Reviews
Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: A True Story of Faking It in Hair Metal L.A. by Anne Thomas Soffee
susanatwestofmars's review against another edition
3.0
I have lots of thoughts about this, but mostly, I was kind of left wondering what's the point. It's a fun read, it took me back in time, but at the end of it, I just sat there and went, "So? What's the point? That LA chewed up all these people and spat 'em out? That Anne couldn't adapt to a changing time? That... what????"
I thought memoir was supposed to be enlightening, to be about the big lesson. This is what literary agent Janet Reid has to say about memoir:
A memoir is more than about what happened, a recitation of events.
A good memoir evokes feeling and provides illumination, and inspires us even if only in small ways.
And not just to people like you.
A good memoir does that for people who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.
So, yes, you've had an interesting life, but what does that mean for me?
What does that mean for those of you writing memoir?
Your query should focus less on the events of your life, and give more page time to how it will resonate with other people. You must answer the question "Why should anyone read this?" with something other than "It's interesting" or "because it's a great story."
...and I find myself going, "This was a great story and it was interesting, especially because my life could have been Anne's: I was a music nerd in college. I have a BA and MFA in creative writing. I considered being a journalist. I may not have run into rock stars in my grocery, but I did the college radio thing (after a stint on the retail end) and hung with guys in bands and wanted to make the music industry my life and...
"I'm still not getting the point here. Why was this more than interesting or a great story?"
Sigh. I wanted that illumination. I really did.
But it WAS a great, if sad, story.
I thought memoir was supposed to be enlightening, to be about the big lesson. This is what literary agent Janet Reid has to say about memoir:
A memoir is more than about what happened, a recitation of events.
A good memoir evokes feeling and provides illumination, and inspires us even if only in small ways.
And not just to people like you.
A good memoir does that for people who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.
So, yes, you've had an interesting life, but what does that mean for me?
What does that mean for those of you writing memoir?
Your query should focus less on the events of your life, and give more page time to how it will resonate with other people. You must answer the question "Why should anyone read this?" with something other than "It's interesting" or "because it's a great story."
...and I find myself going, "This was a great story and it was interesting, especially because my life could have been Anne's: I was a music nerd in college. I have a BA and MFA in creative writing. I considered being a journalist. I may not have run into rock stars in my grocery, but I did the college radio thing (after a stint on the retail end) and hung with guys in bands and wanted to make the music industry my life and...
"I'm still not getting the point here. Why was this more than interesting or a great story?"
Sigh. I wanted that illumination. I really did.
But it WAS a great, if sad, story.
clairesersun's review against another edition
4.0
It was really good. I read it for school and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.
piratekelly's review against another edition
4.0
Soffee is suprisingly honest and funny in recounting her life. Nerd Girl is a great book about how someone's life was changed by the L.A. scene.
b1llz1lla's review against another edition
5.0
Man, Anne Thomas Soffee can write an engaging book; I want to be her when I grow up.
Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City is the autobiographical tale of Anne's dream of becomming a rock journalist. She chucks everything after high school in RIchmond, Virginia and heads for L.A., clips in hand from the free weekly newspaper for which she wrote music reviews. She hopes to find a job in the biz, and also has an encouraging letter from the editor at a music magazine in L.A. telling her to stop by their offices if she's ever in Los Angeles. Well, she does, but as with so many stories that start out this way, the jobs she gets aren't quite what she's hoping for. She details her experiences at Iggy Pop and Danzig concerts along the way, and how she keeps running into Glen Danzig in her neighborhood -- the grocery store, sitting at a stoplight, etc.) so often that she's afraid he'll think she's stalking him.
The tale is set in L.A. during the late eighties, when hair metal still ruled, but change (in the form of the grunge scene) was on the horizon. Eventually, her naive dreams tarnished by reality, she finds herself taking solace in booze and anti-depressants. Despite this turn, Anne's writing is irrepressibly upbeat, and the story does have a more or less happy ending (after all, the story in Snake Hips takes place after the action in Nerd Girl.)
I highly recommend Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City to anyone with an interest in pop culture, the music scene, or just plain entertaining writing.
Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City is the autobiographical tale of Anne's dream of becomming a rock journalist. She chucks everything after high school in RIchmond, Virginia and heads for L.A., clips in hand from the free weekly newspaper for which she wrote music reviews. She hopes to find a job in the biz, and also has an encouraging letter from the editor at a music magazine in L.A. telling her to stop by their offices if she's ever in Los Angeles. Well, she does, but as with so many stories that start out this way, the jobs she gets aren't quite what she's hoping for. She details her experiences at Iggy Pop and Danzig concerts along the way, and how she keeps running into Glen Danzig in her neighborhood -- the grocery store, sitting at a stoplight, etc.) so often that she's afraid he'll think she's stalking him.
The tale is set in L.A. during the late eighties, when hair metal still ruled, but change (in the form of the grunge scene) was on the horizon. Eventually, her naive dreams tarnished by reality, she finds herself taking solace in booze and anti-depressants. Despite this turn, Anne's writing is irrepressibly upbeat, and the story does have a more or less happy ending (after all, the story in Snake Hips takes place after the action in Nerd Girl.)
I highly recommend Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City to anyone with an interest in pop culture, the music scene, or just plain entertaining writing.
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