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: Painful
Summary: 1 Stars
Let me begin by giving credit where credit is due: this is a great idea for a book, and if you were going to write a book like this, I can't imagine assigning a researcher with any more zeal than Sheila Weller.
Unfortunately, the poor woman simply can not write.
Having grown up in the era described, the forced veneer of social commentary contained nothing new to me, but could be instructive for those of a more tender age. But having grown up in the era described, I can tell you that the three subjects of this book had little if any commonality in terms of either their music, or their relation to the youth/feminist cultural awakening.
I don't want to belabor the point, but Ms. Weller must understand that there is no extra credit awarded for the greatest number of parenthetical statements, unsubstantiated conclusions, or incredibly bloated sentences.
As has been stated in another review, the ultimate crime here is the absence of an editor--at least one familiar with the English language. The underlying structure of the book is all wrong; contined forced lurches between the three subjects is literary whiplash. The reader is much better off streaming together every third chapter to link the story of one of the individual singers. It is honestly difficult to believe that anyone associated with a sub-brand of Simon and Shuster really read this.
Which leads to my personal conspiracy theory. Given that Carly Simon's father was one half of that publishing house, I can imagine a conversation in which the author pitched her idea for a book on Mitchell and King to an editor who answered, "not unless you also include Richard's kid--and if you do, we'll agree to print every last thing you put in your rough draft."
And they did.
Book Review: Needs a good edit!
Summary: 2 Stars
If ever a book needed a good edit; this is it. The book reads like a history of the music business as well as a history of the times, but the way the author structures it, she makes it extremely difficult to keep track of all the players in the lives of the three main protagonists.
Honestly, I wanted to enjoy this book and I did find many of the anecdotes interesting, but I couldn't possibly recommend this to anyone because I know it ends up reading more like an assignment. What a disappointment!
Book Review: Awesome worth the long read.
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this book worth the long read. These women are great, mysterious, and foundation makers. Would recommend it to all women.Book Review: Didn't live up to the hype
Summary: 2 Stars
This book was entertaining and interesting, but only if you are hard-core fans of the three women it is about. The jacket proclaims it is also the "Journey of a Generation"...not really. It reads like a glorifed People article.
It should be telling that not one of the women the book was written about gave an interview to the author. Also like others have commented, there are parts where important things are mentioned and then never touched on again, and the reverse, some fact is casually mentioned as if an entire previous chapter had been written about it leaving you wondering, "Did I miss something?"
Book Review: Fascinating Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Like a flashback to the '60s and '70s - Weller weaves social history and commentary in with the backgrounds, trials, tribulations, and triumphs that shaped these trailblazing women and the impact they had on our lives and the music world. It is so interesting to learn of the inter-relationships between these women and so many other musicians, songwriters, producers and others. It's a great read and I can hardly put it down. Although I'm only halfway through, I know it will be the type of book that I'll be sorry when it ends.