July Preview

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Susan

We’ve made it to July, woohoo. June flew by in a blur. We had some nice days but in general it was a pretty rainy month. It’s made things very green and lush here, which is nice and hopefully will keep us away from wildfires … though it seems now we are still looking for the real summer summer, which hopefully will come in July, since it’s usually the warmest month of the year. Meanwhile I hope everyone is staying safe … the pandemic news from the States is not looking good and some areas seem to be close to getting out of control … good gracious, be careful everyone. 

Over the weekend, my husband had a nice sail with a group on a lake in southern Alberta. It was fun to go and see the Laser boats race along and we all met up at the other end of the lake for lunch — albeit socially distanced. Since much of where we live rests between the prairies and the foothills, there is often a good wind here. And we had wind part of the day though it later died in the afternoon, which was a bit surprising for that area. So the boats were eventually towed part of the way back after a couple hours. Go figure … we usually have too much wind, so this outcome was rather an anomaly.

Upon driving back we faced a pretty heavy thunderstorm. Good grief we thought we’d be hailed on, which can cause a lot of damage, but luckily we slipped past the worst of it and had more trouble with the high levels of water on the road. All turned out okay in the end, knock on wood. Meanwhile, I hope everyone has a sunnier and safe Independence Day ahead … whether on Canada Day or on July 4th. And now let’s discuss what new releases are coming out this month. 

There seem to be a lot of new novels to choose from, so Covid appears not to have caused too many delays. Of these I’m curious to read Maggie O’Farrell’s upcoming historical novel “Hamnet” (due out July 21) that delves into the little-known backstory behind Shakespeare’s most famous play about his son who was lost to the plague.

The novel apparently imagines the life of Shakespeare’s family surrounding these events without ever mentioning the bard’s name, in which his wife Agnes is the central character and he is the Latin tutor who is destined for better things. It’s said to be a compelling tale of grief and family bonds set in 1580 England, where the plague is spreading across the land. I haven’t read this notable Irish-British author yet, so this seems a good opportunity.

Next is British author David Mitchell’s new novel “Utopia Avenue” (due out July 14) about the turbulent life and times of a British band that emerges from London’s music scene in 1967 … as a ragtag group of four unforgettable characters assembled as a psychedelic-folk-rock supergroup.

Hmm, I admit I hesitate at the novel’s length of nearly 600 pages, but if you’re a fan of rock ’n roll kind of novels like me, you’ll probably want to dive in regardless. It’s definitely a commitment but is said to have plenty of rewards and is from the award-winning author of such novels as “Cloud Atlas” and “The Bone Clocks.” 

For an action crime thriller, I’m looking at S.A. Cosby’s novel “Blacktop Wasteland” about a down-on-his luck father and husband who’s pushed to the limit by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime into taking a job as a getaway driver in a jewelry heist with people he doesn’t trust. Uh-oh.

It’s a novel that comes highly praised on Goodreads and is said to include some high-octane action scenes and car chases, which could very well make it the heist thriller of the summer. (The plot reminds me very slightly of the 2018 movie “Widows” for some reason, remember that?) So if you need a page-turner and an escape read for the back deck, perhaps this is it. 

I’m also curious about Emma Donoghue’s new novel “The Pull of the Stars” set in Dublin in 1918 at the height of the Spanish flu — about a nurse in an understaffed hospital who is joined in the maternity ward by two other women whose lives change while they work tirelessly to save and usher in lives.

Like she did with her bestselling novel “Room,” Donoghue is said to find the light amid the darkness in this tale, which apparently is well researched and does justice to the harsh realities of the pandemic and poverty that helped fuel it. Some think it might be her best book since “Room,” so I guess we’ll just have to find out. 

Last but not least, is Jill McCorkle’s novel “Hieroglyphics” (due out July 28) — narrated by four alternating characters — about an octogenarian couple, Lil and Frank, who retire in North Carolina where Frank grew up, and a single mother (Shelley) and her boy who live in Frank’s old house. Keen on touring the house, Frank’s visits there trigger Shelley’s memories of her family that she had hoped to keep buried … but now emerge.

It’s a novel that apparently delves into family ties and the burden of secrets across generations. I have not read McCorkle before, but her storytelling with her past books seems revered and worth exploring. 

As for movies in July, the live Broadway musical production of “Hamilton” filmed in 2016 with most of the original cast will be released digitally on Disney+ on July 3. I still haven’t seen it so maybe this is my chance to watch Lin-Manuel Miranda as the Founding Father. The film version is said to live up to all the hype, so the critics say. Did you see it on Broadway? 

I also like the looks of Tom Hanks’s new WWII film “Greyhound,” releasing on Apple TV on July 10, that follows Hanks as a U.S. Commander on his first war-time assignment to lead an Allied convoy through waters patrolled by Nazi U-boats in early 1942.

It’s based on the 1955 C.S. Forester novel called “The Good Shepherd” and was filmed aboard the USS Kidd in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and on the HMCS Montréal of the Royal Canadian Navy. Busy Tom Hanks has surely been in his share of WWII films, and look for him this Christmas in the movie version of Paulette Jiles’s western novel “News of the World.” Oh my. Here is my post of that book.

Another enticing looking WWII movie — “Summerland” — is due out digitally on July 31 — about a reclusive British writer on the seaside cliffs of Southern England who’s left to take in a young London evacuee due to the Blitz, which she’s initially resistant to do.

It was written by the British playwright Jessica Swale and stars Gemma Arterton as the writer who, I gather, eventually comes around in a heartwarming way. We’ll see. Perhaps it’s a bit similar in that regard to “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” movie … if you saw and liked that one.

As for music coming out in July, there’s new albums by such notable artists as: Rufus Wainwright, the Jayhawks, the Pretenders, Lori McKenna, Alanis Morissette, and the Chicks (formerly known as the Dixie Chicks), whose album “Gaslighter” is my pick this month. Apparently it’s been 14 years since the group’s last album. Hard to believe. It seems good of the band to change its name recently in light of the renewed spotlight on racial inequalities, abandoning “Dixie” due to it often being a nostalgic nickname of the Civil War-era South … especially since the group appears to be a pretty active politically/socially conscious band. As for the word “chicks” … ha, you might not like that too much either.

That’s all for now. What about you — which new releases this month are you looking forward to? 

Posted in Top Picks | 33 Comments

Prairie Fever and American Dirt

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Susan

I hope everyone is enjoying these pretty summer days and the flowers in bloom despite our trying Covid times. Hard to believe: we just passed the summer solstice and the longest day of 2020. How are your reading goals looking at the midway point of the year? So far I’m on track to reach mine but still remain a bit distracted by virus spikes, crazy political news, and wondering if the economy will come back. The U.S./Canadian border remains closed for another month, flights out of here are pretty minimal, and plans to see my folks in California are on hold till I figure out a safe way. I will continue to assess the situation for August and stay put in the interim.   

Meanwhile in book news I was really sorry to see that famous Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafron, age 55, passed away last week from cancer. What a terrible loss as his four-part series “The Cemetery of Forgotten Books,” which started with his 2001 novel “The Shadow of the Wind” was much beloved globally.

My husband enjoyed it and I still have it on my TBR backlist. This should be the year for it. Judy over at the blog Keep the Wisdom just finished all four in the series, which ended with Zafron’s 2016 novel “The Labyrinth of Spirits,” and had great things to say about it. Thankfully his books live on in the wake of his sad passing. Have you read his 2001 bestseller? And now I’ll leave you with a couple of reviews of what I finished lately.

Prairie Fever by Michael Parker / Algonquin Books / 336 pages / 2019

Synopsis: This novel, which came out last year and is just out now in paperback, is about two dissimilar sisters, ages 15 and 17, who are closely bound to each other by their isolation growing up and going to school by horseback on the desolate prairie in Oklahoma in the early 1900s. They have a strong reliance on one another … until a cataclysmic blizzard has tragic consequences, and their interest in the same man comes between them. Uh-oh. 

Lorena is the older one who’s practical and pretty and dreams of attending college, while the younger Elise likes to recite newspaper articles by rote and is driven by flights of fancy and jesting with her sister. She’s fond of the family horse and has an ear for piano playing. Neither at first thinks much of the young inexperienced teacher Gus McQueen who arrives from out of town to work at their school … but later when the blizzard hits … their lives become entangled and changed forever.  

My Thoughts: The story, which spans from 1917 to 1940, drew me in little by little to the hardships of their lives on the prairie — with their preoccupied parents who lost sons to illness — and the strength of their bonds … as the chapters alternate among the three main characters: Elise, Lorena, and Gus. Their lives are drawn together … and then later due to events are abruptly altered irrevocably and diverge. You wonder as the years pass what will become of them … as they marry and move away and whether there will be a reconciliation of sorts or if their paths will cross again. 

It’s a story that reminded me a bit of a Willa Cather kind of rural tale of two sisters whose lives and hearts are tested. I could relate to Lorena more … as at times Elise’s flighty actions lead to trouble. The language and the landscape transported me to their days on the prairie and delivered a kind of reckoning at the end in which it seemed the passage of time had helped. I liked how the author captured the time and place of this bittersweet sisterly tale and will watch for whatever he writes next. 

In disclosure: I received an e-galley of this novel from the publisher Algonquin Books to read and review.  Thanks for making it possible. 

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins / Flatiron Books / 2020  / 16 hours, 43 minutes on audio read by Yareli Arizmendi

Synopsis:  When a drug cartel operating around Acapulco massacres members of a family, a woman (Lydia) and her 8-year-old son (Luca) flee and make a plan to try to escape to safety over the southern border of the United States. 

My Thoughts: It seems most know if they intend to read this novel, which received so much press, by now. It won’t be for everyone. But I was curious by the uproar over it and a friend said she couldn’t put it down. So I took the plunge. My initial reaction after finishing the lengthy audiobook of it was: Whoa it’s a long hellish journey that Lydia and her son Luca endure along with others, particularly two sisters Soledad and Rebeca, fleeing circumstances in Honduras, whom they meet and befriend on the run. All will face endless hair-raising hurdles that’ll set you on edge and grind your teeth. It’s exhaustive and harrowing in places and you’ll need a good breather after. 

In many ways it’s typical thriller fare … and does not exactly rise much above that. So it’s not too surprising to hear the criticism that it exploits migrants and perpetuates stereotypes. Thrillers on the whole are pretty manipulative and are meant to turn pages. To its credit I will say its story made me think of migrants’ plights in a visceral way and unmoored me. Oprah didn’t make it her book club choice for nothing. It’s a strong cup of coffee that bears witness to a lot of suffering and desperate people fleeing violence.

From the story, you’ll get a sense of why caravans of people travel thousands of miles to arrive at the U.S. border with the hope of escaping something horrible in their homeland: whether it be from gangs, murder, drug cartels, relentless oppression and violence. You’ll also get a sense of the many dangers they face along the way to get there: whether jumping on top of trains, fleeing authorities, getting robbed and raped, existing without shelter or food or water in punishing conditions. It’ll drain your blood being in Lydia’s and the others’ shoes. Is it really any wonder you’ll feel or show them some compassion (which seems the purpose of the book). Some of the people along their route do and help them … while others prey on them. You’ll be wary to figure out whom to trust. 

Some parts of the story might not seem totally believable … like how the protagonist Lydia — might know and be friends with the head cartel guy in Acapulco and not know this about him … or not have her family go into hiding after her journalist husband writes an expose of his crimes. But other parts of the dangerous journey will seem perhaps all too believable and real in one’s head.

I’m sure there are various migrant or Latino authors who have written about such treks and issues in more substantial or nuanced ways. And I will look to read their works and in general to read more from authors of diversity and from different countries. Diversity and other nationalities are where we can learn so much about other lives and viewpoints. In ways this thriller — and the furor it’s caused in the publishing and reading world — points readers to other books and authors to pick up and explore. Therefore I’m not all against Jeanine Cummins or what she’s written and obviously researched. She raises hair-raising events about issues you’ll think about long after. Read or don’t read it at your own whim. The audiobook is read convincingly by Mexican actress and director Yareli Arizmendi, who felt realistically like the character of Lydia.  

That’s all for now. What about you — have you read these novels or authors and if so, what did you think?

Posted in Books | 45 Comments

June Bloom

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Susan

Hi. I hope everyone is staying well. It appears re-openings and activities are picking up and summer could be busy after all. We’ve had some nice days but also quite a bit of rain, which has made the foliage here go crazy. The lilac bushes are in full bloom and the smell is lovely, even Stella, at left, thinks so.

It’s high pollen time, so if I come down with headaches and sniffles I’ll try not to immediately think of Covid-19. I’m still social distancing … though I’ve been hitting some tennis with friends, which I’m finding is a sport that’s relatively safe, if you only touch the ball with your racket and use the hand sanitizer before and after you play. The virus cases here have dropped off significantly.

Meanwhile I was considering whether to put out a summer reading list this year for myself, but I sort of like to pick up whatever is on my mind at the time. I’m an avid mood reader and tend to keep my reads under wraps till I post about them … as if it’s a big surprise, ha. Will you be making a summer reading list this year?

Meanwhile, it’s almost prime back-deck reading season here and I’ll likely be mixing in faster plot-based reads with slower literary fiction. It’s a kind of mix that usually works at this time of year. Though have you ever noticed that e-readers aren’t the best for reading in the sunlight? I can’t see a thing on the screen. So it’s back to print books for the deck. And now I’ll leave you with reviews of a few books that I finished lately.

The Falling Woman by Richard Farrell /Algonquin Books /out June 23, 2020

Synopsis: This debut novel tells the story of a middle-age woman — Erin Geraghty — who plans to attend a retreat for cancer patients in California but the plane crashes en route and the NTSB investigator, Charlie Radford, is tasked in the aftermath with identifying the 123 bodies and figuring out if a lone survivor at the hospital is indeed for real. But before he can interview the woman, she checks out and no one knows where she’s gone. 

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this quick read, which I’d describe as thoughtful suspense lit. It’s told in alternating chapters from the two main protagonists’ viewpoints, describing in interesting detail their backstories. Erin is the woman scheduled to take the flight who’s been through many rounds of chemo for the past year for pancreatic cancer. She’s a lawyer in the DC area with a husband and two grown kids. But under her ordeal with cancer, she’s become tired of her marriage and recalls an affair she had years ago. Charlie, meanwhile, is a former pilot who loves flying but no longer can due to a heart ailment. His wife wants him to commit to having kids and buying a house, but he’s been resisting, and when the crash happens, he becomes consumed with his job of investigating his first big crash site.

These two characters held my interest, especially Charlie who seems so earnest and wants to do right by those who lost their lives, but then is hampered by rumors of a lone survivor. Eventually Charlie and Erin’s stories intersect and the suspense builds well … as to whether Erin was on the flight and survived and whether Charlie will get to the truth of what happened and announce it at the crash hearing. The ending is a doozy that will have you turning the pages quickly to get to. 

I liked the novel’s themes of fate, randomness, privacy … and the miracle of life, which it offers up with an enticing sensibility. You might not like or agree with everything these characters do … but I found it was their decision to make. My only minor critique is there’s a bit of repetition of Charlie’s work manta to follow the evidence and be objective. But I was okay with the premise — not fretting too much over whether the crash situation seems implausible … you’ll likely need to suspend some disbelief … to see other points it’s making. Such a miraculous kind of premise reminded me a bit of Stephen Kiernan’s novel “The Curiosity” about an ancient man trapped in ice who comes to life … you just go with the possibility of it and see where its wonder will take you.

In disclosure: I received an e-galley of this novel from the publisher Algonquin Books to review. Thanks for making it possible.

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld / Random House / 432 pages / May 2020

Synopsis:  This is an alternative history kind of novel in which the life and political career of Hillary Rodham Clinton is re-imagined as if she and Bill had gone their separate ways instead of marrying.

My Thoughts: I’m probably in the minority about this novel, which I listened to as an audiobook, as I was expecting to like it much more since I usually really like Curtis Sittenfeld’s novels as she is a great storyteller. But I guess I’m in the camp who liked the first part of the novel with the young grad school age Hillary and Bill together at Yale and then in Arkansas … but when they split and the alternate history of their lives in the story starts … I thought as it went on …. it went sort of off the rails. Some of the plot turns become a bit ludicrous … how she knocks off Carol Moseley Braun’s run for the Senate … and then near the end does a stump speech with Trump at one point …  and how she asks to sleep with a scoundrel-version of Bill decades later when he asks her to a private dinner … then gets angry when he doesn’t. 

Some parts seemed believable as Hillary and other parts not so much. Surely the ending is good and Hillary’s strong independence, her smarts and her stance on issues … but having her let Trump give an endorsement speech in her run for the presidency threw me into the DTs. I was a bit surprised too how it differed from real life political events and sequences and didn’t care too much for all the personal stuff … but I did like how the story highlights the double standards female political candidates endure in the U.S. compared to their male counterparts. It’s just crazy the sexism in politics and in running for U.S. office and the presidency. Hillary faced it all when she ran in 2016 … awful stuff, which the novel really re-affirms. You realize once again the almost impossible threshold for a woman to become president, due to underlying sexist notions, that the country is still awaiting its first … here embarrassingly in the twenty-first century.

All in all, it’s a semi-sympathetic portrayal of Hillary … not fully, there are mistakes. But the portrayal of Bill Clinton is pretty damning, as a narcissistic  predator. He comes off seemingly worse than even Trump. It’s a bit awkward … such a biographical fictional sketch of Hillary who’s still an active public figure these days. Some parts in the novel I liked about Hillary’s thoughts and how she affects people’s lives around the country (there’s a woman she befriends who’s going through cancer treatments) and yet other parts I didn’t like as much … and thought better of Hillary in reality. So you decide if this one is for you. 

Sea Wife by Amity Gaige / Knopf / 270 pages / 2020 / April 2020

Whoa this is a marriage-on-the rocks kind of story between a husband — Michael — who suggests that his family of 4 (with kids ages 7 and 3) take a year away from their home in Connecticut to sail around the Caribbean near Panama. His wife — Juliet — has had problems with depression (stemming from issues in her childhood) and feels rotten for not completing her PhD dissertation on the poetry of Anne Sexton. While the husband Michael, who’s a sailing enthusiast from childhood, is eager to have the family go, and seems like a libertarian in his political views and a Trump supporter … which is one of things that causes he and his wife to argue. Still they seem to love each other from their college days (as well as their cute kids) … just not at the same time.

As the family begins their sailing trip, it becomes interesting with them voyaging among islands and encountering various people and nature along the way. They also experience their fair share of troubles: with weather and the boat. It’s a story told in alternating paragraphs between Juliet (while on the boat and also at times looking back later on what happened) as well as Michael’s views from his sailing logbook entries. So from fairly early on you know something wrong has happened on the trip … but you don’t know exactly what till near the end. 

You get Juliet’s and Michael’s backstories too and it shines a light on all the nooks and crannies of their marriage and the nuances as it sort of combusts. The young creative daughter Sybil also plays a pretty playful role in the story (not to mention the baby Georgie) and their sailing adventure, whose outcome affects everyone on the boat. Needless to say, the family doesn’t end up making the trip to the one year mark. Kudos to the author — who cleverly intertwined the dialogue of the husband and wife and made it into an engaging story. After giving this 4.5 stars on Goodreads, I will have to go back and read the author’s 2013 novel “Schroder” sometime in the future. 

Ps. I read both the print copy of Sea Wife and listened to the audiobook of it, which is superbly done by Cassandra Campbell (as Juliet), Will Damron (as Michael), and Emily Eiden (as Sybil). I especially recommend the audio version as the back and forth segments from the characters are excellent; they really play off one another’s conversations in interesting ways.

That’s all for now. What about you — have you read any of these and if so, what did you think? 

Posted in Books | 26 Comments

June Preview

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Susan

Well we made it to June, hard to believe. May went by pretty quickly but the tough news seems to continue. It’s crazy to see each day unfold … compounded by a divisive president who makes matters worse. It’s sad for the country … and to see what’s happening now.

I’ve also been trying to figure out a way as to when I can visit my parents in California. The U.S./Canadian border has been closed for a couple of months and it might open around June 21, though it remains to be seen if it won’t be postponed again. Then there’s the 14-day self-isolation quarantine rule … which I know many are dealing with in trying to see parents and relatives. It’s tough. Once a travel visit ends, there’s another 14-day isolation quarantine upon one’s return (at least internationally). So to keep waiting to travel seems prudent but is not always possible when there’s other concerns involved. So my thoughts go out to everyone dealing with far-flung family members during these Covid times. 

As for a glimpse of good news my husband and I went to the mountains over the weekend and had a great bicycle ride, where the weather was beautiful and we saw this grizzly bear along our route. He or she was a nice bear and gave us quite a thrill, seeing such a majestic animal in a beautiful setting. We went on our way after several minutes of observation and so did the bear moseying along to find another patch of grass to eat. 

Meanwhile I see that some libraries around North America have begun curbside services, where you can go and pick up books on hold etc. It hasn’t started here yet, but maybe in a couple weeks some part of our library system will open. I hope so. I really miss checking out new books, though I have been supporting the indie bookstores here with a few purchases … on top of reading more novels on my e-reader. Have you? What’s your method been of obtaining books? And now let’s check out what’s coming out this month in June.  

Actually I’m surprised there are a ton of new novels releasing this month, while some books were pushed to fall or next year, many others were given the green light, which is good for us. Of those, Britt Bennett’s new novel “The Vanishing Half” (due out June 2 / Riverhead) looks to be a strong contender … about two twin sisters who grow up in Louisiana but then move away … ultimately choosing to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white.

I liked Bennett’s 2016 debut novel “The Mothers” and this one is said to be another “immersive family drama that raises questions of identity and personal freedom,” according to the NYT. From what I’ve seen, it sounds like something relevant and insightful for our times. 

I’m curious too about Marie-Helen Bertino’s new novel “Parakeet” (due June 2 / Farrar, Straus and Giroux), which the publisher says is a darkly funny and warm-hearted novel about a 36-year-old woman holed up in a Long Island inn a week before her wedding whose dead grandmother (in the form of a parakeet) warns her not to marry and sends her out to find an estranged loved one.

Hmm, this sounds like a strange, surreal little novel — not totally typical for me to pick up — but I’ve heard the writing in it is too good to miss and it’s received high praise on Goodreads and from various authors such as Lauren Groff. So I’m going to check it out along perhaps with the author’s 2014 debut “2 a.m. at the Cat’s Pajamas.” Have you read it?

Next, I’m interested in Richard Farrell’s debut novel “The Falling Woman” (due out June 23 / Algonquin), which I’m midway into an advance copy of. It’s about a woman named Erin Geraghty who’s thought to be the soul survivor of a horrific plane crash and Charlie Radford who is an NTSB investigator on the crash. Erin, a cancer patient, who’s unsure exactly of what happened, slips away to an undisclosed location not wanting the attention, and Radford must figure out if she’s for real, where she’s gone, and what to do while the pressures on him mount to get decisive answers about the crash.

So far I’m liking the author’s sensibility and the plot’s meanderings: on fate, unlikely lives converging, and hard-to-believe extraordinary circumstances. It makes you sort of dream about the impossible and wonder how random things unfold. Watch for my review of the novel later this month.

Also there’s J. Courtney Sullivan’s new novel “Friends and Strangers” (due out June 30 / Knopf), which explores the unlikely friendship of a new mother who’s an accomplished journalist and her babysitter in a small college town in upstate New York. Apparently the two become unexpectedly close friends … until a secret threatens to rupture their relationship, uh-oh.

This one sounds a bit similar to the plot of Kiley Reid’s debut “Such a Fun Age” but also perhaps with different focuses. I liked some of the writing in Sullivan’s prior 2017 novel “Saints for All Occasions” — so I’m game to continue on with her new one. 

Honorable mentions this month that I’m also considering include: Hester Young’s new novel “The Distant Dead,” (June 9, Morrow) which is said to be a slow-burn of a murder mystery set in the high desert hills of a small Nevada town; Stephanie Scott’s debut “What’s Left of Me Is Yours” (June 23, Doubleday) set in Tokyo about a young woman’s search for the truth in the crime of passion that took her mother’s life; and Sanae Lemoine’s coming-of-age novel “The Margot Affair” (June 16, Hogarth) about a young Frenchwoman’s secret family life as a love child between a French politician and a famous actress. Whoosh!  All these make for quite an array of novels coming out this month … who said the pandemic could stop us from new books?! 

As for movie releases in June, Elizabeth Moss stars as horror/mystery author Shirley Jackson in a biographical drama about the writer … who apparently finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple. Uh-oh the movie “Shirley” looks a little kooky but all right if you care to investigate. There’s also a new Disney movie called “Artemis Fowl” (based on the first novel of Eoin Colfer’s children/fantasy series) and a new Spike Lee film called “Da 5 Bloods” about several African American veterans who return to Vietnam in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader … and then things begins to happen. 

 All of these look halfway decent … though we’re sort of caught up in TV series these days. Currently we’re watching the first season of “The Morning Show” starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell, which includes a #MeToo kind of plot at a news channel that’s pretty intense in the cutthroat world of broadcast news programs; wow the cast makes it hard to turn away from.

And we’re also watching Season 2 of the Icelandic murder mystery drama “Trapped” set and filmed on location in Iceland, which is pretty cool. It’s nicely paced with Icelandic actors … that follows the story with subtitles in English, though it’s easy to follow and its detectives do a good job of tracking down the suspects.  

I have many current TV series — inspired by novels — that are on my list to see including: “The Plot Against America,” “My Brilliant Friend,” “Little Fires Everywhere,” “Defending Jacob” and “Mrs. America” though that last one was created for the screen and not a book. Have you seen any of these? Hopefully I will get to check them out sometime, maybe this summer. Let me know if any of them appeal to you.

Lastly this month in music releases, there’s new albums by Bob Dylan, Kaleo, Neil Young, Norah Jones, John Legend, Jason Mraz, CeeLo Green and Canadian singer Chantal Kreviazuk among others. Quite a bonanza of new music. I’m sort of looking at the sister trio group Haim out of L.A. whose third album “Women in Music Pt. III” was postponed from an April release due to the pandemic. Its single “Summer Girl” preceded it many months ago and is quite a catchy song. Check it out here. 

That’s all for now. What about you — which new releases this month are you most looking forward to?

Posted in Top Picks | 38 Comments

Summer on the Horizon

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Susan

I hope everyone is having a great weekend … and not getting too close at the beach or the barbeques :-). We had a very rainy past week here so we could use some fresh air and Vitamin D from the sun … though at least the leaves on the trees are out, see Stella modeling at left. And it should be sunnier tomorrow for a bike ride outing and next week too.

Meanwhile have you been contemplating Biden’s shortlist picks for VP? (I’m watching too much news, right?) Here are the possible candidates: Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Sen.Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Rep. Val Demings (Florida), Stacey Abrams (Georgia), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.). Do you have a favorite of these, or who are you picking as the VP choice?  It’s all under wraps for the moment, but vetting is being done night and day as we speak. 

As for this week I think I’ll check out some of the BookExpo Online event happening May 26-29. Perhaps they’ll have some good virtual chats. And I hope they’ll be recorded because who knows if I can make it at the times they have listed. And it just so happens that it’s almost June — can you believe it — and that means that Summer Reading is on the way and Summer Reading lists too, so perhaps start jotting down titles you’d like to get to while enjoying your summer months. It’s such a great time of year … we need to stay positive amid these trying times, right? And for now, I’ll leave you with a few reviews of what I finished lately. 

The End of October by Lawrence Wright / Knopf / 400 pages / 2020

Why I Picked It Up: Whoa who reads a pandemic novel during a pandemic? I guess I was curious to pick it up to find out how similar it is to what’s currently going on now … and for sure some things in it are eerily on target about the disease, the contagion, and the political response. Apparently author Lawrence Wright began writing the novel in 2017 and finished it before our current situation got underway. Though it’s crazy timing, right?

Synopsis: It’s about a hemorrhagic fever outbreak at a camp in Indonesia, where epidemiologist Dr. Henry Parsons travels to investigate a group who’ve died. Soon he learns that an infected man is headed to Mecca to join millions at the annual Hajj. From there, despite a massive quarantine lockdown, the disease spreads becoming a global pandemic that unleashes havoc on the world, which Dr. Parsons and others try to race to slow and stop … while his family in Atlanta awaits his return. 

My Thoughts:  If you’re looking for a fast page-turner, this one doesn’t seem to get really going quickly until after 200 or 250 pages. The first part is filled with background info about diseases, terrorist plots, characters, and this and that. If you’re not into learning a bit, or wading into the mire of pandemics, it might lose your interest a bit … but I held on and found it interesting info to what we’re undergoing now. 

Though at first it seems Dr. Henry Parsons, the main protagonist, working on behalf of the World Health Organization, makes a couple of dubious moves that might be a bit hard to fathom: such as letting his driver into the infected Indonesian site … and getting trapped, working for months on the opposite side of the world away from his wife Jill and their two kids, whose lives in Atlanta play out as they await his return, trying to cope as things begin to deteriorate.

Ohh shouldn’t Dr. Parsons have found a military flight back? Good grief, there’s some real terror to the story as the virus spreads around the globe and deaths begin to mount. Whoa this is a tale that becomes much darker than what we are experiencing now. It’s rough and turns bleak. Hopefully our world won’t become like this … even if the next wave of the virus heads in our direction. It’s all the more reason to remain vigilant to staying safe and following the rules … despite what some might tell you. 

Another protagonist in the book Tildy, a director at Homeland Security, isn’t as fleshed out as the main story, yet her side plot is equally as scary in its imminent threat of an all out war with Russia and how it plays out. Good grief, western democracies begin to collapse and the alternative is: chaos and the worst side of human nature … it’s not exactly a pretty picture.

Apparently director Ridley Scott had suggested the book idea to author Lawrence Wright after reading Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel “The Road,” from which he wondered how its unrevealed apocalypse came about … giving Wright the impetus to research and write this scenario. It seemed to me Wright’s research for the book was pretty extensive and his plot prescient, I just wish some of his storytelling and character fulfillment could’ve been a bit better. A few of them felt hung out to dry. Still I’m glad I read it, but it likely won’t be for everyone. 

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa / Pantheon / English translation 2019

Synopsis: It’s about an unnamed female novelist who lives on an island (perhaps off of Japan) where an authoritarian government makes everyday objects (such as bells, ribbons, perfumes, harmonicas) one-by-one disappear, not only physically but also in the minds and memories of the islanders. The government has its Memory Police enforce these object disappearings and arrest the few islanders who are able to retain these items and not forget them. The Memory Police patrols the town, taking away suspects and trying to find potential safe houses.  

The narrative alternates between the female novelist’s life — her friendship with an Old Man living on a boat and how she comes to hide her male editor called R (who has memory recall) in her house — as well as the novel she’s writing that tells the story of a typist who becomes imprisoned by her teacher. 

My Thoughts: I listened to this novel as an audiobook … and though it’s simply told, there’s a lot about it which makes it meditative and unsettling. It’s a bit of an unusual dystopian story that comes off being fairly credible … at least to a certain degree… you come to believe it is happening to these people on the island, which makes it all the more alarming. 

Apparently the book was originally published in Japan in 1994 but just came out in English in 2019, since it was deemed relatable to authoritarian times. I liked how the book’s theme played with memory and the novelist’s creative process … and how I came to care about the safety of the woman, the Old Man, and the editor R, who lives and hides in a cell underneath her floorboards. 

Apparently one of the author’s favorite books is “The Diary of Anne Frank” and you can tell with R’s small hiding place and the interaction with the two hiding him. It’s also telling how as such daily things are taken away, the characters begin to dissipate physically and mentally over time. Hmm there’s much food for thought in this unique Japanese novel.

Heft by Liz Moore / 354 pages / W.W. Norton / 2012

Synopsis: This 2012 novel has dual narratives that eventually connect: between a retired 550-pound professor living in a Brooklyn brownstone named Arthur Opp … and a 17-year-old high school boy named Kel Keller in Yonkers who has hopes of becoming a pro baseball player and cares for his mother Charlene Turner who has lupus.

Charlene was once a college student of Arthur Opp’s and they were friends and pen pals for years after but then lost touch …. until a call many years later by Charlene to Arthur to tutor her son sets things in motion. To prepare for this, Arthur hires a cleaning lady named Yolanda … who opens up his closed world ever so slightly. 

My Thoughts: Oh this is a story about three lonely, pained people. My goodness “the despair of loneliness” is a main theme of the story. I was really drawn into the audiobook … especially by Arthur’s voice at the beginning and how his life unfolded … to such a point that he hasn’t left his home to go outside in 10 years. His heft and loneliness have folded in on themselves, making Arthur basically a recluse to the world. And Kel’s upbringing has been sad as well. He’s not sure of his father and his mother is sick and he’s on his own a lot. Baseball has been his one hope … and perhaps connecting with Arthur since he once knew his mother. 

I liked Arthur’s narrated chapters a bit more than the boy Kel’s but the backstories of both characters pulled me in — as well as how the narratives came together. The author is an excellent storyteller … and propels you along despite it being quite a drawn out character kind of (saddish) story. I won’t forget the inimitable Arthur Opp anytime soon.

This is my third novel by Liz Moore and my favorite of hers is still “Long Bright River” … but this one did not disappoint. Although the author makes the novel end a bit abruptly before you’re ready for the story about Arthur and Kel to conclude. The future outcome is left a bit to one’s own imagination, which will either make you dreamy, or upset it was left like that. By then, I wanted to know more! 

That’s all for now. What about you — have you read any of these — and if so, what did you think?  Cheers for now.

Posted in Books | 26 Comments

More Virtual Days

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Susan

I hope everybody is hanging in there. The number of daily virus cases here has dropped quite a bit, which it seems is due to the two months of lockdown and distancing and hand-washing procedures. But now things are about to open up gradually in stages, so we will see if we can keep the cases from spiking too much.

Tennis friends are asking to hit again as the City has given the green light to outdoor singles play albeit with new guidelines. So I will try tennis today, which will feel strange after life in lockdown. Meanwhile at left is a sign I saw while on my morning dog walk recently. I agree with the sentiments: Thanks to our frontline workers of nurses, doctors and staff, who have saved lives fighting this terrible disease … many of whom have lost their own lives in the process. So tragic. Our hearts go out to them.

As for book news, I see that the annual BookExpo, which was scheduled to be held at New York City’s Javits Center, will instead be made virtual this year and free to the public from May 26-29, so stay tuned to the Expo’s Facebook page for more upcoming information.

I have only gone to one BookExpo, which was in Chicago in 2016, but it was a lot of fun and quite informative. For those who don’t know: BookExpo is the publishing industry’s biggest trade event where those who are connected to the biz come together to find out about upcoming titles, authors, new technology, and trends. It’s one big book industry / marketing /sales and blogger fest. 

It reminds me there’s so many events going on virtually these days. You can find live concerts, lectures, classes, gym training, book talks and other online streaming things on top of all the podcasts you were already trying to hear each week. It’s a smorgasbord out there. Your favorite bookstore is likely streaming a live event even as we speak. I’ve checked out a few virtual book talks via D.C.’s Politics & Prose bookstore and Denver’s Tattered Cover bookstore. It’s neat when you can watch them streaming live, though you can also catch them after they’ve passed too. Have you checked out any? And now I’ll leave you with a couple of reviews of books that I finished lately. 

Writers & Lovers by Lily King / 320 pages / Grove Press / 2020

Why I Picked It Up: I liked the author’s last book in 2014 — “Euphoria” — which  was historical fiction and based on the life of anthropologist Margaret Mead. 

Synopsis:  The novel’s protagonist is named Casey, age 31, who waits tables at a restaurant in Harvard Square where she bikes to from across the river … and who works hard despite various stresses in her life to finish her debut novel, which has taken six years of her life. She struggles financially (under college and grad school debt) and is still grieving the loss unexpectedly of her mother. She also has health concerns, is writing daily early in the mornings, working double shifts late into the night, and needs to decide between two guys she’s seeing on the sly. 

My Thoughts: Ohh to be young … without much cash and on the go …. in the setting of Boston and the Charles River. I always seem to fall for coming-of-age tales and this one is endearing enough to root for Casey, who’s having a few crises all at once. Are these the best kinds of stories or what? It reminded me slightly of Laura Zigman’s new novel “Separation Anxiety” — since I read it recently — which is also about a writer on the brink of chaos and breakdown. I was glad for the ending of both novels … they aren’t all downward spiral … which I was so thankful for. I can’t be worrying about Casey forever, but I liked and was glad to spend time with her.

There’s quite a bit in the story about Casey waiting tables, which reminded me a bit of Stephanie Danler’s novel “Sweetbitter” since I finished that one recently. These are two restaurant, coming-of-age writer stories I read in the same month. I better bus my own tables after this. Also it was my second read by Lily King … whose novel “Euphoria” is quite different than this. “Writers & Lovers” is lighter and has some amusement to it. It isn’t as serious in tone as “Euphoria,” though it still has conflict and anxiety to wade through. 

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel / Unbridled Books / 256 pages / 2009

Why I picked it up:  Because it’s the debut novel of Emily St. John Mandel, the author extraordinaire of the 2014 novel “Station Eleven.” She’s also originally a Canadian and I need to read more from Canadian authors since I live here now. This novel reminded me slightly of author Heather O’Neill since her novels are often set in her hometown of Montreal.

Synopsis: The story centers around a child abduction case … Lilia, age 7, is taken by her father away from her mother and out of the country. She is raised as a fugitive on the go from town to town, trying to elude a private detective named Christopher that her mother has hired.

She has made a life for herself on the road with her father … and later even in her 20s, Lilia, who is talented at languages, is still traveling about, leaving relationships in her wake — her last being Eli in Brooklyn — a graduate student unable to finish his dissertation (about dead languages) and working at a boring security job at an art gallery. Eli’s bereft that Lilia has left and so when he’s contacted months later by the detective’s daughter Michaela informing him that Lilia’s in Montreal, Eli leaves to try and find her with the help of Michaela. Along the way, they piece together information concerning Lilia’s abduction. 

My Thoughts: This slim debut novel had some of the same trademarks as Mandel’s National Book Award finalist “Station Eleven” from flashbacks in time, to themes of art and languages, and traveling, circuses, and Shakespeare quotes. Mandel seems to like to make her novels like jigsaw puzzles that circle around and back in time and reveal mysteries about a tragic event … after various stops and starts. 

All of the characters in this are impacted by the unique fugitive Lilia … and Michaela’s life sort of parallels Lilia’s … with her detective father away on the road and her mother absent. So it held my interest on how it unfolds … with Eli chasing leads via Michaela around Montreal on Lilia’s whereabouts.

It’s not as compelling or creative as “Station Eleven” is …. but yet it’s a debut novel that shows some of the spark and talent about where such a novel came from. It’s a building block with similarities in which you get a feel for the characters, the abduction, and its aftermath. I’m still wondering about the ending, which surprised me a bit and left me on a ledge. 

That’s all for now.  What about you — have you read either of these and if so, what did you think?  And how is your area’s opening going? Stay well my friends.

Posted in Books | 26 Comments

Spring Cleaning

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Susan

Well it seems … sadly the news for May is not looking like it’ll be any better than April in terms of the pandemic and some say it will get worse (ugh, I won’t detail the grim projections from an internal report by a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist to the Trump administration that was reported in the New York Times recently, but American deaths per day listed by June 1 were considerably more than they are now). So it’s best to remain vigilant and stick to the rules whether on the job, or in public, and if possible to keep staying at home. 

Mentally we forge on … in distracted spare moments with books, screen time, family video chats, dog walks, and even a puzzle. The good news is spring has arrived here and the grass around town has just turned from brown to green in the past week. The leaves on the trees are about to burst open soon and the sun feels good. I’m taking pleasure in the little things that surround us … and keep us going.  

As for book news, you might have seen that it was announced on Monday that Colson Whitehead just won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel “The Nickel Boys,” which I, like so many bloggers, had admired last year. His book beat out the other finalists:  Ann Patchett’s “The Dutch House” and Ben Lerner’s “The Topeka School,” and apparently Whitehead is only the fourth writer ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction twice, since he also won the prize in 2017 for his novel “The Underground Railroad.” He’s been on a roll as of late … with his past two books being about weighty topics … but he says: “The next book I’m working on has more jokes in it, and it does feel like those two books seem sort of remote now.”

As for TV series, over the past month we finished: Season 3 of “The Crown” in which Olivia Coleman did a good job as Queen Elizabeth in her first season with the show, and I thought Episode 3 about the Aberfan disaster in Wales in 1966 was the most powerful and sad episode they’ve ever made. Good grief, what an awful tragedy … which I hadn’t known about till I watched the episode; did you see it? 

Then we picked up and finished the final eighth season of “Homeland” … which has a doozy of an ending. If you were torn by the ending of “The Americans,” perhaps you will be with this one too. I can’t say anymore, but I will miss Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin who were great on the show.

Also the first season of the British mystery/crime show “The Capture” was pretty good and now we are onto Season 6 of “Bosch.” That’s Harry Bosch — the detective out of L.A. He’s one cool cucumber and the show has some terrifically shot scenes around Los Angeles … and one from Season 5 over the Salton Sea. Don’t miss it, if you like cop kinds of shows. And now, I’ll leave you with reviews of a few novels that I finished lately.

Long Bright River by Liz Moore / Riverhead Books / 482 pages / 2020

Synopsis:  Mickey is the narrator protagonist, a single mom and cop who patrols a rough Philadelphia neighborhood that’s rocked by the opioid crisis, where her sister Kacey lives on the streets in the grips of addiction. These sisters once inseparable are now not speaking … but Mickey still watches out for her until one day Kacey disappears … all the while a string of murders start to take place, leading Mickey on a search to find Kacey before it’s too late.

My Thoughts: I listened to the audiobook (read by Allyson Ryan) and loved it (giving it 5 stars) … mainly because I liked Mickey and wanted her to prevail. You really get a sense of what’s between these two different sisters and how they grew up at their grandmother’s since their parents were addicts (and their mother died young). 

Author Liz Moore delivers with this one … it’s powerful in an understated way and though it doesn’t have a ton of action, it slowly builds and you really get a lot on the characters, the area, and the police beat. It’s both a police procedural and a family drama and I was caught up in it pretty much from the get-go … though it is drawn out to good effect. I was rooting for Mickey to unravel her sister’s disappearance and the murders … and hopefully not to get killed in the process. I thought the couple twists that came towards the book’s end were cleverly done.

I enjoyed it more than Moore’s last novel “Unseen World,” but I plan to read her others like “Heft,” which others I know have really liked. She’s definitely an author to watch and I think “Long Bright River” will likely make my favorites list at the end of the year.

Heat & Light by Jennifer Haigh / Ecco / 430 pages / 2016

Synopsis: It’s about the small, dying coal mining town of Bakerton, Pennsylvania, that sees an awakening after fracking exploration comes to town. The story includes quite an array of townspeople who are affected in different ways by the fracking development.

There’s the Texas CEO and fracking crews who come to town; there’s those who eagerly sign leases for drilling on their lands, such as Shelby and Rich Devlin (with their sickly daughter who might be getting sick from contaminated water); there’s Pastor Jess who’s a widow and gets involved with a manager on the crew; there’s meth heads and addicts and Darren Devlin who’s trying to hang on to his sobriety; and there’s a lesbian couple who are organic dairy farmers — Rena and Mack — who don’t sign a lease and become anti-fracking activists. 

My Thoughts: The novel seemed well researched with various perspectives about such a town, and I learned a bit about fracking and energy in Pennsylvania and what happens to people when such an enterprise comes to town. I felt I came to know some of the characters, like Rena and Darren and that drew me in … though I also found the story a bit scattered as it meanders around between all the different people and side stories including a few chapters about the Three Mile Island disaster. Still it’s an interesting look at fracking and those who are for and against it and what happens to a town in the midst of such an upheaval change. 

This was my second read from author Jennifer Haigh whose 2011 novel “Faith” I liked as well.

You’re Not Aone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen / St. Martin’s / 352 pages / 2020

Synopsis: When 31-year-old Shay sees a woman her age throw herself in front of a New York City subway train, she becomes anxiety-filled and fixated to learn more about her. She ingratiates herself into the dead woman’s inner circle of friends — lead by the glamorous Moore sisters — who befriend her … but then it turns out that not all is what it seems to be. 

My Thoughts: I guess I’m not really much of a psychological thriller kind of reader — though I keep trying — so I’m probably in the minority on this one. And it was my first by this popular writing duo that I listened to it as an audiobook, which was narrated by multiple readers for the characters. 

 I liked the lonely, insecure protagonist Shay (a market researcher) and her love of statistics … which she writes down and quotes from her data book — such as: “The average person will walk past 16 killers in the person’s lifetime” (hard to believe eh?) — and which ultimately help her figure things out. But the plot of the Moore sisters and their inner circle and how it plays out … had me sort of rolling my eyes. It didn’t do much for me and maybe a few of the villains felt a bit cardboard-ish. Still if you’re ever on an airplane again, this read will likely go down swiftly.

That’s all for now. What about you … have you seen or read any of these and if so, what did you think?

Posted in Books, TV | 34 Comments

May Preview

Posted on April 28, 2020 by Susan

Well, we are about to turn a corner on April and I don’t think I’ll miss it.  Sayounara April. The month of May looks like it will be a bit better, though I’m worried about setbacks of opening areas too quickly in light of the pandemic. Still we forge on, and perhaps while staying vigilant with distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing we can gradually open up more over time.

Meanwhile, my dog and book assistant, at left, is getting plenty of fresh air off the beaten paths and soon it will be swim season, which is her favorite. While April is a pretty brown month here plant-wise, May is when things turn green and full of bloom and promise, so I will keep hope alive. At least the snow is now gone. What about you — how are you holding up, and how is your area doing? 

I’ve been looking at what’s coming out in May … and it’s been a bit hard to figure as releases of spring books, movies, and music have seen some flux in their schedules due to the pandemic, with many being postponed until the fall or later. Still there are others that plan to stick to this month, so let’s take a look at those. It’s probably safe to say that Curtis Sittenfeld’s latest novel “Rodham” (due out May 19) is one of the biggest new releases. Oh yeah, Curtis is a not-to-miss author for many readers and I am usually one of them. I’ve read two of her novels: “Prep” and “Eligible” and both were terrific, so I’m in the Curtis camp. 

The new one “Rodham” is an alternative history political novel about the life of Hillary Rodham Clinton, imagining what might have been if she hadn’t married Bill and had entered political life as a single woman. Ahh-ha, sounds like an interesting premise and I’m told it’s mostly a sympathetic one towards Hillary. I’m game for the novel … though I admit to being a bit world-weary (or fatigued) of Clinton books by now, but I surely wanted her to be prez over the current resident hands down (such a terrible debacle in political history … that we are still paying dearly for).

Meanwhile I haven’t seen any reaction to it yet by the former Secretary of State. Has she read it and what does she have to say about it? 

Next up, I’m curious about Stephanie Danler’s memoir “Stray” (due out May 19) since I recently read her debut novel “Sweetbitter” and liked it a great deal. These days it’s not really unique or new to write about one’s familial dysfunction and/or addictions in a raw painful way: whether it be Tara Westover’s memoir “Educated,” or J.D. Vance’s book “Hillbilly Elegy,” or Mary Karr’s “The Liar’s Club,” or Jeanette Wall’s “The Glass Castle” … there’s been quite a flood over past years that will tear your guts out. And this one is said to be in the same genre.

Typically I’m not that into reading about family dysfunction and addiction, but Danler is a writer to watch. She has some cred to her, so I got to go there.

Also there’s Ivy Pochoda’s new novel “These Women” (due out May 19), which Kirkus Reviews says is a murder-mystery-kind-of thriller about six women in L.A. who struggle in the shadow of a serial killer who was never apprehended.

It’s said to be gritty and seamy “loaded with feminist intentions” … like I’m told other Ivy Pochoda’s novels have been. Apparently Pochoda’s novels are often set in her hometown of Los Angeles and she likes to write about “women’s lives too often unseen in the shadows.” I have not read her yet, but this novel has received praise and a high rating on Goodreads of 4.28, so what are we waiting for. 

Last up in books for May is the new novel by Lydia Millet called “A Children’s Bible” (due out May 12), which I’m told is not exactly about religion but is a short allegorical tale about climate change …. in which a group of kids go on vacation with their families to a sprawling lakeside mansion and endure a destructive storm … eventually making a foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside. I gather that’s the gist of it.

Millet, whose last novel “The Sweet Lamb of Heaven” I read, is a unique kind of writer. Her stories usually seem a bit out there or strange but are effective too. Susie over at the blog Novel Visits has already read and liked “A Children’s Bible” so that’s good to hear. I think it’s a short, quick read too. 

As for movies in May, it looks to be a bit hit and miss as usual, but if you liked Caitlin Moran’s 2014 British novel “How to Build a Girl” you’re in luck because the movie version of it is due out May 8 with Beanie Feldstein (the younger sister of Jonah Hill) as Johanna Morrigan.

You might recall it’s a funny, bawdy coming-of-age story (rated R) about a teen girl who reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde, moves to London and gets a job as a music critic in the hopes of saving her poverty stricken family in Wolverhampton. I hope the movie has some laughs to it, though one critic wasn’t too happy the lead role (without the right accent) went to an American actress and not a Brit. Remember the same thing happened with Bridget Jones ….  

Meanwhile if you’re a fan of “The Trip” movies (with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing semi-fictionalized versions of themselves, then you’ll be happy to know there’s a new one called “The Trip to Greece” due out May 22.

This is the fourth installment of the two comic actors & writers who seemingly ad lib as they travel around parts of Europe as food/travel writers. Some parts of the movies are funny spoofs though not entirely. Still you get some nice shots of England, Italy, Spain … and soon Greece out of them. And if we can’t go to Europe for a long while …. at least we can see it on the screen. 

Last up in movies for May is Jon Stewart’s new comedy-drama called “Irresistible” (due out May 29) starring Steve Carell as a Democratic strategist who helps a retired veteran (played by Chris Cooper) run for mayor of a small, conservative Wisconsin town.

I’m not sure if this one is going to fly (can we take any more political stuff?), but I usually like Steve Carell and he typically pulls off some laughs. Perhaps my favorite comic roles of his are Bobby Riggs in “Battle of the Sexes” and Andy in “The 40-year-old Virgin.” Those two are tough to beat. What do you say?

As for albums in May, there’s new ones by Bon Jovi, the Indigo Girls, Steve Earle and the Dukes, the Killers, and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, among others. I haven’t heard the Indigo Girls in years …. apparently “Look Long” is their 16th album and their first in five years, here are some highlights off it. I also like Jason Isbell and his band. His new album with them “Reunions” is his sixth backed by the single “Be Afraid.” Enjoy it here.

That’s all for now.  What about you — which new releases this month are you most looking forward to?  And more importantly, how are you doing?

Posted in Top Picks | 26 Comments

The New Normal

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Susan

Hi. How is everyone doing?  I think it’s been about a month now that lockdown life started. It was the week around St. Patrick’s Day that things really began shutting down quickly. My husband and I have adjusted fairly well — sheltering in place — and luckily he still has his job and is able to work from home. My part-time work officiating provincial and national tennis tournaments has been wiped out, but the organization is still meeting online once a week to see where we go from here. It’s hard to imagine how many nonprofits and small businesses are going to be able to survive the pandemic … and not without much financial help I think. I hear that some areas are thinking about “opening up” the economy and easing restrictions soon … but will it work … or is it too soon? What do you think for your area? 

At least the weather here looks to be improving. (The photo above was taken on Easter, April 12, so we have less snow now.) And our first spring temps should hit this coming week with a forecast reaching the lows 60s, which means we’ll see a lot of snowmelt ponds and muddy conditions outside. But I look forward to seeing my yard … and getting back out there, prepping the garden and cleaning it up from last fall. Can’t wait for spring here! Meanwhile I’ll leave you with a couple reviews of what I finished lately. 

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler / Knopf (first edition) / 368 pages / 2016 

Synopsis:  It’s a coming-of-age novel about 22-year-old Tess who’s newly arrived in New York City and lands a job as a server at an upscale Manhattan restaurant. There, she learns her way … thanks to the staff friends she meets, experiencing a lot about life in the City, punishing work, food and wine, friendships, love, and drugs.

My Thoughts: Oh yes, what’s it like to be a young adult — inquisitive, working hard to earn a living, wild, free, and self-destructive again. This was a backlist read for me as Danler’s next book — a memoir called “Stray” is due out May 19 and I wanted to read this one first. I’m not sure why I didn’t read the novel when it came out in 2016. Perhaps it was because I’m not really a foodie or a restaurant connoisseur … which this one has quite a bit of … and it didn’t call out to me at the time, but it should have. Whoa. The staff friends Tess meets at the restaurant: Ariel, Sasha, and Will, not to mention Scott, Nick, Simone and Jake teach her the ways of the world, about upscale food and wine, life in the City, and the after-partying of late night restaurant work. It gradually gets pretty dark, bone-tired, and wasted: so beware, but ohh the writing! 

I like coming-of-age tales and this one is a doozy … it’s a little like Jay McInerney’s “Bright Lights, Big City” mixed with Salinger’s sad Holden Caulfield and Donna Tartt’s hazy drug days in “The Goldfinch” … tossed into a salad bowl. That’s almost all you need to know … but okay, it’s also got a love triangle too that Tess gets herself involved in and keeps you guessing a bit till the end. Tess falls hard for the bartender Jake! And has trouble reigning herself in … when trouble is on the wall … but that makes it all the more hard to put down. 

So yeah it’s a novel more than just about restaurant life and food — but from that setting you get a lot of atmosphere, various staff personalities, and the allure of great tastes. Tess’s restaurant mentor Simone — wise and world-traveled — is quite a beguiling character who plays a major role in testing and teaching Tess throughout. She’s hard to miss or forget in this … and Jake is well Jake — he’s alluring, a bit mysterious … and a bad boy too. 

I noticed that a few criticisms of “Sweetbitter” on Goodreads said that it felt whiny and pretentious in places, but I didn’t notice that too much. It seemed pretty real to me from the author’s restaurant days in NYC, which she’s obviously based the story on. As I read on, I gradually fell into young Tess’s rabbit hole little by little and kept on trying hard to pull her out. 

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid / Putnam / 307 pages / Dec. 31, 2019

Synopsis:  This debut novel, which I listened to as an audiobook, revolves around a 25-year-old black babysitter (Emira), her white privileged employer (Alix), and Kelley, a tall white man who videos an incident that Emira has at a grocery store while babysitting Alix’s daughter Briar late one night, near the novel’s beginning.

My Thoughts: There are various positive things about this novel — don’t get me wrong. The writing is active and moves the story along nicely … delving into a plot surrounding race, privilege and privacy that are worthy, interesting explorations. You also come to know the three main characters fairly well: there’s Alix Chamberlain known for her PR letter writing workshops; her black babysitter Emira, a Temple University grad who has some doubts about still babysitting after college; and Kelley, a capable techie who ends up having links to the two. 

There were other things that I didn’t like as much … such as the plot relies on a couple of coincidences that are perhaps a bit hard to believe such as their ties to Kelley and how things spin out of control. Also I wanted a bit more of Emira taking care and playing with Alix’s child Briar, showing Emira’s good, endearing sides … and showing why both busy, rich Alix and Kelley are so drawn and consumed with Emira. I wasn’t as drawn to her personality as they were and wanted her to step up more and say things directly, though I felt she probably did care and like taking care of the kids.

To me all three, weren’t really that likable … though Alix does indeed come out the worst. Though I liked how the author tried making them nuanced characters (both flawed and capable) at least at first … who revolve around a situation and life that explores subtle (and not so subtle) acts of racism. It’s a theme that reminds me slightly of some of Thrity Umrigar’s novels if you’ve read them.

That’s all for now. What about you — have you read these novels — and if so what did you think?  And more importantly, how are you doing? 

Posted in Books | 29 Comments

Staying the Course

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Susan

Greetings. I hope you are all staying well, sheltering in place. It’s not easy, but it’s the best thing we can do for the foreseeable future. Have you been able to concentrate enough to read much, or have you been too distracted by the news? It seems to come and go with me. Some days are more conducive to reading than others. I try to tell myself to keep a handle on the anxiety, while doing other things. 

Lately, I’ve turned off the TV news and have been tied up doing taxes, applying for Canadian citizenship (yea! I could get dual citizenship if this works out), doing my boot camp class virtually, going for dog walks, and talking with family and friends via Zoom. Oh it’s a new world out there, but it’s best to try and adjust. I’ve enjoyed keeping in touch with blogging friends during this time and knowing how each of you are doing in your part of the world, so write when you can. 

Now I’ll leave you with reviews of a few books I’ve finished recently. (Two were e-book reads, and two were audiobook listens.) 

Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox / Knopf / 240 pages / Oct. 2019

Why I Picked It Up: I think I first saw this memoir on Kathy’s blog over at Bermuda Onion and then found it as an audiobook at my library. The author narrates the audio and does a pretty good job of it as I was drawn in from the get-go. I’m also a fan of the show “Homeland” — and the movies based on the John le Carre novels — so all of the true-life books coming out recently by female CIA agents who signed up after 9/11 are sparking my interest.

Synopsis: This is a memoir by a woman who was recruited while she was doing graduate studies at Georgetown University, at age 22, into the CIA. It describes her youth, her college years at Oxford and abroad, where she met and interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma; her recruitment by the CIA while at Georgetown and training at “the farm”; and her eight years as an agent in the field tracking and trying to infiltrate terrorist arms networks to thwart nuclear attacks. 

My Thoughts: The author’s life certainly makes for fascinating material. And her book is quite revealing even for its little tidbits into life at the very secretive CIA. How did she even get to publish it?  Well apparently she gave the manuscript to the CIA for a year and when they didn’t do much with it …. she made their minor changes and went ahead and had it published without their final approval, Whoa. 

It’s a memoir that’s pretty engrossing for its glimpses into her training at the CIA and for her years as a spy in the field. The main mission she describes in the book is her contacts in various overseas locations with a Hungarian arms dealer who has links to al-Qaeda and its intentions to detonate a nuclear device. You’ll want to stay tuned to find out how her interactions with him play out, but thankfully a detonation of such a device is averted.

It’s one of those books that will make you worry with its descriptions of what goes into a nuclear bomb and how nuclear materials are missing from the former Soviet Union, and how terrorists around the world are trying to get and use them. A few parts of the memoir come off a bit CIA insider-y and flew by me, but other parts are about her personal life (two marriages during these years) and her work, which takes a big toll on it. Towards the end she has a baby with husband #2 in China and continues to do dangerous work even with the baby by her side (yikes!)… until eventually she gives up the job. 

I thought it was interesting though scary to think about. It’s a slim book and I felt a bit of it was padded and just filled with her thoughts about trying to gain trust and peace and how her attitude about the work changed over time. It could be construed in places as thin on material or lacking in more detailed missions but apparently the author has said that it was meant more as a coming of age story than an operational CIA one. So you might take that into account. Despite these caveats, I still found it pretty eye-opening and worthwhile. 

Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman / Ecco / 288 pages / March 2020

Why I Picked It Up: The cover made it look light and fun (yes I’m a dog person) and something maybe easy to read during Covid-19 … though I think it ended up being darker than I expected.

Synopsis:  This is one of those woman-on-the-brink kinds of stories. And when we first meet middle-aged Judy Vogel — she indeed seems to have gone through a lot in a short time. Her parents’ recent passings have taken a sad toll on her as well as her teenage son’s need to be free and independent of her, and the separation with her husband, who still lives in their house because they can’t afford to get a divorce or live separately. 

Her best friend is also sick with cancer, and Judy — once an author of a successful children’s book (made into a PBS series) — struggles from writer’s block and hasn’t written anything meaningful in years. Instead she writes for a living small, infomercial-like pieces for a health/happiness website that she can almost do in her sleep. So when Judy finds a baby sling in her basement … and ends up putting the family sheltie in it … and caring her around like a therapy dog, can you really blame her? 

My Thoughts: This sad, pained, and angry woman is undergoing a crisis and depression … but her daily misadventures are told in a pretty snarky amusing way, which reminded me very slightly of the humor in Maria Semple’s 2012 novel “Where’d You Go, Bernadette.” At times it’s a little whiny and other times right on. 

Judy’s life continues to snowball downwards … leading to run-ins at her son’s Montessori school and at a writer’s retreat seminar … but it ends after an event with a hopeful upturn that put a smile on my face. Maybe Judy is finally able to appreciate what she has …. and of those people she meets and has around her. And while it features a dog slung around her throughout the story … it’s not much about the dog. 

The German House by Annette Hess / Translated by Elizabeth Lauffer / HarperVia / 336 pages / Dec. 2019 (in Germany in 2018)

Why I Picked It Up:  I think I heard about this German debut novel through the blogosphere and it looked alluring. I listened to it as an audiobook and the narrator has a pretty strong German accent, but it seemed to fit well with the main character of Eva Bruhns. 

Synopsis: “The German House” is a coming-of-age story about 24-year-old Eva Bruhns who lives with her parents (who own the German House restaurant), and her sister who is a nurse, and her younger brother Stephan and their dog. It’s 1963 and Eva is offered a job to work as a Polish translator at the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials, which she doesn’t know much about and which her family and fiance don’t want her to get involved with. But Eva accepts the job and comes to learn plenty during the long trial about the atrocities committed there and secrets from the past. 

My Thoughts: It’s an engaging slow-reveal-kind-of story that explores complicity, guilt, and justice — and also has quite a few side plots going on too: about whether Eva will marry her fiance, her sister’s relationship with a doctor at the hospital, the prosecutor David Miller’s life, her parents, and even fires that are being set in the city. 

Much of it kept me interested … though at times the novel’s abrupt transitions between the characters and side plots made it feel clunky and some character turns perhaps require some suspension of disbelief. Eva is at times annoyingly naive at first …. though her character undergoes quite a rough coming of age during it. At the end, some character side plots are resolved while others are more left up in the air. All in all the parts about the real-life trial and its testimonies seemed well researched and were effectively brought to life.

The Cactus League by Emily Nemens / Farrar, Straus and Giroux / 275 pages / Feb. 2020

Why I picked It Up: It should be baseball season right now but sadly it isn’t. Still I thought I’d give this short novel a whirl to get some old baseball, spring season spirit going. It’s also a debut novel by a promising writer who’s the editor of The Paris Review and was reviewed favorably by Susie at the blog Novel Visits.  

Synopsis: The novel’s nine chapters — or nine innings I suppose — delve into various characters all having to do with a major league baseball team’s spring training in Arizona. The chapters interconnect in a way showing various sides of the star player — Jason Goodyear — during preseason. There’s chapters involving the team’s batting coach, a baseball groupie, a sports agent, a team owner, an injured pitcher, baseball wives, the stadium’s organist, a rookie, and a 7-year-old fan. 

My Thoughts: The structure of “The Cactus League” reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Strout’s novel 2008 “Olive Kitteridge.” Its chapters feature the lives of separate characters … but interconnect in a way involving the team and the player Jason Goodyear. In that way it’s like interconnected short stories yet it is a novel.

I found “The Cactus League” pretty easy to jump into and thought it captured a picture of the competitiveness of spring training, the atmosphere, and a glimpse into these various people connected to the team’s spring training in Arizona, but it all seemed a bit dark or shady. Most were not really likable to me, and it didn’t exactly conjure a sense of baseball’s excitement or goodness. 

It felt more like the seedier side or greedier side of a ball club, though there were tinges of redemptive aspects to it. I also didn’t care for a prelude by a sports reporter that came at the start of each chapter. These parts didn’t jibe for me. I liked some character’s chapters better than others, so in that way it felt a bit uneven. But by the end you certainly get a sense of how flawed Jason Goodyear is … and yet how also human and good as well.

That’s all for now. What about you — have you read any of these books or authors — and if so, what did you think?

Posted in Books | 29 Comments