My Crazy Beautiful Life by Kesha

(Touchstone Books) The reason I think Ke$ha music is far superior Katy Perry music is that Ke$ha seems genuinely funny. Her songs and her act and her glitter cannons parody excess and partying and sleaze in a way that celebrates the absurdity of debauchery sincerely while recognizing the best way to make big dumb party music is to be big and dumb. Perry's humor seems contrived and falls flat, while her emphasis on non-flatness gets old quick (not to put down big boobs, or imply their is a limit to their appeal, just saying Perry seems to making boob decisions closer to crass beer advertisements than joyous burlesque). Anyhoo, my worries with this book, which is mostly photos taken over a period of less than two years, with brief snippets of text, is that Ke$ha would reveal herself, or allow a ghost writer to portray herself, as not funny. Bad news is that the book isn't particularly yock-filled, and the few pranks and goofy antics described within are presented so proudly it's like explaining a punchline rather than telling a joke. But the good news is Ke$ha proves more interesting than you'd expect, her outsider-ish background with her single mom, and her self-perception of making it in Max Martin/Dr.Luke million selling pop being akin to living the life of a struggling gutter punk rocker all are appealing and sincere and more compelling than Gaga being pretentious or Perry's scripted biography. That said, it's probably 2,000 words total, and the photos (other than a handful of growing-up pics) are pretty same-ish. Still, just be breaking the trend of a pop starlet becoming more boring the more you know makes this book a success of sorts (though keep it away from her youngest fans, as "Wall of Dicks and Balls" and "Glitz our Tits" are two phrases your six year old need not repeat).