Hi all. It’s been a while. I’ve been away. I had a good trip to Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. and visited some old friends and saw some sites too, including Mount Vernon, the WWII Memorial, and the National Gallery of Art, yay. Of course, that was just before the government shutdown — which is an ugly mess now, Grrr.
And you might wonder about the photo — it’s from a walk I had with a friend along the C&O Canal towpath, which meanders 184.5 miles from Georgetown in D.C. to Cumberland, Md. The towpath was originally built in 1828 for the canal mules to walk beside the canal as they “towed” the canal boats through the waterway carrying goods. Back then President John Quincy Adams was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony. And today luckily it’s been left as a recreational path for bikers, runners and walkers, which is lovely. You can walk to your heart’s content.
Admittedly while away my reading took a bit of a hit — I finished only one book, though I hope to get back on track soon. And in book news, I see that a couple award shortlists were announced last week, including the National Book Award Fiction finalists (pictured above top row) as well as Canada’s Giller Prize shortlist (bottom row). I have not read the National Book Award contenders, but I wonder if Megha Majumdar’s new novel might win (on Nov. 19) as I thought her 2020 debut novel A Burning was quite impressive. For the Giller Prize, I have read The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, which I liked well enough, but it’s a debut, so I wonder a bit if Mona Awad’s satirical novel, or the novel Pick a Colour might win instead. Stay tuned for the Giller announcement on Nov. 17. Have you read any of these?
Now let’s talk about October releases. There’s a slew of choices that include books by such notable authors as Thomas Pynchon, John Banville, Adam Johnson, Louise Penny, John Grisham, Catherine Newman, Beth Macy, and Malala Yousafzai among others. There’s even another posthumous book by Harper Lee!
And I’m looking at a few others that include Megha Majumdar’s novel A Guardian and a Thief (due out Oct.14) about two families whose “fates become disastrously intertwined” in a world ravaged by climate change and food scarcity in a near-future India. Majumdar is said to masterfully depict morality under siege in a world where people are attempting to survive and protect their own, which is a bit daunting to read right now.
Perhaps a bit happier is Susan Orlean’s memoir Joyride (due out Oct. 14) about her personal life and career as a writer and how she found her creative calling and purpose. Orlean’s been at the New Yorker since 1992 so she has much to share about her various articles, tips for writers, and the notable staffers she’s worked with.
I have read and liked her nonfiction books The Library Book and On Animals and also liked the movie adaptation of her book The Orchid Thief, so I am game to find out more about her. I went to her book talk here when she discussed The Library Book in 2018 and she’s funny and a big animal lover, which is a big plus.
Next up is Gish Jen’s novel Bad Bad Girl (due out Oct. 21) which is said to be an autobiographical novel that traces a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship. It’s apparently based on the author’s own mother who was born in war-torn Shanghai. In the novel the family immigrates to New York City where the mother is tough on the young daughter who is berated for her curiosity and asking too many questions. I gather the mother is stuck in the old world and the daughter in the new.
Harvee at the blog Harvee Reads read an advanced copy of this book back in July, so my interest was piqued by it then, and I have not read Gish Jen yet whose many books have received various awards and honors over the years.
Another writer I’d like to read sometime is Susan Straight whose new novel Sacrament comes out Oct. 28 and is about “a group of nurses fighting through the first year of the pandemic and the beloved California community they will risk their lives to protect.” These are ICU nurses at a hospital in San Bernardino (where my dad once worked) whose tale is told in alternating points of view and captures the heroism and sacrifice of healthcare workers during the pandemic.
Apparently Susan Straight writes about Southern California and its landscape like no other and since I grew up there, I need to check out her various novels. Kirkus says Sacrament is a Covid-19 novel but also so much more.
On the screen this month, we’ll be watching the Major League baseball playoffs since the Toronto Blue Jays are making a run. They beat the Yankees (!) to move on to the next round. Oh yeah. It’s all very exciting for us here in Canada. The Blue Jays for so many years were in the basement cellar but now it’s all: Go, Go, Go!
Also we’ll check out The Lost Bus movie on AppleTV+ (out Oct. 3), though it looks scary about the fire in Paradise, California that consumed the town in 2018. Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera star as a duo who work to drive 22 children in a school bus out of a towering inferno. Oh man, it’s a tinderbox. To this day, fire is a real big fear to me. And the director Paul Greengrass, who made movies like United 93 and Captain Philips, knows just how to make you feel what’s on the screen is happening. So get your pitchfork and boots and drive out of there like there’s no tomorrow.
If I need some laughs after that I might try The Chair Company, a new TV comedy series premiering on HBO Max starting Oct. 12, starring Tim Robinson as a guy who says he’s investigating a wide-ranging conspiracy. It looks a bit funny but maybe it’s too over-the-top, so we’ll see.
And in October music releases, there’s new albums by such artists as Taylor Swift (you might have heard), Brandi Carlile, Florence & the Machine, Of Monsters and Men, Rachael Yamagata, Bahamas, and Madi Diaz among others. Chrissie Hynde even has a duets album, which seems pretty cool. I’m a bit all over the place about what to pick, but let’s go with Rachael Yamagata’s new Starlit Alchemy since it’s her first album release in nine years. Welcome back Yamagata. Here is the single Birds off that.
And now I look out this morning to see it snowed overnight. Oh my. A snow day on Oct. 12! Woohoo. Good thing we closed down the vegetable garden yesterday.
That’s all for now. What about you — which new releases are you looking forward to?
That sounds like an amazing trip to DC and the area. I’m glad that you got it done before the shutdown.
Sacrament sounds interesting. I have a fascination for novels set during the pandemic.
Hi Joy, yes I’m so pleased I was able to see a few sites before the shutdown. They are vital to have open to the public!
I think Sacrament might be a very good Covid book so I’m curious about it. We all remember it — but the sacrifices nurses made must have been huge.
Enjoy your week. Cheers!
Snow – wow! It’s hard to even imagine. And so many new titles coming out – some by writers that I’ve read and enjoyed before, like Karen Russell and Emma Donoghue, and several by writers that I had never even heard of. Obviously I need to broaden my reading horizons. I’m going to be trying to do just that.
Good luck to the Blue Jays! Here’s hoping they can go all the way. I’ll be rooting for them since my own team is out of it.
Hi Dorothy, thanks. The Blue Jays blew Game 1 against the Mariners but I’m hopeful they can rebound today. 🙂
The snow surprised me as well. Not all the leaves are down here … so it’s a bit early. It should melt by the end of the week. I have read a couple of Emma Donoghue’s books …. and now I’m thinking I need to get her Paris Express book since it’s made the shortlist. We’ll see who wins. Cheers – have a great week.
I’m glad you have had a wonderful trip!
My husband is a fan of Christie Hynde, I’ll have to let him know about the duets album. I’m interested in the new Florence + the Machine album.
Snow already? It seems a bit early
Wishing you a great reading week
Thanks Shelleyrae, yep it is a bit early for snow. The leaves aren’t all down yet. It is around 0C today so we are trying to acclimatize quickly.
I too liked Chrissie Hynde a lot and once got her autograph on the back of my shirt, lol. I’m curious to hear her duets album …. and enjoy the Florence+ album. I’ve heard the first song off it. She has an atmospheric voice. Cheers. Enjoy your week.
Glad you had a good time and are now back home to ‘snow!’ – wow! Enjoy, right? LOL
Love the picture of the walking trail. Just beautiful! Hope you have a good week!
Hi Kay, yeah the snow was a big awakening here. We were having a warm fall till then, ha. And I wish we had that walking trail here. 184 miles! It’s nice and peaceful so close to DC. I might get my husband to bike it with me someday. Cheers – have a great week.
I was just getting ready to send you an email to see if all is ok. You have been quiet, but I knew you were traveling so I wasn’t too worried. Glad you had a good trip to DC. Lots to see there! Glad you were able to see everything before the government shutdown. Sigh.
That towpath is looooong! What a great place to ride a bike or walk. I wonder if it gets buggy, being close to the water.
I haven’t read any of the award finalists you’ve pictured above. The Antidote has me curious, though. I’m also interested in Joyride. I enjoyed The Library Book, but haven’t read The Orchid Thief. Sacrament sounds like an emotionally-packed novel. Having grown up in SoCal, I’m game! And look! There’s a little Escape travel trailer on the cover. We owned one of those. 🙂
Baseball season is very exciting this year. The Dodgers beat the Phillies with a walk-off in the 11th inning. Nail-biter!! Now to beat the Brewers. It would be fun to watch the Dodgers play the Blue Jays or the Mariners. The Mariners have never played in the WS, so I kind of hope they get that chance.
I don’t think I can watch The Lost Bus. Too much reality. We’re watching Slow Horses and looking forward to season three of The Diplomat.
Oh. My. Snow already?! Yeah, I don’t think we’ll move to Alberta. Maybe Vancouver Island, if we win the lottery. 😉
Hi Lesley, it seems like I was off the blog for a long while – 3 weeks! But I guess it was good to take a break. I didn’t read much, but saw quite a bit.
I haven’t had trouble with bugs on the towpath. Someday I might get Robert to bike the whole thing with me over a few days. I’ve only seen it from Great Falls, Va. Something to plan for. It’s a good dirt path. I think it gets gravelly in places.
Yeah Joyride and Sacrament might be good. I will try to get them from the library. I noticed that trailer on the front too. And you had one? Nice!
I haven’t watched baseball all season but I’m a bit glued to the postseason. The Blue Jays blew the first game, but I’m still hopeful.
I look forward to Slow Horses — we have been watch Task and Morning Show but will get there. I know what you mean about too much reality.
And we were surprised by the early snow. It’ll melt this week. Van Island would be nice, especially when the sun is out. Have a nice week!
Welcome back, Susan! I was starting to wonder if everything was okay with you, it’s been a while. From the NBA shortlist I read The Antidote, which I liked. I didn’t love it because it’s a bit too slow for my taste, but it was interesting and different. I’ll be reading A Guardian and A Thief; I’m #1 for the library hold. I’m reading Bunny now in preparation for the sequel/prequel, which I will be reading too. And last, but not least, from the Booker shortlist I’ve only read two: Flesh, which was awesome, and Audition. I had an epub of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, out from the library as soon as it was released, but epub is not my favorite reading format and I returned the book after two weeks. The good news is that now the library has a kindle copy but I will have to wait several weeks for it. Another good news is that whatever much I read of it I enjoyed, so I think it will be fast reading the second time around. Anyway, that’s all from my end, which is a lot. Good luck with your reading, and enjoy the rest of the week!
Hi Carmen, yeah time got away from me and I was off the blog 3 weeks! Let me know if Bunny is readable. That might be a different one. You’ve read some on all these awards lists, which is good. November should be a big month for winners. The Booker Prize announcement will be Nov. 10. I haven’t read many on the lists. Just Audition. But I’ll eventually get to some of these like Flesh. Not sure when I’ll get to Kiran Desai’s long novel. My reading has taken a bit of a hit, but I’ll try to get it back. Now with the weather turning cold … that might turn me inside to read. Keep me posted on which ones you get to. Cheers!
The National Gallery of Art is an amazing museum. I loved wandering through it and was amazed by the art. I’m so glad you had a good time on your trip. It sounds like fun. And The Lost Bus is one I’m really looking forward to watching. Have a great week. And happy reading this month. 😀
Hi Lark, thanks. Yes I always try to get to the National Gallery whenever I’m there. I saw a couple exhibits and the Da Vinci painting they display. It’s a great museum for sure. Glad you’ve been there as well. Much to see.
Enjoy your October! That Lost Bus movie … is going to be a scary ride. Hold on.
All the places that you visited in and around Washington are wonderful. I’ve been to them but not all in one weekend — more like one at a time. Sounds like a great trip.
Hi Mae, luckily I had about a week in the DC area and four days in Richmond via the train. It was fun. I was walking the National Mall one day and stopped at a few sites. Glad you’ve enjoyed the same places. You have family in Fairfax right? Well it’s nice to visit. We went to Mount Vernon on a day when it wasn’t crowded at all and seemed to have the guides and place mostly to ourselves. It was wonderful to spend a few hours there. I’ll go back sometime. Cheers. Happy October.
Welcome back! It sounds like a great trip and I’m glad you got to do so much before the shutdown – ugh. The towpath looks a lot like the one we used to use along the Erie Canal in NY. It was a great place to walk and bike.
I haven’t read any of the books pictured above, but it seems like A Guardian and A Thief has gotten A LOT of buzz lately! I never did get around to reading The Burning.
Hi thanks JoAnn. I managed to squeeze things in before the shutdown, yay! The trip was good. An adventure to be back there again. I’d like to go on the Eric Canal path. My sister-in-law lives along it — in Rochester. Maybe next summer!
I will check out A Guardian & a Thief sometime. My reading is all over the place lately. Slow too. I will add Shannon Bowring’s 3rd novel to my library list. Happy October!
I haven’t read any of the books on either short list, but that is often the case for me. I do still like hearing who wins and makes the lists though.
The Lost Bus sounds good but harrowing. Like you, having grown up in So Cal, we are all too used to fires and the destruction they can cause.
Hi Helen, yeah all the fires in SoCal makes me gun shy to see The Lost Bus movie, though it is about Paradise in Northern Cal. Fires and earthquakes are what we seem to know right? Fire always seems a worry.
I haven’t read much on these awards lists either but I will note the winner and hopefully read it. Happy October!
That’s a lovely walking path and great picture. And glad you had such a good time in DC. Agree the shutdown is so worrisome. Beth Macy’s book is a memoir called Papergirl and it sounds interesting.
Hi Kathy, thanks the walking path is a nice treasure there. Granted it is a weird time to visit the DC area with everything that’s happening. People are worried there, perhaps more than elsewhere. The Beth Macy memoir does sound good. Someone said it’s depressing …. but I should probably read it anyways. She seems very astute. Have a happy October.
That is such a cool walking path and I did not know that about the canal mules. I’d make good use of that path if I lived in the area.
Lots of good titles you wrote about for October releases. I am just done with The Elements and will start something new soon. The number of books I have on my Kindle is incredible and I think I will try and start reading at least 2 a month. It’s crazy, I will buy books and then…Oh Shiny! – buy more before I read what is on hand.
We sat outside again last night as the temps were nice and cool. I need to get back to Bad Monkey as we only have 4 episodes left. Waiting for Slow Horses to drop all the episodes before we get started,
I love my Phillies and was sad they are out of the series but I like watching baseball so, will support the remanining teams!
Hi Tina, I saw the Phillies pitcher make that error to lose the game and felt for him ugh. I was hoping they’d win. The Blue Jays lost Game 1 to the Mariners and only had two hits which was weird after beating the Yankees. Hopefully they can rebound today. All of a sudden I’m really into the postseason.
The canal path is a nice treasure to DC & Va. And JoAnn mentioned the Erie Canal path in NY which I’d like to walk or bike on — perhaps next summer!
For October, I failed to mention a new Shannon Bowring book — part of her trilogy, which didn’t come up in my search, but it’s called In a Distant Valley (out Oct. 7) … I think you read those right? I will add it to my growing TBR list.
We haven’t started the new season of Slow Horses yet either. Still in Task and Morning Show. But might start it in a week or two. Enjoy your week & talk soon.
The C&O Canal towpath is beautiful! Sounds like you had a lovely trip! I’ve visited Mount Vernon and thought it was pretty. I’ve enjoyed my trips to Washington DC and surrounding areas. So much history. Although, not sure I’d want to visit with the orange guy there right now. I worked in a Southern California hospital through Covid, in the Glendale (about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles) area, so I’m curious about Sacrament. I didn’t know they made a movie about the Paradise fire. I live 54 miles away and yes, wildfires scare me, too! I’ll be checking that out.
Hi Rachel, Mount Vernon was amazing the day I went. Hardly anybody else was there — so I felt we had some of the guides to ourselves. It was also a nice fall day too. It seems like you’ve been in the DC area a bit. I agree it’s a weird time to visit there now.
You might have to check out the novel Sacrament — after your work experience during Covid. Man, what a crazy time it was for hospitals and staff. And I’m still working up my courage to see The Lost Bus movie about the Camp fire in Paradise. You live pretty close! Hope that won’t happen like that again. Happy October.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
Sounds like a fun trip to DMV. I regret not visiting my brother more frequently when he lived there – I haven’t been to Mount Vernon since I was a baby (and I only know this because my mother says I screamed the whole time) and I would like to see it.
I think Susan Orlean’s book caused me to go to library school. Not sure I will ever become a full time librarian but you never know.
Hey Constance, it was nice to get your message about Canadian Thanksgiving, thanks! It seems no one knows about it in the States, lol.
DMV is sort of apt acronym for the DC area these days, ha. Mount Vernon was great the day we went — hardly anyone was there and we had the guides to ourselves. It’s an amazing place. You should tour there again sometime.
It’s interesting to hear that the Susan Orlean book had that effect on you. I can understand — it’s a pretty cool book about the LA library. It’s great you work at a library, hooray! Happy October.
That sounds like a nice trip. It seems like this would be a nice time of year to be in that area. I love the photo of the towpath.
It was nice to read about upcoming books but none of them are calling to me as much as others on my wishlist. The book by Gish Jen sounds the most interesting.
And, wow, snow on October 12th? We are supposed to have rain here tonight and tomorrow, and as long as it doesn’t get too bad, I am very excited about that.
Thanks Tracy, it was a good season to be there, though sort of weird with what’s going on now.
I’m glad you think the Gish Jen book sounds appealing. It is a bit since it’s based on her relations with her own mother. Gish also has another book — a collection of short stories titled Thank You Mr. Nixon that seems quite good and pretty popular. So I might also look into getting that from the library.
I hope you get some rain there! I’m sure you could use it after a hot summer. The snow here was a bit early and surprising. But I think it will melt this week and then come back later. Happy October to you!
I’m glad you got to visit all those places before the shutdown! Whew!
That towpath sounds cool. There’s another blogger who visited one on the Erie Canal in Ohio. I want to see the towpaths!!!
I love Taylor’s new album so much!!!!
Hi Jinjer: glad you’re liking Taylor’s new album. Woohoo I hear it’s different than her others but good. I’ve listened to some of it and liked it.
Being on the C&O towpath, made me want to bike that one and the Erie Canal path which is even longer. 360 miles! We might look into it for next year! Hope you are doing well. Happy October.
I’m so glad you got to enjoy time in the Washington D.C. area. That hike looks lovely!
I could not resist requesting A Guardian and a Thief. Of course I am late to the table and it will be awhile before it arrives for me.
Thanks Deb, the trip back East was fun, and it had been a long time since I’d been there. I’d love to bike to the end of the C&O towpath sometime. !
It seems A Guardian and a Thief has received a lot of buzz lately. I’m also on the library wait list for it. It sounds a bit alarming with the climate change in the story. Cheers. Hope you can get a copy.