It doesn’t seem quite right doing a literary mixtape for a book that I loved so much. Because I should be telling you why I loved it, and urging you to read it. Read this review and also this one – they sum up why it’s ace. Now off you go and read it.
5/5 Magnificent. Continue reading
I’m very keen on books that incorporate music into the story and I’m not fussy about the format it takes. Things I love: literary mix tapes; words put to song; songs put to words; and authors who include playlists in end-notes. So, of course I was going to read Laura Barnett’s latest, Greatest Hits.
Greatest Hits is a fictional memoir. Singer-songwriter Cass Wheeler reflects on her life by choosing sixteen tracks that define her. Each chapter begins with the lyrics to one of her songs, followed by Cass’s account of important events in her life. Cass’s childhood, in particular her relationship with her mother, sets the foundation for an interesting story, and it moves on to her troubled teen years, her discovery of music, her rise to fame, and her tumultuous relationship with fellow musician, Ivor. Continue reading
Any book that begins with a playlist and an introduction by Nik Kershaw is obviously going on my reading list.
A quick Nik Kershaw refresher before I get into the nitty-gritty of 100 RPM – One Hundred Stories Inspired By Music, edited by Caroline Smailes –
And a little reminder of when I met him… Continue reading
Okay, that’s a Leo Sayer song but this post is all about the Gibbs.
I felt it was time for a Bee Gees literary mix tape (mainly because I’m still sulking about Barry’s cancelled Melbourne tour).
Marvel at the lustrous hair (chest and other) and the magnificent use of solid gold.
01. You Should Be Dancing / Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead Continue reading
Fairly certain that every review of Liz Moore’s The Words of Every Song begins with “I picked up this book because I loved Heft.”
So, let me begin… Continue reading
There’s more than 75,000 reviews of the best-selling Paula Hawkins thriller, The Girl on the Train on Goodreads. I have nothing to add. Instead, enjoy the tunes (although please note the following: it took all my strength not to include Sheena Easton. And Color Me Badd is everything that’s bad about the nineties). Continue reading
I was prompted to retrieve The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Armin from the depths of the reading stack thanks to Madame Bibi Lophile’s review – the quotes she chose were charming.
I began reading and quickly discovered that it’s a book full of charming. When I’d highlighted my millionth favourite quote I realised a literary mix tape was in order (forgive me the Hall & Oates…).
Rainy Days and Mondays – The Carpenters
It began in a Woman’s Club in London on a February afternoon – an uncomfortable club, and a miserable afternoon… Continue reading
In the eighties, much time was spent making mixtapes. If there was a special party, you made a mixtape. If you went on holiday, you made a road-trip mixtape. If you loved someone, you made a mixtape (and gave it to them if you had the guts…).
Continue reading
1. I spent last Sunday night in the presence of Her Madgesty. Here are some of my thoughts (in chronological order):
It’s Top Ten Tuesday and the topic this week is Ten Books on Your Spring Autumn TBR List. That’s good except that I went to the Madonna concert on Sunday night and I would rather talk about my top ten Madonna songs. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll pair them with one of the eleventy-hundred books in my TBR stack. The rationale behind the pairings will be tenuous, to say the least. Continue reading