Jayson’s Reviews > The Woman in Me > Status Update
Jayson
is 20% done
Notes:
(1) In addition to being full of personality, the start of the book, up to the account of her birth, is beautifully written.
- Even just reading the two-paragraph prologue, I already have a far greater sense of Britney Spears the person than I ever did of Meghan Markle in the entirety of Prince Harry's "Spare"—2023's other blockbuster memoir.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 18, 2024 06:30AM
Notes:
(1) In addition to being full of personality, the start of the book, up to the account of her birth, is beautifully written.
- Even just reading the two-paragraph prologue, I already have a far greater sense of Britney Spears the person than I ever did of Meghan Markle in the entirety of Prince Harry's "Spare"—2023's other blockbuster memoir.
(Continued in comments)
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Jayson’s Previous Updates
Jayson
is 97% done
Britney met husband Hesam on the set of her "Slumber Party" video
Notes:
(1) "The timing of the end of the conservatorship was perfect for our relationship; we were able to establish a new life together, without limitations, and get married."
- An unfortunately ironic line about "perfect timing." This book came out just as her marriage ended.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 22, 2024 03:15AM
Britney met husband Hesam on the set of her "Slumber Party" video
Notes:
(1) "The timing of the end of the conservatorship was perfect for our relationship; we were able to establish a new life together, without limitations, and get married."
- An unfortunately ironic line about "perfect timing." This book came out just as her marriage ended.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is 86% done
Notes:
(1) "When I’d sung the song 'Overprotected' so many years earlier, I’d had no idea what overprotection was. I’d learn soon, because once I made it clear that I wasn’t going to keep doing Vegas, my family made me disappear."
- Once we get to the Las Vegas section, the book morphs into a kind of dystopia.
- Suddenly, Britney's Katniss Everdeen.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 21, 2024 11:30PM
Notes:
(1) "When I’d sung the song 'Overprotected' so many years earlier, I’d had no idea what overprotection was. I’d learn soon, because once I made it clear that I wasn’t going to keep doing Vegas, my family made me disappear."
- Once we get to the Las Vegas section, the book morphs into a kind of dystopia.
- Suddenly, Britney's Katniss Everdeen.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is 69% done
Notes:
(1) "As parents we’re always telling our children, 'Stay safe. Don’t do this; don’t do that.' But even though safety is the most important thing, I also think it’s important to ... feel liberated, to be fearless and experience everything the world has to offer."
- Fine advice... if it wasn't about nearly driving a car off the edge of a cliff.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 21, 2024 01:30AM
Notes:
(1) "As parents we’re always telling our children, 'Stay safe. Don’t do this; don’t do that.' But even though safety is the most important thing, I also think it’s important to ... feel liberated, to be fearless and experience everything the world has to offer."
- Fine advice... if it wasn't about nearly driving a car off the edge of a cliff.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is 54% done
Notes:
(1) "[Kevin Federline] was getting ready to shoot the cover for his album. He was in the studio all the time. He really thought he was a rapper now. Bless his heart—because he did take it so seriously."
- LOL! Britney low-key trashing K-Fed's rap career is so far the best thing about this book!
- The "bless his heart" really twists the knife.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 20, 2024 07:30AM
Notes:
(1) "[Kevin Federline] was getting ready to shoot the cover for his album. He was in the studio all the time. He really thought he was a rapper now. Bless his heart—because he did take it so seriously."
- LOL! Britney low-key trashing K-Fed's rap career is so far the best thing about this book!
- The "bless his heart" really twists the knife.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is 40% done
Notes:
(1) Britney likes to describe herself as "innocent" a lot.
- Every time she does I can't help but think, "But you're 'not that innocent,' you told us so!"
(2) Wow! Apparently, Justin Timberlake's a real scumbag! I'd have never guessed.
- Their relationship sort of reminds me of Charles and Diana: he openly cheats on her, so she cheats on him.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 19, 2024 08:40AM
Notes:
(1) Britney likes to describe herself as "innocent" a lot.
- Every time she does I can't help but think, "But you're 'not that innocent,' you told us so!"
(2) Wow! Apparently, Justin Timberlake's a real scumbag! I'd have never guessed.
- Their relationship sort of reminds me of Charles and Diana: he openly cheats on her, so she cheats on him.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is starting
Notes:
(1) So, I didn't plan to read this now. I had a library hold with an estimated wait of 6-18 weeks, but somehow managed to snag a skip-the-line copy.
- The trade-off is I only have 7 (now 6) days to finish this. Which shouldn't be a problem, but it's still a major risk.
(2) This should check off my "non-fiction" and "recent mega-bestseller" reading goals for the year.
— Jan 17, 2024 12:10AM
Notes:
(1) So, I didn't plan to read this now. I had a library hold with an estimated wait of 6-18 weeks, but somehow managed to snag a skip-the-line copy.
- The trade-off is I only have 7 (now 6) days to finish this. Which shouldn't be a problem, but it's still a major risk.
(2) This should check off my "non-fiction" and "recent mega-bestseller" reading goals for the year.
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(6) & (7)…Damn! I’m gonna have to read this. Her public self of being timid and innocent really made me think she had no personality.
Whitney wrote: "(6) & (7)…Damn! I’m gonna have to read this. Her public self of being timid and innocent really made me think she had no personality."It's an interesting read, especially if you're a fan. I'm familiar with her early stuff, but never paid much attention to her after her first two albums.
Her having crushes and romances with much older guys at 13, or even younger, is a thing she brings up several times. I can almost understand it from a small town perspective, where population is small and there's not much choice in dating, but it's still icky as heck.
Same as you, I always thought she was the good one of the bunch, especially after Christina started her "Dirrty" phase. I suppose when she said she's "not that innocent" we should have believed her.
Jayson wrote: "Whitney wrote: "(6) & (7)…Damn! I’m gonna have to read this. Her public self of being timid and innocent really made me think she had no personality."It's an interesting read, especially if you'r..."
Hahaha, right, she did say that.
Whitney wrote: "Hahaha, right, she did say that."She didn't exactly try to hide it. Her whole "virginity" phase was a lot of mixed-messaging.
(2) "When I was alone with my thoughts, my mind filled with worries and fears. Music stopped the noise, made me feel confident, and took me to a pure place of expressing myself exactly as I wanted to be seen and heard. Singing took me into the presence of the divine."
- Britney writes at length about her family history of alcoholism and abuse, stretching back several generations. It's seemingly a chain reaction that might explain her stranger, more erratic public moments, though she herself makes no direct connection.
- The whole idea of performing as a way to escape personal chaos and exert some control over life can be a bit cliché, but she writes with enough warts-and-all honesty that it really does work here.
- In contrast to some other autobiographies I've read, she's not trashing her family. You get the sense that all this is written with love and not mean-spiritedness.
(3) This being a musician's memoir, it starts off with a section about what singing means to her. It's the best written portion of the book, which makes sense since you'd want to make the best first impression, if anything for the sake of juicing up free preview chapters.
- The book, however, does settle down into more straightforward and plain-spoken stories. Once she steps into the picture, and the sordid family history's over, the book feels less special. Though, it's no chore to read—I actually have to make an effort to stop.
(4) For some reason, it's always fascinating to me when famous people meet other famous people when they're not famous.
- Britney Spears and Natalie Portman being co-understudies for an off-Broadway musical feels like such a weird pairing.
(5) "By thirteen, I was drinking with my mom and smoking with my friends. I had my first cigarette at my one 'bad' friend's house."
- Given her family history, I suspected that bad habits and vices might be passed down from parent to child. It's just strange to hear of a parent directly encouraging those vices, and at such a young age.
- Her mom does have a major problem with Britney smoking, so there's at least that, though she's a smoker herself—they're both Virginia Slims girls.
(6) "The night before we recorded '… Baby One More Time,' I was listening to Soft Cell’s 'Tainted Love' and fell in love with that sound. I stayed up late so that I’d go into the studio tired, my voice fried. It worked. When I sang, it came out gravelly in a way that sounded more mature and sexier."
- All the cigarette smoking probably helped that too, to be honest.
- Sure, that's why you stayed up so late.
- Next time I listen to that song, I'm going to have to pay attention for that.
(7) Britney loses her virginity at 13 to her 17 year-old boyfriend.
- So, that whole bit about still being a virgin was totally bogus, eh? I feel so disillusioned!