The Dead Beat (Audible Audio Edition) Marilyn Johnson, HarperAudio Books
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Marilyn Johnson was enthralled by the remarkable lives that were marching out of this world - so she sought out the best obits in the English language and the people who spent their lives writing about the dead. She surveyed the darkest corners of Internet chat rooms and made a pilgrimage to London to savor the most caustic and literate obits of all. Now she leads us on a compelling journey into the cult and culture behind the obituary page and the unusual lives we don't quite appreciate until they're gone.
The Dead Beat (Audible Audio Edition) Marilyn Johnson, HarperAudio Books
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The Dead Beat (Audible Audio Edition) Marilyn Johnson, HarperAudio Books Reviews
Fun read, but not for everyone.
I love reading obituaries and one part I liked was when obituary writers have a conference they are pleased if someone famous dies during the course of the meetings such as Ronald Reagan. Who but the most dedicated obituary reader could understand the joy? Also loved comparison of various obituary writer's style.
This is a beautiful book! I have read it now three times and am always impressed how some of these writers of obituaries have been able to put a person's life and times in a few short poignant words.
This history of obituary journalism fascinated me. "The evil that men do lives after them," unless a great obituary keeps the "the good" from being "interred with their bones," and Marilyn Johnson reveals how those writers who keep memories alive came to do their jobs. Well-written obituaries, far from dry bones lists of a family tree, enlighten and enliven the reader and actually make the dead our acquaintances, or, when at their best, our new-found friends. Johnson goes further by doing the same for the writers who transformed that facet of journalism.
This work contains great obituary material from primarily US media sources, and by some of the greatest obituary writers in the nation. I was not really aware of this specialized form of writing as so structured and competitive, with annual obit writers meetings and near-worshipful reverence for the best and brightest, and most eccentric. While some of the digressions about writers went on a bit too long, the writer eventually pulled back to yet another rich vein about the creation of this most personal of professional writing skills, and with heart-warming, hilarious, or simply fascinating examples from actual obits to illustrate her points. Highly recommended reading for those who love obits, or wordcraft in general.
I enjoy reading obituaries. Every day, after studying the weather page in the paper, the first thing I look at are the obits. Not the "son of x, husband of y" type obits but the ones that celebrate a life, not the death. I enjoy reading these little mini-biographies of everyday people who've accomplished something out of the ordinary or even those who haven't.
Apparently, as detailed in this terrific book, I'm not the only one who feels this way. The author talks to well-known obit writers and obit fans, and looks at trends in this area.
This book isn't for everyone but I absolutely loved it.
When I took a job as an obit writer last September I researched books to read beforehand to prepare myself. This book was one of the first I picked up and was extremely helpful. A lot of people see obit writers as morbid or as having an awful job, but this book showcases the greatest parts of it.
Johnson researched the best in the business, has interviews down with beautiful sideline information, and shows journalists who have done the hard jobs before and now have immense pleasure in writing obits. She shows the laughter that comes from memories shared, the beauty in writing about someone's life, and the clubs of obit readers who have formed. Highly recommend this book!
After reading and thoroughly enjoying Marilyn Johnson's This Book is Overdue, I just had to read The Dead Beat Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries. What a fun, quirky and informative book!
Before reading The Dead Beat, I didn't realize that the reading of obituaries has become such a cult. Johnson calls obituary readers "members of the Church of Obituaries" and compares them to heroin addicts. "Like poetry, obituaries have had their flower period and their bleak period and their modern period." But I was surprised to discover that "we are living in the Golden Age of the Obituary...Our own glorious era has been a time of expansion, innovation, entertainment, and world-class one-upmanship. In one generation, a boring, moldy old form has sprung to life." I was especially pleased to discover that a local newspaper, The Philadelphia Daily News, led the charge with obituary writers Jim Nicholson and Leon Taylor.
Johnson tells us everything we always wanted to know about obituaries, and then some. She talks to writers and editors, she attends the Annual Great Obituary Writers' International Conference, she belongs to internet sites, takes part in internet forums, and she reads obituaries from all over the globe. She gives examples of her favorite obits that run the gamut from moving and poignant to funny and irreverent. She also tells us how obituaries have become more personalized and how newspapers no longer reserve obituaries for just the rich and famous.
After reading both of Marilyn Johnson's books (and also hearing her speak recently at the Free Library of Philadelphia), she has become one of my favorite non-fiction writers. So she better start writing a third book real soon or her fans will be disappointed!
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