I read this book for one reason - because Duran Duran has been my favorite band since 1983. I'd first heard of this book when it was featured in Barnes & Noble's book blog last year. The title alone had me asking for it for Christmas, and, surprisingly, I received it from my sister. I guess I shouldn't be too shocked, though, since she saw Duran Duran in concert along with me twice in the 1980s.The entire book is not about DD but the author's love of 1980s music and how it has played such an important part in his life. He's three years older than I so I'd heard of most of the music that he mentions. My entire teen years were spent in the '80s, and it was fun to remember forgotten bands, videos, and song lyrics that Sheffield mentions throughout the book.
To me, the best parts are the introduction and the final chapter because they are both all about DD. Sheffield considers himself a true fan and marvels that DD is still producing music when most of their contemporaries bit the dust long ago. (In fact, their latest album was just released last month.) In the final chapter he writes, "Duran Duran are a girls' band who have stayed famous by being true to their girls." As one of their girls, I agree! 269 pages.
I read that book in Dec. and loved it. I went through an intense DD phase in HS/College...I still like them but I'm not obsessive about them. Some of the other music he mentions really took me back.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Christa. I actually read your post when I was preparing this blog back in December.
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm finding reading through these blogs is adding a LOT of books to my reading list! This book sure was sweet without being too "gushy". Sure, let's invent some words while we are at it!
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