Book notes

• Reprints

"Commando: The Autobiograpny of Johnny Ramone"

Article Extras

Updated: February 23, 2012 8:08AM

Johnny Ramone’s autobiography coming out in April

Eight years after he died of prostate cancer, Johnny Ramone’s autobiography is finally being published. Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone is set for release April 2 by Abrams Image. His widow, Linda, says, “It is a really powerful book because his whole life has gone before him and he knows it’s going to come to an end, and he really needs to tell everybody what he’s feeling inside, so that’s what makes it so amazing. That is the biggest, most powerful thing, writing a book when you know you’re dying.” Johnny Ramone, whose real name was John Cummings, was one of the founding members of the legendary New York City-based punk band the Ramones, members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Considered one of the most influential guitarists in rock, he died in 2004 at age 55 after battling cancer for five years.

MTV original VJs writing oral history

MTV’s surviving original veejays have some wild times to share. Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced that it had signed with Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn for an “uncensored” oral history of the music channel launched in 1981. The book is currently untitled and no release date had been set. A fifth veejay, J.J. Jackson, died in 2004. According to Atria, the veejays will talk about everything from partying with Van Halen to a disastrous “Paint the Mutha Pink” contest with “Pink Houses” singer John Cougar Mellencamp.

Burt Bacharach writing memoir

Burt Bacharach will be handling the words for his next project: a memoir. The award-winning collaborator on such hits as “I Say a Little Prayer” and “What the World Needs Now” has a deal with HarperCollins for a memoir due in November, titled Anyone Who Had a Heart . According to HarperCollins, Bacharach, 83, will open up about professional success and personal troubles. His partnership with David broke up bitterly, and he has been divorced three times, from singer Paula Stewart, actress Angie Dickinson and fellow songwriter Carole Bayer Sager. His daughter, Nikki, committed suicide at age 40.

‘Capt. Underpants’ goes digital

The author of Captain Underpants is joining the digital age and bringing back his million-selling series after a six-year hiatus. Scholastic Inc. announced that e-editions of two graphic novels by Dav Pilkey, “The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby” and “Super Diaper Baby 2,” will come out at the end of January.

Robin Quivers gets a ‘Vegucation’

Robin Quivers — Howard Stern’s longtime sidekick — is working on a memoir about her struggles with her weight and health and her decision to eat vegan. The Vegucation of Robin will be published at the end of the year by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Group. The book will feature jokes and stories, along with 75 recipes for a healthy life. Quivers says in a statement that since giving up animal products in 2007, she has “learned that the world of vegetables is a vast one” and far more interesting than a dish of boiled broccoli.