Learning to Sing Hearing the Music in Your Life by Clay Aiken

   I have to say, I didn't know a lot about Clay Aiken before the book. I remembered him losing and I remembered seeing him recently and thinking, "Yikes! Not so good." I'd also heard about him having a baby with his friend, something I don't mind saying I thought was a bad idea, not to mention selfish. I really thought it was yet another example of celebrities thinking about what they want while giving shockingly little thought to what would be good for the children in their lives. (Think names like Audio Science and Huggle Bunny Snufflewuffer. Okay, I made the second one up, but really, is it any worse than some of the others your thinking of right now?)
   Neither of the items on my current list of Clay Aiken knowledge were in the book.
   The book is disjointedly written. It is separated into topical chapters that are composed of short anecdotes that are supposed to relate to the musically themed chapter names. I didn't get the feeling that the chapters were meant to be a compilation of anecdotes though, which led to the disjointed feeling. I kept waiting for the stories to tie together, but they never seemed to quite do it. It was simply written and easily read; a good thing since I got tired of waiting to learn more.
   Here's the rub. Despite Aiken's best efforts, I ended up not liking him very much. The effort he expended to make the reader believe he's just folks became an example of he "doth protest" too much. There were times as a reader/observer that I did root for him/feel for him; there are instances in his life that make it impossible not to. Overall though, he spent so much time trying to pat himself on the back without letting the reader catch on that I walked away feeling insulted. A little more candor and I would have walked away feeling more respect for him.
   A side note: as a mother I found some of his stories of the treatment he was subjected to reprehensible. I don't understand the just plain meanness and torment that his mother allowed him to receive. It was difficult for me to learn; I could not share his enthusiasm for his mother after that. (Whether she acknowledged and apologized for it Clay Aiken doesn't say.)


Favorite Quote:

"Hard work is not a value you enjoy as you acquire it. But it is a value you come to appreciate later-and disdain the absence of in others."


Overall Opinion:

If you like it, it's easily read and the time passes quickly. If you don't like it, it's easily read and the time passes quickly.


Rating:

5