Sunday, September 19, 2010

One of Those Many Shamelessly Bad Qualities of Mine

Purchased a Janis Joplin biography (Scars of a Sweet Paradise) by Alice Echols. Ummm, i don't really know how i'm supposed to feel. I don't know if my snobbery comes from mostly reading philosophy and psychology books or for having high expectations for Janis Joplin. But, the book is not doing it for me. An avid reader; 9 times out of 10, the first 3-10 pages will tell me if i'm going to like the book or not. I even made sure i read about the author so as not to be disappointed.
"[She] is a historian and cultural critic. She has taught at UCLA, USC, and Occidental College and has written for The Nation, The Village Voice and L.A. Weekly..."
With those kind of credentials, who wouldn't want to read what she has to say???
She criticizes Jerry Garcia within the first 2 pages of the Introduction and I feel like I'm reading a welcoming author to chapter books 4 pages in to the first chapter. I'm not saying i can't give this book a fair chance and i'm sure her facts are correct and in order but, even though i'm reading it for the facts and the history of this amazing woman, the way it's written has ALOT to do with that.
I'll let you know how this one turns out.....

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