Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
"How do you turn down the volume on your personal drama earphones and learn how to listen to other people? How do you jump off moving train, makred Yourself, and jump onto a train moving in the opposite direction, marked Everybody Else?"
Touching, but I'm surprised I didn't love it more than I did it. Not the greatest writing.
Touching, but I'm surprised I didn't love it more than I did it. Not the greatest writing.
I laid in the grass playing every song as Rob Sheffield would mention it. The beauty of this book is that if you want to dive inside of it you can. I adored the concept. I adored the love story within a story not about love at all, but all that music can bestow upon your life. I commend Sheffield's memory in recalling moments of his life with such grave detail. I don't know why this was such a haunting read for me, but it will stay with me for some time. I still drive over bridges and think, bridges ice first because they stand alone, not because of what they're made out of. I am also indebted to this book for enlightening me to the song Thirteen, which I had a love affair with for weeks as it accompanied me to get my morning coffee. So much love for a piece of literature.
Oh man, I really loved this book. Sheffield is a music encyclopedia in human form and I couldn't get enough of the music and popular culture references throughout the book.
The bottom line here is that music brings people together and is there for us in our happiest and darkest times. It's pretty amazing how we associate certain songs with people we've met and events in our lifetime. Sheffield soundtracks meeting his wife, falling in love, building a life with her and suddenly losing her with perfectly curated mixtapes featuring classics from Al Green to The Rolling Stones, '90s rock from Nirvana to Pavement and the pleasantly unexpected Hanson, RuPaul and Missy Elliot. Some advice to anyone thinking about picking this book up... keep a box of tissues close by.
There are a couple Spotify playlists that feature every song mentioned in the book. Highly recommend listening while you're reading.
The bottom line here is that music brings people together and is there for us in our happiest and darkest times. It's pretty amazing how we associate certain songs with people we've met and events in our lifetime. Sheffield soundtracks meeting his wife, falling in love, building a life with her and suddenly losing her with perfectly curated mixtapes featuring classics from Al Green to The Rolling Stones, '90s rock from Nirvana to Pavement and the pleasantly unexpected Hanson, RuPaul and Missy Elliot. Some advice to anyone thinking about picking this book up... keep a box of tissues close by.
There are a couple Spotify playlists that feature every song mentioned in the book. Highly recommend listening while you're reading.
This is the second time I've read Sheffield's musical memoir. It makes me feel so nostalgic, sad, and hopeful that it acts more as a method of catharsis than most of what I read.
The songs he shares from his mix tapes are the same ones that powered my late nights in college. His description of their apartment is not unlike the basement studio I shared with my husband when I was an undergrad and he was a grad student. This book is a bit of a time machine to the 90s, and all associated searching and confusion that came with faking adulthood then.
The song lists made me stop and replay old albums, hunt down cheesy videos on you tube, smile, cry, and shake my head.
The songs he shares from his mix tapes are the same ones that powered my late nights in college. His description of their apartment is not unlike the basement studio I shared with my husband when I was an undergrad and he was a grad student. This book is a bit of a time machine to the 90s, and all associated searching and confusion that came with faking adulthood then.
The song lists made me stop and replay old albums, hunt down cheesy videos on you tube, smile, cry, and shake my head.
I'm so glad I picked this one up. Sheffield's storytelling is effortless and satisfying in describing his experience with music, youth, finding his wife, and losing her too soon. The story makes you look down on the world at times when we wonder why good people can be so unlucky and what happens after we lose our person. Sheffield makes sure to catch you though, and he sternly explains that neither he nor his wife Renée would stay fixated on this sorrowful spiral for too long.
There's a lot of great conversations in here; I appreciated his words tackling the reality of young love, grief, kindness, and how our music influences us. Every chapter begins with a mixtape that he, Renée, or someone else made that connects to the time and events of that chapter. I'll be looking through all of these tapes thoroughly for the rest of the day, no doubt.
I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a memoir or a simply meaningful text with an honest, calm voice. I believe it was really important for Sheffield to write this, and it is a beautiful capturing of and tribute to Renée.
There's a lot of great conversations in here; I appreciated his words tackling the reality of young love, grief, kindness, and how our music influences us. Every chapter begins with a mixtape that he, Renée, or someone else made that connects to the time and events of that chapter. I'll be looking through all of these tapes thoroughly for the rest of the day, no doubt.
I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a memoir or a simply meaningful text with an honest, calm voice. I believe it was really important for Sheffield to write this, and it is a beautiful capturing of and tribute to Renée.
My generation's Love Story. Really enjoyed this one, and despite the fact that more than half of Sheffield's musical references were over my head, the book still moved me. Sheffield has written a manifesto for all us mix tape geeks and I thank him for it.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced