Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost Hardcover – Illustrated, May 15, 2017

I started this book at 11pm, thinking I'd read for an hour or so before bed. Before I knew it, I'd reached the end of the book and it was 4am. Jason Molina has been my all-time favorite musician since I first discovered him in 2005. I knew all the words to all the songs, and I'd derived my own meanings for them, but I often wondered what the circumstances were that caused them to be written. This well-researched book answered many of the questions that I had. Osmon breaks down several song lyrics and ties them to individual events in his life, which is just what I'd always been curious to know.Jason's work was largely autobiographical, but this book is a welcome insight from the other side of the story. To hear from the objects of his love songs was especially a treat. I finished this book with an incredible respect for Darcie Schoenmann. Having listened to his body of work, seen a couple of his performances, and briefly met the man, I'd gotten the impression that he was an intense personality. Through reading Osmon's book, I was able to learn exactly how intense of a personality Molina was and through that I was able to develop a new understanding of his life and work and a respect for the people who loved him.There are a few typos and some issues that could have been resolved in another round of editing, perhaps, but it doesn't detract from the work in any way. Osmon has a great control of pacing and ability to construct a timeline, which makes the book very easy to read.

I’m a huge Molina fan and love most everything he produced. I was wanting to know more about his life and his death and this book does a nice job exploring that. Jason Molina was, and still is, an under appreciated artist of immense talent. This won’t increase awareness of him, but help those that loved his work understand more. Thank you for that.

For those who miss the late, great troubadour Jason Molina, best known for his works under the monikers Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Company, this book is a must read. The end of the book does a particularly great job illuminating what was a dark period for Molina and his friends and family. Closer to Johnny Cash than any other songwriter of his generation, Jason Molina will be missed.

I finished this book several days ago and I'm still thinking about it pretty much constantly. The experience of reading this book was all-encompassing and I hardly accomplished anything else until it was done. The story made me feel sad and anxious. There were points in the narrative which felt like this was a novelization to a horror story. I think there is an obvious purpose for why this book should exist, and I did not at all view it as gossipy or exploitative.

This book has literally changed my psyche. I've always had an emotional reaction to Molina's music, but it's uniquely poignant after this book. I feel like I am more attuned to the implicit messages and meaning behind the music. Especially considering (which I learned from reading this book) Molina would not interpret his music for others, suggesting they listen to the music to figure it out instead. I just really, really appreciate having this book on my bookshelf. Thank you.

JM was an ill-equipped genius. I used to see him in record stores around Bloomington, wish I’d seen him perform.

A few spelling errors or typos aside, a great read. A tearjerker. It completes the portrait of an artist I was lucky enough to meet once before Magnolia Electric Co. played their set at the Larimer Lounge in Denver, CO

I knew how this book would end before I purchased it. This story is heart breaking and revealing. I became a fan of the music of Jason Molina about a year after he died and the more I listened to his music, the more I wanted to know about his life. This book does that. Thank you.

The book is good, solid research, well written and a lot of little-known insight. I particularly liked the hand-drawn layout of Electrical Audio studio showing where everyone was recorded during the Magnolia Electric Co sessions!BUT...the quality of the paperback pressing is bad. I mean, real flimsy covers that stay bent back after you've read a bit, thin paper within and pretty poor print. Definitely buy the Hardback if you can afford it!But 4 stars for the contents of the book itself, really good

I love Jason Molina's music and I loved this book. Gave a lot of insight into where that incredible sound came from.

Essential reading for any Molina fan. Couldn't fault this book.

This is a great book for fans of Jason Molina or, indeed, anyone interested in this genre. It’s very well written and keeps an excellent pace with lots of great anecdotes. Highly recommend.

It's nice to have a book on Molina, especially one that's so well researched and made with such obvious love.But this is just awfully written. Words are misused right from the beginning ("as such," p. ix). Phrases and the info they contain are awkwardly and fatuously repeated (Molina didn't "allow facts to get in the way of a story “ (p. 11); Molina "never allowed the truth to get in the way of a good story” (28); Molina told B.S. stories but, of course, "[t]he best raconteurs never allow facts to get in the way of their craft” (p. 35)). Too many interpretations of musical or lyrical form fumble, usually through sheer sloppiness of insight and expression (“strictly looking at the parts, the songs were incongruent” (p. 32)). Not a few attempts at an elevated register are embarrassing and bathetic, reading a bit like bad prose versions of Shawshank Redemption or something ("His dark brown, almond-shaped eyes conveyed the old soul living inside him" (p. 3)).Otherwise, the book chronologically enumerates a lot of facts, and Osmon allows a lot of other voices into her text, which I like (though I wonder why she didn't interview and quote Will Oldham?). I like all the pictures, too.