Personal: Alice Cooper — born Vincent Furnier in Detroit — is known to the world as the pioneer of shock-rock theater because of his bizarre stage shows that include mock executions. He has recorded more than 15 albums, six of which went multi-platinum (selling more than 1 million copies each) and recently released a four-CD retrospective box set.
Cooper, who has three children, ages 19, 15 and 7, has also appeared in the movies "Prince of Darkness" and "Wayne's World."
And he loves to read. "Reading is very important in my life and the lives of my children," Cooper said. "You can't get anywhere, let alone write songs, if you don't know how to read."
Youth entertainment: "Before the respective movies came out, I read all of Ian Fleming's James Bond series," said Cooper, 52. "My friend let me borrow one, and from there I just couldn't stop."
Grown-up selections: "Lately, I don't have a lot of time to read," he said. "But my favorite authors include Gore Vidal and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I especially like his book 'Cat's Cradle,' which is a satire about the end of the world. It also shows how people can push things out of proportion and become very paranoid."
Together time: "I love reading to my children," Cooper said. "I've read to all of them ever since they were kids. I recently read 'Gila Monsters Will Meet You at the Airport' (by Marjorie Sharmat) to my youngest. It was an amazing book. It's about a boy from New York who has to move to the West (Cooper now lives in Arizona). And he's worried that the West is nothing but desert and that Gila monsters run rampant."
Perhaps surprisingly, Cooper is a traditionalist when it comes to books. "I have a hard time with books on tape and CD," he confessed. "I mean I'm sure it's a good idea for some people, but it kind of takes the imagination out of it, and you don't have to put a lot of effort into it.
"When I read, I like to make up the voices and read the words the way the voice in my head wants to read them."