From Powells.com
Our favorite books of the year.
Synopses & Reviews
When his beloved guitar is stolen, Nick Jaina finds himself untethered from the dream he’s pursued since he was sixteen. No matter how many albums he’s released or tours he’s led, he still can’t shake the feeling that he has failed at life. So the critically acclaimed, endlessly heartbroken singer-songwriter checks himself into a ten-day silent retreat. As those silent days unfold, Jaina attempts to rewire his own brain in a burst of unpredictable digressions and unsent love letters, musings on the miracles of science and the fallen heroes of popular music. Get It While You Can is a late-night ode to the pursuit of sanity.
Review
“With a pitch-perfect ear for lyricism and rhythm, Nick Jaina interlaces
personal narrative, music criticism, and intimate correspondences into
one of those rare books that breaks new literary ground while also
making you feel deeply. Jaina lays himself bare, sentence after
sentence, yet never dominates the stage. He’s content to mastermind the
show from the background, letting exquisite riffs about Nina Simone, Ray
Charles, and Paul Simon stand in as emotional correlates for his own
heartbreak and music industry tribulations. Get It While You Can is a brilliant and compassionate work by a serious new literary talent.” Justin Hocking, author of The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld
Review
"If you're convinced that memoirs are strictly about awful things, Jaina's memoir will disabuse you of that notion. It's a tremendously likeable, structurally innovative look into what it's actually like to try to make a living while making art, plus silent meditation." Megan Burbank, The Portland Mercury