Better Late Than Never

 

TITLE: Prince and Little Weird Black Boy Gods

AUTHOR: Scott Woodsy

PUBLISHER: Brick Cave Books

PUBLISHING DATE: August 4, 2017

PAGES: 141   

SOURCE: Own

FROM GOODREADS: This collection of essays, what-ifs and tidbits contains everything writer and critic Scott Woods has publicly written and published about Prince, as well as a stack of new material written specifically for this edition. A fun, sometimes biting history with Prince from a super-fan’s perspective, Prince and Little Weird Black Boy Gods is not so much a reference as a unique look at his career, the meaning of his music, and an official weighing in on numerous long-standing Prince debates, such as who was greater between Prince or Michael Jackson, how many times did Prince launch a successful comeback, and which song off of every album you should listen to.

MY THOUGHTS: Every year since Prince passed, I always try to read some book featuring him or his music in some way every April in memory of him.  This year I read two - one I refuse to even review and this one, which I absolutely loved.  It's hard for me to find books with info I haven't encountered in one way or another, but this book featured various essays from a huge fan, author and poet.  It was a wonderful way to see how much Prince met to someone else and I have to admit, Woods has an endearing quality and his love for the Purple One really shines through his words.

As I mentioned, this book contains 18 essays varying in length, subject matter and seriousness.  In fact, the first one, "Things I Am Reasonable Sure Prince Has Never Done" is simply a list of 100 things Prince probably never had to do for himself during his royal life such as pledged a frat or shushed someone at a library.  And the last entry was super sad as it was simply "grow old."  Another essay spends 20 pages explaining ten ways Kanye West is not Prince which the author wrote as a dare from friends and colleagues after L.A. Reid made a comment comparing the two artists.  

I enjoyed picking this book up throughout the month of April and it was a perfect reason to reflect on why Prince means so much to me.  I shocked many classmates in my smalltown when they learned the cowboy wearing, truck driving teen's favorite artist was Prince.  What can I say, I was breaking the stereotypes even back then.  I'm so glad I read this, and it will sit on a treasured shelf in my library for years to come. 

MY RATING: 5 Paws