Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Title:  Carrie Soto is Back

Author:  Taylor Jenkins Reid

Narrated by:  Stacy Gonzalez, et. Al.

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 30 minutes

Source: Checked out with Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

 Are you a tennis fan?  If so, who is your favorite player?  Growing up, my friend Erin was a tennis player and I feel that all I know about the world of tennis is from her.  I also think it’s cool that Erin pursued tennis in college and is now a college tennis coach. 

 Carrie Soto is back is the story of a fictional famous tennis player, Carrie Soto.  Her career was in the 1970’s and 1980’s and she retired after winning twenty slam titles and turning thirty.  Now that she is 37, her record is smashed by Nicki Chan.  She decides to come out of retirement to try to win back her record again.  With the help of an old love, Bowe Huntley and her coach father, will she be able to meet this new challenge?

 Carrie Soto felt like a conglomerate of many famous tennis players from back in the day, but I also felt flashes of Serena Williams as well.  Luckily, you don’t have to be an expert on tennis to follow along on Carrie Soto’s journey.

 Carrie Soto is Back was the July pick for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  I sadly had to miss the meeting due to work commitments, but it worked out as I wasn’t able to get a copy of the audiobook through the library until after the meeting.  I ended up listening to Carrie Soto is back in August and it kept me very intrigued through many drives for work.

 Carrie Soto seemed like a cold person that grew up in the vacuum of tennis.  She seemed to have no personal relationships at all and to not be happy.  Her father gave her the love of tennis, but also made it so she didn’t have a normal childhood or teenage life.  For me, what I loved best about this novel was her growth and seeing her develop personal relationships by the end of the novel.  I also really wanted her to win and found her matches nail-biting.

 I also thought it was interesting that Carrie Soto was called a “battle ax” by the press and other worse things for being a woman who wanted to win.  This seemed very true to what I’ve seen female athletes face over the years.

 I loved how in this audiobook there are newsclips about Carrie Soto.  They are read by different narrators acting the parts and also have accompanying music.  It was very entertaining!! Stacy Gonzalez was a great narrator and was the voice of Carrie.

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Title:  Daisy Jones and the Six

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Read by:  Sara Arrington, Jennifer Beals, Arthur Bishop, Fred Berman, Benjamin Bratt, Jonathan Davis, Ari Fliakos, Holter Graham, Judy Greer, January Lavoy, Robinne Lee, Peter Larkin, Henry Leyva, P.J. Ochlan, Robert Petkoff

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 3 minutes

Source: Checked out on Overdrive from the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you! 

Daisy Jones and the Six was the May pick for the Rogue (aka FLICKS) Book Club.  I feel like I’ve heard about this book for so long, it was great to finally be able to read and discuss it.

Daisy Jones and the Six is told in a documentary style to discuss the band, how it got it together, and why it broke apart. The Six was a band that was started by brothers Billy and Graham Dunne in their suburban Pittsburgh garage.  They start to gain fame but explode into another level of fame when Daisy Jones joins them for an album and tour.  Daisy was a wonderful singer but is very much into the drug and alcohol scene.  She is just drifting through life before she joins the Six.  The band is volatile and hanging on by a thread.  Will they be able to make it through their tour?  What caused them to break up in the end?

I listened to Daisy Jones and the Six on audiobook and it was fantastic.  I don’t know how this would read as a physical book, but I love that they had a full cast of actors for all of the different characters.  There were a lot of characters.  I followed the main character storylines, but I would mix up some of the minor characters.  I thought it was hilarious on how one of them completely didn’t know what was going on the entire time and read all situations incorrectly.

Those that read or listened to this in book club seemed to like the story as well.  The one complaint was that it actually seemed like a real band and the book made you want to listen to the music, but when you went to look for it, you found out it was all fiction.  I would love to hear the songs.  I read that this was loosely based on Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac.  I don’t know much about them, so this was all new to me.  I was overall amazed that these people could have survived the 70’s with their drug and alcohol use.  I really loved how the ending tied it all together.

Overall, Daisy Jones and the Six is a fantastic audiobook about the highs and lows of a seventies rock band.  The story will draw you in and keep you enthralled until the end.