Turn Around Bright Eyes

July 1, 2013
In this hilariously affecting follow-up to his Love Is a Mix Tape and Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, Rolling Stone writer Sheffield sings us through his journey to rebuild his life with the help of good lovin’ and a hot karaoke machine. After the untimely death of his first wife, a bereft Sheffield moves from Charlottesville, Va., to New York City, where he casts about the streets of lower Manhattan in search of meaning in life; eventually, he remembers the joys of staying out late and discovers the healing power of karaoke bars and clubs. Sheffield regales us with tales of a world unknown to most of us, but precious to the faithful: there’s J.J., the guy in Brooklyn who gets paid for singing karaoke, and the bar in the Mojave Desert where Sheffield croons Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” to group of stone-faced, die-hard Haggard fans. Through it all, Sheffield discovers that karaoke creates community that provides universal support for everyone who tries to sing the songs. He is also hopelessly “obsessed with karaoke because it lets me do the one thing I’ve craved every minute of my life.” It lets him sing. He also learns that karaoke is there to remind us that it’s never too late to let a song ruin your life by shaking you out of your emotional doldrums. Agent: Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Literary.

March 15, 2013

In 2007's Love Is a Mix Tape, music journalist Sheffield envisioned 22 mix tapes to recount his relationship with wife Renee, who died suddenly in 1997. Now he returns to the years directly after Renee's death as he copes by moving to a new town and throwing himself into music, especially...karaoke? Mix Tape was a cult favorite; with a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 15, 2013
Rolling Stone contributing editor Sheffield (Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut, 2010, etc.) muses on love, loss, life, Rod Stewart, female Rush fans and much more in an homage to the art and attitude of karaoke. Moving to New York City in 2000 as a young widower--his wife died at age 31--Sheffield spent most of his time "in a catatonic stupor on my couch, caked in despair and Cheetos dust." Then he discovered karaoke and met Ally, the astronomer and fellow "rock-geek" he would later marry. Coming from a long line of Irishmen with bad voices, Sheffield found that in karaoke, perfection didn't matter, effort did: "It's a place where no-talents and low talents and too-low-for-zero-talents tolerate each other, even enjoy each other, as we commit brutal crimes of love against music." If perfection is missing, a shared community of momentary rock stardom and mutual support is not. So it was with Ally, his partner in karaoke obsession, but they were, and are, different people. In a long passage containing some solid marriage advice, Sheffield warns to "give up on the idea of perfection"--however, you must work at it. The author wanders far afield, from family memories to karaoke nights in a Florida senior living village to hilarious takes on music's biggest names--e.g., David Bowie was "the only rock star who ever pretended to be from outer space in order to seem less weird." Throughout, Sheffield returns to the theme of the mysterious ways music can bring people together, offering hope and renewal. Eschewing cynicism, the author writes with a seemingly effortless blend of evocative pathos and spot-on humor that moves and inspires. It's only rock 'n' roll writing, but Sheffield nails it.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2013
Part love story, part ode to music by a lifelong fan, this follow-up to the best-selling memoir Love Is a Mix Tape (2007) celebrates the weird world of karaoke. A young widower and writer for Rolling Stone, Sheffield finds in karaoke a way to climb out of his grief and even look to a new future. Like a hazy night where only the best songs stand out, Sheffield's ballad to karaoke hits the highlights of both the development of a cultural phenomenon and his own journey to living life again. It's a fun ramble, filled with ruminations on rock stars and stardom, along with his interactions with celebrities, and it's crammed with references that pop-music geeks will love. Sheffield doesn't just know about songs, he feels them and what they do to him, and his fervent writingpart disciple, part criticmakes you feel the music, too. His insights into music's importance for life and love are refreshing rather than cheesy. Overall, his deep wonderment at finding love again comes across as clearly as singing Forever's gonna start tonight. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)