DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
And by that I mean, YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS BOOK!!!!
Ok, so let's first be honest - I am one of those book snobs that thinks I have not actually READ a book if I have not actually READ a BOOK. Meaning, to listen to a book is not to read a book. Just my opinion and #wordnerd self arguing over semantics.
I am relatively new to audiobooks because of this opinion. I didn't want to "bump" my READING numbers by listening. But when my job became a 30-45 minute drive each day, and I was listening to so many book recommendation podcasts that my TBR made me anxious (thank you Anne Bogel), and some of those recommendations were audiobooks, I suddenly thought, Hey! Why don't I spend this time chipping away at my TBR rather than adding to it??
Enter TJR.
That is Taylor Jenkins Reid.
You may already know that I LOVED The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. And that I thoroughly enjoyed Malibu Rising.
What I am here to tell you is, it is February and Daisy Jones and The Six might be my Favorite Book of the Year. And this is a year where an Outlander book was published.
(insert astonished face here)
Now, I cannot say whether the reading experience can match the listening one. Daisy Jones and The Six is a story told in a format that was MADE for performance. And what fabulous performances we get. Done in an interview format, each member of the band and the peripheral VIPs is performed by a different actor. I seriously felt like I was in an extended Broadway show. It is a bonus that Jennifer Beals reads Daisy in the PERFECT soft, scratchy voice. And that Benjamin Bratt is also prominently featured (he could read commercials and I'd be applauding. Well, ok fine, swooning.) Then you add in Pablo Schreiber as Billy Dunne who gives an amazing and emotional performance as a man plagued by demons and desperate to be a Good Man. OMG the pauses, the sighs, the chuckles! They all added SO much to this story! And the ending.....OMG again, I was driving and crying. It was a perfect ending.
The story is about why a 1970's band broke up, and how they got together, and what happened on their tour. Told from the perspectives of the band members, manager, spouses, friends, etc, everyone has their own version of the truth. Drugs and alcohol are everywhere; you really get a sense of the place and time that was music in the '60's and 70's. The characters are very well fleshed out - again maybe because I heard their different voices and could keep them all straight as soon as they started talking. I think that would be difficult in print and I am actually very curious to get my hands on a hard copy to see how it is presented. You feel empathy for each of them as they become famous and have to deal with hard choices and family and fame - and each other. There are a lot of references to lines in the songs the band members were writing which I wish I had written down. Because I was walking or in the car or doing housework while listening I did not really take notes, except for this line:
"You have to have faith in people before they earn it. Otherwise, it's not faith, is it?"
BOOM!!!
Please please please take a chance on an audiobook and listen to this story. This totally solidifies TJR as one of my favorite authors. And THIS is why I have been giving so many four star reviews lately of books I really liked.
Because THIS book is a FIVE STAR READ.
Did I rave enough? Why are you still reading? Go to Libby right now and get on the waiting list!!!!
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