book review: daisy jones & the six

Here we are with another book review. It’s a good one. A really, really good one. But before I get started, I want to share a fun story. During my second semester of senior year in college I interned at an advertising agency in Denver. There were six interns in the program and we formed our own little “mini agency” of sorts. We had our roles, I was the copywriter, but there was also an account manager, an art director, analytics director, new business/pr, and a UX/UI gal. We made a solid team. On the first day of the internship, we were assigned desks and I happened to be placed next to the analytics intern who also went to the same college. We had never met, but we instantly hit it off. Throughout the day, we ended up sharing our schedules for the semester and realized that we had the same Monday night class: event planning. The first day of our internship fell on the first Monday of classes so we had class together later that night.

We both had other friends in the class so we didn’t sit next to each other, but during the class the teacher assigned random groups of 2-3 people that we’d be partnered with for the entire semester. If you’re thinking that we were partnered together, then hey! you’re right! Good guess! Ever since that first Monday of meeting each other, we spent a majority of our days together, we were instant friends, and we always joke (slash seriously say) that we were meant to be friends. Something in the universe knew that we needed each other in our lives. So, Natalie, if you’re reading this, I’m thankful for you ;)

By now, if you’re not Natalie, you’re probably wondering why I’m sharing this story. Well, you’re in luck because I’m about to tell you. Natalie and I decided that since we’re living in different states now (sad, very sad) we should start our own little mini book club made up of only us. We decided that we’d read a book a month and then have FT fates to discuss them. I was in charge of picking the first book which was A LOT of pressure, but, after an hour and a half in the book store, it turned out to be ok and we both finished the book within a week and a half. A good read. A great read, really.

I picked Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid because I had a very long conversation with a woman in the airport about it a few weeks back. She convinced me that it was a good one, and I trusted her, luckily.
It’s a book about a band from the late 70s. It’s all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But, despite that, it’s not cliche. It’s written in the style of an interview which I didn’t realize until I started reading it (obviously) but I fell in love with this style. It’s almost like reading the juiciest Rolling Stone article out there.

While this book is fictional, I constantly had to remind myself that these people and this story isn’t real. It’s that realistic which is kind of disappointing because I want to hear the songs that they describe. I don’t want to give too many details away but if you liked Once Upon A Time in Hollywood and if you like music and if you like the 70s vibe, you’ll dig this book. It’s dramatic, but not overly so if that makes sense. Also, the ending was pretty cute which makes a difference in my humble opinion. If the ending sucks I just leave the book with a sour taste in my mouth, and I hate it.

My favorite quote in the book goes like this, “And that terrified the hell out of me. I didn’t want to push him in. I would never push him in but…. it scared me that the only thing between this moment of calm and the biggest tragedy of my life was me choosing not to do it. This really tripped me out that everyone’s life was that precarious. That there wasn’t some all-knowing mechanism in place that stopped things that shouldn’t happen from happening. That’s something had always scared me. And that’s how it felt being around Daisy Jones.”

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
.5 off of a 5 because while I' loved it a lot, it’s not THE BEST BOOK I’ve ever read. They can’t all be 5’s, unfortunately.

Natalie’s Rating: 5/5 stars
I’d rate it a 5/5 bc it gives an inside perspective to what rock n roll bands were made of back n the day. And it’s also a love story between two people that you don’t want to be together but you also want them to be together.

If you’ve read the book, let me know your thoughts in the comments or DM me on Instagram! Let’s chat about it.

Thanks for reading!
chloe

Where the Crawdads Sing

When I was in elementary school, my mom had a rule for my brother and me that truly shaped my life, my interests, how I consume media. 

For every thirty minutes of TV time, we had to spend an hour outside. A ratio, when I was younger, that I absolutely despised. Of course I loved being outside. But I grew up in the deep south of Alabama. Which means mosquitos, devilish heat, and constantly dripping in sweat. It was fine, but spending more than an hour outside on certain days was brutal. 

So how did I stay entertained if I couldn’t watch TV like a “normal” kid? 

Remember, this is back before the days of YouTube and only right when Webkinz and Club Penguin were taking over youth culture. 

So essentially, there was nothing to do except read a good ‘ole book. And when I say I read, I mean I read a lot. Every day, every night before bed. I was the student in class that looked forward to the time in the school day where we had designated reading time. The trips to the library were like if I was Charlie visiting Wonka’s chocolate factory. 

I stopped reading when I got to college because by the time I finished my assigned readings of textbooks and unrelated articles assigned to keep us busy, I didn’t want to read for enjoyment. Not to mention, I was living with my best friends so there was never downtime to just chill and read. 

But now that I’m done with college, I’ve been reading like I was a kid again. I recently read a book that I can’t stop telling people about. It’s one of those “can’t put ‘em down, bury your nose, read until your eyes get too heavy” kind of books. Simply put, it was the best book I’ve read in a really long time. 

The essence of the story is simple, a girl against the world, quite literally. I feel like I can’t describe it in too much detail without ruining the ending, but I promise you’ll love it. The topics include those of loneliness, love, family, mystery, confusion regarding the purpose and meaning of life. 

So, in short, read it. It’s called Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. A work of art.