{"product_id":"piano-lessons-music-love-and-true-adventures-9780385318211","title":"Piano Lessons: Music, Love, and True Adventures","description":"\u003ci\u003ePiano Lessons\u003c\/i\u003e is Noah Adams's delightful and moving chronicle of his fifty-second year--a year already filled with long, fast workdays and too little spare time--as he answers at last a lifelong call: to learn to play the piano. The twelve monthly chapters span from January--when after decades of growing affection for keyboard artists and artisans he finally plunges in and buys a piano--through December, when as a surprise Christmas present for his wife he dresses in a tuxedo and, in flickering candlelight, snow falling outside the windows, he attempts their favorite piece of music, a difficult third-year composition he's been struggling with in secret to get to this very moment. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAmong the up-tempo triumphs and unexpected setbacks, Noah Adams interweaves the rich history and folklore that surround the piano. And along the way, set between the ragtime rhythms and boogie-woogie beats, there are encounters with--and insights from--masters of the keyboard, from Glenn Gould and Leon Fleisher (\"I was a bit embarrassed,\" he writes; \"telling Leon Fleisher about my ambitions for piano lessons is like telling Julia Child about plans to make toast in the morning\") to Dr. John and Tori Amos. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs a storyteller, Noah Adams has perfect pitch. In the foreground here, like a familiar melody, are the challenges of learning a complex new skill as an adult, when enthusiasm meets the necessary repetition of tedious scales at the end of a twelve-hour workday. Lingering in the background, like a subtle bass line, are the quiet concerns of how we spend our time and how our priorities shift as we proceed through life. For \u003ci\u003ePiano Lessons\u003c\/i\u003e is really an adventure story filled with obstacles to overcome and grand leaps forward, eccentric geniuses and quiet moments of pre-dawn practice, as Noah Adams travels across country and keyboard, pursuing his dream and keeping the rhythm.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNoah Adams\u003c\/b\u003e is a contributing correspondent for NPR News and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Flyers: in Search of Wilbur and Orville Wright\u003c\/i\u003e. In his current position, he works with NPR's National Desk to cover stories on the working poor across America. He lives with his wife, Neenah Ellis, a freelance journalist, in Yellow Springs, Ohio.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Random House Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50514098913554,"sku":"9780385318211","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8cea2a8b-aa3a-42b3-b7ef-64ecfa51d2fc.jpg?v=1730973070","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/piano-lessons-music-love-and-true-adventures-9780385318211","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}