false 5444895 3 Julian Donahue is in love with his iPod. Each song that shuffles through “that greatest of all human inventions” triggers a memory. There are songs for the girls from when he was single; there’s the one for the day he met his wife-to-be, and another for the day his son was born. But when his family falls apart, even music loses its hold on him, and he has nothing. Until one snowy night in Brooklyn, when his life’s soundtrack–and life itself–starts to play again. He stumbles into a bar and sees Cait O’Dwyer, a flame-haired Irish rock singer, performing with her band, and a strange and unlikely love affair is ignited. Over the next few months, Julian and Cait’s passion for music and each other is played out, though they never meet. In cryptic emails, text messages, cell-phone videos, and lyrics posted on Cait’s website, they find something in their bizarre friendship that they cannot find anywhere else. Cait’s star is on the rise, and Julian gently guides her along her path to fame–but always from a distance–and she responds to the one voice who understands her, more than a fan but still less than a lover. As their feelings grow more feverish, keeping a safe distance becomes impossible. What follows is a love story and a uniquely heartbreaking dark comedy about obsession and loss. Called “one of the best writers in America” by The Washington Post, the bestselling author of Prague delivers his finest work yet in The Song Is You. It is a closely observed tale of love in the digital age that blurs the line between the longing for intimacy and the longing for oblivion. 5512481 7 4 2009 The Song Is You: A Novel total:432|5:65|4:141|3:134|2:71|1:21| 432 1454 1229 149 4 7 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 20:00:40 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 22:25:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 23:36:35 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 23:43:15 -0700 2009 1 The Song is You, reformed philanderer Julian pursues Cait, a musician half his age rising to fame on her regrettably named demo tape, Your Very Own Blithering Idiot. It's easy enough to predict how this one is going to go, because you've seen it before.

At its heart, the novel is Phili...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 13:32:51 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 13:57:53 -0700 2009
Howeve...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 12:24:51 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 15:07:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon May 25 13:01:57 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 09:41:55 -0700 2009 Salon.com interview with the author, all about how music affects the lives of individuals and where it stands in courtship, memory, etc...I was hoping the book would be even more fascinating. Instead, all that stuff ab...more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 22:00:19 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 09:30:58 -0700 2009 1
Unde...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 07:23:32 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 08:13:00 -0700 2009 Though critics praised Phillips's playful, clever prose, they diverged in their reactions to his latest novel. Some appreciated his portrait of electronic-age relationships, while others found it difficult to accept the "hokey and contrived" (New York Times) coupling of a creepy stalker an...

more...]]> 1 1 false false Thu Jun 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 01:14:33 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 16:43:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 3 false false Sun May 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 08:27:59 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 09:31:57 -0700 2009
on the surface, this seems like a love story. it is, in fact, a love story. its also a lust story, a sad story, and an unrequited love story.
...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 14:04:01 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 08:39:59 -0700 2009 Successful adman Julian Donahue has lost his way...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 16:23:04 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 11:37:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 08:59:03 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 16 14:57:06 -0700 2009 The Song Is You. It's not that I didn't expect to enjoy this, because I did, but I also expected to feel like it was missing a small something. That's how I felt about Prague and The Egyptologist, both works that I enjoyed, but ultimately finished feeling a te...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed May 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 08:16:47 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 10:23:34 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jul 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 13:03:11 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 15:47:42 -0700 2009
7/14: Finished this today because it was due and there are others waiting for it. Really had a tough time with this book although I was satisfied with the ending. When I pick up a book with rave reviews about the author, ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 29 05:56:13 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 16:20:21 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 05:56:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Aug 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 14:01:25 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 08:41:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 06:52:24 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 13:04:00 -0700 2009 The Song Is You by Arthur Phillips that I kept mine on while I read (it’s on at the moment). Like the main character, Julian Donahue, I set it to shuffle, leaving the song selection up to the digital wheel of fate, allowing it to offer up songs to fit the mo...more...]]> 3 2 false false Sat Apr 18 05:19:03 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 21:58:35 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Aug 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 21:02:12 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 16:53:23 -0700 2009
Arthur Phillips displays life's images and feelings in syncopated rhythms. He explores the peril of assigning meaning as the veils of reality lift and shift as his charact...more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed May 06 08:32:05 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 08:47:51 -0700 2009 more...]]>