New Book Review: My First "One Bar" Rating

New Book Review: I hate to give bad reviews to a book, but you need to be warned. I added this, my first "one star" rating, to www.platinumyears.net today:

Leap!: What Will We Do with the Rest of Our Lives?, by Sara Davidson - When I first envisioned a book review section for this site, I thought it would be cool to give ratings from one to five, and use platinum bars rather than the usual stars. But then I started arguing with myself (don't you ever do that?), reasoning that I'd never use the "one bar" rating because I wouldn't waste the time reading such drivel.


Well I was wrong. Leap earns my very first, and I hope last, one bar rating. Do not waste time or money on this book. Where do I begin to tell you why? Well, for starters, the title itself is false advertising, for it doesn't even attempt to answer the question of "what will we do with the rest of our lives," which is what duped me into attempting to read it in the first place. The sub-sub-title, "Reflections from the Boomer Generation," is much more accurate.


As all the bios tell you, thirty years ago, Sara Davidson wrote the bestseller Loose Change, which tracked the travels of three '60s Berkeley radicals. It is apparent, from her interviews, that she has never really left either the Berkeley/Hollywood culture or the 60's mentality. Her chapter titles employ cute 60's song titles like "19th Nervous Breakdown," and "The Long and Winding Road." There are lots of interviews with Hollywood-types and hangers-on, some of whom by the way, liberally employ the "F-Bomb," which I can live with, I guess, when a person is saying something worthwhile... but they're not.


The other reason I'm including Leap among my book reviews is that it is a good example of how the Amazon "star" rating system can throw you off... because a lot of people looooved this book, giving it five stars, and if you don't read what they're saying, and go by the overall "star" rating, or the fact that it's being advertised through AARP publications, you might be enticed to buy it. At least promise me you'll read the "one star" reviews as well... they're very entertaining... and if you still buy it, don't say I didn't warn you.


Note to Self: When Platinum Living comes out, make sure to get a bunch of your friends to write five star reviews.

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