DM's Beatles forums
Beatles forums => Books, Magazines, Articles => Topic started by: Moogmodule on August 25, 2021, 12:33:41 AM
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To tide me over during our current lockdown, I downloaded a copy of Bad Days in History by former Washington Post journo and history author Michael Farquhar. The book takes each day of the year and describes a negative historical event, at least from the subject’s point of view, from that day (a cheery read as you can imagine).
The author must be a Beatles fan. Of the 365 days (29 Feb is excluded), three deal with Beatle or Beatle member issues; Pete Best’s sacking, the beginning of the law suit for My Sweet Lord and the release of Two Virgins (i think he implies that it was a bad day for everyone). He also refers to the Beatles on three other days, including one dealing with Badfinger’s Pete Ham suicide.
Considering he was drawing from all of recorded human history and the breadth of human activity, it’s quite an impressive proportion.
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. . . and the release of Two Virgins (i think he implies that it was a bad day for everyone).
ha2ha
I presume, because you did not list it, that the author did not mention John's murder. Just curious, what was the December 8 event he selected?
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ha2ha
I presume, because you did not list it, that the author did not mention John's murder. Just curious, what was the December 8 event he selected?
No he didn’t! I thought that would be an obvious one given his seeming proclivities. It was the attack on the Philippines by the Japanese in ww2.
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No he didn’t! I thought that would be an obvious one given his seeming proclivities. It was the attack on the Philippines by the Japanese in ww2.
That does seem an odd omission.
Considering he was drawing from all of recorded human history and the breadth of human activity, it’s quite an impressive proportion.
It sure is. Always nice to see the Fab Four get their due, in any way, shape, or form.
. . . (a cheery read as you can imagine).
Well, gee, Moogmodule, if you're going to go that route, just turn on the American news. ;D
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That does seem an odd omission.
If he wrote the book chronologically, maybe by the time he’d got to December he realised it was already a bit Beatle heavy.
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If he wrote the book chronologically, maybe by the time he’d got to December he realised it was already a bit Beatle heavy.
Good point. If I were the author, though, I think I would have backtracked and omitted one of the other Beatle-related events and included the murder. And if I were the editor (here I go yammering about publishing again), I would have recommended that.
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He had. Sequel (More Bad Days…). I’ll see what he does in that.
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He had. Sequel (More Bad Days…). I’ll see what he does in that.
You lost me there. . . He had what? (I've been on the computer awhile; I hope I'm not missing something obvious.)
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You lost me there. . . He had what? (I've been on the computer awhile; I hope I'm not missing something obvious.)
Ohh, wait; I think I get you. He included it in the sequel?
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Oops. Didn’t read my post for typos.
I meant. He has a sequel. And I’ll read it at some point to see if he’s added Lennon
No wonder you couldn’t understand what I wrote ;D
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I'm straying a bit off topic here by mentioning a movie, not a book, but. . .
One of my favorite Christmas movies ("The Christmas List," from 1997) has a Beatles reference in it. The protagonist is a perfume saleswoman who is an expert at matching people to "their own personal" fragrance. She starts by asking them a few questions. One of them is "Who's your favorite Beatle?"—an excellent criterion, in my opinion. :) The girls and I watch this movie every year. Even my son used to watch it with us.
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The book I just finished editing had a Beatles reference ("With a Little Help From My Friends") in it. Needless to say, it stayed in. :angel: And I was rereading one of my favorite Sophie Kinsella Shopaholic novels and realized she referenced "She's Leaving Home."
Always nice to see a reference to the Beatles, no matter how minor.