“I Me Mine: The Extended Edition” by George Harrison

I read the original version of I Me Mine over a year ago now (see here) and remember feeling slightly disappointed with it. It’s mostly images of the lyrics written out by Harrison, and not so much about his life. However it is the closest that we will ever get to his autobiography, and having his notes on how he wrote several of his songs is invaluable.

For the extended edition, there is an introduction by Olivia Harrison that really sets the book up well. She also points out some details that I noticed the first time around but didn’t quite process, like the fact that one of the pictures is captioned as George eating a cheese sandwich, when it’s really just a picture of him with a guitar. The lyrics also now cover the entirety of his career, so there are plenty of songs that we don’t have his insights into, but simply have the image of the words written out.

Honestly, rereading it was still a great experience. His words stand the test of time and speak to the reader with a perfect blend of humor and insight. It’s too bad that we didn’t have more time with him, but we will have to make do with what he left behind for us.