Daisy Jones and the Six

Once again I found a screen adaptation better than the book. It rarely happens, so I must come clean that this is my second admission. The other was the PBS adaption of Magpie Murders.

When Daisy Jones and the Six first came out, an advanced reading copy was kindly sent to me by the publisher, but I never felt right attempting a review. You see, I barely plodded my way through half of the novel before tossing it aside. It later became a blockbuster bestseller and adapted into a TV series.

Guess we let you down here at Book Barmy. But let me explain

The premise was, and still is, intriguing — the making and wild success of an iconic rock band. In 1977, Daisy Jones & The Six were on top of the world; the band had risen from obscurity to fame, and then, after a sold-out show at Chicago’s Soldier Field, they called it quits. Now years later, the different band members and associates are being interviewed to finally uncover the true story of their experiences, and what went on behind the scenes.

But herein lies the problem, the story line is told through a series of interviews years after the band broke up and I really struggled with this format. I found it hard to keep the different characters straight through the interview format, and the different narratives were confusing. And these same characters never came to life even with their sex, drugs and rock and roll – it all fell flat for me.

I was a bit sad because 70’s rock and roll is the nostalgia of my high school and college years.

And yes, if all that sounds familiar, Daisy Jones and the Six is loosely based on Fleetwood Mac, with Daisy thinly disguised as Stevie Nicks.

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I’d heard about the TV series and one evening I gave it a try – and I was immediately hooked – line and sinker. I was transported back to the 70’s – the clothes, the original music throughout, and the cast was finally interesting and sprung to life. (Fun fact, Daisy is played by Elvis’s grand daughter, Riley Keough).

There’s sex, of course, drugs, yes – but mostly it’s about creating music which doesn’t always resonate with the band, but become hits — all while the band struggles to elevate themselves from the cliché.

The main relationships are portrayed with gritty realism, the male lead struggles with sobriety, his wife wants her family back, and then there’s Daisy who wants fame:

I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse.
I am not a muse.
I am the somebody.
End of f*****g story.

This is not a consistently great series, some episodes are better than others. And many of the characters are unnecessarily portrayed as jerks, which is supposed to make them more authentic to the 70’s LA music scene, but actually makes them hard to care about. Daisy wears flowing dresses and dances in circles, actually making a caricature of Steve Nicks – which is distracting.

Overall, it’s a somewhat stereotypical drama involving a rock band which becomes more compelling as the members alternately work their way through fame, success, love triangles, drugs, alcohol and angst.

It’s like some of us are chasing after our nightmares the way other people chase dreams.

I watched every single episode and adored being back in the 70’s. The Daisy Jones and the Six TV series is very well-produced, the sets are spot-on realistic – and the music — well, it was my music.

What else can I say — I had fun.

Try it, maybe you will too.

On the Road

We’ve been on a road trip. We decided to drive to Arizona to spend a week in Sedona – a favorite place. An area of red rocks, mountain air, and warm sun. If you’ve never been, you may want to put it on your travel list – see why below.

As always, when arriving in town, we gasp at the views.

Took a not-so-short hike … as some clouds drifted in.

Wandered another day to see Coffee Pot Rock – see it?

On a previous visit to Sedona, someone told us about the restaurant at the Sedona Airport – seems an odd choice for dining — we remembered it was great. It did not disappoint – great view and lovely food.

Husband found a local brewery nestled into the red rocks.

One day, we explored Oak Creek Canyon

Visited an Indian market, sanctioned by the Arizona State Parks, with proceeds going towards the Native American artists and education programs in the Sedona area.

We had a great time — good food, hikes, desert air and even some reading time.

Lots to see driving – especially back home along the coast ~ California poppies are in bloom everywhere.

Now, off to to do laundry and wash the red dust off our clothes.

A Caution

Wanted to give you a warning…the Luther film on Netflix is very violent, contains gruesome murders, and a psychopath killer. I can not recommend this film at all. Fair warning.

Husband and I enjoyed the original Luther BBC series, which, while gritty, was well written, acted, and had depth – The Fallen Son has none of that. We saw the film through to its end, but even the conclusion was over the top and so over-the-top it was laughable.

Another storm, more rain…quite happy to stay in with my book.

A Bit of Spring

Last fall I was at Husband’s happy place — aka Home Depot — and as is typical, his eyes glaze over as he slowly wanders through the tool section. Just a wee bit bored, I went over to the garden center and selected a bag of very pretty daffodil bulbs, which we planted a few weeks later.

These different daffodils didn’t come up with the other daffodils a few weeks ago, so I thought I got a bag of duds (serves me right for buying bulbs at Home Depot I thought to myself). But look, just look what popped up? I rushed out to cut them between storms.

Aren’t they beautiful? I’m in love and will definitely find them again this fall. (In our climate, we have to replant bulbs each year).

A bit of spring between storms

Now back to books ~~

I was very happily enjoying these two books (yes I sometimes switch back and forth between reads — especially if they are very different).

Then — I had to drop everything as this came in from my library holds.

Taa Daa – the new Deborah Crombie.

Long time Book Barmy readers will know that like Louise Penny, I eagerly await each new book in the Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series. My other Deborah Crombie reads HERE.

It’s been four years since her last installment, so I am trying to savor this one, but am already half way through.

There’s another big storm coming in tonight, even a possible bomb cyclone predicted.

But not to worry, we’ll batten down the hatches and, if our power holds, we’re planning to snuggle in to watch the new Luther movie on Netflix.

Then some bed time reading — it’s all party, party, party, here at Book Barmy headquarters.

Field trip anyone?

I’ve just recently been made aware of this hotel in New York City…

Husband and I were in NYC last May, but alas, didn’t know of this book lovers paradise. I’ve happily browsed their website and have to share some lovely images.

Books abound — in the bar, in the lobby, in the hallways, and of course there is a dedicated reading room — where I would order my food and drink delivered.

From their website:

The Library Hotel’s collection of over 6,000 books is organized by the Dewey Decimal Classification Each of the 10 guestroom floors honors one of the 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification and our 60 rooms are uniquely adorned with about 50-150 books and artwork exploring a distinctive topic within the category it belongs to.

Isn’t that something? Be still my Book Barmy heart…

And here is a typical room with books, of course, provided. The Library Hotel is pricey, but not out of line for New York City

So who among you barmy book lovers would like to join me on a field trip?

I promise we will explore the city but only after we’ve gotten a fill of the hotel

Library Hotel Website HERE

N.B. It won’t ruin it for me, but it does rankle me that they charge a $25 per daily resort fee which covers a range of so-called extras (when did WiFi become an extra?) – one of which is access to their library 24 hours a day. It seems a bit chintzy of them, but I guess they have to cover any losses, you know, those that may try to smuggle books home in their luggage …

not me ~~ but I’d be sorely tempted.

Forty-Four Years

We can hardly believe it, but we celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary yesterday. I use the word celebrate in our own low key context, on which I will expand shortly, but first let me just share the amazement.

First, it’s been 44 years and how can that be? It seems just the other day we were starting out in a drafty apartment in an old house and both working entry level jobs. Barely scraping by and saving money however we could. Turning down the heat (in New Hampshire – brrr), coming up with budget saving meals (my lentil recipe experiments were not fun), and yet, happy as could be.

These 44 years have been wonderful and neither of us would change a thing. I guess that’s what love does to you.

So back to our celebration. Our weather has cleared so we decided to drive just a short distance down the coast on Route 1 to Devils Slide. They had to build a tunnel to provide cars with an alternate route as the original Route 1 was starting to erode — being right on the coastal edge. They turned this old section of the road into a little trail for walkers and bikers. I was able to hobble along, despite my knee (cortisone shot on Tuesday, fingers crossed). We had great weather for the majority of our walk, but then the clouds came in and it got chilly – so we hurried on our way back.

Afterwards, we traveled a little further down the coast to a favorite restaurant – Moss Beach Distillery — a historic landmark with great seafood.

And unbeknownst to me, Husband called ahead to book the best table.

We don’t exchange gifts, just sappy cards — which our waitress noticed and brought us a piece of cake on the house to celebrate. Very nice and completely unexpected.

So there it is, the use of the word celebration is a relative here…we had a simple, lovely, low-key time together – just our style.

I came across this the other day – and I think it says everything…