Review

Before we get into this review, I have to say that there are a number of things that you’re going to get out of Andrew Marx and Dara Shifrer’s book, “What Do You Say to the DJ?”, and you need to know about them going in. You’re going to get a lot of information about indy rock bands, you’re going to become intimately familiar with people on an borderline uncomfortable level, and you’re going to get e-mails. Lots and lots of e-mails. This is part of its quirky charm, that it’s all taken from actual on-line correspondence from its two authors. Much of it is hysterically funny, but on a much broader spectrum it becomes a lot to take in. In order to illustrate my point and to give you an idea of what “DJ” is all about, I’ve taken the liberty of constructing the remainder of this review in the form of an electronic mail reply to its authors.

I loved reading “What Do You Say to the DJ?” but I would recommend that prospective readers begin with the author interviews at the back of the book first in order to get an idea of the author’s stylized approach. Once you’re on board for the ride, like any good rock song, it’s easy to get lost in.

Read the full text of the review here.

Click here to purchase for Kindle (edelivery)

Print edition also available

Click here to purchase for Kindle (edelivery)

Print edition also available

Review

What Do You Say to the DJ? Expanded Edition is an autobiography in the format of emails between two friends, Andrew Marx and Dara Shifrer. The book tells the two year story of Andy and Dara’s coming into adulthood. As the back of the book says, “college is over and real life is a work-in-progress”. The emails between Dara and Andy had me literally laughing out loud; they were hilarious! Also, I felt the book really allowed you to get to know the characters, as if they were close friends; which makes the’ Afterword by Andrew Marx’ and the Dara and Andy Interview at the end of the book all the more intriguing.

Andy and Dara were easy to relate to, and the email format portrayed them as very down-to-earth people. Although the email format had its advantages, I didn’t really like it – it was kind of confusing at times. In general, I felt the book was hard to follow and would’ve been better if backgrounds were provided for the characters. It took me quite a while to understand what Becca’s relationship was to Andy and Dara, and I never quite figured out Juilianna’s relativeness.

Although, one thing I can’t stop blabbing about is how consistently funny What Do You Say to the DJ? is. Also, I felt the ‘extended’ part of the book was a nice addition. As previously stated, my main problems with the book were the email format (yet, I’m not really sure the book would even be the book it is without it), the hard to follow-ness of it, and the lack of knowing who some of the characters were. My favorite parts were…all the funny parts!

Review by Kady Garrett

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We will confirm an exact publication date soon. It will be released as a mass market edition, and we’re planning at least one promotional appearance in Boston.

“The authors have found the perfect pitch of humanity and humor for this surprisingly heartwarming coming of age tale. In an exchange of e-mails, they unravel familiar twenty-something themes of love, friendship, family, and careers. Not surprisingly, a good chunk of the book is devoted to romantic entanglements, those both failed and flourishing.”

“The authors are also the founders of a concert review website Concert-Central.com, and amid the dating, marriage talk and family drama is the story of the creation of their website. Each has found in their respective cities (Marx is from Boston, Shifrer from Austin) soul and authenticity in the heart of the local music scene. It turns out soul is a lot of fun. Music bolsters their friendship and remains a constant source of reflection, contention and pleasure in their conversation. More the pleasure for us as well.”

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