Tim Federle’s Life is Like a Musical appears to be targeted toward the audience for his Young Adult books, but the advice he offers up is pertinent to everyone.
Although many who read this book will know Federle as the author of popular books such as Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist and the Nate the Great series of books for young readers, Federle also happens to be a theatre professional – dancer, singer, actor, and much more.
In this witty, easy-to-digest book, Federle takes his observations on how to succeed (and how to be successful) in the Broadway theatre world and translates those observations to apply to everyday life. And he does it well.
Let’s be honest for a minute, though. Most of know how we’re supposed to behave and how the people around us are supposed to behave in return. But all it takes is one person’s snarky comment within ear shot to have us leave the path of how to behave and become a diva (and, yes, Federle addresses this).
Federle’s observations are spot on and he describes them simply and clearly, referencing a theatrical example (often using himself and his mistakes in a “I speak from experience here, kids” tone. It is charming, and his very NON-aggressive bearing is very relaxing and makes this a calm pleasure to read.
The chapters and examples are short – typically only two or three pages long each – making this the sort of book that you can either devour all at one time, or read a chapter or two then put it away for a bit and read another some time later. It also makes (sorry, Mr. Federle) great bathroom reading.
As I mentioned earlier, most of this is advice that really we already know (or should know) but don’t follow as much as we should and so I took a piece of advice to heart. Chapter 35 is titled “Write Fan Letters” and in it he offers the advice, “Never get so big that you stop admiring the efforts of others.” Damn, that’s good! And so I did it. I wrote an email to someone who’s lifetime of work I’ve admired and appreciated (that person being 85 years old). That person wrote back and I think we both felt very good about it. Thanks, Mr. Federle, it worked!
Looking for a good book? Life is Like a Musical by Tim Federle is a wonderful reminder/guide to how to get the most out of life and how to be the best you can be.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
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Life Is Like a Musical: How Broadway Can Help You Live Your Best Life
author: Tim Federle
publisher: Running Press
ISBN: 0762462647
hardcover, 224 pages
