Too many intricate details of Smith’s past relationships and boilerplate clichés (e.g., why she won't date a man who listens...
Music writer Smith narrates a melodious road map with much autobiographical detail interwoven.
Despite its title, the self-taught “music obsessive” author’s debut is not a guide book; nor is it aimed specifically at female readers. Instead, it’s a hybrid: part collection of loosely related essays on the music industry, female rock stars and pop music in general; and part memoir, focusing on Smith’s particular tastes in music and how that music affects every aspect of her life, most specifically her dating life. The author’s experience in the industry, however overblown and self-aggrandizing (“I’ve been shaping the music you’ve listened to for a decade,” she declares), makes her extremely confident and knowledgeable about popular music, and there is much here that is both interesting and informative. But some of Smith’s material is disconcerting, such as defining people and events solely through the lens of pop music. Those who share similar tastes will enjoy the book; readers who don't will find the author aggravating (particularly while making sweeping generalizations about music she doesn't like) and boring.
Too many intricate details of Smith’s past relationships and boilerplate clichés (e.g., why she won't date a man who listens too often to The Smiths) make for an uneven collection of essays, ostensibly about music.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-50223-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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