crystalisreading's review
1.0
preview copy so I can blog about it for Thomas Nelson. time to get reading!
Dear God, this book is long and tedious! I'm only on page 154 out of 292, and I am really struggling to continue. but I said I would, so here goes another try. (rolls eyes)
Ok, six months later I am finished, and here's my thoughts: ugh! I like travel narratives. I like spiritual/ Christian reflections. I even thought I would find the memories of an important person in the music industry interesting. Well, turns out that when you mix them all together in one self indulgent book, I do not like any of them. There was never enough information about any of the places he visited, although the descriptions got better as he headed back into his home turf in the Northwestern US. The Christian/ spiritual reminisces were weird musings--example, he says when he prays to Jesus, it's like Jesus is sitting there right beside him, and he can imagine seeing him. Okay, good for you, dude. and the musical memories? turns out that if they are the memories of someone who wasn't famous himself, just someone behind the scenes, and a lot of the memories are about groups I've never even heard of before, being younger than the author by quite a few years, it is just, like one other review I read said, like looking at someone else's yearbook. In this case, the yearbook of someone who is, probably justifiably, very proud of his accomplishments. or is until the end of the book, until he realizes they aren't important. or something. I really don't know. I don't mean any personal insult to the author, but I really did not like this book. I would not have finished it at all if I had not agreed to read and review it for the publisher, and as it was, it took me absolutely months to force myself back to it and to the end. I guess I like my travel narrative to be about travel, not someone's personal issues or opinions. definitely not nebulously swirled in with chapters of spiritual musings and arcane musical history and name dropping. ick.
Dear God, this book is long and tedious! I'm only on page 154 out of 292, and I am really struggling to continue. but I said I would, so here goes another try. (rolls eyes)
Ok, six months later I am finished, and here's my thoughts: ugh! I like travel narratives. I like spiritual/ Christian reflections. I even thought I would find the memories of an important person in the music industry interesting. Well, turns out that when you mix them all together in one self indulgent book, I do not like any of them. There was never enough information about any of the places he visited, although the descriptions got better as he headed back into his home turf in the Northwestern US. The Christian/ spiritual reminisces were weird musings--example, he says when he prays to Jesus, it's like Jesus is sitting there right beside him, and he can imagine seeing him. Okay, good for you, dude. and the musical memories? turns out that if they are the memories of someone who wasn't famous himself, just someone behind the scenes, and a lot of the memories are about groups I've never even heard of before, being younger than the author by quite a few years, it is just, like one other review I read said, like looking at someone else's yearbook. In this case, the yearbook of someone who is, probably justifiably, very proud of his accomplishments. or is until the end of the book, until he realizes they aren't important. or something. I really don't know. I don't mean any personal insult to the author, but I really did not like this book. I would not have finished it at all if I had not agreed to read and review it for the publisher, and as it was, it took me absolutely months to force myself back to it and to the end. I guess I like my travel narrative to be about travel, not someone's personal issues or opinions. definitely not nebulously swirled in with chapters of spiritual musings and arcane musical history and name dropping. ick.
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