There is a shit show of books on Prince. Some are just utter garbage and rehashed.

Some have insightful timelines. I always said the only people I wanted to hear from were the two women he actually married. I enjoyed Mayte's book.

Duane Tudahl's books are so well done, thorough. Thank God for that guy and his diligence. Same for Parke and Shahidi's books. What fun anecdotes and photographs. Dave Hill's A Pop Life and Per's DMSR were go-tos back in the day (as was The Vault and Possessed).

Toure's book was good but went off the rails in the last third.

I've not read Let's Go Crazy by Alan Light, but it's on my short list.

Most others I've not found compelling enough to pick up and read.

So, the question becomes: pilfering through and filtering out the garbage books, which books do you believe (aside from the one's noted above) are really worth reading (ie: you learned something new). I'm talking after Prince died. We've all read the ones before he passed.

Purple Fam by Raphael Melki is a very good book.

https://www.purplefam.fr/

But it is in French.

Fascinating testimony on how a fan lived his passion for Prince through the years.

I recommend it.

Since he died Tudahl's two books are of course essential. Prince: All The Songs is good too but it doesn't touch Tudahl's research depth.

So, yeah, my tastes tend toward the nerdy details of the songs more than the personal details of his life.

There are 3 ""OFFICIAL" books in my possession i haven't "officially" read.

21 Nites

The 'SOTT' deluxe book

The 'D&P' deluxe book

...are they worth it?

i'm only halfway through the second Tudahl book cuz i realized that i need reading glasses!

nayroo2002 said:

There are 3 ""OFFICIAL" books in my possession i haven't "officially" read.

21 Nites

The 'SOTT' deluxe book

The 'D&P' deluxe book

...are they worth it?

i'm only halfway through the second Tudahl book cuz i realized that i need reading glasses!

We're getting old...

djThunderfunk said:

nayroo2002 said:

There are 3 ""OFFICIAL" books in my possession i haven't "officially" read.

21 Nites

The 'SOTT' deluxe book

The 'D&P' deluxe book

...are they worth it?

i'm only halfway through the second Tudahl book cuz i realized that i need reading glasses!

We're getting old...

I have 3 pairs of +1.25 for that purpose. One near the sewing machine, one by my chair in the living room, and one by my bed for reading.

TrivialPursuit said:

djThunderfunk said:

We're getting old...

I have 3 pairs of +1.25 for that purpose. One near the sewing machine, one by my chair in the living room, and one by my bed for reading.

...and a pair on your head that you "misplaced" and just can't find anywhere!

nayroo2002 said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I have 3 pairs of +1.25 for that purpose. One near the sewing machine, one by my chair in the living room, and one by my bed for reading.

...and a pair on your head that you "misplaced" and just can't find anywhere!

Joke's on you, I never put them up like that. They always fall off anyway. haha

I ordered Alan Light's Let's Go Crazy, used on Amazon last night for like $1.73. (Shipping was twice as much but I had $2.54 left over on a gift card balance.)

It's already shipped. Perfect timing. Once I finish The Regulators, I'll read Light's book as a fiction break, then back to Richard Bachman's last book, Blaze.

TrivialPursuit said:

I ordered Alan Light's Let's Go Crazy, used on Amazon last night for like $1.73. (Shipping was twice as much but I had $2.54 left over on a gift card balance.)

It's already shipped. Perfect timing. Once I finish The Regulators, I'll read Light's book as a fiction break, then back to Richard Bachman's last book, Blaze.

I'm still deciding if I should get Alan Light's Let's Go Crazy. I've heard to many bad thingfs about it to just forget it.
I'm starting on Morris Day his book.

WhenFansCry said:

Purple Fam by Raphael Melki is a very good book.

https://www.purplefam.fr/

But it is in French.

Fascinating testimony on how a fan lived his passion for Prince through the years.

I recommend it.

Sounds wonderful!

djThunderfunk said:

nayroo2002 said:

There are 3 ""OFFICIAL" books in my possession i haven't "officially" read.

21 Nites

The 'SOTT' deluxe book

The 'D&P' deluxe book

...are they worth it?

i'm only halfway through the second Tudahl book cuz i realized that i need reading glasses!

We're getting old...

YEP.

But we got good company.

TheTruth123 said:

djThunderfunk said:

We're getting old...

YEP.

But we got good company.

That's a really nice sentiment (with happy tear).

JorisE73 said:

I'm starting on Morris Day's book.

I started that thing, and it was a hot mess. Even the cover looks like an eight-year-old did it in Computer class.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Surely the tour programmes are the only official prince books

I never said a thing about "official."

TrivialPursuit said:

Another good one to get is Matt Thorne's book. I believe there is a new updated version available at a decent price.

i like matt thorne, i liked one of his earlier novels, but the prince book, it was like reading a love letter org note from one fan to another, focusing on the tiniest of things. maybe i was in the wrong mood or expected something different, but it wasnt what i wanted really. i should give it another try though.

djThunderfunk said:

Another good one to get is Matt Thorne's book. I believe there is a new updated version available at a decent price.

There is an updated. I forget if I've had that first edition or not. The cover is one I know. But I honestly don't remember if I've read it. I'm gonna say I haven't.

[Edited 5/4/24 9:44am]

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

i like matt thorne, i liked one of his earlier novels, but the prince book, it was like reading a love letter org note from one fan to another, focusing on the tiniest of things. maybe i was in the wrong mood or expected something different, but it wasnt what i wanted really. i should give it another try though.

It's been a decade since I read it, but I remember liking it more than a lot of what's out there. I seem to remember it being more accurate with facts and detail than many others. I see that there is a new updated version available at a good price so I'll be checking that out for sure.

I just got Randee's My Name Is Prince the other day. It's HUGE and the pictures are fantastic, but I prefer something with more text and more depth myself.

i still love the per nielsen books.

pop life was really good when i read it a long time ago, but idk how its held up.

i didnt read the toure one, but im guessing its the same as the podcasts he did, so if so, then i think it must be good. one of the more interesting takes on prince, a diff perspective.

the 33 1/3 series book on SOTT by michelangelo matos was cool too, written by a music writer who is from MPLS. i like his writing on prince in general.

I did not like Toure's book. It's been awhile, so I don't remember exactly why. But I think it was he often got facts and details wrong and he had wild theories that amounted to ideas in his head and opinions but no real insight.

Maybe I'm mixing him up with someone else though. I've read a LOT of books on Prince, so, I dunno.

i mean the oral history one, nothing compares 2 u, not the other one. i dont care much for his writing but i liked the interviews he got on the podcast.

TrivialPursuit said:

djThunderfunk said:

Another good one to get is Matt Thorne's book. I believe there is a new updated version available at a decent price.

There is an updated. I forget if I've had that first edition or not. The cover is one I know. But I honestly don't remember if I've read it. I'm gonna say I haven't.

[Edited 5/4/24 9:44am]

Thanks for the heads up, BTW. I had the first American edition which is updated from the first pressing in Europe covering the years since the first pressing. Now there is a new updated edition from last year that adds another chapter covering his passing and some of the posthumous material. I went ahead and picked that up but I'm not sure if I'm going to re-read the whole book since it has been a decade since I read it or just skip to the new material. I feel like I want to read the whole thing again but realistically I'll probably skim through and focus on the new stuff.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

i like matt thorne, i liked one of his earlier novels, but the prince book, it was like reading a love letter org note from one fan to another, focusing on the tiniest of things. maybe i was in the wrong mood or expected something different, but it wasnt what i wanted really. i should give it another try though.

Glancing through this new copy I picked up I'm starting to remember it more. I think didn't like about it is one of the things that worked for me. As a fan I appreciate reading the point of view of another fan, whether I agree with his opinions & conclusions or even when I do not. Most books will have instances where details or facts about specific releases or events are wrong and as a fan it bugs me. Another fan is far less likely to make such mistakes.

Another think that suits me is summed up in this quote from the back of the book: "Unlike other Prince books, this one eschews speculation into the artist's highly guarded private life and instead focuses deep and sustained attention exactly where it should be: on his work."

I appreciate this. It's also a reason Tudahl's books sit at the top of my favorites list. While I find learning more details or insight about Prince's life interesting, I'm obsessed with his work. So, this is likely another reason I rated this one so highly when I read it.

Maybe I'll read the whole thing again after all.

JorisE73 said:

I used to know Alan Light's son we both liked this band called Alvvays.