What'cha Readin'? Bob Dylan, Ol' Dirty Bastard, more from Shawn Colvin

We're close to the end of our time with July's book, Diamond in the Rough, the new memoir by acclaimed singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin and, as I'm due to speak to her about it soon, I'd like to know what you make of it. A couple of days ago, I read about her interesting night at the 1998 Grammy Awards, where she won some major prizes (including record and song of the year) and, even more intriguingly, Bob Dylan wiped his nose on her hand and Ol' Dirty Bastard sent her a bouquet of flowers the next day. That is pretty amazing.

Otherwise, I'm left thinking that Colvin is something of a hyper self-aware mess who has overcome a lot of personal obstacles to get where she is today. Her commitment issues and restlessness have led her to therapy and other assessments and, even as she jokes about it, there's an underlying sadness here as she moves from relationship to relationship, even questioning her decision to become a mother after giving birth to her daughter. "Get it together, Shawn!" I felt like yelling at a book, which is a weird impulse to have on an airplane, where I stopped myself from doing so.

In the end (which I haven't read yet), it still has this feel-good vibe somehow, like someone recounting an accident or near-death experience. It's harrowing to hear about, but you know the person made it out OK, which is heartening.

Congrats if you won a book here in the past two weeks. I still have copies to offer to two people (not employed by the CBC) who check out this excerpt of Diamond in the Rough and post thoughtful questions for Colvin about her book below. I'm due to interview her soon, and I'd be happy to ask her a good question from you. Oh, and I’ll let you know if your question was deemed a winner (you can only win once, BTW), so check back here for a response. If you do win, please send your name (real and blog), mailing address and winning answer to rock@cbc.ca with “Shawn of life” in the subject line.

What's your take on Shawn Colvin's Diamond in the Rough? Are you relating to her story in an uplifting or depressing way? Or something else, even? Otherwise, what'cha readin'?