MSB Book Club – December
The MSB Book Club gets ready to say goodbye to 2022 and a successful year of reads. With Christmas around the corner the book club choose an old classic for December to get into the festive spirit.
November’s book
November’s book was chosen by Matthew Park. Matthew chose ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a bestselling American author and her other novels include The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising and Carrie Soto is back. All of these novels share the same universe as Daisy Jones & the Six, with recurring characters throughout, but can stand narratively alone.
About the book: A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous break up.
Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the real reason why they split at the absolute height of their popularity…until now.
Matthew said: “I really enjoyed this book by her and have loved most of her others so hopefully it’s a good read. Plus there’s a series about it coming out soon if people can’t get through the book!”
On 6th December 2022 the first look pictures of the TV mini-series were released Vanity Fair with Sam Claflin playing Billy Dunne and Riley Keough (one of Elvis Presley’s grandchildren) as Daisy Jones.
The series will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on 3rd March 2023 and already has fans excited. The producers have confirmed there will be some changes, as with any adaptation, but the core of the story will remain the same.
Staff reviews
“My rating is 5 stars. I’m actually surprised by my rating, as while I was reading the book I found the main characters to be quite unlikable at times. However, I ended up reading the book over the course of two days and I even got a bit emotional at the end, so in hindsight I did enjoy it and it was memorable. I think I probably benefitted from reading the book in large chunks, as you could easily lose track of all the various characters given the format.” Michelle Summers, Solicitor *****
“I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read by Taylor Jenkins Reid especially Daisy Jones and The Six. I found myself hooked from the start and loved how the book took the style of an interview between the different characters complete with different interpretations of the same events and false narratives. The style and detail throughout the book often made it feel like it was biographical and clearly took inspiration from the real world which I found made it even more interesting. I was especially hooked during the final chapter and didn’t want to put the book down. Overall, I would give the book 4.5 stars.” Matthew Park, Paralegal *****
“I did not enjoy this book. I found the characters unlikeable, so I didn’t care what was happening to them and the format took some getting used to. I liked how each character had totally different views of the same event and you didn’t know who the reliable narrator was, but I ended up skim reading the second half of the book and was still able to understand what happened. I would give it 3 stars. I think this book will come across better in its TV adaptation due to how it has been written. I am still not put off the author as I understand her other books are not in this format.” Rachael Payne, Solicitor ***
“I had trouble with Daisy Jones and the Six, I couldn’t get into it at all so ended up giving up halfway through. My star rating is a 3.” Kathryn Mooney, Receptionist ***
December’s book
This month’s book was chosen for the upcoming Christmas period the classic “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. This novella was first published in 1843 and it only took Dickens six weeks to write the classic.
About the book: A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
The story was first published on 19th December 1843 and had completely sold out by Christmas Eve. 179 years later and A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages. The story has been adapted many times for film, stage, opera and other media. We recommend watching the 2017 film “The Man Who Invented Christmas” which focuses on how Mr Dickens came to write the story.
The book club will be back in 2023. From everyone at MSB, we wish you a Merry Christmas and happy new year!
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