Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

355 pages

"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. Another band getting noticed is The Six, 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 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"-- Provided by publisher.

I enjoyed the book very much. I'm also currently watching the series on Amazon Prime.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, 328 pages

The Lovely Bones is the story of Susie Salmon's brutal murder. Susie narrates the novel with her own voice, pondering her brief existence and the waves left in her wake. From her heavenly purgatory, she observes her friends stagger on without her; watches her murderer disappear unnoticed; despairs as her family splinters a sliver at a time. Over time, Susie watches as her loved ones' wounds slowly mend into scars, and she realizes that she, too, must heal.

The imagery oscillates between lacy, watercolor language and a stark, penetrating vocabulary but always remains visceral. The way the story unwinds reminded me more of a play than a novel which was slightly discomfiting, mirroring Susie's unease in purgatory. While not a novel I will revisit, it was well-worth a read. 

Everything I Never Told You By Celeste Ng

 Everything I Never Told You  by Celeste Ng-- 292 pgs. 

"Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet." Thus begins Celeste Ng's debut novel from 2014. It is a moving portrayal of the Lee family--an Asian-American family living in Ohio in the 1970s. Father James is a professor, mother Marilyn is a homemaker who once wanted to be a doctor. They have three children: Nath, Lydia, and Hannah. Lydia, 16, is the center of the family, though. The sun rises and sets on her. Her disappearance and death---lead to an unraveling of sorts. 

Celeste Ng handles the difficult subject matter with great depth and sensitivity. Parents and children--expectations and dashed dreams-- it's all here in unflinching detail. 

They Call Me Coach by John Wooden, Jack Tobin

They Call Me Coach by John Wooden, Jack Tobin
195 pages

"John Wooden's dedication and inspiration made him America's 'winningest' coach. His beliefs in hard work and preparedness brought the UCLA Bruins an unparalleled 10 NCAA basketball championships. Now in this bestselling autobiography...the college basketball legend reflects on his record-breaking career, his life behind the scenes, and how his top players went on to shape and change the NBA.

"From the everyday basics to important life lessons ('It's not how tall you are, but how tall you play'), Wooden shares his worldly wisdom on and off the court to offer a personal history of an unforgettable time in college basketball, answering the most-asked questions about his life, his career, and the players who made his teams unbeatable."   --from the publisher

Another long-time sitter on my shelf of books not yet read.  What a great story about an amazing human being!  He lived his values, loved his players, and worked HARD.  I also enjoyed reading about his time growing up in Indiana--not far from where we used to live.

And Blue Skies from Pain by Stina Leicht

And Blue Skies from Pain (A Book of the Fey and Fallen) - Stina Leicht, 300 pages

The second book in the series does not disappoint.  Leicht creates extremely realistic characters and drama that give a gritty truth to the dangers of Ireland during the Troubles in the 1970s.  The fantasy elements of the war between the Fey and the Fallen and the Church form an added layer of drama that doesn't detract from the whole.  Liam has served as a driver for the IRA, gone to prison for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffered numerous personal tragedies. He has vowed to not be drawn back into the sectarian violence but soon finds himself as a pawn in the larger paranormal war.  If you are fan of the truly truly reluctant hero, you will love this series.

Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht

Of Blood and Honey (A Book of the Fey and the Fallen) by Stina Leicht, 296 pages

This book layers urban fantasy elements into the Irish Troubles in the 1970s.  Liam doesn't know who his father is, and always assumed it was a Protestant who wouldn't stay with his Catholic mother.  Liam is faced with trying to stay safe and find work during the bloody conflicts between rival Irish religious factions that make it extremely unsafe to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The war between the Fallen and Fey pulls Liam into another centuries old conflict that will force Liam to discover his true heritage.  There are definite adult themes in this book involving violence, abuse and religion.  Leicht is very effective in injecting fantasy elements involving the Fallen, the Fey and even assassins for the Catholic church into the vivid descriptions of life in Ireland during the Troubles.