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Which Neil Peart book is the best?


toddlimelight
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I've heard Neil express his surprise that Ghost Rider is among his most popular books. The subject matter is unimaginably awful for him to write about, but I was compelled by it nonetheless... The journey from beginning to end is like any other book I've read. Edited by Phantom
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Read them all, though very different themes Traveling Music and Masked Rider were my favorites. Ghost Rider is poignant and I can sympathize and understand the importance of putting pen to paper helped in a small way to heal but it is just too morose for me to ever read it again...tough to finish really.

 

As a fellow motorcyclist I can relate to a lot of Neil's writing but I do wonder sometimes if for the non-motorcyclist its just enough already. We all get it, he hated much of whats involved with "touring", yet still enjoyed performing live with his mates and he loved the days off to ride off the beaten path from destination to destination.

 

Unfortunately, the latest two books, Far and Away & Near and Far are not particularly great IMHO...read them once and gave em away.

 

I see now on the Rush store they've added a Rush coloring book ~ hopefully Neil didn't "write" this one!

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I've heard Neil express his surprise that Ghost Rider is among his most popular books. The subject matter is unimaginably awful for him to write about, but I was compelled by it nonetheless... The journey from beginning to end is like any other book I've read.

 

I think a lot of fans are getting to the age where their parents are dying or someone they know and can identify with the thoughts and feelings he went through. I read the book right after my mother passed away so it meant a lot to me due to that. I would have loved to have gotten on a motorcycle and driven as far away as possible.

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I've read them all. I enjoyed the Masked Rider somewhat, I found Ghost Rider almost intolerable. Of course, it was of great curiosity as to how he came out of his losses - but the book was in need of some serious editing (much like the song Ghost Rider!) - the endless letters to Brutus were just way overkill, and didn't necessarily add to the story. Just what was the purpose of so many letters to Brutus? Travelling Music was very good, Roadshow had it's moments. His more recent travel log approach got to be tedious - and mostly just printed version of his web diary. For that reason, I never got "Far and Near", and I almost didn't buy "Far and Wide". However, after a little preview of the last one "Far and Wide", it appeared to have more original content that never appeared on the web and was directly related to his retirement. I got the book and I'd have to say it was my favorite of his. While prior books all addressed his social awkwardness and disdain of the tour "vortex" - this one seemed the most reasoned and well explained of the lot. I see it as one long explanation to his fans of why he is hanging it up. Every chapter held some reference to the retirement. It's sort of a companion to the "Time Stand Still" documentary - though purely in Neil's words (interesting how the film completely skipped some of the reasons Neil expounds upon!)

 

I also unfortunately read the Clockwork Angels book. I loved the album, and with Neil's involvement, I thought it just had to be great. How disappointing; I found it to be garbage. I continually winced, especially when lyrics were injected for no real reason with little to no embellishment.

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Ghost Rider by a country mile for me. Being a massive fan of the band and almost having no Rush after 1997, I was quite interested in Neil's personal journey and road to healing and what ultimately led him back to Rush. It was a tough tough read.

 

The others were O.K.

Edited by Todem
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I've read them all. I enjoyed the Masked Rider somewhat, I found Ghost Rider almost intolerable. Of course, it was of great curiosity as to how he came out of his losses - but the book was in need of some serious editing (much like the song Ghost Rider!) - the endless letters to Brutus were just way overkill, and didn't necessarily add to the story. Just what was the purpose of so many letters to Brutus? Travelling Music was very good, Roadshow had it's moments. His more recent travel log approach got to be tedious - and mostly just printed version of his web diary. For that reason, I never got "Far and Near", and I almost didn't buy "Far and Wide". However, after a little preview of the last one "Far and Wide", it appeared to have more original content that never appeared on the web and was directly related to his retirement. I got the book and I'd have to say it was my favorite of his. While prior books all addressed his social awkwardness and disdain of the tour "vortex" - this one seemed the most reasoned and well explained of the lot. I see it as one long explanation to his fans of why he is hanging it up. Every chapter held some reference to the retirement. It's sort of a companion to the "Time Stand Still" documentary - though purely in Neil's words (interesting how the film completely skipped some of the reasons Neil expounds upon!)

 

I also unfortunately read the Clockwork Angels book. I loved the album, and with Neil's involvement, I thought it just had to be great. How disappointing; I found it to be garbage. I continually winced, especially when lyrics were injected for no real reason with little to no embellishment.

 

I thought Far and Wide. was edited very well. Certainly better than most.

 

 

I refuse to read Clockwork Angels (Although I have it.) because I have an interpretation of that album through the lyrics (and music) that Kevin J. Anderson would likely ruin if I read the novel so I'm staying clear of it.

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I've read them all. I enjoyed the Masked Rider somewhat, I found Ghost Rider almost intolerable. Of course, it was of great curiosity as to how he came out of his losses - but the book was in need of some serious editing (much like the song Ghost Rider!) - the endless letters to Brutus were just way overkill, and didn't necessarily add to the story. Just what was the purpose of so many letters to Brutus? Travelling Music was very good, Roadshow had it's moments. His more recent travel log approach got to be tedious - and mostly just printed version of his web diary. For that reason, I never got "Far and Near", and I almost didn't buy "Far and Wide". However, after a little preview of the last one "Far and Wide", it appeared to have more original content that never appeared on the web and was directly related to his retirement. I got the book and I'd have to say it was my favorite of his. While prior books all addressed his social awkwardness and disdain of the tour "vortex" - this one seemed the most reasoned and well explained of the lot. I see it as one long explanation to his fans of why he is hanging it up. Every chapter held some reference to the retirement. It's sort of a companion to the "Time Stand Still" documentary - though purely in Neil's words (interesting how the film completely skipped some of the reasons Neil expounds upon!)

 

I also unfortunately read the Clockwork Angels book. I loved the album, and with Neil's involvement, I thought it just had to be great. How disappointing; I found it to be garbage. I continually winced, especially when lyrics were injected for no real reason with little to no embellishment.

 

I thought Far and Wide. was edited very well. Certainly better than most.

 

 

I refuse to read Clockwork Angels (Although I have it.) because I have an interpretation of that album through the lyrics (and music) that Kevin J. Anderson would likely ruin if I read the novel so I'm staying clear of it.

 

Good choice! I had to work to de-associate the album and the book after I read it.

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Ghost Rider for me too. I was cheering him on the whole way. I was surprised to see personal letters included though, since he is normally very private. I got a little tired of the travel books... started getting repetitive.
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I agree about the misstep of including letters to Brutus in Ghost Rider. There were many letters throughout the book, and if I remember correctly, there was one whole "letters" chapter or section devoted soley to the letter correspondence between Neil and Brutus. Seriously?
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Traveling Music....I just liked how it was....

 

Ghost Rider was like therapy, and the rest of his "travelogues" were just like reading a book full of his blog posts....

 

I forget what Masked Rider was...but I read it... (it's on my shelf)

Edited by Jaminbenb
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I think his travel books are the most interesting if he is traveling in an area that I am familiar with. But I enjoy traveling in general, so his books aren't as boring to me as they might be to someone who doesn't enjoy that.
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I think his travel books are the most interesting if he is traveling in an area that I am familiar with. But I enjoy traveling in general, so his books aren't as boring to me as they might be to someone who doesn't enjoy that.

That's a part of why I enjoyed Ghost Rider. I was familiar with a lot of the places he visited, and could visualize exactly what he was describing.
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