Reading Challenge 2023: It’s Up to You, New York by Tess Daly

This post is about a book I read called “It’s Up to You, New York” by Tess Daly. In a previous post, I discussed the novel from a graphic design perspective. I discussed my initial thoughts on the novel based on the book’s cover design. In this post, I will discuss my thoughts on the book itself.

A few years ago, I visited New York and had a good time. I live in London, England and New York is similar in many ways. It’s a big city with people from all over the world. But it’s also very different. There’s a magical feeling about the place. It’s funny because when I was there, everything felt so familiar despite the fact that it was my first time visiting the city. This is because of all the movies and series I watched growing up, that took place in The Big Apple. One thing is for certain, there’s never a boring day in this unique city.

The reading challenge I chose to do was to read “a book set in another country”. I chose the US, specifically New York. I searched online for novels set in New York, created a short list and then went to my local library to borrow them. “It’s Up to You, New York” was one of them.

Above: Image of the book “It’s Up to You, New York”.

I didn’t have any expectations. I only wanted to feel the magic of the city and relive some of my own memories through the story, characters and places. Nothing too heavy. Just a casual read.

The story revolves around a young woman who works at a call centre. The young woman, Holly, has a lovely boyfriend named James and they both live in London. Life is pretty good…apart from the fact she doesn’t really like her job. Then one day, an opportunity arises to join a television show seeking the UK’s next supermodel. After much deliberation, Holly decides to join the show.

This is where the story really starts to take off. She enters into a completely different world from her own. This world involves luxury, celebrities, premieres, the spotlight and of course, New York! But above all, life changing experiences.

I think that the short chapters help create the sense of a fast paced world. Things happen so quickly in the life of Holly that, as the reader, you feel it too. It was really nice to read about locations that I visited, such as 5th Avenue, Little Italy, Chinatown, The Empire State Building and the Museum of Modern Art.

There were a few things that surprised me. Firstly, the book was set in London. I assumed that it would be set entirely in New York, however it was nice to start things off in London. I live there so I could relate to the things mentioned in the novel. Secondly, the fashion reality show is only part of the story. Many things happen outside the show that contribute to the story. For example, there is an incident that happens with her boyfriend which actually catapults her into New York, but then comes full circle towards the end of the story.

The characters were also interesting. There were many questions and thoughts going through my mind such as the motives of the characters including: Max (the billionaire host of the show, who is nothing but nice to her…but why?). Zane (who speaks so much slang, is he really saying anything?). Sasha (her friendly supervisor on the show, but then becomes frosty for some reason). Joe (a journalist, but can he be trusted?) and Moet (a foe on the show but then shows a sudden change of heart).

There are other more poignant moments such as her younger sister who is diagnosed with a condition that makes it difficult to walk and her child-like nature to trust people who eventually let her down. But also elements where she surprises herself with her bravery and courage, to overcome situations and figure things out.

I predicted a few things correctly during the course of the book, however, the big twist at the end had me shocked. I did not see it coming!

Conclusion

It took just under 2 weeks to read the novel. That is very quick for me. It can take me a while to read because I can be inconsistent, but I made a real effort to read on a daily basis.

The book is a love story to New York. There are romantic moments, but also very funny moments. It all made for a good read. I really enjoyed it.

This is part of a reading challenge I am doing inspired by popsugar. Click here to read other posts related to reading. I’m looking forward to reading other books as part of this challenge. So watch this space.

Book Cover Design Analysis: It’s Up to You New York by Tess Daly

I’ve been thinking a lot about New York recently. It all started with a podcast I listened to. It’s a French podcast I use to practice my listening skills. The title of the podcast is “Raconte-moi New York” which means “Tell me about New York” in French. The host tells the listener about his love, passion and adventures of New York. He is a French person who fell in love with the city by watching shows like Friends, movies by Stanley Kubrick, and following sports such as baseball. When I was listening to the podcast, it stirred up memories of my own. I went to New York several years ago and as the host was talking, it reminded me of my own experiences. I had also grown up watching shows and movies set in New York. After listening to an episode or two, it triggered my interest in the city once again.

So, I re-watched some of my favourite movies and series set in New York. I looked at some of the photos I took when I was there, and I even watched a few YouTube videos of people travelling to the city that never sleeps for the first time. It was all good fun. Then, I realised something. I’m doing a reading challenge (similar to popsugar‘s challenge of reading a variety of books for the year). I had never read a book set in New York before. Now was my chance.

I searched up books set in New York online, created a list and went to my local library to see if some of them were there. For the first read, I wanted something light-hearted and not so serious. A book that showed the magic of New York, a book that made me think of the city and perhaps want to visit again. Preferably in modern New York. Perhaps a romantic novel, or one with some humour I thought. So, I came across a few books and one of them was called “It’s Up to You New York” by Tess Daly. It fit the mood I was in. A good choice for a casual read. I just started it and I’m enjoying it so far.

The first thing I loved about the book was the book cover design. It really stood out from the crowd. It’s beautiful. This post is about the book cover from a graphic design perspective.

Above: Image of book (front and spine)

The first thing that stood out for me, was just how elegant and beautiful everything was. It really felt romantic and magical. I love the title. The decorative serif font used for the “It’s Up To You” part of the title, fits well with the theme of New York being a magical place. It’s as if the protagonist is saying this with a strong attachment to the city. In fact, there is an image of a woman staring at the skyline, perhaps romantically and in deep thought. It’s really clever because the viewer can also see what she sees, and assume her thoughts through the title. It’s mysterious. You want to know more.

The colours enchance the mystery. The colour purple can be associated with mysteriousness, and it is used to good effect in the design. The purple mixed with pink and then a darker purple from top to bottom of the cover, creates unity and communicates a sense of wonder and curiosity. It also creates elegance and romance. Purple can also be associated with luxury and royalty. The pink creates a slight contrast, but also creates unity because it is close to purple on the colour wheel; making it analagous. There is also unity with the image of the woman as she is dressed in a pink colour and her fashion also represents elegance.

The added effect of the fireworks in the sky surrounding the title fits well with the font-style. There is nice contrast between the words “New York” with the rest of the title. It is a sans-serif and is more modern. Perhaps communicating the time period of the novel or the well-structured modern city style. The title also stands out. It is light whilst the background is dark. The name of the author and what it is about (bottom) is synced with the background in pink, showing that the more important information is the title of the book and the image. It all works out for a great design. It makes me want to read it, and that is what I am doing.

Drawing: ♫ Here Comes the Spiderman♫

That’s right folks, this post is all about spiderman, well drawing spiderman. I watched the 2002 and 2004 Spiderman movies recently with my younger brother and I forgot how much I enjoyed them. I really like the films. It was great to relive the memories of old, from Peter Parker getting bitten to James Jonah Jameson’s hilarious lines to Green Goblin and Peter Parker’s first crowd pleasing moment in beating up the school’s bully.

‘Meat. I’ll send you a nice box of Christmas meat‘ – James Johan Jameson with a hilarious line

Green Goblin is my favourite villain out of the trilogy. I love his menacing laugh, his costume and Willem Dafoe(the actor who played him, he really looks like a villain if you ask me!). I really felt for him when he was betrayed by the very people he hired and was then forced to resign. I totally felt his pain and motive, the same goes for Doctor Octavius who wanted to create a renewable energy source that would better mankind by allowing cheaper electricity for all. Unfortunately he got controlled by his own creation but in the end did the right thing in devouring his creation and going back to what he first intended; a scientist who helps mankind move forward.

‘Peter Parker….? Brilliant but lazy’ – Dr. Otto Octavius’s fist line after discovering that Peter Parker is Spiderman

So during and after watching the films I had a strong desire to draw spiderman. I also drew a couple of other characters from the films. Below are the drawings.

Drawing of Spiderman.

So one started off with Spiderman himself. I snatched references from Google Images and drew everyone’s ‘friendly neighbourhood Spiderman’. I really enjoyed drawing Spiderman. I tend to listen to film soundtracks or musical scores whilst drawing as it helps me get in the zone but I also really like them in general. This time round I listened to soundtracks from The Good Dinosaur film. I really like the film and musical score(big Pixar fan and animation fan) as I relate to the main character Arlo. First reference can be found here and the second can be found here.

Drawing of Green Goblin

My favourite Villain. Gotta love his menacing laugh! Reference image found here.

The Memorable Kissing Scene of Spiderman and Mary Jane.

Yes, the memorable kissing scene between Spiderman and Mary Jane as he rescues her from a bunch of thugs. I wanted to include Mary Jane in this post so I looked for an image where I could draw her. Firstly I tried to find a full body reference image but only found the cartoon version(I wanted the film version of the character i.e. Kirsten Dunst as MJ) and when I came across this image, well I couldn’t resist but to draw it. I was nervous about drawing Mary Jane as, like I said I’m not great with faces.

This is my favourite drawing out of all of them, simply because I incorporated the technique of drawing a ‘line of action’ before commencing with a drawing from a book I am currently reading titled ‘Lessons in Classical Drawing‘ by Juliette Aristides. As you can see from the drawing I tried to draw a sort of structure that I can base the drawing from. I tried to figure out the most important lines. In terms of the book I just started reading it and have read Chapter 1 where the author talks about the formal element lines and it’s uses in Art. It also gives examples from master paintings. I didn’t really think about lines such as the variety i.e. straight lines, curvy lines, important lines. I like the part where she states that it’s good to ‘look before you leap’, this is where Juliette explains to the reader that observing before drawing, and taking the time to observe before you draw is a valuable thing to do.

‘Draw for the love of drawing‘ – A blog post by new blogger AJF Illustrations. The smashing title really made my day as that’s exactly what I want to do. Draw for the love of drawing.

So, that’s it for today. I’ve ordered a few sketchbooks and, finally, art materials such as pencils, chalk and erasers. I’m looking forward to sharing my progress with you all. See you later ladies and gents!