10 Books to Read if You Love Daisy Jones and the Six

Following the lives of Bennie Salazar, a former punk musician and current record executive, and Sasha, his spirited yet tormented employee, the narrative spans several decades, as their lives intersect with each other and others across New York, San Francisco, Naples, and Kenya.

Playing with music, the reader learns of the intimacies of Bernie and Sasha's lives—their hopes, dreams, and secrets—and yet the pair never uncover one another's pasts. Falling in and out of self-destruction, this Pulitzer Prize-winning tale captures the universal feeling that there is never enough time. 

1973 was an iconic year for rock, with the talents of David Bowie, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, and more at their peak. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd was charting, while all former members of the Beatles had top ten albums.

And yet, the political and cultural scene was shifting, US troops pulling out from Vietnam, and the landmark establishment of Roe v. Wade. The American dream, for many, was just that, a dream, and the music of the period sought to document that.

Winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction, legendary artist Patti Smith, offers a behind-the-scenes look into her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe during the 70s.

In a remarkable account, with New York's Chelsea Hotel as a backdrop, Smith delivers a poignant story of youth, while spotlighting the tremendous art and people of the era. 

Following the life of a young man in early 1970s Detroit, Zadoorian delivers "a sweet and endearing coming-of-age tale measured in album tracks" (Wall Street Journal). The city, still reckoning with the race riot of 1967, Danny Yzemski, a pop music enthusiast, struggles to balance a difficult home life with the racism he faces at school.

To cope with his mom's rampant alcoholism and erratic behavior, Danny turns to rock music, with icons like the MC5 and Iggy Pop, finding himself through the power of song. 

Emboldened by the adrenaline of the 1970s music scene, this story follows the birth of a star, Jane Quinn, as she takes the place of rock icon Jesse Reid at the Bayleen Island Folk Fest. Jesse, in recovery from a motorcycle accident, strikes up a friendship with Jane, coaching her through the release of her first record.

Soon, a love affair blooms between the pair, taking them from the recording studio to on the road, playing sold-out stadiums.

But a secret from Jesse's past, fueling his music career, comes to light, causing Jane to not only reckon with his history, but her own, in what will culminate in the creation of a breathtaking album. 

A memoir that is "fun, often hilarious," Lita Ford dives into what it was like to be a female musician in the 1970s and 80s (Philadelphia Inquirer). Ford left home at sixteen, joining the world's first all-women rock group, to shred stereotypes as "heavy rock's first female guitar hero" (Washington Post).

Going on to become a platinum-selling solo star following the band's breakup—working with the likes of Jon Bon Jovi, Eddie Van Halen, and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi—this account also peers into never-before details of Ford's personal life.

Fearless and authentic, see how a rock legend was born.

There would be no rock and roll without groupies, and Faun, who has just moved to Los Angeles, is about to find out the hard way. While in the City of Angels, she reconnects with an old friend who is dating the front runner of the hot new rock band, Holiday Sun.

Armed with her Polaroid, Faun falls in love with not only the world of rock but the groupies behind the scenes. But just as she's getting used to this seemingly glamorous life, she will have to come to terms with the dreamland's dark underbelly. 

Chronicling the rise and fall of an iconic interracial '70s duo, The Final Revival explores not only the music but the intense cultural and political tensions of the period.

Fiercely independent, Opal wants to be a star and one day meets Neville Charles, an aspiring British singer/songwriter, who has similar ambitions.

Soon, the pair joins forces and is signed to a record label. But when a rival band signed to the same label displays a Confederate flag at a venue they are both playing, a chain of events is set in motion that will change Opal and Nev's lives, let alone careers, forever. 

Named "the best book of the summer" in 2021 by InStyle, Mary Jane follows the titular character as she navigates between two lifestyles: that of the conservative, religious household she was raised in and the world of rock and roll, of which she longs. 

A coming-of-age story set in 1970s Baltimore, Mary Jane's mother approves of her job, working as a nanny for a doctor's daughter. But what she doesn't realize is that over the summer, the doctor, who is really a psychiatrist, will be helping a famous rock star dry out.

And a week before Mary starts, he moves in. 

By the time she was thirty, Eve Babitz had done it all. Taking us on a drive through LA, from Sunset to the Watts Towers, Babitz showcases the landscape of Hollywood—and all her vivid memories as the city's ingenue.

Whether partying with rock stars or roller skating at Santa Monica pier, she conveys each tale with striking, unmatched prose.