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prettycoolbooks's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
I loved this book. Think Mary Roach, but on music. It was awesome. Conversational, informative and hilarious. I know about as much as the average person when it comes to classical music and I honestly grabbed this book cause the cover was so bright and fun. I LOVED this. I learned a ton, but in the 'my best friend told me' kinda way, and enjoyed the author's personal story of her journeys in the world of classical music. 100 % recommended!!!
ben_miller's review
4.0
In this book, there are no stupid questions. It's a smart, genuinely funny, haphazardly organized handbook to classical music that addresses topics as vast as the key pieces to listen to from every major musical era and as minute as where to sit at a concert and how to not be a dick to the other concertgoers.
It's also an episodic memoir of the author's own life in music: her childhood obsession, relentless training, and short-lived professional career. This was my favorite aspect; some of the anecdotes were hilarious, some were compelling in a TMZ kind of way, and a few were deeply moving.
The entire project here is to loosen the grip of snobbery and elitism on classical music, and she's as good as her word.
Exhibit A: In the final chapter she devotes a paragraph to tips on searching for classical music pieces on Spotify—you know, because they often have generic and unmemorable names. While I didn't necessarily need these tips, it struck me as really thoughtful. Knowing what to search for is a barrier that most insiders would never even consider, but could actually be quite a stumbling block for the newbie. I think that exemplifies the spirit of this book. Without dumbing down the material, it extends a helping hand to the masses.
I definitely skimmed some of the chapters, either because I was already pretty familiar with the topic or because I just wasn't that interested. But since it's as much a reference book as a narrative, I don't think that's a knock against it. Recommended for the classical-curious.
It's also an episodic memoir of the author's own life in music: her childhood obsession, relentless training, and short-lived professional career. This was my favorite aspect; some of the anecdotes were hilarious, some were compelling in a TMZ kind of way, and a few were deeply moving.
The entire project here is to loosen the grip of snobbery and elitism on classical music, and she's as good as her word.
Exhibit A: In the final chapter she devotes a paragraph to tips on searching for classical music pieces on Spotify—you know, because they often have generic and unmemorable names. While I didn't necessarily need these tips, it struck me as really thoughtful. Knowing what to search for is a barrier that most insiders would never even consider, but could actually be quite a stumbling block for the newbie. I think that exemplifies the spirit of this book. Without dumbing down the material, it extends a helping hand to the masses.
I definitely skimmed some of the chapters, either because I was already pretty familiar with the topic or because I just wasn't that interested. But since it's as much a reference book as a narrative, I don't think that's a knock against it. Recommended for the classical-curious.
themaggiemch's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.5
I started off really enjoying this book, but it slowly went downhill for me. I think that a large part of it can be chalked up to the fact that I'm not really the target audience for this book.
Let me start by saying, I am currently attending university studying bassoon performance in the hopes of one day becoming a symphonic musician. However, this book made me feel absolutely terrible about my career choice, as Rauch (an ex-musician) not only ridicules the lowly, black-wearing members of the orchestra, but also describes her existence as a musician in terms of absolute misery. Though I will conceded that being a classical musician isn't always a walk in the park, she skims over the moments of joy in order to focus on her moments of anger.
Not only that, but the chapters that DO focus on music are woefully random- why was there a whole chapter on wedding performances? Don't ask me. I also found myself skimming a lot of them, as I am a musician and already know a lot of the stuff she covered. Additionally, the jokes are (for the most part) unfunny, uncomfortable, and awkward.
Despite my grievances, I did take a few interesting tidbits out of the book that saved it from being even lower. However, if you're going to read this, be aware about what you're getting into!
Let me start by saying, I am currently attending university studying bassoon performance in the hopes of one day becoming a symphonic musician. However, this book made me feel absolutely terrible about my career choice, as Rauch (an ex-musician) not only ridicules the lowly, black-wearing members of the orchestra, but also describes her existence as a musician in terms of absolute misery. Though I will conceded that being a classical musician isn't always a walk in the park, she skims over the moments of joy in order to focus on her moments of anger.
Not only that, but the chapters that DO focus on music are woefully random- why was there a whole chapter on wedding performances? Don't ask me. I also found myself skimming a lot of them, as I am a musician and already know a lot of the stuff she covered. Additionally, the jokes are (for the most part) unfunny, uncomfortable, and awkward.
Despite my grievances, I did take a few interesting tidbits out of the book that saved it from being even lower. However, if you're going to read this, be aware about what you're getting into!
allie_rose's review against another edition
5.0
Humorous and heartfelt, this is really both a memoir and a book about classical music. But because she weaves the 2 parts in so seamlessly you don’t even really notice and are equally as engrossed in both parts. My “beach” read of the year