Life Itself: A Memoir by Roger Ebert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I love a good autobiography. I’d been wanting to read this book for ages, but since I’m opposed to paying $12.99 for an eBook and the library didn’t have a copy available to borrow, I waited until it went on sale. The price dropped to $3.99 last week and I was all over it.
Things I enjoyed:
His newspaper stories – I worked for a paper for 12 years and started just as the glory days were ending. I love hearing old newspaper stories.
The stories of his early childhood and his twisted relationship with his mother. I admire that he put that stuff out there.
The stories about Chaz, Siskel, and his health, including his battle with alcoholism.
Things that I wanted to read about that he didn’t include:
Moving on after Siskel’s death. / Anything about Richard Roeper.
His books! His Pulitzer!
Why he chose to to build his website.
His opinion about the changes in the newspaper world.
Things I could have done without:
The reprints of his Esquire interviews.
The friend chapters. Drove me nuts how the beginning of each chapter on one of his friends would take me back to 1967. At least I heard of John Wayne and Lee Marvin.
YES EVERYONE SMOKED AND DRANK I KNOW I GREW UP IN THE 70s!
With all the years Ebert spent writing for newspaper I expected an autobiography so tight you could bounce a quarter off of it. Instead it was really rambly and I feel like a complete heel for pointing it out. (As if I could write better.) Three stars and a thumbs up.
