Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

BOOKS

Synopsis for The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab (goodreads)

I have been eagerly anticipating any news on this book and we finally got a release date and synopsis. I am even more obsessed with this book now and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore, and he remembers her name.

In the vein of The Time Traveler's Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab's #1 New York Times Bestselling Author genre-defying tour de force.

Doesn't this sound incredible? It is pretty much the number one book I hope is at Book Expo this year.

Cover for Hush by Dylan Farrow (goodreads)

Not only does this book sound amazing, but I LOVE the cover. It's simple and yet so eye catching.

I love that it sort of looks like a blank page with dark ink spill across it. Very fitting of the blurb. It also sounds really feminist and like it'll be about a woman finding her voice.

Cover for Blood and Honey by Shelby Mahurin (goodreads)

I loved the first book in this series way more than I anticipated loving it and was therefore happy to hear that we would be getting the sequel this fall.

The cover is so vivid and bright that it instantly draws your attention and it also keeps the theme from the previous cover going.

That tagline though! I am not liking the sound of death parting Louise and Reid.

MOVIES/TV

Daisy Jones and the Six casting news

We have our Billy! Sam Claflin will join Riley Keough to star in the television adaptation of Daisy Jones and the Six. I first saw the news in The Hollywood Reporter but quickly saw it verified all over.

I am mostly really into this casting except for the fact I am not sure if Sam can sing. I do think he and Riley will be terrific acting wise though. Here is hoping they have insane chemistry.

OTHER

Marilyn Monroe Funko

I have always been a fan of Marilyn Monroe and her movies. I have gotten even more into the golden age of Hollywood recently, so it should come as no surprise that I need to buy this immediately.

She is one of her most iconic poses, and actually transfers into the Funko style pretty well.

Book Expo 

I got my press pass for Book Expo approved this year so I'll be heading to New York in May! I cannot wait to go again and have already started looking at what theater tickets I want to get, and what else might be going on in NYC while I am there. Shake Shack is a must, but I am so excited to discover what is new in the city that is always changing.

Hamilton Comes To Ottawa (and theaters near everyone)

Hamilton is coming to Ottawa thanks to the Broadway Across Canada performance that will be at  NAC. I managed to get a ticket in for a performance in June and I am really excited to be in the room where it happens. This also brings me to the fact that Hamilton will be coming to cinemas everywhere thanks to Disney securing the rights to distribute the recording that was done with the original cast. It doesn't come out until 2021 but it'll be worth the wait.

Disney presents:
Hamilton.
With The Original Broadway Cast.
Filmed onstage at The Richard Rodgers Theatre.
In A Theater Near You.
October 15, 2021.#Hamilfilm pic.twitter.com/z4ohfWXzi3

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) February 3, 2020

I love that everyone will get to see it with the original cast! I am so excited to see Jonathan Groff in this!

What are you obsessed with this week? Let me know in the comments.

Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

BOOKS

Cover of Something To Talk About by Meryl Wilsner (goodreads)

This book has been on my radar since the deal announcement and I am so excited that it has a cover!

Such a bright, fun cover, too! I love how eye catching it is and how it is very on trend with the rest of the rom-com book covers out there. I cannot wait to read this one!

The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks by Mackenzi Lee (goodreads)

I am obsessed with the fact that this book will exist and the cover!

It matches the others in this series perfectly and I am so excited that we are going to get another book about a Montague sibling!

MOVIES/TV

Riley Keough To Star In Daisy Jones and The Six

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Riley Keough has snagged the role of Daisy in the upcoming television adaptation of Daisy Jones and the Six. It's set to be a series available through Amazon. I loved the book and am thrilled with this casting news. They've chosen a great actress to play the part and I think she is going to be a perfect Daisy. Now we just have to wait and see who they cast as Billy.

What are you obsessed with this week? Let me know in the comments.

Daisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Release Date - March 5, 2019
Publisher Website - Penguin RandomHouse  

Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -  368 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**purchased**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice. 

Daisy Jones and the Six is the type of book you devour in one sitting. It's a beautifully written book that will make your heart ache. It packs the same lyrical beauty and intensity that a song does. It is so vividly written, and packed with so much emotion that it will leave you breathless.

Daisy Jones is the type of character that is unforgettable. She easily steals a little piece of your heart. Her wild flower child vibe, sense of self worth, and drive make her one of the most interesting characters I've encountered. The book tells you that everyone fell a little in love with Daisy and the reader instantly is able to discern why.  One of Reid's talents is crafting characters and that is on full display with Daisy.

Billy Dunne is another character who sees to leap off the page. All of the members of The Six feel incredibly developed but I felt that Billy (and Daisy) are the ones that shine. Billy could have been a caricature of a character. He's a man who turns to his vices to deal with the stress put on him. He feels broken inside and does his best to make it match on the outside. He's a much more developed and interesting version of this character who has been done many times before. His demons are many and the portrayal of his addiction feels pitch perfect.

The creative energy that ignites when Daisy and Billy meet is electric. It is the proverbial lightening in a bottle. That spark feeds into all aspects of their relationship. It is at times antagonistic and at other times they are so in sync with one another that it hurts. It's a palpable energy that leaves the reader, and the rest of the band, feeling like they've been left in the wake of an earthquake.

The relationships between the band members are just important to the story as the one that exists between Billy and Daisy. This feels like a true ensemble piece where each of the characters adds something vital to the story being told. It is a story of the rise and fall of a band and that requires all of the members. Their dynamics are a large part of what pushes the story forward. It's more of a character driven story than a plot driven one and those characters are used to their fullest impact.

While I was reading I had to keep reminding myself that this band never actually existed. I wasn't going to be able to listen to these incredibly sounding songs no matter how badly I wished I could. Part of the power of Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing is entrancing you so fully that you believe every word that is being spun. You're captivated by this fictional band and so in love with their story that you forget over and over again that none of it is real. The choice to write this as an oral history where each of the band members tells their story adds to this as well as creating a really interesting commentary on memory. Events are remembered differently by different band members, and pieces of the story are only held by certain people. It makes for a vastly more interesting read because the truth is probably somewhere in the middle a lot of the time.

Music is such a large part of the story being told that it was necessary to have the songs feel as authentic as possible. They had to fit within the story and the reader had to be able to feel them. They're integral to the story and many of the important scenes are back dropped with the creation of one of the songs. They are woven into the plot so expertly that it only adds to the realism of the story. Reading the song lyrics at the end of the novel only deepened my appreciation for this book and Taylor Jenkins Reid's talent. So much of this book hung on her nailing those songs and she did just that.

Daisy Jones and the Six is a love letter to so many things. It's a love letter to creative passion and the way it can command your soul. It's a love letter to music and the power it has to invoke feelings from us so effortlessly. It's a love letter to love itself and its messy, complicated nature. It's a book that works itself into your very being the same way a really great song does. It is the kind of book that lingers. I won't forget Daisy Jones and the Six. I'll be thinking about their story for a long time. It is a raw, richly woven story that I cannot recommend enough.

Waiting On Wednesday ... Daisy Jones and The Six

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Here is the Goodreads synopsis 

In 1979, Daisy Jones and The Six split up. Together, they had redefined the 70’s music scene, creating an iconic sound that rocked the world. Apart, they baffled a world that had hung on their every verse.

This book is an attempt to piece together a clear portrait of the band’s rise to fame and their abrupt and infamous split. The following oral history is a compilation of interviews, emails, transcripts, and lyrics, all pertaining to the personal and professional lives of the members of the band The Six and singer Daisy Jones.

While I have aimed for a comprehensive and exhaustive approach, I must acknowledge that full and complete accounts from all parties involved has proved impossible. Some people were easier to track down than others, some were more willing to talk than others, and some, unfortunately, have passed on.

All of which is to say that while this is the first and only authorised account from all represented perspectives, it should be noted that, in matters both big and small, reasonable people disagree.

The truth often lies, unclaimed, in the middle.

Taylor Jenkins Reid's last book had plenty of buzz so I was immediately intrigued when I read the synopsis for this.

I love that this is basically a biography of a fictional band and I am so here for that premise. I hope it is as good as I am imagining it to be.

It releases next March so there is a bit of a wait but it gives me time to read The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo first!

Expected release date - March 7, 2019