Read This Book…

When I got into TJR’s books in 2022, everyone told me I needed to do Daisy Jones on audio, so I put myself on the epically long waiting list at my library and I am so glad I did! This is the oral history of the fictitious 1970s rock band The Six, and their collaboration with singer and songwriter Daisy Jones that launched them into stratospheric fame. Although the partnership starts purely as a business decision manipulated by their record label, there’s something magnetic about Daisy Jones and her push and pull relationship with The Six’s lead singer Bully Dunne. But behind the scenes, Daisy is popping pills and losing track of her life while Billy is desperately clinging to his sobriety for the sake of his wife and kids. Told from the point of view of the band members, producers, and various people in their lives years later, this story tries to get at the heart of exactly why a band at the very top suddenly fractured.

Typically, I do not find myself particularly drawn to novels that deal with Hollywood or the music scene, or the lives of the very famous. However, Taylor Jenkins Reid draws me in every time because her writing is so good, her characters so compelling, and the structure of her stories are unique or interesting enough to get me wondering how she’ll pull it off. This book is no exception, and I like that we see these events filtered through the eyes of the characters when they’re older, wiser, and a bit more honest with themselves than they were in the moment. It’s fun and interesting to read how Daisy and how The Six all got their separate starts and the winding path that brought them together. And like most stories told from memory, with lots of different people involved, there are inconsistencies in each telling and differing recollections of how things really happened. Nonetheless, the author trusts the reader to sift through what’s important and get to the heart of the story. It’s a book about faith and hope, how perilous loving someone can be, wanting what you can’t have, and reckoning with achieving your dreams beyond your wildest imagination…and realizing that you’re still you.

I truly do recommend the audio experience, with narration from Jennifer Beals, Judy Greer, Pablo Schreiber, Benjamin Bratt, January LaVoy, and a full cast. It really elevates the experience and make it feel like you’re listening to the characters as though they’re real and not fiction. Bonus: The TV show premieres in March, and sneak peeks look amazing!