Book reviews

Lighting Up
Susan Shapiro Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography Video
Susan Shapiro Books
New book search
Susan Shapiro Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of Lighting Up
"   "Lighting Up" is about the author's struggle to overcome her addictions to cigarettes. Along the way she discovers, through therapy, that she has an addictive personality and she ends up cutting certain food (no more bread!), drugs, and other unhealthy, unproductive things out of her life. As a result of this and her therapy sessions, she becomes a more focused and better writer. She also gets married and has a better grasp on what a healthy relationship should include.

   Many people will see themselves in this book as Shapiro struggles to give up cigarettes only to replace them with her substitute "drug" of choice "Blow Pops.""

Krysten Weller, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Lighting Up
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Phys disability/mental struggle? Yes
Struggle with - drugs
Period of greatest activity? - 1950+

Subject of Biography
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - writer
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity - Jew
Nationality - American (!)
How sensitive is this person? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other people

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 ()
City? Yes
Century: - 1980's-Present

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Book makes you feel? - encouraged
Is book humorous? Yes
If humorous, kind of humor - gentle
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - actual description of hetero sex
Commentary on society? Yes
Commentary on - love/sex
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - a lot of stream of consciousness
Writer's slant towards subject: - favorable
Story of entire life, or part? - story of set of events during life
How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog
A LOT of info about personal vices? Yes
Lot of titilating info about love life? Yes
Most similar books to Lighting Up
Addict by Stephen Smith
Juiced by Jose Canseco
Howl by Allen Ginsberg
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
More, Now Again by Elizabeth Wurtzel


Click here for more information about this book


Susan Shapiro Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Krysten Weller  

SCHOLARS:


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Biography books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Animal story?

Big Business story?

Disaster Story

Ethnic/regional/gender

Family, hate

Family, ill

Family, love

Food

Job/profession/poverty story

Kids growing up/acting up?

Life in an institution

Outdoors story

Pal/friendship story

Phys disability/mental struggle?

Political/social rights fight

Road trip

Romance

Royalty bio

Sports story

Taboo Sex Story?

War/Spying



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
17 FREE Sci-Fi Ebooks!
FREE "How to be happy" Ebook!
Feedback


Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
George W. Bush 2:32:02 AM
Anonymous 2:03:39 AM
Erin Hunters 9:00:01 PM
Betty Mahmoody 6:00:22 PM
Judith McNaught 11:55:44 AM
Iris Johansen 9:03:43 PM
Norah Lofts 1:11:37 PM
Jane Rubino 9:32:45 AM
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twersky 11:28:51 PM
Faye Kellerman 12:37:41 AM
LaVyrle Spencer 7:25:23 PM
Robert James Waller 8:30:15 PM
Suzanne Weyn 12:50:03 AM
Deric Longden 2:54:11 PM
Wilma Counts 1:23:32 PM
Kin Platt 12:58:29 AM
Lilian Jackson Braun 10:05:52 PM
G.A. McKevett 10:03:31 PM
David Williams 10:03:01 PM
Steven Pressfield 10:02:30 PM

More message boards