autobiography

In his just-released autobiography, Life, Keith Richards apparently confesses that he has always had a passion for collecting books and secretly wanted to be a librarian. In addition to the incongruity, I loved that he went so far as trying to learn to organize his personal collection according to the Dewey Decimal system but gave it up as too much of a hassle.  I suppose it’s a good thing for all concerned that he never came over to the dark side, and stayed in the world of music where he clearly belongs! Even as a child he loved books — here’s a quote via the (London) Times: When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equaliser. If this makes you want to watch/listen to some Stones, Martin Scorsese’s concert film Shine a Light (2008) is on DVD at Snell, along with Gimme Shelter, the film of the Altamont concert in 1969 on VHS for the hard-core fan. The reissue of Exile on Main Street (Rolling Stones: Stones in Exile) is on order, and should be at Snell in a few days. So Keith, how about coming to a “Meet the Author” talk at the library?