Total F*cking Godhead by Corbin Reiff

Total F*cking Godhead by Corbin Reiff

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about Chris Cornell, which I won't get into here (yet) in the spirit of keeping this a review focused on the book. Basically, that setup is to explain how eager I was to read this book. I wanted to learn more about the prolific, mysterious musician that dominated so much of my youth and continued to impact me in more ways than I realized growing up.

Overall, this book delivered what I expected. It begins with a disclaimer that interviews were hard, or impossible, to get, or perhaps fizzled out after legal issues sprang up with Cornell's widow, Soundgarden, and probably many more parties. So as much as I love a juicy tell-all, it's understandable that there was no way that would happen here.

The book had a bit of Cornell's childhood and a lot about his start in Seattle, which was interesting and definitely set the stage for all to come. However, the recording of one or two Soundgarden albums took up almost entire chapters, while ten years pass in two pages later in the book.

If the entire book was as in-depth as those Soundgarden albums, I would have a different feeling about it, because it would feel even. But the pacing was off here, and it felt like, once we reached 1997 or so, the deadline was looming next week and we had to race through the rest of Chris's life to finish a draft. With so much attention given to reviews, interviews, and performances earlier in his career, it felt lacking that the same wasn't done at the end of his career, especially as he tried so many different things.

Given that the book is (seemingly) mostly pulled from interviews other people conducted with Cornell and those who knew him, I think the writing handled that well in trying to make it feel more immersive, like the reader is along for the ride. There were detailed scenes at the beginning of each chapter that felt like stepping into the story, but then the chapter would backtrack to sometimes years earlier than that scene, and I feel like the time jumps weren't handled in a way that made the timeline clear. I typically had to flip back to the start of the chapter once I reached that event later and kind of insert the action back into the right context.

As I said, the book is largely written based on interviews conducted by others - but I do appreciate the writer's extensive notes on sources! I flagged a lot of those to look up later, so in a way, this almost felt like a textbook. It gathered the foundational information in one place for me, then gave me all the resources I needed to go down my own rabbit holes.

While there are some things I wish were different about this book, I say that "criticizing" it very loosely, because I realize it's an unauthorized biography written at a time when his death was still raw (if you're arguing it isn't always feeling like a massive loss) and there was a lot of legal mess abound. I don't blame the author and publisher for wanting to tread carefully in that landscape without giving up the project entirely. So as long as you're not expecting a juicy tell-all, this is a worthwhile read.

May Round-Up

Love by the Book by Jessica George. I love that this book focused on friendship rather than romantic relationships. Really refreshing. It took me a minute to get into it because I wasn’t sure if the two POVs were the author and her book or two separate characters - but that’s on me, because sometimes I like to jump in without the summary biasing me, so this WAS mentioned on the inside flap - I just ignored it. Once I caught onto the POVs, I fell in love with the characters.

The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto by Adrianna Cuevas. I heard Cuevas speak at a Sisters in Crime webinar and knew I needed to read her books just based on what she shared and her personality. This was the first, but I’m definitely going to read more. Funny, unique, and touching without feeling like too much in any direction. I read this in a day and am ready for the next!

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas. I loved the start of this book with the mysterious disappearances and Nestor’s backstory, plus how he communicates with animals. However, it felt like the witch hunt stretched on too long and then wrapped up super quickly, and I wasn’t able to envision a lot of the final battle scene - which might just be a me problem, and I’m not the target audience! But it was not as good as The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto in my opinion.

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser. My mom recommended this one after she read it. It was interesting overall but pretty slow and repetitive in parts. I felt like there was a lack of emotion overall, considering it dealt with infidelity and divorce and falling in love.

Ghost Town by Tom Perrotta. I feel like this was a Kevin Wilson idea written by Tom Perrotta. I always love a new Perrotta book, so it was satisfying from that angle, but I feel like the weirdness and drama could have been pushed a bit more. Overall, I think there wasn’t much to the story, it was pretty character-driven, but we also weren’t allowed to get too close to the character, so I feel like this was kind of a jumping-off point for my imagination to do the rest and make it more interesting.

Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas. I could NOT love this book more. It’s my third Cuevas book but easily my most favorite. I love that it’s a straight-forward book with no magical elements (though she does that so well) because that keeps the reader’s focus on the truth of the history shared in this book. I feel like everyone should read this, especially Americans right now, because it’s sounding more and more realistic, even as so many people claim something like this could never happen here. I’m going to get my kid to read it, and I really think parents and kids should read this together to learn about history and talk about current events.

Terminal Human Velocity by Christina Olson. My poetry book this month. I’ve read this one before (in 2018) but kept wanting to come back to it because I loved so many lines back then. It was wonderful to see what stood out to me this time, in contrast, since it’s been several lifetimes since then. And isn’t that the beauty of poetry?

She Didn't See It Coming by Shari Lapena. I always rate Lapena’s books 3+ stars and this is no exception. It kept me turning pages and I enjoyed how it seemed like there were both too many explanations/suspects and none at the same time. Great double twist as well.

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette. Read for Cozy Mystery Book Club - watch the discussion here. I thought this was a cute and certainly cozy mystery. The mystery didn’t feel too pressing overall, but my favorite part was the ice cream flavors anyway, ha. But the writing was effortless to read and I loved the female friendships so I’m definitely going to continue this series.

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano. I felt like the last Finlay book was a bit slow and uninteresting and wasn’t sure I’d continue the series, but this was calling to me from the library shelf and I’m glad I picked it up. I thought this one was way more fun (and funny) and felt truer to the spirit of the early books.

Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel Revised and Expanded Edition by Hallie Ephron. My writing book for the month. This was really helpful and made me rethink a few things about my current WIPs. I love that it had interactive exercises and worksheets to download to get the most out of it. Definitely one to revisit often - it felt like a course I’d taken.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. My son read this for school and recommended I read it, too. After a bad experience with a mythology class in high school, I wasn’t sure the story appealed to me, but I gave it a try and really liked it. From a writer’s POV, I definitely see the Saves the Cat story beats here. It kept me turning pages and I’m going to read the second and third and try to catch up with my kid.