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shamelesslyash's review
4.0
I have to say this was a very very good read. Jake knows how to write and he doesn't leave anything out. Jake tells his life story from the beginning to the Scissor Sisters second album Ta-dah. I found it interesting that the book ends there as there is so much more that happens after this.
I do that Jake talks about his depression. He does go some what in-depth into how bad it gets which is nice to read because it's helping to normalize it.
I do hope Jake keeps writing, be it another book that continues this one or fiction or whatever he decides because I could read his writing everyday if possible.
I do that Jake talks about his depression. He does go some what in-depth into how bad it gets which is nice to read because it's helping to normalize it.
I do hope Jake keeps writing, be it another book that continues this one or fiction or whatever he decides because I could read his writing everyday if possible.
chrisvigilante's review
3.0
I liked this memoir. It was interesting to learn about how Jake Shears grew up. Especially during a scary time for gay people and seeing how that affected his coming out process and coming of age.
The story is broken up into sections. Early Life is a big section. Then the before the formation of Scissor Sisters and after.
I felt like the story just dragged at too many places. Some of the opening section dragged. The section where he is growing up. The section leading up to the formation of the scissor sisters too. it was a lot of repetition. A lot of info dumping that felt unnecessary. Also, name dropping that I didn't care for. Give me something more.
There wasn't enough perspective or enough introspection. What are we supposed to be getting out of this?
Still, it was an entertaining enough memoir.
The story is broken up into sections. Early Life is a big section. Then the before the formation of Scissor Sisters and after.
I felt like the story just dragged at too many places. Some of the opening section dragged. The section where he is growing up. The section leading up to the formation of the scissor sisters too. it was a lot of repetition. A lot of info dumping that felt unnecessary. Also, name dropping that I didn't care for. Give me something more.
There wasn't enough perspective or enough introspection. What are we supposed to be getting out of this?
Still, it was an entertaining enough memoir.
linziclaire's review
2.0
I've been trying to write this review since February when I failed to finish this book. The fact that I failed to finish it should tell you a lot about it. I got about half way through but just didn't care about the author's experiences. I thought that going into this book, I would enjoy it. A coming of age story in a time and place where people didn't do so readily? I'm in. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I listened to it as an audiobook.
I never felt the story unfolding. I always just felt like the author was telling a story he's told a million times. I never connected with the emotion of what should have been something incredibly intense. Somehow the book felt both cocky and whiny all at once. That alone is a relatively interesting thing to have accomplished in general.
As memoirs go, this one felt more like someone who people have been telling for years "OH EM GEE, you should TOTALLY write a memoir" when maybe they really shouldn't have. I really wanted to like this one. I wish that I had.
I never felt the story unfolding. I always just felt like the author was telling a story he's told a million times. I never connected with the emotion of what should have been something incredibly intense. Somehow the book felt both cocky and whiny all at once. That alone is a relatively interesting thing to have accomplished in general.
As memoirs go, this one felt more like someone who people have been telling for years "OH EM GEE, you should TOTALLY write a memoir" when maybe they really shouldn't have. I really wanted to like this one. I wish that I had.
sydneyb's review
4.0
I would give this 3.5 stars. I loved learning about Jake Shears and his time in the Scissor Sisters. I wish he had talked more about is feelings in certain times of his life and less about the sex he seemed to constantly be having throughout the book. There wasn't a lot on the Scissor Sisters which was a bummer. I would have loved to learn more about their rise to fame.
shamelesslyash's review against another edition
4.0
I have to say this was a very very good read. Jake knows how to write and he doesn't leave anything out. Jake tells his life story from the beginning to the Scissor Sisters second album Ta-dah. I found it interesting that the book ends there as there is so much more that happens after this.
I do that Jake talks about his depression. He does go some what in-depth into how bad it gets which is nice to read because it's helping to normalize it.
I do hope Jake keeps writing, be it another book that continues this one or fiction or whatever he decides because I could read his writing everyday if possible.
I do that Jake talks about his depression. He does go some what in-depth into how bad it gets which is nice to read because it's helping to normalize it.
I do hope Jake keeps writing, be it another book that continues this one or fiction or whatever he decides because I could read his writing everyday if possible.
catdad77a45's review
5.0
4.5, rounded up. This is a surprising book in many ways, not the least of which it isn't just the usual lame rock star autobiography - and Shears can really write. Given that he studied creative writing in college (he 'graduated', but never got his degree because he failed to turn in his final novella!), perhaps that shouldn't be such a surprise. And the majority of the book actually chronicles his years as a young, confused, bullied queer kid - the creation of his infamous band, Scissor Sisters, doesn't even happen until well over the halfway mark. Although many of these familiar tropes have been trotted out elsewhere - let's face it, most queer kids go through similar traumas - he still writes them in a refreshing and interesting fashion, and it gives insight into what transpires when he DOES become famous.
The latter part of the book does ALSO contain some typical elements about the rocky road to fame - drugs, sex and rock 'n roll figure prominently - and how success isn't always all it's cracked up to be; but anyone who - as I do - considers themselves to be a fan of SS will be entertained and enthralled by the gossipy tales. I devoured the 336 page book within a 24 hour period, so that alone is a testament to its power.
Sadly, the book ends rather abruptly around 2005, and I was HOPING for a detailed account of Shear's collaboration on the failed musical version of "Tales of the City' (which I saw in its premiere production in - where else? - San Francisco). But Shears hints that there MIGHT be a volume two chronicling the last dozen years - and I for one would be first in line to read it!
My sincere thanks to Atria Books and Ariele F. for their kind provision of an ARC in exchange for this honest review.
The latter part of the book does ALSO contain some typical elements about the rocky road to fame - drugs, sex and rock 'n roll figure prominently - and how success isn't always all it's cracked up to be; but anyone who - as I do - considers themselves to be a fan of SS will be entertained and enthralled by the gossipy tales. I devoured the 336 page book within a 24 hour period, so that alone is a testament to its power.
Sadly, the book ends rather abruptly around 2005, and I was HOPING for a detailed account of Shear's collaboration on the failed musical version of "Tales of the City' (which I saw in its premiere production in - where else? - San Francisco). But Shears hints that there MIGHT be a volume two chronicling the last dozen years - and I for one would be first in line to read it!
My sincere thanks to Atria Books and Ariele F. for their kind provision of an ARC in exchange for this honest review.
michaelkerr's review
3.0
3.5 stars. Samuel Butler once observed that "life is like playing the violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on." Most of us have probably felt this way at some point (or constantly), but Jake Shears captivating memoir is a truly great illustration of this quotation. A bullied gay kid, Shears used humour and performance as defence mechanisms. He stumbled and fumbled his way through his youth with no clear notion of where he was going - and it all could have gone so wrong at so many turns. Fortunately for us, he fell into music and found his way to the world stage. This is a well-done memoir and will be particularly enjoyed by those of us fascinated by pop culture.
modernmethod's review
3.0
Enjoyable read and page-turner of Jake Shears' early life, exploring his horizons in New York and the beginnings of Scissor Sisters. It captures the excitement of scouting out new music as teenager, his determination of becoming an artist and how he made it happen. There are some parts of his life that he touches on that I thought could have been explored further. It's very much written in his own voice and at times feels like he is speaking directly to the reader. 3.5/5 Stars.