Diary of a Player - Paisley

*This book was an advanced reading copy sent to me, free of charge, for my honest review and opinion.  All comments in this review are the honest opinion of the blogger.

Shortly after deciding I would only accept review books that were already on my TBR list, I was conveniently offered Brad Paisley's Diary of a Player. I jumped at the chance because not only was it already on my list, but it was rated as a #1-must read! And, it was worth it.  This is a great book!  

"When life gets intense, there are people who drink, who seek counseling, eat, or watch TV, pray, cry, sleep, and so on. I play."  ~Brad Paisley

A Christmas present in 8th grade, a used guitar from his grandfather, changed Paisley's life. With his grandfather's passion supporting him, Paisley fell in love with the instrument.  By fourteen he found himself in a band with his much older guitar teacher and the teacher's buddies.  Dubbed Brad and the C-notes (named for the $100 paycheck they seemed to always bring home), he spent his high school years performing on weekends, eventually ending up on the Grand Ole Opry stage.

In college, Paisley found himself with a variety of internship opportunities in Nashville, one of which led to his playing some of his writing for a co-worker, a song which was courted by the likes of Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson but eventually dropped by all. So Paisley decided to cut it himself on his first record deal, earned via his internship contacts. And the rest is history!

Even if you are not a Paisley fan, you can not help but enjoy the story of Paisley's  life via his musical journey. Honestly, this book is a love story between a man and his passion. Oh, and there is mentioned of his wife and kids too. Let's make no mistake here, Paisley is a guitar geek and proud of it. Paisley gushes not only about his guitars and amps, but about the amazing people he was lucky enough to work with and, often, eventually call friend. 


A deeply personal coming of age story, as a man and a guitar player, this is a well written memoir. Reading it is like sitting in the kitchen with the boy next door and swapping stories. 

Only because this book will likely appeal mostly to musicians and country music fans...

3/5- Good. Read it, have a good time and move on. Or not.