Reviews

The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson

overlap's review against another edition

4.0

Nice topic. Dragged a bit 

moonshoespotter's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

2.0

I had a different expectation of this book than what it was. I was really interested in it but only towards the end for whatever reason I could not get into this book. I don't know if it's the writing style or what but it was nearly unfinished for me. 

biolexicon's review against another edition

3.0

Her writing is very clever, with the occasional brilliant turn of phrase so subtle I almost missed it, but I caught little nuggets of this cleverness and really enjoyed that.
The subject matter and the plot got a big boring and started to stagnate after a while though.

honeysuckledreamer's review against another edition

informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

tigerlipgloss's review against another edition

3.0

I thought the info would have more substance to it. 

karenleagermain's review against another edition

5.0

I found this book to be very important. After reading it, I had a greater appreciation for life. Specifically, an appreciation for the unique stories that everyone has to share and that make everyone special in their own way. I never realize that obituaries could be so interesting or even fun to read. I also didn't realize how much that they can vary depending on the writer and publication. It made me take notice of a part of the newpaper that I would normally overlook. The book also had several funny and touching moments. I highly recommend it to everyone.

spinstah's review against another edition

5.0

This was a wonderful read. I actually have a signed copy of this, purchased last year at the Maryland Library Association conference, at which Johnson spoke about her newer book, "This book is overdue!" What was really interesting was reading The Dead Beat knowing that it inspired her next book, as she stated she had a lot of help from libraries and librarians in compiling her work.

In any case, Johnson takes us into the weird and hyper-literate world of obituaries. We meet some of the obituarists who are considered to be among the best in the trade, hear above the inevitable message boards devoted to the topic, and find out how obituaries have morphed throughout the years. Sprinkled throughout are excerpts from fabulous obituaries about all kinds of people, written with care and an eye towards highlighting the weird and interesting things about every one of us. I highly recommend this if you are at all the curious type, or just like reading little jewels of lovely prose and scathingly subtle humor.

akenny614's review against another edition

4.0

As macabre as I am, it is strange that I do not read obits. This book made me want to start, which I think is the highest compliment you could pay. There is a whole underground obit scene that I was never aware of...people who read them everyday...people who look forward to the demise of others. But really, obits are a celebration of life rather than a study of death. Dead Beat made me appreciate this particular form of journalism, and in the rare chance that I have a newspaper in my hands, I will definitely sneak a peak.

bookherd's review against another edition

2.0

I picked up this book because the blurb on the cover said "An uplifting, joyous, life-affirming read for people who ordinarily steer clear of uplifting, joyous, life-affirming reads." My conclusion upon finishing is that I didn't need to read a whole book about the world of obituaries and the people who love them. Marilyn Johnson writes about the structure of obituaries, the various styles of obits and the papers that run them. She introduces us to the obituary writers she admires and the people who influenced them. Throughout, she provides many examples of obituaries, all fascinating. Her style is lively and witty. She's aware that her subject may seem a little off the wall, but she defends it well, saying that a good obituary distills what is unique about a person, so that some little piece of her will be preserved after she has died.

My problem with all of this is that I would have liked the book so much better if it had been a long essay instead. I lost patience in the chapter near the end where Johnson describes the hours she spends on the Usenet message board alt.obituaries. I wanted to reach into the book, pull her out of her chair and make her go outside. In other words, she didn't convert me to her obituary obsession--and there's nothing really wrong with that. There was just too much of this book for my taste.

betsyrisen's review against another edition

5.0

The cover of this books reads thusly: This publication, proudly sent forth under the title of The Dead Beat, will gratify the reader with a survey both humorous and poignant, of the wonders enfolded in the pages of an ordinary newspaper, and including many marvelous tales relating to lost souls, lucky stiffs, and the perverse pleasures of obituaries as witnessed and faithfully recorded by Marilyn Johnson.

I mean, come on. While I'm not a faithful daily reader of the obits, I do peruse them in the less than 10 minutes it takes me to read the local paper daily, and I do make note of the ones I enjoy most (and yes, it's very possible to enjoy obituaries). I've also had my hand in writing a few of them, and after reading this book, am starting to feel like I should take a stab at my own.

Part Odd Jobs, part Remembrance, I enjoyed this book immensely.