On page 27 of his third full-length book, Rush drummer-turned-author Neil Peart writes: 'Sometimes I have to face the reality that music can be part of people's lives, like wallpaper, without being the white-hot center [his emphasis] of their lives, as it always seemed to be for me.' If that statement can be applied to your own world, Traveling Music-The Soundtrack to My Life and Times will be one of the best books you read this year.

Part memoir, part travelogue and part music essay, Traveling Music is the kind of book best read by people who absolutely adore music.

.Readers join the drummer during his formative years growing up in St. Catharines, Ontario, and then when he flees to London to pursue a career as a musician. They sit in on his Rush audition and get glimpses into the backstage world of a rock star and his attempts to balance stardom with a private life. Along the way, Peart takes on the role of record reviewer, providing insight into both some of the most recognizable and most forgotten albums of the rock era. He even somehow manages to draw comparisons between the origins of Vertical Horizon's 'I'm Still Here' and Rush's 2112.

If it sounds like Peart covers a lot of ground in Traveling Music, that's because he does - and not just road miles.

Peart's prose, much like his drumming, is complex, bold and precise, with alternating cadences.

One of the signs of a memorable book is whether it leaves readers wanting more, or spurs them to action. In the case of Traveling Music, this reader closed the book wanting nothing more than to get his hands on a copy of Frank Sinatra's apparently overlooked 1970 concept album Watertown. Peart's description, of that disc, spread over five pages, makes it sound like a gem that any self-respecting music fan needs in his or her collection. I'm in the process of seeking out a copy.