The Friday 56 (211) & Book Beginnings: Daughters of Chivalry by Kelcey Wilson-Lee

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Virginal, chaste, humble, patiently waiting for rescue by brave knights and handsome princes: this idealised - and largely mythical - notion of the medieval noblewoman still lingers. Yet the reality was very different, as Kelcey Wilson-Lee shows in this vibrant account of the five daughters of the great English king, Edward I. The lives of these sisters - Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary and Elizabeth - ran the full gamut of experiences open to royal women in the Middle Ages. Living as they did in a courtly culture founded on romantic longing and brilliant pageantry, they knew that a princess was to be chaste yet a mother to many children, preferably sons, meek yet able to influence a recalcitrant husband or even command a host of men-at-arms

Beginning: "Close your eyes and think of a medieval princess. Do you see a woman clothed in vibrant silks and rich velvets, her head, hands, and waist girdled with gleaming gold and sparkling gemstones?"

56: "Now under royal patronage, the next century saw significant expansion in the wealth and size of the priory." 

Comments: My first read of 2022 was Daughters of Chivalry by Kelcey Wilson-Lee. It's a nonfiction book I've been meaning to get to, and it was just as good as I thought it would be. It's all about the daughters of Edward I. 

What are you reading this week? Or what was the first book you read in 2022?

I Listened to The Gods We Can Touch by Aurora

A lot of good music came out in January of this year. First with FKA Twigs’s mixtape, Caprisongs, and now with Aurora’s album: The Gods We Can Touch. 

With Aurora, I already guessed that the album would be thematic, and I was right. The six singles—Cure For Me, Giving In To The Love, Exist for Love, Heathens, A Dangerous Thing, and Everything Matters featuring Pomme—offered a taste of the tone of the album, and the title paints a pretty clear picture of what to expect.

The Gods We Can Touch was emotional and topical, but ultimately it was lighter and different than some of Aurora’s previous music. It felt a lot more experimental and upbeat, bringing in notes of electro-pop without losing the ethereal/dreamy nature adjacent quality that I liked about Aurora’s backlist tracks. Some of my favorites from this particular album include: Cure For Me, Blood Like Wine, Exhale Inhale, and A Dangerous Thing.

In some ways, it reminded me of Halsey’s 2021 album: If I can’t Have Love, I Want Power. They both have historical and mythology references, but the albums go about the presentation of themes in a way unique to the respective artist.

So, The Gods We Can Touch was one of my most anticipated albums of 2022. My expectations were sky high, considering how good the singles preceding its release were. Overall, this was a great album, and I’m looking forward to Aurora’s next project.

Music Monday (187): FKA Twigs, Sevendust, & Deniece Williams

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm currently listening to FKA Twigs's new mixtape, Caprisongs. I talked about it in a separate post at the end of last week, and I wanted to mention one of my favorite songs for Music Monday. I really love the mixtape, and one of the memorable tracks is Honda featuring Pa Salieu.

Adri: This week I'm listening to Dirty by Sevendust.

Andrea: Hi all! I'm listening to Let's Hear It For The Boy by Deniece Williams. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

I Listened to Caprisongs by FKA Twigs

While I started my blogging year with historical nonfiction, on the music side, the first thing I listened to was Caprisongs, FKA Twigs’s mixtape released on January 14th. 

Mixtapes can be hit or miss for me; after all it’s a place where experimentation with style and genre can (and often does) occur. So when they’re good they’re good. Some of my favorites have been Magdalena Bay’s Mini Mix vol. 1 & vol. 2, as well as Angel Haze’s Reservation. And Caprisongs falls right in with some of the best I’ve listened to.

When FKA Twigs releases something new, I know I’m in for a good time. With features including Pa Salieu and The Weeknd (among a handful of others), Caprisongs delivered everything I was looking for. Proceeded by two singles—Tears In The Club featuring The Weeknd and Jealousy featuring Rema—FKA Twigs’s genre-bending style and distinct vocals were front and center.

I listened to Caprisongs in one sitting, and I enjoyed every minute of it. From the splashy intro (Ride The Dragon), to the features (Honda, Tears In The Club, Papi Bones, Which Way, etc.), and to its excellent conclusion (Thank You Song). This is a mixtape I’ll be listening to again.

Music Monday (186): Allie X, Epica, The Weeknd

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Allie X released a deluxe edition of her 2020 album, Cape God, which added four new songs. One of my favorites is Anchor.

 

Adri: I'm listening to The Skeleton Key and Kingdom of Heaven PT 3 by Epica. I like the album versions, but I feel the Omega Alive performances add an extra flair.

Andrea: This week I'm listening to Take My Breath by The Weeknd. Have an amazing week all!

What are you listening to this week?