked Riley what he was reading. His reply:
I'm a non-fiction obsessive. My favorite books from the past season include Adam Gopnik's Angels and Ages, a joyride comparing Lincoln with Darwin.

I also admired Peter Doggett's You Never Give Me Your Money, which soars as the best entry on the Beatles breakup with many new voices and stories I'd never heard before. More proof that Beatle soil is well worth tilling by the right scribes.

I also dive regularly into David Thomson's Biographical Dictionary of Film and "Have You Seen ...?" for explosive opinions on movies near and far, and Greil Marcus's Dylan compendium.

Oh yeah: The China Study turned me vegan, no regrets.
Visit Tim Riley's website.

Lennon: The Man, The Myth, The Music is on the Christian Science Monitor's list of the five best books on John Lennon.

My Book, The Movie: Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music.

--Marshal Zeringue