Rating: 
Summary: An engrossing, timeless book, packed with ideas
Review: "I have a wonderful life", Brian Eno remarks at the beginning of this stocky little book. It is not an admission that you will get from many artists, and by the end, I could not help feeling more than a little envious of the sheer diversity of activities that fill Eno's life. This very readable diary is also an insight into how one so influential can get bogged down by the sheer volume of work and commissions that regularly come his way.This book is both a diary of Eno's life in 1995 - at once remarkably candid and playful (he has an obsession with the female bottom which he draws to our attention), and a series of essays and short stories. The former Roxy Music member is not afraid to name-drop (saunas with Bjork, albums with David Bowie and U2, works in progress with Paul McCartney...), but this is a pleasant contrast to the sometimes earnest but always interesting extended pieces which make up the "appendices" of the title, and are laid out at the end of the book. A very worthwhile and enjoyable read, particularly for those of us who were unaware of who Brian Eno was - it is a book which I regularly dip into and will continue to do so.
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing, timeless book, packed with ideas
Review: "I have a wonderful life", Brian Eno remarks at the beginning of this stocky little book. It is not an admission that you will get from many artists, and by the end, I could not help feeling more than a little envious of the sheer diversity of activities that fill Eno's life. This very readable diary is also an insight into how one so influential can get bogged down by the sheer volume of work and commissions that regularly come his way. This book is both a diary of Eno's life in 1995 - at once remarkably candid and playful (he has an obsession with the female bottom which he draws to our attention), and a series of essays and short stories. The former Roxy Music member is not afraid to name-drop (saunas with Bjork, albums with David Bowie and U2, works in progress with Paul McCartney...), but this is a pleasant contrast to the sometimes earnest but always interesting extended pieces which make up the "appendices" of the title, and are laid out at the end of the book. A very worthwhile and enjoyable read, particularly for those of us who were unaware of who Brian Eno was - it is a book which I regularly dip into and will continue to do so.
Rating:
Summary: Frank, not Blank
Review: A great read, full of quotes you'll want to copy into your own journal. There's plenty of intellectual pithe here, and inside stories about rock stars, as well as some slightly self absorbed gushing and gollying. Overall a very satisfying read that will send you off in any number of very interesting directions. I followed this up with Stewart Brand's CLOCK OF THE LONG NOW, then Edgar Wind's ART AND ANARCHY.
Rating:
Summary: Frank, not Blank
Review: A great read, full of quotes you'll want to copy into your own journal. There's plenty of intellectual pithe here, and inside stories about rock stars, as well as some slightly self absorbed gushing and gollying. Overall a very satisfying read that will send you off in any number of very interesting directions. I followed this up with Stewart Brand's CLOCK OF THE LONG NOW, then Edgar Wind's ART AND ANARCHY.
Rating: 
Summary: Honest, funny, imaginative and different kind of diary
Review: Although I can't recommend this book for everybody then I must say I loved it. Let's not forget it's a diary with it's busy and slow days. But it's not what Eno does from hour to hour that's interesting, but the way you get to see the world through this artist's eyes. For me it was highly enlightning and Eno's answers to difficult questions have been cause for many arguments and discussions in my family at least. So if your looking for a book that's bound to give you a fresh way of looking at things you should try this one
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for all musicians, artists & producers
Review: An fascinating insight into the mind of one of pop music's most creatively influential movers and shakers - follow the inner workings of Eno's mind as he wrestles with producing Bowie and James, criticising the Turner Art Prize, collaborating with U2, clowning with his infant daughters, lusting after pssing women, making bread at 3am, and pondering humanitarian catastrophies in the Balkans as he pours time, tears and creative energies into his War Child charity work... if you work in the music business and find this book dull , email me and I'll buy it off you for the same price you paid - it's that good. It should be compulsory reading for anyone involved in contemporary music and the arts - candid, sad, funny, revealing, opinionated, flawed... in short, human. Brian Eno's perceived public image is a million miles removed from the private and creative reality and this book goes some way towards redressing the balance for anyone interested in his work. The one-liners are priceless and acute ("An arrangement is when somebody stops playing"). The swollen appendages are a bit overblown and dull, but the diary is so densely written and full of insights that it repays frequent re-reading.
Rating:
Summary: Eno's Swollen Appendices
Review: Eno's diary is as compassionate, opinionated, and clear as I expected, but the reader is still left to wonder about this guy. I know it's not an autobiograpy, but Mr. Eno just doesn't tell us enough about himself. Nothing is heartwrenching, he never gets depressed, he's never extremely sad or extremely happy; he's quite robotic on paper, in fact. As odd as it sounds, nothing is peculiar about his remarkable day-to-day life, and I find this more than a little suspicious. Luckily, his unique observations, extreme opinions, and exposed fetishes (including his well-know affinity for extremely large women), generally keep the reader's interest. The appendices that follow the diary are quite detailed expositions on his thinking process, views about art, and include several letters to his well known clientele. Somewhat oblique, but interesting nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Eno's Swollen Appendices
Review: Eno's diary is as compassionate, opinionated, and clear as I expected, but the reader is still left to wonder about this guy. I know it's not an autobiograpy, but Mr. Eno just doesn't tell us enough about himself. Nothing is heartwrenching, he never gets depressed, he's never extremely sad or extremely happy; he's quite robotic on paper, in fact. As odd as it sounds, nothing is peculiar about his remarkable day-to-day life, and I find this more than a little suspicious. Luckily, his unique observations, extreme opinions, and exposed fetishes (including his well-know affinity for extremely large women), generally keep the reader's interest. The appendices that follow the diary are quite detailed expositions on his thinking process, views about art, and include several letters to his well known clientele. Somewhat oblique, but interesting nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Outrageous, honest, provacative and all Eno
Review: Ever ready to confound expectations, this book tells the story of who Brian Eno is not by recounting his life but in a more subtle and intimate way; he gives you his diary from a year in his life. You come to know his tastes, his interests, his sense of humor, his way of thinking, his fears, his joys. The man is complex and not without contradictions. While reading someone else's diary may seem a bit creepy and big-brotherish, and while this one may have its slow points, it is ultimately as honest a revelation of the man as we are ever likely to see. Just as integral to the book is his "swollen appendices", a collection of his correspondences, speeches and stories. What makes the man so compelling to me is his incisive critical thinking; this is someone who enjoys and is quite good at thinking, an increasingly rare commodity in today's society.
Rating:
Summary: Much like his music, it is pleasant and goes nowhere
Review: Excellent, a book which applies Eno's principles of ambient music. The book goes nowhere, establishes texture and tone, has no drive, is holographic and can be read in any order, and offers consistently good and occasionally brilliant insights.
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