Over the years, I have read a fair share of autobiographies and biographies, many about artists and bands I love. While the topics and themes explored, as well as the overall stories of these individuals, can naturally differ greatly and be interesting reads, I've come to realize that there's a certain safe structure when writing these books, especially autobiographies. It's as if all the authors are following the same guidelines.

But here we have Dave Grohl, who has decided to change it up a little bit. Sure, this is his autobiography, and it touches upon moments from his entire lifetime, from his early childhood to the present. But he has churned this book with his own unique structure, something between a dramatized narration similar to what we see in fictional stories, and the sort of "I remember this one time when..." approach to the specific stories he has highlighted. Even the back-cover blurb proudly promises: "The Storyteller has challenged what a music memoir can be."

I've heard Dave Grohl tell stories before, through interviews or other events, and he has a wonderful ability to narrate things in captivating ways, certainly not without a dash of humor here and there. And you can absolutely see that he has written this book exactly how he would have told these stories verbally, his voice veritably audible in your ears as you read the words on the pages.

Each chapter is its own story, and Grohl often focuses on what those experiences gave him, or what they taught him. He might reminisce about something from his early teens, and then bring it back to how he utilizes that experience in the present. It gives a certain "...and the moral of the story is..." without coming across as preachy or presumptuous. It's more casual, like "Here's what I've learned in life; maybe it's something for you to think about, too?"

The approach works for the most part: For approximately 400 pages, you almost feel like Grohl is your buddy, just spewing philosophies about life, while occasionally digressing to chuckle about some absurd moment that happened along the way, or cry about the more heartbreaking moments. And, naturally, he often points out how we can all connect with all of this through music.

When I say "for the most part" above, I did feel like there were some gaps along the way. Perhaps that's just the part of me that is used to reading all those other autobiographies, though. Grohl doesn't go on a detailed journey from his birth to the present, but rather hand-picks specific moments that have especially stood out to him. That also means that if you're hoping for a detailed account of his entire time with Nirvana from beginning to end or something like that, you might be somewhat disappointed. Nirvana is mentioned, sure, but like other parts of his life described in the book, the Nirvana era is more of a backdrop to set the scene for the specific anecdotes that perhaps mean the most to him personally. To use a musical term, these are not his full discography of memories but rather his greatest hits.

But as I said, it mostly works. The book is a great read, and really does have the effortless flow of a person who has lived a fantastic life and could sit for an entire day and tell you about it over a couple of drinks (...just be careful not to give this guy too much coffee!) Dave Grohl truly is a storyteller.