Did you know Paradise Found Records has a great library of music books? You can look for them on the shelves near the Used New Arrival bins in the back of the store. Last year I wrote about some of my most recent reads in the genre, and before that I listed my all-time favorites. Here are details about some of what I’ve read thus far in 2026, in alpha order:

Kathleen Hanna–Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk

Kathleen Hanna was a pioneer in the Riot Grrrl movement of the early nineties, first through Bikini Kill and later with Le Tigre. Her excellent memoir focuses on her art and her struggles as a musician; rather than envision creating a movement per se, she followed her muse from her Pacific Northwest upbringing and gradually discovered that her music attracted like-minded fans, specifically females looking for representation in the punk and alternative music scenes. One of her bigger claims to fame may be that she coined the phrase “Smells Like Teen Spirit” that her friend Kurt Cobain turned into grunge gold with Nirvana.

 

 

Ian Leslie–John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs

It may be hard to imagine, but fifty-five years after the breakup of The Beatles Ian Leslie’s John and Paul sheds new light on arguably the greatest songwriting partnership of the twentieth century. While some passages cover well-trod ground, the book focuses solely on the relationship between Lennon and McCartney, drilling down on forty-three of their compositions. John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs provides refreshing new insight into why the two were such a perfect songwriting match, in no small part because they unselfishly suppressed ego in pursuit of perfection. In the process the book blows up long-held narratives about their relationship and their break-up. A must for Beatles fans, this book helped me bring a fresh pair of ears to songs that I’ve loved and listened to hundreds of times.

 

 

Ozzy Osbourne–Last Rites

I’m not a big fan of Black Sabbath or heavy metal but Ozzy was a larger-than-life character, so I was pleasantly surprised when my daughter gifted me this book. Unfortunately it’s not much more than a detailed list of the various health struggles Osbourne faced over his final five years. There are a handful of decent stories, plus a gripping retelling of Randy Rhoads’ tragic death in  an unnecessary plane crash. Osbourne valiantly struggled to get back onstage at the end, culminating in a last performance in July 2025 to a full stadium. This memoir’s final chapter was written in the three-week period between that farewell show and his passing. More for completists than true fans, I can only assume I am Ozzy, his 2009 memoir, is a more fulfilling look at his life in music.

 

Robbie Robertson–Insomnia

Founding member of The Band Robbie Robertson’s memoir, Testimony, is one of the best rook books ever written, a spellbinding look at an artist that literally changed the musical landscape through his work with Bob Dylan and many others. This follow-up, posthumously released last year, doesn’t come close to the magic of Testimony. Insomnia focuses on a twenty-four month period in the late seventies when Robertson and The Last Waltz director Martin Scorsese lived together and shared a long, lost weekend in Los Angeles filled with late night movie watching, cocaine consumption and Robertson’s seemingly insatiable desire for movie stars and models. Many names are dropped and the asthmatic Scorsese nearly drops dead from overdoing it before Robertson sees the futility of the lifestyle and returns to his wife and the mother of his three children. 

 

Mark Ronson–Night People: How to Be a DJ in ‘90s New York City

Mark Ronson is most famous for producing multi-million selling records by Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars and others. Night People surprisingly steers clear of almost all of his production work and focuses on his time as a DJ in New York City in the nineties. Ronson’s upbringing was steeped in musical appreciation. His mother was a charismatic friend and muse to several stars, his father was a successful London music manager, and his stepfather was Mick Jones, founding member of Foreigner. Ronson’s swift climb through the New York DJ hierarchy is attributable to his passionate pursuit of how to motivate dancers, his love of mostly obscure but sometimes hugely popular tracks, and his skill at combining them to keep ears engaged and booties shaking. Anyone appreciating Night People and Ronson’s grooves should check out the book’s accompanying Spotify playlist. 

 

Patti Smith–Bread of Angels

It’s no surprise that Patti Smith is such an excellent author; before she was a rocker she was a poet, and her earliest performances found her reciting poetry over a musical backdrop. Bread of Angels is her third memoir, and if it doesn’t contain quite the magic of her debut, 2010’s Just Kids, it is still enjoyable and inspiring. Where Just Kids focused on her time with artist Robert Mapplethorpe and M Train focused more on the period after the release of Horses, her 1975 debut, Bread of Angels hones in on her childhood and the development of her creative streak, and then much later the grief that followed the death of her longtime husband Fred Smith in 1994 and her mother in 2002, which came with a revelation I won’t reveal here. Bread of Angels is much more than just for music lovers; Smith’s prose is inviting and revealing, and clearly she could’ve had a career in literature if she hadn’t opted to express herself through music. 

 

Mark Volman–Happy Together: My Musical Adventures with The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, and More

Mark Volman–aka “Flo” of Flo and Eddie–lived a remarkable life before his death last fall. Growing up in Los Angeles, he was a founding member of The Turtles, who made some of the best pop of the sixties (including “Happy Together,” “You Showed Me,” “Elenore” and “You Know She’d Rather Be With Me”). After the group broke up, Volman spent several years with Frank Zappa before reforming the Turtles. Later in life he did voice work for children’s shows like Care Bears before returning to school in his forties to get his masters, after which he taught music business in Los Angeles and Nashville. This engaging oral biography takes you through his many amazing experiences. The common thread is his abundant sense of humor and lust for life.