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171st out of 216 books
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136 voters
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Don't Try This at Home
by
Dave Navarro,
Neil Strauss (Goodreads Author)
Step into the booth. Check your judgments at the curtain. Close your eyes. Listen: you can hear the voices of the visitors who sat here before you: some of the most twisted, drug-addled, deviant, lonely, lost, brilliant characters ever to be caught on film. What do you have to offer the booth?
Paperback, 253 pages
Published
October 1st 2005
by ReganBooks
(first published October 2004)
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This book was really hard to put down. Once you started reading, you feel like you are part of Dave's screwed up life. I learned a lot about Dave Navarro from reading this book, and was quite shocked by some aspects. I've loved Dave Navarro probably since around the 6th or 7th grade, and the book only affirmed those feelings. This book outlines the crazy truth of being a popular rock star and all the fame and glory that comes as consequence: Multitudes of drugs, sex, lies, friendships, and betra...more
I read this one in a day because I simply couldnt put it down. I guess there was some kind of morbid fascination in it for me as I have always wondered what it would be like if I just "let it all go" for a while and give in to excess...whether I could claw back from the edge or simply become lost or die. Of course Dave Navarro has oodles of money and unlimited access to the LA freakshow so his story is much more interesting. This book is an interesting look into his psyche and what hap...more
A really quick, easy read that is slightly less self indulgent than the typical addiction/recovery memoir - probably because it's written mostly by a third party, but only slightly because it is also "approved" by Navarro.
The concept of documenting a year in his life through a photo booth in his home was really intriguing and I found the early retelling of conversations and Dave's essays both sad but also interesting. Unfortunately for the book and the documentary project...more
The concept of documenting a year in his life through a photo booth in his home was really intriguing and I found the early retelling of conversations and Dave's essays both sad but also interesting. Unfortunately for the book and the documentary project...more
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Being the Jane's Addiction junkie that I am, I had to read this one. Not only is it a completely engaging and entertaining read, it's also a book detailing a year in Dave Navarro's life in photographs that are primarily from a photo booth he had in his home during that year. Funny at some points, tragic at others, the book is a must read for fans.
As a fan of Dave Navarro's music, I thought this would be an interesting read. The premise is that he put a photo booth in his house and whoever came to the house had to get their picture taken to document what happened in his house and his life. I thought there would be interesting stories about other musicians, but instead I read about his girlfriend, his assistant and the numerous prostitutes and groupies that hung out and did drugs with him. Boring! What I did find interesting was his fight...more
I just read this book in whole in two days (that says a lot seeing how my daughter doesn't give me a lot of time for reading these days) after picking it up and putting it back down several times over the past couple of years since first buying it.
I've been in a mood for the past week so reading this was just what I needed. It made me think that my life could be worse for wear and not that I would compare my life in anyway to Dave's, I do see that everyone can learn a good lesson ab...more
I've been in a mood for the past week so reading this was just what I needed. It made me think that my life could be worse for wear and not that I would compare my life in anyway to Dave's, I do see that everyone can learn a good lesson ab...more
i liked reading some of his insights, and enjoyed his photo-booth journalism, but overall it's part of a life of a disappointingly boring, destructive, self-centered rock star.
Tries too be all artsy, an experiment. Scar tissue was much more realistic. This seemed more self indulgent then honest. Wouldn't recommend it unless you were really into him.
Here's the thing... this book would have been fantastic if Dave Navarro had not gone back and edited it. I first read an excerpt from this book in 2003 in Spin magazine and was super excited to read it. Then it gets called back for re-writes. He lost a lot of the grit and explicitness in it to make it more of an uplifting piece. Carmen Electra totally f'ed it up man. Had he been allowed to publish this book before meeting her, it would have been great. Instead, he waters it down because he'...more
"All people are nuts, so you might as well find the hottest one you can and learn to deal."
"Love does exist; however, only moment to moment and never for a lifetime... Love fades."
"Love does exist; however, only moment to moment and never for a lifetime... Love fades."
LOVED what Neil Strauss did with Motley Crue in THE DIRT, so I'm giving this one a try.
Love learing peoples dirty little secrets!
How is he still alive?
It was a walk on the wildside, from the moment I picked up Dave Navarro's book. Spectacular artwork and design throughout this account of drug-addled addiction. The content was interesting, fragmented, with a bit of wisdom at the end of Navarro's 1 year documentary. Without the help of Neil Strauss, I'm not sure if Navarro would have pulled this one out so well.
I STAYED INETERSTED. IT'S A VERY DARK & DEPRESSING BOOK BUT NOT BORING. HE HAD A REAL PROBLEM WITH DRUGS AS ALL ROCK STARS DO...
"The man had a dark past. Surprise to see him still living! He has made an amazing turn around from junkie to well known status. I recommend if you like dark type drug living reading
"The man had a dark past. Surprise to see him still living! He has made an amazing turn around from junkie to well known status. I recommend if you like dark type drug living reading
Written by my favorite author so I knew I would like it. But, Navarro surprised me. Very intelligent and dark. Add heroin and coke to the mix and I am captivated.
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I read this not because I like Dave Navarro (which I didn't, and do less since reading his book) but because Neil Strauss did the editing and has previously never gone wrong. Well, I suppose I'll allow him this one slip up.
Same story different rock star. Although, I wouldn't mind having a photo booth in my house like him! It creeps me out that he likes to french kiss men.
A decent book...it was Carmen and Dave's relationship that interested me. It's another Hollywood sob story...a life of drugs, alcohol and sadness.
Read this for The Dirty Dishers.
Interesting concept that might have worked if the subject was anyone but Dave Navarro.
Interesting concept that might have worked if the subject was anyone but Dave Navarro.
What did I learn from this book? I learned that Dave Navarro believes his life is more interesting than it really is.
Poor Dave Navarro,he certainly did like his drugs and whores. What will happen now that he and Carmen Electra are no more?
Look on the spine of the book and a few pictures on the inside and you'll see my friend Kelli
yuck. just weird, written like a magazine interview. not what i had in mind at all.
Joy Boll
marked it as to-read
Dana
marked it as to-read
Fernando
marked it as to-read
Phelan
marked it as biography
Heather
marked it as to-read
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David Michael Navarro is an American guitarist who plays in the alternative rock band The Panic Channel and, most notably, Jane's Addiction. He has also played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Navarro is member of the cover band Camp Freddy.
More about Dave Navarro...
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