Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation by Sheila Weller Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation
Book Review: Not a Boomer but definitely a fan...
Summary: 5 Stars
I couldn't put this book down. I'm a 29-year-old who has been a Joni Mitchell fan since early high school when one of my mom's friends turned me onto her. My life was never quite the same, of course, and I'm not sure I'd like to know who I might be without the influence of her music, poetry, and general lifestyle.
A good friend recommended this book. I had seen it reviewed somewhere, but honestly wasn't that interested in reading about Carly Simon or Carole King. I could understand Carole King's importance in the music industry, but Carly? She just wasn't on my radar.
I certainly got an education. Reading about the lives of these women and their journeys in music was thrilling and often painful. I feel like I understand much better the decades that were the 60s and 70s in regard to women's issues. I also learned about Carly Simon's serious contributions to pop music, Carole King's astounding body of work, and, of course, I got loads of fabulous insight into Joni Mitchell.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in an in-depth, thought-provoking look at three formidable female musicians who "plowed the road" for the likes of singer-songwriters such as Tori Amos, P.J. Harvey, and a host of other women in the music business that owe much to their elders.
Book Review: Impossible to put down
Summary: 5 Stars
You didn't have to grow up when Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon dominated the airwaves to appreciate this compelling book. Sheila Weller has done an incredible job of weaving together the stories of these influential and talented women into not only a highly readable history of their lives and music, but into an emotional and penetrating portrait of an era and a generation that is as welcoming and inclusive and resonant as the music itself. A labor of love that is truly more than the sum of its parts. Play their albums while you read for the complete 3D experience!Book Review: Sadly disappointing
Summary: 1 Stars
I have never written a "bad" review on Amazon-when I write a review I do so both to acknowledge the author's accomplishment and to alert other readers to a potentially enjoyable book.
So I debated quite a bit before writing this but I would hate to see others spend their money for this book without being forewarned.
What a great concept for a book!!!! For those of us who grew up in that era, a book about Joni, Carole and Carly is such a captivating subject. And the author clearly had done significant research not just in uncovering so much detail about the three singer songwriters but also truly capturing the era both from the perspective of the music scene and the changing role of women at that time in history.
Two factors, however, made this book the most difficult, unenjoyable reading experience that I have had in recent memory. First of all, the organization of the book was incredibly confusing and difficult to follow. Chapters jumped from person to person in the loosest of chronological order making following each women's story near impossible. I was constantly shifting back and forth trying to piece the information together in some logical pattern. Worse than the structure, though, was the actual writing. Sentences went on forever. Thoughts, references and opinions were jumbled together randomly with no apparent connection. Rather than finding the footnotes helpful, I found them distracting and incomplete. Where were the editors for this book? It is hard to imagine that this book was allowed to be released without someone questioning the convoluted, heavy writing and structure.
I brought this book on vacation so had several hours at a time to read. Frankly, it unfortunately became a chore rather than a pleasure but I was determined to finish and can report that not only did the book not improve, but the author rushed through the later years so quickly that I did not feel a sense of closure.
Truly a disappointment.
Book Review: Thank you for taking the time to pull our history together
Summary: 5 Stars
For women - and men - who both participated in and reflected upon breakout feminist musicianship, this book comes with a soundtrack you will discover you have embedded in your minds and hearts. While reading, I was taken back to dancing and singing in the den of my parents' house with my friend to "I feel the earth move." I remember going to a James Taylor concert in Boston Garden with Carol King opening for him. I sat again in my college dorm with friends singing and aching to Blue, and I remember wondering who "Your so vain" was really about. At that time, I didnt know anything about these women or even imagine what their lives were like, I was too consumed with living mine and indulging in the freedoms they offered to girls like us. Girls Like Us is a great journey back and into the harsh and joyful reality of talent and hard earned success. I now feel more appreciative and compassionate for what theses brave women created for this world.I love this book for its historical analysis, social commentary, and touching insights into three amazing musicians. I recommend it without reservation to any man or woman who ever listened to, envied, sang along with, were inspired by, or wondered about King, Mitchell, Simon and their gifted circle of friends.Book Review: Sing Along with Mitchell & Carole & Carly
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're old enough to have been singing along with the "Girls Like Us" - Carole King, Joni Mitchell & Carly Simon - , then you are probably old enough to remember the TV program *Sing Along with Mitch* (Miller and his gang.) In that TV program, probably a precursor of karaoke, there were words printed on your TV screen and you would "follow the bouncing ball" that bounced merrily along on top of the words as each was being sung.
Sheila Weeler's book on the "girls" needs a bouncing ball to keep track of where she is, and which "girl" is doing what with which boy (often men were serialized through the gambit of the "girls.")
Loosely chronologically organized by "girl"- e.g. a beginning chapter on each, then "Carole: 1961 - 1964," "Joni: 1961 - Early 1965," Carly 1961 - Late 1965," then Coming Around Again to "Carole: 1964 - Early 1969," "Joni: March 1965 - December 1967," Carly 1965 - 1969" etc.etc., the book chronicles the saga of these singer/songwriters in the context of the times - sometimes to great length - almost ad nauseum, and sometimes to short shrift. Weller is at her worst when she pretends to be a music critic and starts opining her own (often odd) meaning to the now-interwoven-tapestry-of-our-own-lives words "the girls" wrote and sang.
Over-all the book is informative, sometimes to too-oft repeated choruses due to Weller's "organization*" of the material, and sometimes downright mystifying - as when the reader is told that James Taylor thought Carly was messin' around with Mick because of Jagger's guest appearance "adding his unmistakable cracking voice" on the "Don't you? Don't you?"s in the recording of *You're So Vain.*
This reviewer has gone back and relistened to YSV repeatedly, & I can't find Mick! Maybe because my Momma was right and listening to all that loud music *DID* ruin my hearing? ;-) /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer
* There is no bouncing ball, but there is a poorly organized index in the back.