urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:_fictionbitch_ the fiction bitch the fiction bitch 2007-03-07T06:09:13Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:_fictionbitch_:17576 2007-03-07T06:01:54Z 2007-03-07T06:09:13Z <b>Book:</b> 32<br /><b>Title:</b> <i>On Michael Jackson</i><br /><b>Author:</b> Margo Jefferson<br /><b>Genre:</b> Social science, cultural studies, biography<br /><b>One-sentence summary:</b> This is at once a biography of Michael Jackson, though not at all a comprehensive or chronological one, and an analysis of his impact on society, society's perception of him, and the social and personal roots of both his talents and his pathologies.<br /><b>Why did you get this book?</b> I find Michael Jackson to be a fascinating cultural phenomenon, honestly: both who/what he is, and what society wants him to be/has made him into. <br /><b>Do you like the cover?</b> Silver text on a white background? Sure, whatever. I guess it's a nice little link between Jackson's shiny larger-than-life persona and the this-is-a-serious-cultural-analysis-not-some-pop-biography tone the book is going for. <br /><b>Did you enjoy the book?</b> I did. Jefferson's a great writer and her observations are astute. I wish she would have delved more deeply into them, though - the book is short and I felt like though everything she said was true and insightful, there was a lot more to be said, a lot deeper she could have gone. But it was quite good. <br /><b>Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again?</b> Yes, and yes, if she wrote something else I was interested in.<br /><b>Are you keeping it or passing it on?</b> Keeping it. No idea where to shelve it though. Cultural studies? Biography? I have no idea. <br /><b>Anything else?</b> I actually do feel like I understand Michael Jackson a little better, having read this book. And I consider that no small feat. Nice job, Margo Jefferson. <br /><b>Scale of 1 to 10:</b> 8/9<br /><b>Number of pages:</b> 146<br /><b>Total pages for the year:</b> 9207