Unfortunately I did not finish the book. The writing style was very dry and I felt like I was reading an academic journal.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

It wasn't very engaging and dryly written (with less objectivity). Maybe it is not preferable to me personally. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

Read surprisingly like an academic paper - aka stiff and very dry, and also running around in circles saying a lot but ending up not saying much worth noticing... Also felt this would've been better as an interactive ebook or even a video with all the music references (some highly obscure!) and the reliance on 'explaining' those songs' notes to explain the author's point - by which point, you the reader are left completely confused about what the author means as you're entirely not in situ with those references.
Felt it would be a relatable and somewhat frothy delving into the world of pop music and the women who carved their path out of the pop mainstream while still being a phenomenon in and of themselves - except, ended up with a very dry academic-like thesis on music in general

This one doesn't work for me. The critical analysis is certainly thorough but at times veers towards 'fan-girling' rather than objective discussion. Some of the statements about music strike me as particularly 'out there' hyperbole - I personally have never listened to Sade's work and had "an unusual awareness of what her tongue and teeth are doing" as the author insists!

I liked that this book covered a broad range of female musicians from Chaka Khan to Taylor Swift from the most celebrated to some she perceives as overlooked. The general theme of this book is to celebrate each woman and I was here for that though she did often mention Prince too which seemed strange in a book primarily about celebrating women. I have never read a book like this before and it isn't what I usually read but I did enjoy some parts of it. As a lover of lyrics I enjoyed the song words analysis but it did read a little too far into some things but definitely interesting.

A collection of depiction translated into stories.

Thank you NetGalley and Repeater Books for giving me the opportunity to read this.

This book delves deep into the music of 12 amazing female artists. It examines their songs in detail and without pretension; focusing on the effects they're able to achieve through their voice and lyrics. It offers a glimpse into the craft of songwriting and provides critical appreciation as a fan of the music/artist rather than a journalist/critic. I agreed with a lot of the critique, discovering a couple of new artists along the way and am re-discovering the work of others. An enjoyable and worthwhile read, succinct and highly recommended.

I was attracted to this book due to my being a music lover and having what I consider to be a wide ranging musical taste, so I was interested in finding out more information about the singers featured here. However Lesley Chows choices for what she considers to be the most strange in pop to me are not really strange at all. How are Taylor Swift or Janet Jackson 'strange' ? I found in some ways she analysed her chosen subjects a little too deeply, we do not need a discussion about every ooh, ahh or sigh in a song to know more about it. However I did enjoy her style of writing which was both funny and informative .

First of all this cover is amazing. I knew I had to read this just by looking at the cover. Very interesting book. It did take me a long while to get through but it is worth the read.

So for this review I'm crashing into 2022 with a highbrow BANG!! I wanted to spead my literature wings and fly into a genre I rarely touch upon....and this cover had me at hello!!

You're history is a fascinating read, a non-fiction book where the author takes an in-depth look at twelve female musical artists.
Part of me felt like an intruder reading this book, a bit of a fake, I felt like I wasn't really cool enough or enough of a music junkie to read it!!
Sometimes the author lost me with her highbrow music knowledge but equally had me gripped with her insight.
I loved that she talked about Shake your head by Was (not was), a song I have always loved but I felt fell under the radar.

Included is an eclectic mix of female artists from Taylor Swift to Neneh Cherry, it was interesting reading about artists I knew little about....
Kate Bush and Shakespeare Sister also featured who I were excited to read about as they are two of my favourite artists.....

...However unless I was mistaken I felt at times that the authors opinions were not objective enough, I felt she was quite derogatory about Shakespeare's Sister, as a fan (especially of Hormonally Yours, an album I rinsed as a teen "Hello, turn your radio on"!!) I felt offended by some of her statements and if people who read this who haven't heard of Shakespeare's Sister could come away from the book with a preconceived opinion formed by the author that they were a bit of a ridiculous joke....yet they were groundbreaking unique artists.

Anyway niggles aside this was an eye-opening read, fascinating and deeply researched.....and that cover!!!

Thanks to @repeaterbooks
And @netgalley for an ARC of this book

A fabulous concept but not quite a 4 star for me. I found it fascinating but needed a little more info on the lesser known stars but would certainly still recommend to friends and family and love this author's other works.

This book traffics in a very specific form of criticism, discussing vocal technique, emotional expression and performance and how under valued these aspects of musicianship, especially through a gendered lens. Though some may find it niche, I appreciated this exploration a lot.

This was a really interesting account on modern successful women in various genres of music- not my usual taste of reading but I took away some food for thought

You’re History by Lesley Chow makes the case for pop music and attempts to write about it the way music critics have been writing about artists considered intellectual and who mostly focus on rock music. Historically pop music has been written off as one-hit-wonders or manufactured, but the author emphasizes that the ooh’s and aah’s of a song can be just as compelling and influential as any critically acclaimed song in time. A wide range of artists are covered to make this point, but the Chow spends a good chunk reviewing albums song by song from Janet Jackson, Neneh Cherry and Nicki Minaj. I agree that pop music doesn’t get the credit it deserves, we too often don’t consider people making music with computers are musicians, but this book show examples on how production can be just as influential. The examples used in this book are somewhat random, but if you’re a fan of pop music or are interested in reading about a different aspect of songwriting this might be of interest. Overall I found the book somewhat inconclusive and random in its approach, but it opened my mind to the relevance of earworms.

Thank you netgalley. the publisher and the author. I liked this front cover but what I did like more was the actual book usually I don’t read these types of books but I have been venturing more into the history of women from many different cultural aspects and I thought reading into the culture aspect in music would be something very interesting and I was correct this was a very good book it was well thought out and in-depth writing which analysed classic songs from a variety of female musicians who are seen as strange or different in the class of music and I think this is actually really refreshing and needs to be read by many people

I would love to thank Netgalley and Repeater books for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Pop music is often ridiculed for being vapid and shallow and it's not uncommon to hear people dismissing pop stars as having no artistic merits and female pop stars face a lot of criticism and dismissal but You're History by Lesley Chow has us reconsidering that perception. She chooses 12 women, some of whom are famous pop stars and others a bit more obscure and shows us why they deserve their acclaim and why a seemingly inconsequential "ooh" has just as much depth as a song with lyrical virtuosity. You can tell the author is really knowledgeable about music and cleverly articulates why a certain part in music works. I'll be honest, some of the explanations went over my head and i do think her descriptions became a bit abstract in some parts. I think that music lovers and people with musical knowledge would be able to better understand what she means. It was a really fun book and i definitely recommend it.

I loved reading this book! It is a very different approach to women's music history, walking through time and lyrics to describe the impact of women in music. This is a different book than any I have ever read, what a treat! Thank you to NetGalley and Repeater Books for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Genre: Non-Fiction

Release Date: 9th March 2021

Publisher: Repeater Books



You're History is not a biography of sensational female stars - it's a full on exploration into some of pops greatest icons from Janet Jackson to Kate Bush to Nicki Minaj.

Women who don't stick to the ideas of following the tide, of being strange and loud and vulgar and proud - this book analyses just who they are and what makes them truly unique whether you like them or not and makes us face the fact that their uniqueness is so feared or unaccepted simply because they're women.

Opening up with the legend that is Neneh Cherry, Chow not only comments on the social issues and views that female artists face, but deeply analyses and critiques their songs identifying the most amazing work and trying to find out just what makes them all so unique. If you're looking for life stories you're in the wrong place - this is a love letter to the music that shaped the careers of these amazing women.

Were these the twelve strangest women in music? Probably not, but even wth this being purely about pop artists I appreciated the eclectic range of women and styles included.



RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Lesley Chow, Repeater Books and Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

"You're History" by Lesley Chow largely explored the careers and songs of a selection of female artists that I had heard of but was not incredibly familiar with the stories behind. I really feel like I learned a lot about these artists through analysis of their songs and the careful consideration of their perspectives, and will probably think a lot more deeply about what I am hearing when I listen to them. I particularly adored the chapter on Kate Bush.

I found it a little disappointing that we got an entire chapter on Taylor Swift who may be unique in her level of success as a country-pop crossover artist (this is also not mentioned as far as I recall, despite probably being her most unique trait) and yet Azealia Banks, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna were melded into a single chapter despite individually being probably some of the most unique artists around.

That said, I'm off to listen to some of the songs that were mentioned in a totally new way, so I definitely think that this book did exactly what it set out to. Anything that highlights the way women have contributed to pop music is also going to be a winner for me.