Patti Smith

My most favourite recent read would be Patti Smith's book Just Kids.  Not only can she perform and write poetry and paint, but it turns out that Patti Smith is an exceptional story teller to boot and the tale of her life with Robert Mapplethorpe is completely riveting.  The book is full of name dropping as she tells of her encounters with the likes of Salvidor Dali, the Factory crowd and Jimmi Hendrix, yet the little details of her life (a meal, a worrying bill) make Patti relatable.  Patti's bohemian beginnings are impossibly romantic, as is her ill-fated romance with Robert Mapplethorpe.  I'm not one to cry while reading, but the end of Patti's book moved me to tears and had me in mourning.