AFTER taking a redundancy from the public service in 2014, Shane Stark began collecting records, which quickly got out of hand.

“I started life as a record dealer,” he says.

“I spent the first several years on the road, buying and selling vinyls, and I was meeting all of these crazy, weird and wonderful characters.

“So, just for the benefit of my friends and family, I started writing diary entries about the people I was meeting, and the stories they shared.”

Shane, of Queanbeyan, says he always knew he had good writing ability, but never knew how to channel it.

“I ended up with a shop space to sell my records eventually, in Dirty Janes, and I thought about writing a book,” he says.

“I didn’t really know where to start, but I knew I had written all these diary entries too, and there seemed to be a record associated with each of them.

“I thought I could write some other stories from other parts of my life, that were connected to records through moments and memories, and I ended up with 50 meaningful short stories.”

“Might As Well Be Me” is the name of Shane’s book ‒ launching on November 30 ‒ and he says he’s very happy with the finished product.

The book includes stories about celebrity encounters, horror stories, hopeless attempts at romance and travel stories.

Shane, 52, says it’s a story of his unconventional life, the ups and downs.

“Majority of the chapters are quite funny really, but my favourite chapter is on my late brother, Craig,” he says.

“He was just this amazing guy, there’s a record link to him as well, and I’ve dedicated the book to him, so I think it’s a really nice way, at the end, to finish the book.

“My parents will love it, too; they know I’ve written about him. He suffered a random heart failure, so of course I think it will be very upsetting for them and other people to read.

“Besides, I know he would have had a go at me if he didn’t get his own chapter.”

Shane’s parents are in Newcastle, but he says his life is in Canberra at the moment.

“I have my record shop in Dirty Janes, and demand is pretty high and consistent,” he says.

“I’m always chasing my tail, running around like a headless chicken trying to find enough good records to keep up stock.

“It is a rollercoaster of an industry, I love it though. I often find myself laughing, rolling my eyes and horrified all in the same day.”

But, what keeps him passionate is the music.

“I am always discovering something new about music, finding music I’ve never heard before or rediscovering music,” he says.

“It really is an addiction, I have too many favourites to list.

“Music is just beautiful, some of my favourite bands include Spy vs Spy, Journey and Del Amitri.”

The first record Shane bought was a compilation album when he was a kid, but the first actual album was Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet”.

“It features in one of the early chapters of my book, working at McDonald’s we’d have it turned all the way up as we cleaned,” he says.

“The book only took me about nine months to put together, I already had all the diary entry stories, I just had to make sure I tidied them all up and put in my own share of stories.

“I think my book will resonate with a lot of people, because so much of our lives ‒ memories, events, special moments, emotions, highs and lows ‒ can be traced through the music that was playing at the time.

“Sometimes it’s the music that actually helps embed our memories into our souls, whether we’re aware of it at the time or not.”

Shane says his book is being launched on November 30 at Paperchain Bookshop in Manuka at 5pm.

“I’ll be at the launch for people who may want to meet me and get a signed copy,” he says.

“There will be another book launch at Dirty Janes on December 2 at 11am.”

“Might As Well Be Me”, available through Amazon, Pegasus Publishers and Booktopia.