kf smith

Not Revolutionary But Still Helpful

Revisado: 04-29-25

This guide to more effective living for people with ADHD has some helpful tips, but most of the content is originally from other ADHD books and the author adds her two cents.

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Stories From A Storied Life

Revisado: 04-20-25

Graydon Carter seems like a nice guy. A self-identified “beta male,” he helmed Vanity Fair during its glory days in the 90s, and managed to carve out the life he dreamed of during his boyhood in the Canadian wilds, which included: living in New York, helming a magazine, being happily married and having a throng of kids. I’m sure the best stories from his career are the ones he’ll never tell publicly, but he does dish up some dirt, including his contentious association with Vogue’s Anna Wintour, and his four-decades feud with Donald Trump. This memoir isn’t a throw-you-down-the-stairs, holy shit, how-did-he-survive? type of affair, its just really about a nice guy, who is sort-of an outsider and becomes an insider without growing a dorsal fin. It’s also a requiem for the Magazine Age in America, which has been displaced by the Social Media Age. The death of American legacy media isn’t just about the loss of ad revenue or end of post-collegiate employment for the scions of industry, it’s also meant the death of a certain standard of decorum and decency. RIP.

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I Wanted to Love This Book

Revisado: 04-09-25

I wanted to love this book. I wanna applaud Cherry and anyone who completes and publishes a memoir. I wanna toast women who successfully combine motherhood and a career in the arts. I want to hold up women who run with the wolves, who are unique and have something to say, and don’t fit the mold laid out by the patriarchy. Cherry is kinda these things. But she also comes across as bratty, entitled, smug, elitist, and out of touch with her own immense privilege. What I found missing most from the memoir is an honest appraisal of her role in the musical industrial complex. Cherry’s pop stardom was more a result of being the scion of two global arts figures, rather than a function of her own talent, tenacity and hard work. And being cute and skinny and lighter complected than many of her peers in hip-hop got her on MTV and on magazine covers while countless female lyricists who were true pioneers in the art form languish in obscurity (and would not be able to get a handsome book deal like Cherry, three decades after her biggest hit). Yeah, we know the music industry is fickle and sexist and corrupt and not at all meritocratic. But it’s off putting to hear Cherry criticize the industry whose evil policies made her famous and rather wealthy despite quitting school at 14, getting pregnant by 17, and then staying home with her kids for 15 years and not releasing a single album. Her most genuine moment of clarity occurs toward the end of the book, after her mother’s passing, when she struggles with her own mental health. Then the smug satisfaction—of being the pretty rebel girl who always finds herself in the right place at the right time with the cool kids—falls away and she is raw and honest. I should mention that this book has gotten excellent reviews from everyone everywhere, so don’t take my critique as gospel—give it a listen and decide for yourself.

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In the end, all that will be left are cockroaches, plastic and Cher…

Revisado: 03-29-25

Volume 1 takes us from Cher’s auspicious origins as the daughter of a teen mom from an impoverished family (who was herself the daughter of a teen mom…) through her first hit single with boyfriend Sonny (when Cher was 16 and Sonny was 33) through the glory days in Bob Mackie goens on TV and in Vegas, the mansion in Beverly Hills, the birth of first child, Chaz, into divorce, financial ruin, husband #2, a second baby, another mansion or two, more shows in Vegas, a second divorce, more financial ruin and now, in her 30s, Cher longs to return to her first love, which she always believed would be the thing that would make her a star: ACTING. Except no one will cast her in anything substantial because all she’s ever done is camp. Ok, that’s all you get for now. If you want the rest of the story, you’ll have to wait for volume II. And here’s the thing: even if you know Cher’s story (which has been tabloid fodder since time immemorial), and even if you don’t love her music (which admittedly doesn’t hold up as well as other stalwarts from the era like Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks), Cher’s life story is richer, deeper and more dynamic than any acting role she’s everrrrrrr played. And with that, I’ll leave you on ice to wait for the second installment with the rest of us. NOTE: I took off one star for performance because Cher reads some of the content and has a female narrator read some of the content. They both do a decent job, it’s just that the voices cut in and out, with no logical explanation, so I had to acknowledge that. But narrative voices notwithstanding, i promise that you will not regret one of the 948 minutes you spend on this listen.

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Beautifully Written Memoir of Drag’s Premiere Queen…but We’re Gonna Need a Vol. 2!!!!!!

Revisado: 02-14-25

RuPaul has worked really hard on himself—and I’m not just talking wigs and fashion—he’s been in therapy and 12 Step programs, excavating pain/trauma and harvesting insight/empathy. The result is an elegantly written memoir about Ru’s early years, which is a MUST not only for anyone who is gay or nonbinary or has struggled with substances, but for anyone who is human, because this read is humorous and poignant. There are so many insightful quotes, but I think my favorite is “kindness is a sign of the highest form of intelligence.” MIC DROP. Factcheck: I met RuPaul back in 90s when I was a waitress at Yaffa Cafe in the East Village and Ru would come in a lot, and was ALWAYS more kind and gracious than you can imagine. Drag Race fans should know that the book outlines Ru’s mythical origins, and the timeline ends BEFORE his TV reign begins. No matter, it just means we’ll have to demand a Vol. 2.

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Fascinating Look At One of Music’s Most Influential Artists

Revisado: 01-28-25

What a crazy life! But did we expect anything different from the patriarch of the Family Stone? Definitely drugs played a critical role in his decline, but there is more than just a cautionary tale here. It’s a celebration of the glorious moments when Sly and the Family Stone were the hottest—and coolest musicians on the planet. Flawlessly read and engineered with magical musical interludes. There is a reason this book is showing up on everyone’s playlist and winning acclaim all over the place. Brought to us by Questlove, the musician, author, director, producer and now publisher who never fails to make magick.

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Insightful Essay from 1986

Revisado: 01-27-25

We’ve come a long way, baby. Seriously, if u listen to this essay originally published in 1986, you can hear reflections of an old world order which has morphed into something else. Absolutely worth a listen.

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Spend a Few Hours With Twyla

Revisado: 01-27-25

Simple practical advice you will use again and again: movement is life, and we are all dancers. As we age, we tend to get smaller in our movement. Don’t!

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What a Life!

Revisado: 01-26-25

Carter was unique, quirky and absolutely brilliant! In many ways, the press was unfair to him at the time, largely due to bias regarding his humble origins. But this man lived his truth every damn day. His presidency was far from perfect, but under his leadership, not a single shot was fired by American soldiers. Thats a major accomplishment. And then he spent the rest of his years as an elder statesman, waging world peace through the Carter Center’s programs, improving access to healthcare all over the world, and building homes with Habitat for Humanity. And when he wasn’t doing that, he was spending time with his loving wife, kids and grandkids in Plains, GA, painting pictures and crafting furniture in his workshop. What a life!

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Excellent Bio of the Greatest Rock Goddess

Revisado: 01-20-25

Well written and researched, this bio is a fascinating look at rock n’roll’s most dynamic, enigmatic and enduring frontwoman and songwriter. The reader does a mostly adequate job but I took off a star for some mispronounced words and exaggerated elocution of foreign words. In any case, this is a great listen. Ultra Stevie fans will not be disappointed, and initiates will surely be drawn into her magical milieu.

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