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Jessica J.'s Reviews > My Own Words
My Own Words
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I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm kind of disappointed. I don't think I'm going to rate it at all because my disappointment primarily stems from the fact that I expected this to be an actual memoir when it's really a collection of old writing and speeches, edited and introduced by official biographers. It's interesting enough, but I didn't get as much from it as I wanted because it was significantly less personal than I expected.
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September 12, 2016
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Started Reading
September 12, 2016
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September 19, 2016
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Gail
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Oct 03, 2016 08:06AM
ACK! I read this review and got SO excited, but seeing what you wrote here, maybe I WON'T be picking this one up!
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Some of the pieces were interesting, especially the ones pertaining to her marriage, but I was definitely expecting a MEMOIR and that's not what this was. It might be better suited for someone who knows more legal and inside political stuff than I do? Maybe skim the table of contents and see if any of the pieces sound like they'd be your thing?
I feel just the same. It somehow feels unfair to give it a low rating when the problem was my inaccurate expectation, rather than the content of the book, so I'm also going to record it as "read" with no rating.
Debstr wrote: "I feel just the same. It somehow feels unfair to give it a low rating when the problem was my inaccurate expectation, rather than the content of the book, so I'm also going to record it as "read" w..."Yes, Deb. I don't think it's "bad" or not well-done, but it wasn't as enjoyable to read as I'd hoped it would be when it was first announced.
I won't bother to review this book, because you said pretty much exactly what I was going to say.
Wish i had read your review before starting the book. Totally agree- wanted to love it but just couldn't get into it at all
Argh. I wish I had read your review before buying the book....I just started reading it and feel slightly disappointed, too.
BrokenTune wrote: "Argh. I wish I had read your review before buying the book....I just started reading it and feel slightly disappointed, too."I feel a little bad, but I'm waiting for the official biography!
Jessica wrote: "BrokenTune wrote: "Argh. I wish I had read your review before buying the book....I just started reading it and feel slightly disappointed, too."I feel a little bad, but I'm waiting for the offici..."
Maybe one not written by a multitude of authors, eh?
This book just feels a little all over the place.
Thank you for summing up my feelings. I went in expecting a memoir as well. I learned a lot but spent much of the book feeling like I didn't have the legal expertise needed to appreciate the book.
I totally agree. The title is misleading. It makes the book appear to be a memoir and while the letters are interesting and recount a lot of factual information I wish she or someone else had strung this together a bit more. It would be great for a report or research paper but not so much the average reader.
I agree! I had actually just commented on one of my friend’s reviews on “Notorious RBG� asking what it was like as I had bought both ebooks and the audible version of this and was very disappointed. I thought for sure I’d love it and while I think it’s narrated well as an audiobook the contents itself left something to be desired. Wish I would have read your review before purchasing!
The synopsis of the book clearly states it is a collection of writing and speeches. It doesn’t say memoir anywhere.
I read this before the publication date and so the synopsis didn't make it clear at that time. Also, when the book was first announced in the general media, they definitely framed it as a memoir, so that's what I expected going into it.
I wish I hadn’t spent my money on the book. I should have read reviews like yours before wasting my time and money.
same here, although i do enjoy reading her old writings. maybe she thought its not the time yet to write a memoir... I'm gonna assume we can expect one after she retires.
This was exactly my experience. I’m still glad I read it as there was an abundance of information I didn’t know and I had not read a lot of the speeches/opinions included, but I was also expecting more of a memoir, or at the very least more personal commentary from her.
I wish I had read your review before I started it!! You are so right.
I must agree with all of you. Although I’m happy that I did finish the book, I was looking for more of a biography. This was challenging to read because it was dry and clinical.
I really thought it would be a memoir too, and now that I'm 8 hours into the audio book with 5.5 hours left... I may as well finish it, but it's slow going. There are a lot of original audio recordings, which is kind of interesting, but I think if I would have just read the BOOK, I'd be done... it's only 300 some pages but the audio book is like 15 hours! I may not finish it.
Couldn’t agree more!
I haven’t read it yet. That is why I purchased thinking it would be a memoir. Thanks for the heads up. It arrives Friday.
Exactly how I feel. I gave up after 100 pages.
Ugh this is exactly how I'm feeling right now too. Even reading the intro you expect it to be a memoir. I am general not a fan of books that are just a collection of random essays.
Loved this accounting of her journey to the Supreme Court and her rulings and the recordings of her dissents.
I agree. Although there were some awesome things in this book about supporting women and empowering them, I really expected it to be her telling her life story, not a collection of her old works with narration by people she worked with.
I feel the same! If I was reading this I would not finish. However, I am listening to the audiobook and it is slightly more interesting because she speaks as well as her husband. He is funny!
I’ve only just started and felt a bit the same about how it’s put together. I want to hear Justice Ginsberg telling us about her life. I’ll soldier on.
I’m “listening� to the audiobook but have maybe absorbed a third of it. I wanted info about her life not minute details of court cases. However, I told myself I would stick it out for her speeches.
Exactly. I feel bad giving up on it, but it’s not working for me.
There were interesting parts, especially about her family, especially her husband, and her friendship with Scalia, but all the speeches and legal opinions were hard to get through.
That's how I'm feeling reading this Jessica Jeffers. I had great expectations hoping to learn about RBG, hear about her ground breaking rulings. But it's speeches, old articles, a lot of name dropping, and even parts of a play, which is disappointing. I chose the wrong RBG book. 🤷🏻♀�
I felt exactly the same. I was expecting something different, and felt like it was a bit all over the place.
I'll be reading this soon, so I'm glad I have a heads up. Thank you for posting!
My opinion exactly! I’m slogging through this. I hate to say� disappointed
Thank you! I wanted this book so bad, especially after seeing the movie and, I felt so disappointed.
Ugh yes. My exact struggle. So hard to get into and through!
Thank you. I'll choose a different title. I was looking for something written by her. Appreciate you!
