Marc Shapiro

The Secret Life of E.L. James, eh?

What's the secret?

That she's actually fully literate? Because her writing would suggest otherwise.

That she didn't just find out about sex? Okay, well, she's a mother so obviously she didn't, and it's not secret. But, again, going by her writing one has to wonder.

Okay, how about she did more than read other people's fan fiction and watch movies as "research" about BDSM? Well, I think we all know the answer to that.

Does she have a shred of integrity?

Any show more ethics to speak of?

Or morals, like, at all?

Does she even know where the Pacific Northwest is?

Does she care about any human being other than herself?

Maybe cares that she insulted the people who helped her get where she is?

Does she know what domestic abuse is?

If she does, is she okay with it?

Is she seriously so heinous she truly feels like she was forced into, and wasted time, writing several thousand God-awful words for charity? CHILDREN'S CHARITY.

Or maybe the secret is the extent to which she stole from those other fan fictions and movies, outside of the characters, plot, and scenes with words changed she took directly from Twilight?

Maybe it's how much work went into all that stealing, and then the simply changing slight details and claiming it's original work? I'm sure that was so difficult for her.

But I think the number one secret we would all love the answer to is: What, exactly, were the terms of the deal with Satan that resulted in the inexplicable popularity and improbable financial success of such a poorly written, porn without plot Twilight fan fiction?


If any of the above questions were adequately addressed, honestly, I'd maybe consider reading this as it's on NetGalley. But from what I've seen it's just another sycophantic cash-grab that has the audacity to compare ELJ to real authors, with talent, who write original fiction, and dismiss all criticisms against this woman claiming that we would all do what ELJ did.

Sorry, Mr. Shapiro, if you've discovered you have a similar lack of ethics and integrity you'll have to deal with that on your own. Don't speak for the rest of us.

If you're looking for actual truth, read through some of these links. show less

I loved Jenni Rivera. I love her music. To me she was a strong Latina. She empowered women. She gave the impression she really cared about her fans. This book confirmed that. I felt that it gave a true accounting of Jenni. Jenni Rivera, like all of us, was not a perfect person. The book does not try to make her one. She was someone who made mistakes but got back up and kept going. This is what I took from her music. I was happy to see that in this book about her. I would recommend this book show more to not only fans of Jenni but to those curious about who she was. It is an interesting and fast read. show less

Beatle Wives by Marc Shapiro is a light read but one that fills a void. Well-written and mostly even-handed, this will entertain and either fill a few information gaps or bring back things you'd forgotten.

First, I know there is a temptation, especially for those of us who grew up on The Beatles, to run out all of our Beatle credentials. When we first heard them, which of them we may have met, how many of the volumes of books, good and bad, we've read. Fine, yes, I qualify on all counts as a show more big fan, enough said, who cares.

This book is less about being full of startling new information (did anyone reasonably expect that?) than it is about bringing together all of the little quotes from various sources, almost exclusively as footnotes to the stories about the band, into one (or several) coherent narratives. Shapiro succeeds quite well at this. Many of us have probably heard or read most of the separate pieces of info. But most of us couldn't have given useful biographical sketches of most of the women. Thus the void this book fills, they are front and center even in the sections that highlight what one of the band members did.

I enjoyed learning and/or being reminded of things and looking back at those years from a different perspective. I was particularly interested in learning what some of these women did once they managed to escape the craziness of Beatlemania, well, to the extent an ex-wife of a Beatle can escape it.

I would recommend this to Beatle fans who are more interested in reading about the wives and less concerned with posturing as Beatle know-it-alls. I would think that for those who only know the group from their music as oldies that this would be an interesting glimpse behind the scenes (so to speak) of what superstardom was before the advent of social media. The things that could be kept secret and the news that spread considerably slower.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

George Harrison comes across as a dark, rather moody person in this biography.
He was always known as the quiet Beatle and I can see how, always being behind the signwriting talents of the Lennon/McCartney partnership would leave one frustrated!

Certainly, if this is a true reflection of George, he is the archetypal example of the fame and money don't lead to happiness argument.

A good read.