Love Is a Mix Tape

Life and Loss, One Song at a Time

By: Rob Sheffield

Narrated by: Rob Sheffield

“The happiest, saddest, sweetest book about rock ‘n’ roll that I’ve ever experienced.”—Chuck Klosterman

Mix tapes: We all have our favorites. Stick one into a deck, press play, and you’re instantly transported to another time in your life. For Rob Sheffield, that time was one of miraculous love and unbearable grief. A time that spanned seven years, it started when he met the girl of his dreams, and ended when he watched her die in his arms. Using the listings of fifteen of his favorite mix tapes, Rob shows that the power of music to build a bridge between people is stronger than death. You’ll listen to these words, perhaps surprisingly, with joy in your heart and a song in your head—the one that comes to mind when you think of the love of your life.

Praise for Love is a Mixtape

“A memoir that manages, no small feat, to be funny and beautifully forlorn at the same time.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Humorous, heartbreaking, and heroic.”—Entertainment Weekly

“The finest lines ever written about rock ‘n’ roll . . . Like that song on the radio, every word of Rob’s book is true. Love is a mix tape.”—Rolling Stone

“Many of us use pop culture as a mirror of our emotional lives, but Sheffield happily walks right through the looking glass.”—Los Angeles Times

“Sheffield writes with such aching remembering, you feel like you are invading his privacy . . . and it’s the truth of those details that make this memoir so touching.”—Newsweek

©2007 Rob Sheffield (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"No rock critic- living or dead, American or otherwise- has ever written about pop music with the evocative, hyperpoetic perfectitude of Rob Sheffield. Love is a Mix Tape is the happiest, saddest, greatest book about rock'n'roll that I've ever experienced."–Chuck Klosterman, bestselling author of Fargo Rock Cty, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Killing Yourself to Live and Chuck Klosterman IV

"This is a lightly-handed, skillful and sincere celebration of pop, of love, sad songs, bad songs and the long, nearly unbearable ache of being a young widower. Witty and wise; a true candidate for the All-Time Desert Island Top 5 Books About Pop Music."–Kirkus, starred review

"I can't think of many books as appealing as Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape; Sheffield writes beautifully about music, he's hilarious, and his story is alternatingly joyous and heartbreaking. Plus, everyone knows there's no better way to organize history and make sense of life than through the mix tape."–Haven Kimmel, bestselling author of She Got Up Off the Couch, A Girl Named Zippy and The Solace of Leaving Early

Only a few know the power of the Mix Tape

Growing up a shy geek in the 80s, Mix Tapes were my go-to for really opening my heart to someone. I understood the power of selecting the perfect songs and recording them in the perfect order to take someone on a 45 minute ride of emotions.

When Rob met Renee he knew that he wanted to be in her life, so he made her a Mix Tape. Their love of music, and each other grew and several Mix Tapes later they were married. Like all great love stories, theirs came crashing down with the sudden death of Renee. Rob struggled to exist in the void left by her absence, but with time (a lot of time) he learned to move forward. He learned the Renee had touched so many other lives in ways that he couldn't ever had imagined. What he did with Renee's hats got me all choked up.

Best love story I've ever read

This book is a must have for anyone who has ever been in love. I don't typically read and couldn't stop listening. I listened to the whole book in one night! Check out more reviews for the book don't just take my word for it.

I've Never Listened to a Mixtape

If I was going to have someone explain to me what a mixtape was, I would want it explained exactly like this. Well. Maybe with a different ending. I love a good cheesy ending where the guy gets the girl. This book has moments of funny, feel-good perfection, but it also has parts that break you apart with a single line of lyrics.
This is the best book about music that I've ever read; it’s also the only book about music I've ever read. In general though, I would have to say this is one of the best books that I've ever read.
And I would also say that if you don't listen to the audiobook, you're missing out on a lot.

the best

One of my all time favorite books! I still have my much loved, read many times, dog eared and doodled paperback copy from when I was a teenager. It was amazing hearing Rob read this out loud, bringing Rene to life. I'm sure I re-listen to this one again and again. Think I'll even splice in some of his narrations between songs on my own mixtapes that I still make too.

Rob’s emotions heard in every word

Just listen, I promise you will be forever grateful to the author for reminding you of forgotten feelings.
Enjoy
You’re welcome

A sad story in a happy wrapper.

I really enjoyed this book. Music is the way i relate to people or memories and this author just gets it. You follow his life through the mix tapes he made and even though it is a story of loss you cannot help, but smile. You fall in love with Renee and you feel Rob's emotions through out the story. You are in love when he is and you are at the point of tears when he is grieving. This is a must read/listen. Oh and for a similar book, for you fellow audiophiles I recommend Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.

nostalgia and emotions for days

makes me wish there was an expanded version where you hear every song, or at least a clip

Good Grief.

This was so witty and charming and self-deprecating and lyrical and memorable and oh my God so painful. So beautiful and so tough. I loved it and it scared me and I just might have to sit here and think about it for a while.

Performance

While I understand the prestige of having the author read, and sometimes it does work like Toni Morrison reading Beloved, this was a terrible idea for this book. Rob is a fantastic writer, but him reading ruins this book.

Beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking

Rob Sheffield has done it again with this

beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking book. Highly recommended for anyone who loves 90s music, or pop music in general!