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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
I LOVED this book! It was like High Fidelity of the 2000's discussing better music with a larger range of emotion. Granted, I'm obsessed with mixtapes, but I thought of this book on the treadmill, in my sleep, and when I was supposed to be working... I give it my highest recommendation!
Rob Sheffield and his wife Renee, met because of music. They shared a passion for music, loved writing about it, discussing it, and watching live shows. They also loved the lost art of the mix tape. They apparently had mix tapes for everything. Washing dishes, road trips, school dances--the moments of their lives are inextricably linked to the songs they love. After Renee's tragic death after only five years of marriage, Rob writes essays reflecting on their life together, his youth, and the years of his grief.
I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to pop culture. I've always preferred to have my nose in a book, instead of going to school dances, watching TV, or reading pop magazines. But I've made my share of mix tapes (and later, mix CDs). So this title caught my eye.
Rob is about a decade older than I am but I still knew some of his cultural touchstones. The first playlist had me worried. I wasn't familiar with any of the songs. Were these going to be exclusively musicians from independent labels that only the true music lovers--the initiated--were familiar with? No. To my relief, he also mentions Nirvana, Pearl Jam, even Hanson. So this mix tape is truly mixed.
The essays are reflective. I almost felt that I was listening to the author read his journal to me. He truly loves Renee, an Appalachian girl like me. His shock, grief, and loss resonate from the book. But he's also got enough perspective at the time of writing to appreciate and dwell on the good times. He writes about her family, which resonated with me. There's a lot of musical talent in the Southern Appalachians, and my family has its share. He writes about the painful reality of middle school dances. He writes about watching couples together in Walmart late at night and missing being a part of a couple of himself.
Sheffield reads the audiobook and I was happy with that. I don't know that I would actively seek out another book read by him, but it's only fitting that such a personal journey through love and grief should be shared in his own voice.
Music aficionados will enjoy this a bit more than I did, but I do recommend it to anyone who's looking for a quiet reflection on love and loss.
I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to pop culture. I've always preferred to have my nose in a book, instead of going to school dances, watching TV, or reading pop magazines. But I've made my share of mix tapes (and later, mix CDs). So this title caught my eye.
Rob is about a decade older than I am but I still knew some of his cultural touchstones. The first playlist had me worried. I wasn't familiar with any of the songs. Were these going to be exclusively musicians from independent labels that only the true music lovers--the initiated--were familiar with? No. To my relief, he also mentions Nirvana, Pearl Jam, even Hanson. So this mix tape is truly mixed.
The essays are reflective. I almost felt that I was listening to the author read his journal to me. He truly loves Renee, an Appalachian girl like me. His shock, grief, and loss resonate from the book. But he's also got enough perspective at the time of writing to appreciate and dwell on the good times. He writes about her family, which resonated with me. There's a lot of musical talent in the Southern Appalachians, and my family has its share. He writes about the painful reality of middle school dances. He writes about watching couples together in Walmart late at night and missing being a part of a couple of himself.
Sheffield reads the audiobook and I was happy with that. I don't know that I would actively seek out another book read by him, but it's only fitting that such a personal journey through love and grief should be shared in his own voice.
Music aficionados will enjoy this a bit more than I did, but I do recommend it to anyone who's looking for a quiet reflection on love and loss.
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I can't say I'd have gone for this without being given it by a pretty girl, but that's not to say it wasn't worth the time. I found that, as my life gets more defined by and my thoughts tend so often now toward romance, it's not unhelpful to have a cache of an essayist's beautiful prose in your back pocket. Plus, it encouraged me to call playlists mixtapes. Pretty cool shit, even if I haven't heard of any but six of the bands
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt
Minor: Misogyny
started and finished in one sitting, and boy did it take me through a journey! I recognize rob sheffield’s name through the many times he’s raved about my personal favorite artists through his writing in rolling stone, so it was just lovely to read something so personal in an impactful way
Super sweet and sad. Renée would love this book and the way her husband immortalizes her in these pages. The author writes with vulnerability & paints his love as a fun, sensitive, honest, smart, deeply interesting ray of sunshine. He made it easy to really feel love for her too, and subsequently the loss of her. Sheffield uses humour at just the right time which helped to sustain emotional energy for me lol. Anchoring the story through mixtapes from Sheffield’s life is a really engaging aspect of the book, and it’s relatable to anyone who intuitively connects music to memories. Music is so powerful and this is a book that reminds us of the sheer magic of it. I also loved how technology grew with time, and how much of a real period piece this book is. It’s a special story and a very telling part of history.