Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield

This book was hanging out on the “new fiction” shelves at my local Barnes and Noble, and when I picked it up, I was hoping it was similar to a recent read I’d picked up at Half Price Books – <i>Liner Notes</i>. It wasn’t. First, it’s not fiction, but the autobiographical tale of the author’s life prior to, and during, his brief marriage to the first love of his life, a woman named Renee. Second, in this book the music isn’t incidental – it’s an integral part of the author’s personality, Renee’s personality, and the fabric of their relationship, cut short by her sudden death.

It is a beautiful book, never once becoming maudlin or depressing. Instead, it is as lyrical and uplifting as many of the tunes mentioned, albeit with a gritty backbeat only reality can provide.