NF

I read this because my school is considering it for a community read. I really liked the messages Odom imparts about his life and career: find mentors, do the work, trust your instincts, learn from your failures. I'm sure there are more but that is what I got out of it.

This book fell into my hands at a time when I've been struggling creatively, and he preaches some harsh truths about how to get out of creative ruts. I might actually buy this book (I checked it out from the library) so I can mark it up and re-read it...and there's plenty of soundbites that I want to design little signs and hang up in my classroom. ( )

A wonderful, short memoir about the Hamilton's rise to fame. He credits his mentors with much of his success, sprinkles the book with advice, and doesn't shy away from highlighting his own faults. I loved reading this one. The audio is particularly good because it's read by the author.

“The path to moments of greatness in your life will be paved, in part, with your spectacular failures.”

“For better or worse, you take your hometown with you. Your hometown is the salt in the stew.”

“There is no risk that isn’t tied to a consequence. You assess and make sure you can live with the ones you can foresee.”

“But what did you do on your own behalf today? Did you do anything other than wait? Did you call anyone? Did you send an e-mail? You have great relationships with people who know your worth. Do they even know you’re out of work?” Whoa.” ( )

Failing Up is a book about Leslie Odom Jr. and his life story and how to take risks, aim higher, and never stop learning. Leslie Odom Jr always had the winning side of the argument when he got in trouble at school; his parents would always listen to him instead of the teacher until fourth grade. In fourth grade Leslie got in trouble at school, but this time his dad had a parent-teacher conference with Mrs. Turner, his teacher. His dad did not say anything until he got to the dinner table and said if you ever misbehave or disrespect her again you are going to have problems with me. From that point on he trusted Mrs. Turner because his dad trusted her. Leslie and Mrs. Turner entered in many oratory competitions; this was only the beginning of his acting career. He auditioned for Rent in his hometown. He was invited to perform in Rent for a month but ended up doing it longer. This opportunity created the pathway to show business. Leslie said that “if you love something so much it will love you back” and that’s if you put the effort in. He went to Carnegie, where he found who he was as an adult. At the age of 27, Leslie met his future wife at an audition for Once On This Island. It was love at first sight, and they were married two years later. Leslie was not doing anything to get a job or audition he always had someone to do it for him. He decided that if he wants things to happen he needs to start doing it himself, reaching out to people and getting work. He soon auditioned for Hamilton it was a big break for him. He was in New York so he was going to have to move to the west coast for Hamilton. Leslie in Hamilton was Aron Burr and he was one of the main characters in the show but now you can find him singing jazz music.
In my opinion, this was a good book because it tells you how you can make yourself better. One of the things I learned was that you do not know if you can do something if you have not tried. Also, this book teaches you to go past limits your normal limits so you make more out of yourself. Another reason why I like this book is because of the moral of the story it is to strive for more and just reach out for your dreams. My last and final reason was that you have a connection with the author when you are reading this story because of his personal experiences, I liked that. ( )