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Tricks of the Mind

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Derren Brown

October 08, 2007
Delivered in Derren's usual style of a mix of serious points with a tendency to show that he's not prepared to take himself too seriously this is an easy and enjoyable read. Starting with an introduction to the tricks that have been part of his stage show, it quickly moves into looking at the workings of the human mind and progresses to give a philosophical treatise that is as intelligent as it is readable (if only most philosophy books could convey their ideas like this instead of trying to tie themselves up in complexity and linguistic gymnastics). More than anything Derren shows that if you don't have a sense of humour about yourself and your own ideas then you're unlikely to really be open to understanding the nuances of human behaviour ... Read More:

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"Sex and the City": The Movie

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Amy Sohn

May 29, 2008
A great book to accompany the Seasons 1-6 shoe box set of DVDs, Amy Sohn's SATC: Kiss & Tell and the soundtrack CD of the movie, which are also available from Amazon. This will also be a great companion to the DVD of the movie once it is released.

The book contains a scene-by-scene synopsis of the movie with photos, so you will need to have seen the movie before reading the book to avoid the spoilers. The book also contains details of the fabulous clothes featured in the film.

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Levi Roots' Reggae Reggae Cookbook

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Levi Roots

June 02, 2008
The bloke's story is inspiring and he comes across brilliantly on TV. The cook book does not disappoint. Great recipes, Great man. And no , I am not a relative, friend or business associate!

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Finding My Voice

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Russell Watson

June 05, 2008

This is Russell Watson's first - and hopefully not last - autobiography, and is an essential item not only for dedicated fans but also a thoroughly good read for anyone interested in how fate, luck, talent and enthusiasm play their part in a person's destiny.

The book is written loosely in the form of a diary. Starting in October 2007 the chapters combine his childhood to adult journey with latter day experiences of success mixed with his recent traumatic health challenges. Two eight page sections of colour photos give a lovely insight into the success story, and the final entry in the diary is February 2008, providing a year of writing but a lifetime of experiences.

The story of his performance of Nessun Dorma, at ... Read More:

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My Booky Wook

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Russell Brand

November 15, 2007
To be fair, I wasn't a huge fan of Russell Brand before I read his "Booky Wook" - I just found him annoying.

However "Booky Wook" is Russell's story of where he came from and his journey to where he is today. Honest, explicit and intelligently written, "Booky Wook" shares the ups, downs and general chaos from his life so far with the closing chapter providing a teaser that more is still to come.

Very readable, I would recommend this book to Brand fans (if they haven't read it already) and to the non Brand fans who may fancy a delve into the world of Brand.

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Guitar for Dummies (For Dummies)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Mark Phillips, Jon Chappell

October 11, 2005
I bought this for my son who wanted to learn. What a waste pay for a few lessons with a teacher quite cheap for kids. Used for a couple of days then discarded. Anyone who has been playing more than a month will find this a waste of money.

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Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Oliver Sacks

November 02, 2007
I am usually a fan of Oliver Sacks but this is a disappointing book. I am about halfway through and on the verge of putting it down, although will perservere as it's a fast read (ie. lightweight and not amazingly thought-provoking). It just reads, as someone else said, more like a series of magazine articles, with each chapter ("article") simply being a list of half a dozen or so interesting cases, but without much analysis of the whys and wherefores. Lightweight, unsatisfying and not up to his usual standards. Pass.

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Fretboard Roadmaps: The Essential Guitar Patterns That All the Pros Know and Use (Guitar Techniques): The Essential Guitar Patterns That All the Pros Know and Use (Guitar Techniques)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Fred Sokolow

August 01, 1993
In common with most of the other reviewers I really rate this book. Easy to read, few words, lots of good stuff presented in a visual way which suits me. It was also not expensive (I think I paid a little over £5) it's good value.

I've been playing for years (decades!) but never really got to know my way around the fret board and my chord playing was always well, quite amateur which I found an embarrassment. There are simple things in this book which have really lifted my playing. I now use a wide variety of chords and different shapes to produce more interesting playing; now I can play each verse of a song with a different set of chords. My "ear" has also improved and I can pretty much pay in any key, any where (after a quick look at the book). I did ... Read More:

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The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Alex Ross

March 03, 2008
v
A communal review for the Cote d'Azure Men's book group of

The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross

Written for the book group by Sidney Freedman and Barry Hibbitt



Music, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is the art of combining sound, voices and instruments to achieve beauty, an expression of emotion. Shakespeare's said it more succinctly in Twelfth Night: "if music be the food of love play on."
... Read More:

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This Is Your Brain on Music: Understanding a Human Obsession

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Music- Stage and Screen
by: Daniel J. Levitin

May 01, 2008
The first section of this book is a rough guide to the structure of music. If you know music, you won't need to read it. If you don't know music, I think it'll bore you. Then we get the brain stuff: here's a flat writer trying to be entertaining, dropping in references to Sting, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and other, er, contemporary artists. There are some dull arguments - eg how are we able to categorise music so easily when pop bands like the Carpenters use distorted guitars and rock groups, like the Rolling Stones, employ a string section. Who cares?

It's also interesting who he doesn't mention: nothing on Kraftwerk, Stockhausen, very little on techno, dance music, electronica, DJ culture, blip-hop; nothing much on Indian music, next to nothing from Africa. In short ... Read More: