WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I can no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Churchill by Jacob Bannister. I admit it: I know very little about Winston Churchill. Yet in reading about men as diverse as JFK and former Cubs manager Joe Maddon, he pops up as an influence. So I've decided to take myself to school and get to know Winnie.

 

This is only about 250 pages, so I'm not expecting a deep dive into his life as statesman. But it's well reviewed, so I'm looking forward to a credible, straightforward overview of a big, impactful life.

2. What did you recently finish reading?  Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I've been hearing about this book forever (here's Kwizgiver's review from 2019) and I've just now gotten around to it. Glad I did. I loved it!

 

It's the story of an iconic, fictional 70s band whose mercurial rise to stardom could only be topped by the way they suddenly, mysteriously broke up after winning the Grammy for Record of the Year. It unfolds as an oral history, which is an interesting device. It took me a while to get into it and really get to know who was who.

This book had four main female characters and I was captivated by them all. Daisy, who was beautiful, talented and damaged. With her wealthy, high-profile family* and out-front sexuality, she reminded me a bit of Carly Simon. There's her best friend, the disco diva, Simone, the kind of ride-or-die buddy every woman needs. Karen, the keyboardist, who knows her mind and trusts her stuff and is just trying to make a living in a man's world. And Camila, the wise wife of a bandmember who is so much more than a camp follower. 

These women were very real to me, and now that the book is over I miss them.

 

3. What will read next? Something light.

 

 *Speaking of high-profile families, in the Amazon mini-series, Daisy is played by Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis Presley.