Hey!
So it has been a minute since I’ve written a post here and I do have a few more coming. I think it’s mostly because I am trying to read too many books at once, if that’s believable to say. Currently, I am in the midst of three books and that’s just at the moment. I’m also about to sound like a cliche, but how is it almost the end of February already? Crazy, the first two months of the year have nearly already flown by and I still feel as if I’m getting my feet under me with the start of the new year.
Well, getting back to the topic at hand before I left for a short trip in January, Matt and I went to Book Off a used bookstore to trade in some books and get a few new ones. I found Turn Around Bright Eyes: a karaoke journey of starting over, falling in love, and finding your voice by Rob Sheffield. I was intrigued by the title so I thought why not? Little did I know that the paperback book had been abused with pages torn out and sold like a brand new copy. Yes, I did weep a bit when I saw the bits of paper that showed where pages were meant to be in the beginning 🙁
The book overall was a fun journey of Rob Sheffeld’s life so far. In case, you are wondering who Rob Sheffeld is, he was once a contributing writer to Rolling Stone magazine has written several other books around the same musical theme. To be honest until he mentioned that he was once a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, I wasn’t even sure I would have picked him out on the street, though I probably would tell you that I could recognize his writing from somewhere. I used to subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine in college when, it was still that weird 12 x 12 or so size instead of the current 8.5 x 11 or so? What’s the normal magazine size now?!?
Rob titles his chapters after song lyrics and song titles that remind me of the time when he found karaoke and the songs that he has loved to sing. Rob starts the book at the end where he is karaoke bar hopping with his wife and they are singing their way through their favorite songs. Flash backward in time to when Rob first came to New York and was introduced to karaoke which helped him through a rough patch in his life. As Rob walks you through the songs of his life and how he remembers karaoke and its origins in his life you somehow can’t help but relate to having similar memories or adventures with friends and family.
If you are a music enthusiast, followed Rob Sheffield’s career for a long time or are just intrigued by karaoke you will love this book. If not you’ll at least find a chapter or two interesting but would recommend you put the book down and trying something else. I’m pretty sure that I will be giving another one of Rob Sheffield’s book a chance in the near future. Let me know what you have been reading lately or what’s coming up next for you. I have a few more book reviews in the works in the next week that I can’t wait to tell you about 🙂
