I've always been curious about Neil Peart. You could say he's the George Harrison of the band Rush. He's the quiet one, but he is anything but silent. In addition to the complex time keeping duties the drummer extraordinaire is also the band's lyricist. With the song's varied themes ranging from philosophy to fantasy you have to assume he is well read.

As a librarian I am always fascinated to learn what books are the favorites of certain individuals. If you're familiar with Rush's music then there are obvious books such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the work of Ayn Rand that you'd expect to find on Neil Peart's bookshelf, but what else is there?

Lucky for us Neil Peart maintains "Bubba's Book Club," a section of his website where he provides profound and insightful reviews for recently read fiction and non-fiction. His review for Jimmy Buffet's A Salty Piece of Land will make you laugh out loud. His comments on David Foster Wallace and Virginia Woolf are thought provoking. Take a look at all of his reviews. You will not be disappointed.

Below I have collected all of the books mentioned or reviewed by Neil Peart on his site with links to the Library's catalog. I've also included links to his reviews. Click here to see books by or about Neil Peart that are available at The New York Public Library. Lastly at the end I have provided a few "Billy's Book Club" recommendations for "Bubba's Book Club."

You may never be able to play drums like Neil Peart you can now at least read like him!

Enjoy!

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

The Man With the Golden Arm, by Nelson Algren

Inés of My Soul, by Isabel Allende (review)

Scattered Suns, by Kevin J. Anderson (review)

Metal Swarm, by Kevin J. Anderson (review)

Resurrection Inc, by Kevin J. Anderson

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, by Ayi Kwei Armah

Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War, by Joe Bageant (review)

The Book of Ten Nights and a Night, by John Barth

Every Third Thought: A Novel in Five Seasons, by John Barth

More Die of Heartbreak, by Saul Bellow (review)

Henderson the Rain King, by Saul Bellow

The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow

Humboldt's Gift, by Saul Bellow

The Inner Circle, by T.C. Boyle

Drop City, by T.C. Boyle

Louis Riel, by Chester Brown

Bill Bruford: The Autobiography, by Bill Bruford (review)

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

A Salty Piece of Land, by Jimmy Buffett (review)

The Art of Travel, by Alain de Botton (review)

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon (review)

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, by Michael Chabon

Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of A Husband, Father, and Son, by Michael Chabon

Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon

The Republic of Nothing, by Lesley Choyce

The Antagonist, by Lynn Coady

The Secret Agent, by Joseph Conrad (review)

Lord Jim, by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad

Victory, by Joseph Conrad

Eleanor Rigby, by Douglas Coupland

The Deptford Trilogy, by Robertson Davies (review)

Underworld, by Don DeLillo

The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt

The Old Curiosity Shop, bt Charles Dickens

Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Brothers K, by David James Duncan (review)

The River Why, by David James Duncan

The Alexandria Quartet, by Lawrence Durrell (review)

A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan

What is the What, by Dave Eggers (review)

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers

You Shall Know Our Velocity, by Dave Eggers

How We Are Hungry, by Dave Eggers

Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers (review)

A Hologram for the King, by Dave Eggers

Middlemarch, by George Eliot

The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot

As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner

The Last Tycoon, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer

Canada, by Richard Ford

Strong Motion, by Jonathan Franzen

Nightwoods, by Charles Frazier

Brighton Rock, by Graham Greene (review)

Journey Without Maps, by Graham Greene

The Lawless Roads, by Graham Greene

The Heart of the Matter, by Graham Greene

The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene

Our Lady of the Forest, by David Guterson (review)

Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson

Rebuilding the Indian, by Fred Haefele (review)

Late Nights On Air, by Elizabeth Hay (review)

Under Kilimanjaro, by Ernest Hemingway (review)

To Have and To Have Not, by Ernest Hemingway

Islands in the Stream, by Ernest Hemingway

Green Hills of Africa, by Ernest Hemingway

A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway

The Garden of Eden, by Ernest Hemingway

Pike's Folly, by Mike Heppner (review)

The Egg Code, by Mike Heppner

The Man Talking Project, by Mike Heppner (review)

A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby (review)

High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby

About a Boy, by Nick Hornby

How to Be Good, by Nick Hornby

Songbook, by Nick Hornby

Fever Pitch, by Nick Hornby

The Polysyllabic Spree, by Nick Hornby (review)

A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World, by Tony Horwitz (review)

After Many A Summer Dies the Swan, by Aldous Huxley (review)

Frank Lloyd Wright, by Ada Louise Huxtable (review)

Until I Find You, by John Irving (review)

A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving

The World According to Garp, by John Irving

The Cider House Rules, by John Irving

In One Person, by John Irving

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, by Wayne Johnston (review)

The Custodian of Paradise, by Wayne Johnston (review)

A World Elsewhere, by Wayne Johnston

Ulysses, by James Joyce

Critique of Religion and Philosophy, by Walter Kaufmann (review)

The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver (review)

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver

High Tide in Tucson, by Barbara Kingsolver

Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver

Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (review)

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of A Human Obsession, by Daniel J. Levitin (review)

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

White Fang, by Jack London

The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London

Martin Eden, by Jack London

The Way the Crow Flies, by Ann-Marie MacDonald (review)

Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Every Love Story is a Ghost Story: The Life of David Foster Wallace, by D.T. Max

No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy (review)

Child of God, by Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian, or, The Evening Redness in the West, by Cormac McCarthy

The Border Trilogy, by Cormac McCarthy

Atonement, by Ian McEwan

Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World, by Ewan McGregor

The Good Life, by Jay McInerney (review)

Bright Lights, Big City, by Jay McInerney

The Story of My Life, by Jay McInerney

Uncommon Carriers, by John McPhee (review)

Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-oil-powered Car, and A Cross-country Search for A Greener Future, by Greg Melville (review)

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

Unfinished Journey: Twenty Years Later, by Yehudi Menuhin (review)

The Emperor's Children, by Claire Messud (review)

A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (review)

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

Fool, by Christopher Moore (review)

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

French Revolutions, by Tim Moore

Paradise, by Toni Morrison (review)

Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov

The Big Year, by Mark Obmascik

Going After Cacciato, by

The Things They Carried, by

In the Lake of the Woods, by

This Is Your Life, by  (review)

In the Skin of a Lion, by Michael Ondaatje (review)

There's a Trick With a Knife I'm Learning To Do, by Michael Ondaatje

Coming Through Slaughter, by Michael Ondaatje

The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje

The Cat's Table, by Michael Ondaatje

The Motor Cycle Chums of the Northwest Patrol, by Howard Payson

Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl

The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles, by Melissa Holbrook Pierson

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig

The Yellow Birds, by Kevin Powers

Zen and Now: On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Mark Richardson (review)

Barney's Version, by Mordecai Richler (review)

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, by Mordecai Richler

St. Urbain's Horseman, by Mordecai Richler

Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson, by Elizabeth J. Rosenthal (review)

The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

An Equal Music, by Vikram Seth (review)

Jupiter's Travels, by Ted Simon

So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star, by Jacob Slichter (review)

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein (review)

The Winter of Our Discontent, by John Steinbeck (review)

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

East of Eden, by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck: A Life in Letters, edited by Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten

Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, by William Styron

Blinding Light, by Paul Theroux (review)

The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments From Lives on the Road, by Paul Theroux

A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews (review)

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

Rabbit, Run, by John Updike

A Good Man, by Guy Vanderhaeghe

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, by David Foster Wallace (review)

The Broom of the System, by David Foster Wallace

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace

The Architects Are Here, by Michael Winter (review)

Billy's Book Club

The Poetics of Space, by Gaston Bachelard

Budapest, by Chico Buarque

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver

House of the Sleeping Beauties, and Other Stories, by Yasunari Kawabata

Soul of the Night, by Chet Raymo

The Braindead Megaphone, by George Saunders

Pastoralia, by George Saunders

The Man Suit, by Zachary Schomburg

Scary, No Scary, by Zachary Schomburg