Love Is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield (#48, Reader's Choice)

Apparently I have become a glutton for books having to do with getting over people/breaking up/end of relationships. If you read High Fidelity and enjoyed it--which I did--you should definitely pick up Rob Sheffield's Love Is a Mix Tape. The first chapter of this book was sublime. I loved the writing and the pop references, and I made the decision based on the first chapter that I should send this book to my ex-boyfriend. After reading the entire thing though, I am not sure he would really enjoy it. I had a hard time with some of the chapters that were a bit too technical about the music. He also tended to meander sometimes, but all in all, it was a book about a boy who loves a girl. It is about the music that tied them together, the music that formed the foundation for their relationship, the music Renee left behind for him when she died suddenly of pulmonary embolism.

Reading this book made me want to go back and catalog all my mix tapes (well--cds because no one really makes mix tapes anymore) and see what the songs are that made up my time with Andy. I found it extremely touching when Sheffield would write about the songs he heard after Renee had passed that he wanted to share with her because he was sure she would like them. Music really is an integral part of a relationship, especially when you share the same musical taste. It really is exciting and fun when you find a song that you love and that you really want to share with the other person because you know full well that they will love the song too. Andy once described to me the time he found the song Dark Blue by Jack's Mannequin--how excited he was to share it with me, how he played it over and over again at his computer so that it would be on when I came home from work. He was positive that I would like it and I did.

Only two more books left. The scary thing is that there are only four days in which to read these two books. One false move, one bad pick and disaster could strike. Any book chosen this late in the game has to be read fully and it has to be read quickly. Now is not the time to pick something stale and boring--you will never finish it in time. Now is not the time to pick something horrible because once you start reading you will have to just keep hacking away at it--there is no time to turn back once the spine has been cracked! I haven't made a commitment to my 49th book yet but I will be flying back to Maine for most of the day so that gives me ample time to get through whatever book I choose.