A Month in Summary - December 2024

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

Christmas Eve 2024

And just like that, another year has come to a close. It was a busy month with a book launch party for Rod, my birthday celebration, several social events, and of course, Christmas. We enjoyed having my younger brother and one of his daughters here to help us celebrate Christmas, which was a lot of fun. My niece and I enjoyed a leisurely coffee date on Christmas Eve (we had fun playing chess in the cafe), and after the gifts were opened Christmas morning, we all had fun working on a puzzle, playing more chess, listening to holiday music, and baking cookies. It was a very festive week! I am currently working on my year-end review, but wanted to get this final monthly summary posted before the beginning of 2025.

I had an excellent month of reading, which surprised me since December is usually super busy. Since retirement, however, I have a lot more free time to get things done for the holiday season, so reading doesn't need to take a back seat. Not only did I read a lot of books, but they were mostly all winners. 

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (4/5) 

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten (4.5/5)

Recitatif by Toni Morrison (3.5/5)

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (3.5/5)

In Memoriam by Alice Winn (5/5)

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (4.5/5)

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (4/5)

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka (4/5)

Movies & TV Series:

The Day of the Jackal - Excellent! Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch are outstanding.

The Quiet Girl - Based on Claire Keegan's novella, Foster, this film is simply lovely. Spare, yet full of depth and tender moments.

The Morning Show (Season 3) - I can't remember the last time I watched multiple episodes of a series in a single night. While it became a bit of a soap opera, I loved this show. 

Shrinking (Season 2) - Still enjoying this one! Great cast.

Joy: The Birth of IVF - Another quiet film that I enjoyed. Bill Nighy is one of my favorite actors. 

Granite Harbour - Watched two episodes and gave up.

The Agency - Watched four episodes and gave up. Too slow and convoluted.

Bad Sisters (Season One) - Great series! These sisters crack me up.

Christmas 2024:

Wishing you all a safe and Happy New Year!

The Swimmers

 

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

Fiction

2022

Finished on December 20, 2024

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

The swimmers are unknown to one another except through their private routines (slow lane, medium lane, fast lane) and the solace each takes in their morning or afternoon laps. But when a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, they are cast out into an unforgiving world without comfort or relief.

One of these swimmers is Alice, who is slowly losing her memory. For Alice, the pool was a final stand against the darkness of her encroaching dementia. Without the fellowship of other swimmers and the routine of her daily laps she is plunged into dislocation and chaos, swept into memories of her childhood and the Japanese American incarceration camp in which she spent the war. Alice’s estranged daughter, reentering her mother’s life too late, witnesses her stark and devastating decline. Written in spellbinding, incantatory prose, The Swimmers is a searing, intimate story of mothers and daughters, and the sorrows of implacable loss: the most commanding and unforgettable work yet from a modern master.

I was quite sure that I'd read one of Julie Otsuka's earlier novels, but if so, it must have been pre-blogging days since I can't find a review here or on Goodreads. I picked up a copy of The Swimmers while on one of our recent road trips and I'm glad I didn't let it sit on my shelves for too long. It's a quick read (under 200 pages) and despite the sad themes of estrangement, dementia, and loss, I was enjoyed the book and was deeply moved. 

The first part of the novel revolves around the group of swimmers and their daily routines, habits, and quirks at the pool. There was a time, many years ago, that I thought I could add lap swimming to my workout routine. I got a colorful Speedo swimsuit and some fancy goggles and began a short-lived venture into swimming at our gym. I'm not sure how many weeks (days?) I lasted, but I do remember that I found it very dull, and it was all I could do to swim for 30 minutes. I was a runner at the time, and I quickly returned to my daily runs outside while listening to my favorite music. I'm not sure my knees appreciate my choice of running over swimming, and now I do neither. But I digress.

Most days, at the pool, we are here to leave our troubles on land behind. Failed painters become elegant breaststrokers. Untenured professors slice, shark-like, through the water, with breathtaking speed. The newly divorced HR Manager grabs a faded red Styrofoam board and kicks with impunity. The downsized adman floats, otter-like, on his back, as he stares up at the clouds on the painted pale blue ceiling, thinking, for the first time all day long, of nothing. Let it go. Worriers stop worrying. Bereaved widows cease to grieve. Out-of-work actors unable to get traction above ground glide effortlessly down the fast lane, in their element, at last. I've arrived! And for a brief interlude we are at home in the world. Bad moods life, tics disappear, memories reawaken, migraines dissolve, and slowly, slowly, the chatter in our minds begins to subside as stroke after stroke, length after length, we swim.

The cadence of Otsuka's prose is snappy and at times, circular or repetitive, and I think I would have enjoyed listening to the audio edition of the book in order to hear the poetic delivery of the story. The middle section lost momentum, and I grew tired of the swimmers' anxious queries about the ongoing discovery of new cracks in the pool surface. However, the final section drew me back in, but oh how my heart ached for Alice, who suffers from frontotemporal dementia.

FTD. Some of the symptoms: gradual changes in personality, inappropriate behavior in public, apathy, weight gain, loss of inhibition, the desire to hoard.

Lisa Genova's brilliant work, Still Alice (reviewed here), put a face on Alzheimer's, and Julie Otsuka has done the same with dementia and the heartbreaking existence in a memory care facility. Otsuka's collective point-of-view, as well as her litany of traits and behaviors of the swimmers (and residents in the "home") requires patience from her readers, but overall, I thought the book was exceptionally good. It might hit too close to home for some, but the inclusion of humor provides some levity to an otherwise devastating narrative. Recommend with reservations.

Sipsworth

 

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

Fiction

2024

Finished on December 17, 2024

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Over the course of two weeks, in a small English town, a reclusive widow discovers an unexpected reason to live.

Following the loss of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. She retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit: "Each day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle--as though even for death there is a queue."

Then, one cold winter night, a chance encounter with a mouse sets Helen on a surprising journey.

Sipsworth is a reminder that there can be second chances. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes life has plans of its own. With profound compassion, Simon Van Booy illuminates not only a deep friendship forged between two lonely creatures, but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from that unique bond.

We live in a forest on the Oregon Coast. While we love to watch the birds outside our windows, we've recently stopped feeding them since the seed has been attracting rats! We wound up with a rat in our attic a few months ago, and after closing off the spot where we thought it was going in, we decided to put the bird feeders away...at least until next spring. This is all to say that I am not a fan of rodents. Unlike Van Booy's main character, I do not welcome mice (or rats) in this house. I'm happy that Helen found companionship with a furry four-legged creature, but if I wind up living alone in my old age, I'm more likely to get a dog.

Every day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle--as though even for death there is a queue.

I've read some of Simon Van Booy's short stories, and while they didn't wow me, I was curious about Sipsworth, as I enjoy books about aging women. The novel is an easy read, and I enjoyed the opening chapters, but as I progressed in my reading, I felt the story was edging toward something overly sappy. I continued reading and with a surprising revelation about Helen, my attention returned. Those who believe in second chances and are looking for a feel-good read will delight in Van Booy's tender novel.

Recommend.

Small Things Like These

 

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Fiction

2021

Finished on December 14, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.

Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.

Once again, Claire Keegan has authored a spare story that will tug at your heartstrings, while making you believe in the good of humanity. Inspired by true accounts of the Magdalen Laundry scandal in Ireland, Keegan conveys the cruel acts of the Catholic nuns with lean, yet powerful, prose. Both Foster and Small Things Like These belong in everyone's permanent collection. 

It seemed both proper and at the same time deeply unfair that so much of life was left to chance.

A Note from the Author:

This is a work of fiction based in no part on any individual or individuals. Ireland’s last Magdalen laundry was not closed down until 1996. It is not known how many girls and women were concealed, incarcerated and forced to labour in these institutions. Ten thousand is the modest figure; thirty thousand is probably more accurate. Most of the records from the Magdalen laundries were destroyed, lost, or made inaccessible. Rarely was any of these girls’ or women’s work recognised or acknowledged in any way. Many girls and women lost their babies. Some lost their lives. Some or most lost the lives they could have had. It is not known how many thousands of infants died in these institutions or were adopted out from the mother-and-baby homes. Earlier this year, the Mother and Baby Home Commission Report found that nine thousand children died in just eighteen of the institutions investigated. In 2014, the historian Catherine Corless made public her shocking discovery that 796 babies died between 1925 and 1961 in the Tuam home, in County Galway. These institutions were run and financed by the Catholic Church in concert with the Irish State. No apology was issued by the Irish government over the Magdalen laundries until Taoiseach Enda Kenny did so in 2013.”

Joni Mitchell wrote "The Magdalene Laundries" after reading an article shortly after the discovery of 155 bodies of "fallen women" in a mass grave in Dublin. 

I was an unmarried girl

I'd just turned twenty-seven

When they sent me to the sisters

For the way men looked at me

Branded as a jezebel

I knew I was not bound for Heaven

I'd be cast in shame

Into the Magdalene laundries 

 

Most girls come here pregnant

Some by their own fathers

Bridget got that belly

By her parish priest

We're trying to get things white as snow

All of us woe-begotten-daughters

In the steaming stains

Of the Magdalene laundries

 

Prostitutes and destitutes

And temptresses like me

Fallen women

Sentenced into dreamless drudgery

Why do they call this heartless place

Our Lady of Charity?

Oh charity!

 

These bloodless brides of Jesus

If they had just once glimpsed their groom

Then they'd know and they'd drop the stones

Concealed behind their rosaries

They wilt the grass they walk upon

They leech the light out of a room

They'd like to drive us down the drain

At the Magdalene laundries

 

Peg O'Connell died today

She was a cheeky girl

A flirt

They just stuffed her in a hole!

Surely to God you'd think at least some bells should ring!

One day I'm going to die here too

And they'll plant me in the dirt

Like some lame bulb 

That never blooms come any spring

Not any spring

No, not any spring 

Not any spring

Bravo, Claire Keegan (and Joni)! Highly recommend.

Oprah has chosen Small Things Like These for her book club selection. You can see her interview Claire Keegan here. I don't care for the big Starbuck's sponsorship push, but I enjoyed hearing Keegan's thoughts about her novella.

In Memoriam

 

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

Fiction

2023

Finished on December 13, 2024

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

It’s 1914, and World War I is ceaselessly churning through thousands of young men on both sides of the fight. The violence of the front feels far away to Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood and the rest of their classmates, safely ensconced in their idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. News of the heroic deaths of their friends only makes the war more exciting.

Gaunt, half German, is busy fighting his own private battle–an all-consuming infatuation with his best friend, the glamorous, charming Ellwood–without a clue that Ellwood is pining for him in return. When Gaunt’s family asks him to enlist to forestall the anti-German sentiment they face, Gaunt does so immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings for Ellwood. To Gaunt’s horror, Ellwood rushes to join him at the front, and the rest of their classmates soon follow. Now death surrounds them in all its grim reality, often inches away, and no one knows who will be next.

An epic tale of both the devastating tragedies of war and the forbidden romance that blooms in its grip, In Memoriam is a breathtaking debut.

Impressive debut! I've read numerous books about World War II, but only a few set during the Great War. In Memoriam took my breath away, and I'm astonished that this gorgeous novel is the work of such a young author; she writes with the skill of a seasoned novelist.

“Don't be ridiculous. It (gas) was outlawed at the Hague Convention," I said.

I actually said that. I actually believed that the principles of our civilisation, our civilisation that has developed further than any other in the history of the world, giving us telephones and trains and flying, for God's sake, we can fly. I thought, surely such a civilisation, that prides itself on conquering the beast in man and seeks only to bend towards beauty and prosperity, surely, surely, surely, it would not shatter in such a vile and disgusting way. 

The Hague Convention sought to make war more humane. We had reached a point in history where we believed it was possible to make war humane.”

As I read Winn's war saga, I was reminded of John Boyne's tale of two soldiers in his remarkable novel, The Absolutist. Both stories examine not only the horrific effects of war on young men (many still in their early teens), but also of forbidden love during a period in history in which a soldier could not only be court-marshalled, but possibly executed for an illicit affair with another man. In addition to the budding romance between Gaunt and Ellwood, Winn draws her readers into the trenches at the front lines (including Loos and the Battle of the Somme, the latter of which was one of the bloodiest battles of the war), at times so brutally graphic that I'm sure I would turn my head if viewing the scenes on the big screen. And yet, the violence isn't gratuitous, and I came to care for all the boys, heartbroken with each new posting of death in The Preshutian Roll of Honour.

"Over the top, you cowardly bastards!” I cried, my voice breaking, because I did not want to do it, I didn’t, Elly, I knew those men, but what other choice had I? They were stupid with fear, and only more fear would move them.

and

It was dusk, on a Friday. The battered skeletons of trees tapered against the fresh starlight in No Man's Land. The sky offered curious glimpses of beauty, from time to time. The men wrote about it in their letters, describing sunsets in painstaking detail to their families, as if there was nothing to see at the front but crimson clouds and dusted rays of golden light.

With great tension, superb dialogue, and an unpredictable finale, Alice Winn has crafted an outstanding work of historical fiction that held me enthralled from beginning to end. My only disappointment is that there is no backlist of earlier novels to add to my TBR list. This is an author to watch for! 

I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

 

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney

Fiction

2017

Finished on December 8, 2024

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Any day you walk down a street and find nothing new but nothing missing counts as a good day in a city you love.

Publisher's Blurb:

It’s the last day of 1984, and 85-year-old Lillian Boxfish is about to take a walk.

As she traverses a grittier Manhattan, a city anxious after an attack by a still-at-large subway vigilante, she encounters bartenders, bodega clerks, chauffeurs, security guards, bohemians, criminals, children, parents, and parents-to-be—in surprising moments of generosity and grace. While she strolls, Lillian recalls a long and eventful life that included a brief reign as the highest-paid advertising woman in America—a career cut short by marriage, motherhood, divorce, and a breakdown.

A love letter to city life—however shiny or sleazy—Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney paints a portrait of a remarkable woman across the canvas of a changing America: from the Jazz Age to the onset of the AIDS epidemic; the Great Depression to the birth of hip-hop.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk was slow to pull me in, but I didn't give up, and I wound up enjoying the story although it didn't wow me. I enjoy novels about women in their later years, but this story fell just shy of being one that I could love. One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new town or city is to wander up and down the streets, exploring neighborhoods and business districts. I've walked numerous miles in Victoria, Banff, Jasper, Port Townsend, Jackson, and London, to name a few. When my daughter and I were in NYC many years ago, we walked from our lovely hotel (The Peninsula) on 5th Avenue up to the Guggenheim Museum, then back down 5th all the way to Battery Park. Along the way, we admired St. Patrick's Cathedral, the New York Public Library, the Flatiron Building, and the World Trade Center. We took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and then over to the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. After more than eight miles, we were exhausted and caught a cab back to our hotel. And thus, I was happy to discover a map of Lillian's route of her New Year's Eve walk in NYC, and couldn't help but notice that it was very similar to the one we took in 1996! 

Other than the premise of spending New Year's Eve walking across Manhattan, I doubt I'll remember very many details about this book. But, if I make it back to NYC, I'd love to retrace Lillian's steps.

Recitatif

 

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

Fiction

First published in 1983 (new edition in 2022)

Finished on December 8, 2024

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A beautiful, arresting short story by Toni Morrison—the only one she ever wrote—about race and the relationships that shape us through life, with an introduction by Zadie Smith.

Twyla and Roberta have known each other since they were eight years old and spent four months together as roommates in the St. Bonaventure shelter. Inseparable at the time, they lose touch as they grow older, only to find each other later at a diner, then at a grocery store, and again at a protest. Seemingly at opposite ends of every problem, and in disagreement each time they meet, the two women still cannot deny the deep bond their shared experience has forged between them.

Written in 1980 and anthologized in a number of collections, this is the first time Recitatif is being published as a stand-alone hardcover. In the story, Twyla's and Roberta's races remain ambiguous. We know that one is white and one is black, but which is which? And who is right about the race of the woman the girls tormented at the orphanage?

Morrison herself described this story as "an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial." Recitatif is a remarkable look into what keeps us together and what keeps us apart, and about how perceptions are made tangible by reality.

I took the advice of another reader and saved Zadie Smith's extensive introduction until I had finished reading Morrison's short story. Recitatif is a work that would be best read and discussed in a book group (or perhaps in a college literature class). The story is straightforward enough, but the underlying themes about race (and the perception of racial codes), as well as memory, are deep and thought-provoking. Smith's erudite analysis is helpful, although at times it was too cerebral. Again, one to discuss with others.

Be Ready When the Luck Happens

 

Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten

Nonfiction - Memoir

2024

Read by Ina Garten

Finished on December 8, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

In her long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten—aka the Barefoot Contessa, author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon—shares her personal story with readers hungry for a seat at her table.

Here, for the first time, Ina Garten presents an intimate, entertaining, and inspiring account of her remarkable journey. Ina’s gift is to make everything look easy, yet all her accomplishments have been the result of hard work, audacious choices, and exquisite attention to detail. In her unmistakable voice (no one tells a story like Ina), she brings her past and her process to life in a high-spirited and no-holds-barred memoir that chronicles decades of personal challenges, adventures (and misadventures) and unexpected career twists, all delivered with her signature combination of playfulness and purpose.

From a difficult childhood to meeting the love of her life, Jeffrey, and marrying him while still in college, from a boring bureaucratic job in Washington, D.C., to answering an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons, from the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and celebrated television host, Ina has blazed her own trail and, in the meantime, taught millions of people how to cook and entertain. Now, she invites them to come closer to experience her story in vivid detail and to share the important life lessons she learned along the way: do what you love because if you love it you’ll be really good at it, swing for the fences, and always Be Ready When the Luck Happens.

From the opening track of the audiobook, I was immediately hooked on Be Ready When the Luck Happens. Ina Garten narrates her memoir with ease and enthusiasm, drawing me in as though we were sitting on her porch, enjoying a cup of coffee and a homemade treat warm from her oven. Her conversational tone is as inviting as her beautiful cookbooks (of which I own several) and I enjoyed my daily walks, learning more about her early career and relationship with her husband, Jeffrey. As one would expect, Ina's circle of friends and acquaintances are also well-known celebrities and yet I never felt she was dropping names while sharing anecdotes about their interactions. Her memoir is honest and genuine, and has inspired me to dig out her cookbooks for my weekly meal planning. Maybe I'll start with a sweet treat since it is the holiday season!

Highly recommend!

Fernie RV Resort - Day One

Disclaimer: I am finally posting about our trip to Canada. Many of these photos were shared on Instagram & Facebook, so they may look familiar to you. Sorry for any confusion!

Canada Road Trip (Summer 2023)

June 30-July 3, 2023

Radium Hot Springs to Fernie, British Columbia

Daily Mileage: 142

Fernie RV Resort

Site: F6

Duration: 4 nights

Cost: $123! Canadian/night (forgot to convert; plus holiday rates)

Weather: Sunny and hot (80s) and windy

Cell Coverage: 1-2 bars Verizon & 1 bar TMobile

Day One

Fernie turned out to be one of our favorite places on this epic trip to Canada. It reminded us of Bend, which is another town we enjoy visiting. We found ourselves saying, "We could live here!" on more than one occasion. I am Canadian, after all. It wouldn't take long to learn the metric system, although I did stumble when asked how many grams of deli meat I wanted when I innocently asked for half a pound. Of course, there's the issue of snow and cold weather, which we are over now that we live on the Oregon coast. 

But back to Fernie. We arrived at the RV park after an uneventful drive south from Radium Hot Springs. We got set up, had a beer, then wandered around, checking out the facilities. Our site was huge with enough space for two RVs. The Elk River was just beyond the trees with a nice walking path alongside the river. Our site backed up to a big wildflower garden, which was pretty but my allergies kicked in by the second day. I rarely have problems with allergies, but there was definitely something irritating my nose!

We drove into town and got lunch at the Fernie Taphouse, which had great fish & chips and fish tacos! After our lunch, we wandered around town, stopping in Polar Peek Books. I bought Bittersweet by Susan Cain, which is our book club selection for this coming November. 

Lots of murals in Fernie!

\

Elk River

Three Sisters

Mt. Hosmer (Ghostrider Mountain)

I love the signs in Canada.

Moonrise

The Canyon RV Resort (Radium Hot Springs) - Day One & Two

Disclaimer: I am finally posting about our trip to Canada. Many of these photos were shared on Instagram & Facebook, so they may look familiar to you. Sorry for any confusion!

Canada Road Trip (Summer 2023)

June 28-29, 2023

Golden to Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia

Daily Mileage: 71

The Canyon RV Resort

Site: 82

Duration: 2 nights

Cost: $60 Canadian/night (forgot to convert)

Weather: Sunny and hot (80s) with occasional showers

Cell Coverage: 3 bars Verizon & 2 bar TMobile

Day One & Two

The short drive down to Radium Hot Springs from Golden was beautiful, and there was very little in the way of traffic on the highway (Hwy 95.) We saw several wildlife warning signs along the way, but, you guessed it; we didn't see anything other than a few birds.

Canyon RV Resort was a very nice spot to stay for a couple of days. Our site backed up to the stream, which was so enjoyable to hear when we were sitting outside (or inside when we had the windows open). The grounds are nicely maintained with lots of old trees and plenty of grass at each site. It was pretty hot and we wound up running the A/C quite a bit. 

We enjoyed a delicious lunch (burgers, salad and poutine) at Horse Thief Creek Pub in town before checking in at the RV park.

Radium Hot Springs Visitor Centre

Our RV is on the left, partially hidden

Funny sign!

Not much privacy, 

but a fair amount of space between sites

Tasted so good on a hot day!