The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This novel really spoke to me, music is something I’m truly passionate about so reading this was absolutely amazing! I like how he expresses himself throughout this story using not just words but music, music truly does help you tell other’s how your feeling, tell your story it’s an amazing book and I truly 100% couldn’t put it down highly recommend!
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a very different and unique book. I loved the way the author uses music and references to music as he goes through and describes his life.
It is a really interesting book of essays written by the author about aspects of his life. They are written with humour and sadness, heartbreak and love. Everything you read is full of emotion that you can’t help but feel like you know the author by the end of the book.
It’s different to any memoir I have read before which makes it very special and an enjoyable read.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane is about music and how music is always there in the background of life. For many, music gets you through different things or helps you celebrate. If you think of a time in your life, you can probably name the music that was playing. Alternately, you may here a song that transports you back to a different time and place in your life. This book is a collection of essays of different times in the authors life that music was at the core of his life.
Music has a lot of power and sometimes we don’t even realize it. This book isn’t something I normally would have read but I connected with it more than I expected. Music has helped me through some of the toughest things I’d ever have to go through so I definitely understand.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
P.A Kane introduces the idea of playlists of music and what story they can and will tell you during their journey and he should know, he has been creating them for years and on all the available and changing media throughout this time, but it isn’t just something any old person can throw together and there are rules to be followed, but also bent and broken. As you read through this book, you are taken on a journey through the playlist Kane has created to document his life and the experiences and the stories associated with the songs contained within it.
The book begins with a description of what a playlist is and the fundamentals of creating one, the rules, the do’s and don’ts, as well as how they can be creatively and emotionally satisfying. It also documents how the availability of music, the technology he used and uses and his perspective have changed and adapted over the years too.
The rest of the book is a series of essays which are attached to specific songs, it is written as a memoir and goes into incredible detail, both within the experiences and other pieces of music which complement or contrast with the title song and why. The experiences described are positive and negative in nature and some are harder to read than others, but it is done in such a way that even the most negative are brought to us as a way to encourage awareness and provoke thought and conversation around the subjects.
This is a biography, but not your usual run of the mill one, this one is a legacy of a life filled with revelation and the most important aspect is the music described within, it makes you feel like you are living in the moment being described and takes you to places you may never have experienced yourself, there is something in it for everyone and leads you on a musical discovery all at the same time.
Reviewed by @roxsannel
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Last Playlist: a sonic epitaph by P.A. Kane was a great read! Reading this autobiography (written for his kids) was like sitting in a room listening to a good friend talk to you. The words flowed effortlessly, and I found myself laughing throughout, while sympathizing and agreeing with a lot of what Kane had to say. This is also a great read if you love music. While this is an autobiography, this novel is also about 70% music, and I think it’s a great read for the music enthusiasts out there. This was a book I was hoping to like and I ended up loving it. I definitely recommend this book if you’re a fan of autobiographies and music also.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this up, but I knew I loved music and words so I dove in and gave it a go. I am glad that I did. While this is not the typical type of novel that I choose this was a nice departure and felt very refreshing to have something new. I will say this would be the perfect book for you if you love music. I see my life and am reminded by life so much with songs as well as books and this combined my love for both. In The Last Playlist we get the author’s story but told in ways of music and lyrics. I loved how personal that felt and by the time the book wrapped up I felt as if he could have been a long lost cousin. I enjoyed some of the profound thoughts he has gained and chose to share. I look forward to seeing what else is available from PA Kane in the near future.
Review by @lizaileen
View all my reviews
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of my favorite sayings is “When words fail, music takes over”. This book takes us on a journey through the playlist of the author. That is one of the most amazing aspects of music. Music can speak to your soul in ways no words can touch it. P.A. Kane takes us through playlists to show how it can be humorous, sad, romantic, and frightening. Kane takes you through different essays and you can see how music has a special place in your life.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane. This book is about music and music being the playlist of your life. Music gets us thru life, there is music that makes you happy, music that makes you sad, music that brings back memories and music that brings us all together. Its a collection of essays about event and times in P.A Kane’s life while music is at its core and the playlist of his life. This book made me realize that music at its core brings us all together whether we have political differences, monetary differences, or genetic differences. This book encourages us to make playlists for our lives about your thoughts, your emotions, your loves and losses. It teaches us that music is the ultimate healer if you accept it. This book will make you think, teach you things and help you learn to let music heal you.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Music plays such a large part in our lives. I really found this book to be fascinating and emotional as I dove into the individual thoughts/essays and explored the music that “played” throughout. Kane does a beautiful job putting this work together. I appreciate the introspection and emotion that obviously went into crafting this work. This memoir is definitely worthwhile.
Reviewed by @heatherlovelace
View all my reviews
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What can I say about The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane? There is so much boiling around in me right now. First and foremost, I loved it. I’m about five years older than Mr. Kane and I am a child of the sixties. So much of the music he uses flowed through my head. I was right back there, in that time, I could feel the sun on my face, smell the newly mown grass, and hear the children playing in the background. That’s the magic of music, it defines us in ways we cannot express, although Mr. Kane does an excellent job in this novel. I have to say, and you whoever you are can have your own opinion, Mr. Kane is a liberal and I am a conservative. What struck me most about this novel is how much alike we actually are. We recognize the same problems, we want solutions, we want justice for all, and we want freedom for all. But in this chaotic, super overcharged political climate we can’t listen to each other long enough to see how very similar we are. Our methods and theories on solving the problems are shaped by our life experiences. Mr. Kane doesn’t offer solutions in this book; he expresses what is in his heart and how his life experiences have shaped him. Oh, how I wish we could all just listen to each other and actually hear what is being said. Excellent job Mr. Kane, I wish I could give you more than five stars.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Takes us through the journey of music. This book is a collection of information it read like a dairy. I enjoyed reading about the song and how they were put together the experience which were given you can tell are personal. There is a lot of emotion and feelings written into this memior which fetches the audience in more.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane is a non-fictitious memoir of the author’s life played by music. He uses words and music to weave his story and the essence of his life. We all tend to see; smell hear something that reminds us of certain events in our lives and that is what PA has done with his story. It is an intriguing way to tell a story and he invites us to write our own stories in the same way. It is easy to see that his life is one of looking inward and reflection. Truly finding oneself is never easy but there is also so much more room for growth as we continue to reflect and age.
Reviewed by @jennadb
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5 Star
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane is a very inspiring story made up of several essays that shows us details of the authors life and how music helped shape it. I’m a huge fan of all sorts of music so I was very intrigued to read this book. I found myself lost in the pages and going along on this journey with the author. I lost all track of time and read in one afternoon. I truly enjoyed reading and I highly recommend reading it.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane is a great book made up of a collection of essays detailing the authors review into his own life and how it has been shaped through music. I loved how this whole book had a unique feel about it. It is completely different to everything I have read before and I really feel like it gave me a great insight into the person behind it. I loved how it was shaped based on music and playlists – being a big music fan this whole concept appealed to me and really piqued my interest more.
I think this is a brilliant collection and is one of those books I enjoyed way more than I thought I would. I would definitely recommend picking this one up today!
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a really interesting read. After reading the synopsis I was intrigued by what I would read and I was looking for something different so thought I would give it a go – overall I really enjoyed it. I think going in have no preconceived idea about what the book would entail meant I had a complete blank mind about it. The author definitely captured my interest form the beginning and the way in which the memoirs were presented made it really easy to read. I really felt like I knew the author after finishing to book. There was emotion in what I was reading and it definitely made it different knowing it was about the author’s life/feelings/emotions and not fiction.
Overall a really interesting and different read and I would recommend it to others.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3 ½ Stars
“I get a little excited when I start talking about playlists. In these pages you won’t find any transformational religious, political, or sexual experiences. You also won’t find a life-changing symbolic event resulting from a windy or tempestuous day. What you will find is a thoughtful rendering and reasonable analysis of some of the situations and events of my life along with a really good playlist.”
“Make your playlist personal. You are the artist here telling your story through music that has meaning to you. These mixes should be a collection of your thoughts and feelings and evoke memories of all that you’ve won and all that you’ve lost.”
“…music is everywhere. It’s in the grocery store and the dentist’s office as background noise. At a party or in a bar it’s part of the celebration. When a break-up or death occurs, it adds poignancy to pain. It’s everywhere. And as I’ve said, music is the prism through which I see life. You will soon learn as you go forward with this reading experience absent music, I could not form these letters, words, and concepts. Without judgment or recrimination, music has been my best teacher and friend. Life is always hard, sometimes unjust and often devoid of meaning, but it is my hope that in these pages you will feel the power of music to teach, heal and be a friend.”
The Last Playlist (A Sonic Epitaph) by P.A Kane is the author’s story- a journey through his life- with music at its core. This book is a collection of essays about events/periods of P.A Kane’s life which he then links to a song/music. He uses the song to partially narrate the essay and link the two together.
The essays cover many different periods in the author’s life, and many different topics- from growing up, to a social commentary of the times- with history, politics, life, death, humor, challenges, family, race, and much more- this book provided an interesting journey.
P.A Kane also provides some basic rules for making your own playlist- encouraging you to create something that speaks to you and reflects your life and feelings. His simple steps make it all seem quite easy- and had me itching to shuffle through my own collection of songs and albums.
A thought-provoking read.
Thank you, P.A Kane!
Reviewed by @angelahayes
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph
By P.A. Kane
5 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed reading the book The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane. I found it to be an intriguing story and I enjoyed the way that the author put together his last playlist while telling about what the songs are about and what they meant to him. I also enjoyed the personal experiences that are given. Some moments are heartbreaking, sad, heartwarming, as well as humorous. Some experiences must have been hard to write about. This is a story that had me thinking about it even after I had finished the final page. The author has a love of creating playlists that can’t be denied. I know a few of the songs on the playlist and by the end of the book, I found myself wanting to go to my favorite music site to listen to the ones that I didn’t. Don’t miss out on a story that has you taking a journey that is both musical and personal. I highly recommend reading it.
The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book. This is a collection of essays by this author that can be seen as inspiration and also sadness. The collection goes through this author’s life such as humor, romance and so much more. They are interesting and easy to read for the most part. Each essay is unique and different from each other. This is a great way to look at and learn about this author’s life. I highly recommend this book.
Review by @bjwagner
View all my reviews
~ ~ ~ ~ BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Growing up in a three bed/one bath house with nine siblings in Buffalo, New York it was a just the facts, assembly-line type of childhood. However, one day during my tumultuous teen years in the late seventies that all changed when my exhausted mom uncharacteristically asked several probing questions about how I was doing, what I wanted of life and how I was going to get there . . . totally confounding me. She was supposed to dish out commands and make declarative statements—take out the trash, don’t come home unless you’re bleeding, every time you masturbate it’s a hundred-years in purgatory. She wasn’t supposed ask articulate, inward looking questions. Self-examination and contemplation, was light years beyond my transactional existence.
Eventually, though, due to a certain amount of aimlessness and failure I did come to consider my mom’s questions and many more which led me to writing. Presently, I am the author of two novels Written In The Stars: The Book Of Molly (2016) and Leaving Jackson Wolf (2018) and now a book of essays, The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph.
Presently I live in West Seneca, New York with my wife and my son, who is taking his good ole time finishing his bachelor’s degree. I have a State University of New York background in English and I love trade paperbacks, quiet black mornings and The Ramones.
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P. A. Kane is a five star novel. Teenage angst runs rampant in this book and this is my guilty pleasure. I love young adult novels and actually prefer them. I was also drawn to this novel because of the intriguing cover. I don’t know what it is exactly but as soon as I saw the cover, I knew I needed to read this novel. I didn’t look at the synopsis or any reviews or anything before picking it up. I was right in knowing I needed to read this book. Jackson is a teenage boy with a love interest and trouble at school. As we get to know more about him, we find out about his mom leaving and his dad being a bully. No wonder Jackson tries standing up for his classmates who are being bullied. As the book progresses, Jackson and his friends navigate their lives and try to make themselves better people than the crappy role models they have had in the past.
Review by @julie-lounello
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane. This is a new to me author and I truly enjoyed this book. This is a coming of age book. Jackson and McDougal bond over a lot of negative things they have in common: bullies, being social outcasts and they both have drunks as fathers. All Jackson is trying to do is figure out his place in life.
This book will have you turning the pages unbelievably fast, trying to see what happens next. You are guaranteed to love this book and get choked up along the way. I can not wait to see what this author has up his sleeve next.
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf is the first book I have read by P.A. Kane. I would definitely read more, because I really enjoyed this story. It is short, but has so much deep content. It is a coming of age story, but with more intense content. It is the story of Jackson Wolf and James McDougal, two teenage boys who started a friendship over being bullied. During the story, other teens are introduced, and they each seem to bond over their drunk fathers and rough lives. Jackson is biracial and his mom split when he was young, and he is left with an alcoholic, abusive father. James is scrawny and smart, so bullied for being a nerd. They soon become each others shoulder to lean on while they both go through some rough times, including breakups and losses of friendships and family members. Jackson learns to find strength in the strangest of places and what started as a chance, and reluctant encounter, was the change in his life he needed.
Reviewed by @way2gosmartguy
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P. A. Kane
4-stars
This coming of age novel follows a young Jackson Wolf. He has several incidents that allow him to view life differently. He was a great main character and I really enjoyed following his story. It took me a little bit to get into the story but once I did it was hard to put down. Good book!
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
Four Stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf is a new coming of age/YA book by P.A. Kane. This is the first book I have read by P.A. Kane, and I love the powerful writing style emotional issues this author tackled in this story. This book deals with bullying, emotional abuse, and racial issues. This book follow Jackson Wolf and James McDougal, two boy that form an unlikely friendship when they are bullied in school. The boys find they have more in common, and bond through the hard times they find themselves in both in school and at home. The author brings up difficult issues, and does a great job letting readers feel the emotions running through these characters. I really enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to everyone looking for a short emotional read. I look forward to reading more books from P.A. Kane.
Reviewed by@sunbarn
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf is a brilliantly YA Coming of Age book by P.A. Kane. Kane is a new author to my list of authors. He has an amazing way of telling a story, He brings you into the story from the very first page until the last page. It seems to me that there are many Coming of Age stories and most of what I had read is about a girl/woman. Now that does not mean there aren’t any about boy/man but I have not found many of them. This story makes you think about things you may know about teenage boy/male struggles. Kane provides this insight and I am thankful he did write this book. This story was breath taking, tearful, and emotional. I would recommend reading this story with a box of tissues because you maybe surprise how a teenage boy sees the world.
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was a heck of a ride. I will warn you now there is no fairy tales here, no reminiscing over happy childhoods and not fond memories to be had really. One thing I can be sure of is P.A. Kane sure can write one emotive coming of age novel sure to well remembered by me for a long time to come.
There are some difficult situations dealt with in the novel, from abuse to alcoholic parents, which also leads to emotional abuse which in my opinion is just as bad as physical abuse. As much as I hate attaching a warning label to a novel (I really think everyone should go into books with an open mind it could be exactly what you need.) I am going to say this even had some moments where I was struck in the feels and things touched some chords. Just keep in mind if you have some lurking substance abuse in your family history this could be a bit of a touchy novel for you to read.
This is the coming of age story about Jackson Wolf. His life is far from easy, actually it’s a nightmare and I was crying for this boy more often than not while reading this. We follow him and his new friend James McDougal as they attempt to steer through a world that makes very little sense and they are doing it the best they know how considering the role models that they have had. I really enjoyed each of their personalities and the way they managed to get through things, even when they are not very good. This is definitely not one you want to miss, especially if you love coming of age and emotional reads. I can’t wait to check out more of P.A. Kane’s work.
Review by @lizaileen
View all my reviews
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane is a brilliant coming of age novel. This if the first book I have read by this author and I am blown away by how amazing it was. It is a unique story of two young boys, friends to only each other, on the outskirts of the teenage society. This novel really explores what their life is like and true troubles they have to face in a daily basis.
Everything about this book is the two characters. It is entirely their story being told. The author really goes into them in great depth, without really any distractions from the story or other characters.
He really knows how to grab your attention as well. The blurb is purposely vague and doesn’t really give away what to expect. It does nothing to prepare you for how deeply you will get sucked into this novel. A brilliant story, one I will be thinking about for a long time.
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf is a young adult novel by P.A. Kane about a teenage boy coming of age. This is a genre that I very seldom read but was intrigued by the blurb and decided to give this novel a try. I must add that I’m so glad I did. I really enjoyed this story.
Jackson Wolf is a biracial (Black mother and white father) teenage boy growing up in a predominantly white area. His mother walked out years ago leaving Jackson with his alcoholic father Mickey. Let’s just say that Mickey will not be winning any Father Of The Year awards. Mickey is violent towards Jackson and can often be racist towards his son.
I really found Jackson to be a very inspiring young man. He’s had a really crappy start to life but he has a really wise head on his shoulders and has a fantastic outlook on life. His growing friendship with James McDougal, who has been the object of many school bullies is a very large part of this story and I loved reading about their friendship and how they both grew to rely on each other and supported each other through some very hard times. When the 2 boys first interacted with one another, you would never have guessed that they would become firm best friends.
This is a really heart-warming read about coming of age and I’m really glad I stepped away from my usual tried and trusted genres and gave this book a chance.
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Leaving Jackson Wolf was a great coming of age 5 star read.
Jackson and McDougal meet when they end up colliding with each other in school. McDougal is small for his age and was being bullied, the same ogre also turned on Jackson and needless to say he ended up suspended for 5 days. These two end up stealing some beer and getting to know each other a little more.This is also when they meet Lexi.
These two boys unexpectedly start to bond. As I learned more about Jackson my heart broke for the home life he had with his dad. I’m glad he had his grandma. As the story moves forward, these two face quite a few tough subjects.
I loved this story of strength and finding acceptance. My emotions were all over the place. Once I started I couldn’t stop reading. P.A. Kane does a great job of pulling you in with his writing. You connect with the characters and can feel what they are. This was my first read from P.A. Kane and I look forward to reading more from him.
Reviewed by @mab54615
View all my reviews
Leaving Jackson Wolf by P.A. Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have to admit this book totally took me by surprise – the blurb I thought was quite vague and the cover doesn’t reveal much at all so going into it I had no preconceived ideas about what was going to happen and what I got was a fantastic story that I couldn’t put down until I had finished. The author told a really powerful story and I liked that it was through the eyes of a teenage boy and I think this may be a first for me. I have read many coming of age stories but the main character is usually a girl and the stories can be a little predictable but this one wasn’t at all. I could tell that the author had really thought about what he was writing – there weren’t a vast amount of characters in the story which made it feel more of an intimate read and I felt like I got to know them all really well. This is my first read by this author and I know that it won’t be the last; he has truly captured my attention with his engaging writing style and attention to detail with his characters.
A great YA/Coming of Age book that I would 100% recommend!
