Bandon, Oregon
October 2025
The weeks are zooming past and it won't be long before we're in the holiday season. We have family coming for Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is always nice. We also have family visiting right now for a few days. While I enjoy seeing everyone, I'm also looking forward to the quiet months after New Year's.
We started October off with a little jaunt down to Bandon for three nights. We took my mom along, staying in two beachside cottages just to the south of Face Rock. The weather was perfect for sitting outside on our decks, watching the waves, listening to the birds, and soaking up the sunshine. (I'll do a separate post about that trip in the coming weeks.)
As I shared in a previous post, my mom and I participated in the No Kings protest on the 18th. It was a remarkable day! The rest of the month was a mix of quiet days, followed by a week filled with all sorts of appointments. And, of course, Dodger baseball! It was a thrill to see Shohei Ohtani pitch (striking out ten batters in six scoreless innings) and hit three home runs in game four of the NLCS. Talk about a historic moment!
My reading in October was pretty good, too. I read two outstanding novels, both of which will hit my Best of 2025 list. I'm almost finished with my year of Maggie O'Farrell, and now that it's November, my focus is strictly on nonfiction. This year's challenge has me reading all memoirs, which I love.
Books Read (click on the title for my review):
This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell (2/5)
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (5/5)
Orbital by Samantha Harvey (2/5)
The Names by Florence Knapp (4.5/5)
The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan (4/5)
Evensong by Stewart O'Nan (3/5)
Movies & TV Series:
Slow Horses (Season 5) - We have one more episode to watch, but I'm including this here. Gary Oldman is great, but this is another one of those shows that gets a little confusing, especially if viewed as the episodes drop rather than binging.
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The Diplomat (Season 3) - This is a great show, but the dialogue is fast, and the plot a bit convoluted. Season 4 should be worthwhile, too!
A House of Dynamite - Eighteen minutes told in three separate narratives equals an intense, realistic portrayal of what might occur if a nuclear missile is launched at the United States. I was on the edge of my seat! Very good!
The Handmaid's Tale (Season 4) - I took a month off from watching this, but now I'm back to it. It's still just as unsettling, if not more so, given the current situation in our country.
Travels:
As I mentioned, we spent three days in Bandon, Oregon. I'll post more about it in the next week or so.
Face Rock
Morning Moon
Happy reading!
It was an exciting World Series - I just wish it had ended much differently! lol. It had many twists along the way. It looks like you had a beautiful excursion. Lovely photos of Bandon's coast. And you read several good reads this past month, kudos.
ReplyDeleteSusan, if it weren't a game with the Dodgers, I definitely would have been cheering for the Blue Jays! Yes, Bandon was lovely. The rocks off that coastline are incredible! Yep, some good reads. I'm on to all the memoirs this month. Already started my second, which is very good (Maggie O'Farrell's).
DeleteYour photos are beautiful. And I'm so glad you were able to do No Kings with your mom.
ReplyDeleteI hope you discover some great memoirs to share this month.
Thank you, Deb. The Oregon coast never fails to amaze me! I've finished one memoir and am currently reading two (alternating between them so as to savor the author's lovely thoughts). It's rainy and very windy today, so I may spend the rest of the afternoon reading.
DeleteI made it through the first season of Handmaid's Tale, but it was so bleak, I just couldn't watch any more in this time we are living in.
DeleteDeb, I've discovered something about myself in recent years. If I start a tv show or a book and it's decent enough to hold my attention, I continue watching/reading even if I decide I don't really like it. Case in point, The Handmaid's Tale. Also, our current tv series (The Beast in Me) is pretty lame, but we're going to finish in order to see whodunnit. My current audiobook (The Nix) is something I would have given up on weeks ago had I been reading the print edition. The audio is keeping me mildly entertained, but I can't say that I like the book very much.
DeleteI recognized that Bandon picture! Love it! So glad you guys got to go there and relax. :-)
ReplyDeleteKay, anyone who's been to Bandon is sure to recognize the photo, right? I think I have several that I've taken over the years of pretty much the exact same shot. Lol!
DeleteYour photos of Bandon are so beautiful, what a peaceful destination! I should have mentioned the No Kings protest in my monthly wrap-up. The turnout in our small town was more than anyone expected and so encouraging. I'm not really a Dodgers fan, but that was an exciting series. The Correspondent is still my favorite book of the year!
ReplyDeleteJoAnn, Bandon is such a beautiful coastal community. If it had a major hospital and was closer to a large airport, we'd consider moving there someday. Glad your small town had a good turnout for No Kings Day! Funny about the World Series. More and more of my non-baseball friends watched and enjoyed the series. It was so exciting! Thanks for recommending The Correspondent. I hope to read it again in 2026.
DeleteI really enjoy Slow Horses. Gary Oldman is so damn good. I also liked the Diplomat despite the insanity of the plot.
ReplyDeleteHelen, Gary Oldman is really good, isn't he? We're now watching Down Cemetery Road, which is based on another book by Mick Herron. Emma Thompson, whom I adore, is in it.
DeleteIts been a long time since I've been to Bandon. I want to go back now thanks to your lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteAnne, we are so fortunate to live fairly close to Bandon. It's about 3 hours south of us. We always stop there for a few nights on our way down and back when drving to California. Bullards Beach State Park is one of our favorite Oregon campgrounds.
DeleteWow those photos are stunning! Hope you enjoyed your trip!
ReplyDeleteKeira, thank you! It's a gorgeous spot on the Oregon coast!
DeleteThe Oregon coast is just fantastic--I love your pictures and want to hop in the car and go there!
ReplyDeleteI really liked Amy Tan's bird book, which I read slow and savored. Reading it, I was inspired to try to draw or paint my own backyard birds, but I waited until the urge passed. I think I have enough hobbies for the time being!
I've been toying with watching The Diplomat because it gets such good reviews.
Happy November!
Yes, we are so fortunate to live here on the OR coast! So much beauty between the coast and forests. We love it!
DeleteI'm not inspired to draw or paint our backyard birds, but I do pay attention to them a little more closely than I did before I read Tan's book.
Thanks for visiting, Jane. Have a good month!
Your monthly summary - my favorite! I've been a slacker visiting and posting after a hectic 2 weeks but I hope to get back into the swing of things now. The photo of Bandon is gorgeous as is the description of your time there. Relaxation, bird song and what a view.
ReplyDeleteI liked This Must be the Place more than you and i think O'Farrell is a marvelous author. Keeps you turung the pages. I've not read as many of her books as I'd like. I completely agree about your other ratings except for Evensong which is still on my to-read list. Probably won't get to that until next year but hope to read it early in 2026.
Slow Horses was great and we are caught up. Have not watched any of the others you mentioned but we are only subscribed to Amazon and Apple currently. Thank you very much for the suggestion for Shrinking. I think season 3 has Michael J Fox and with the tie in to Harrison Ford's character, bet it's a tear jerker.
You are so sweet, Tina. Thank you. I enjoy putting together these monthly summaries. They're sort of my lazy way of online journaling. :)
DeleteI'm sending Deb my copy of Evensong since it's not one I'll read again. Maybe she'll be willing to send it on to you, once she's finished.
Oh, wow. If Michael J Fox appears in Shrinking, I'm bound to bawl. I admire him so much and have donated to his foundation over the years. Thanks for letting me know. I'll be sure to have my Kleenex nearby!
I read Slow Horses, and I love Mick Herron’s work, but even the book is confusing; I can imagine it might be more so in film format. Nothing, though, is as hard for me to understand in a spy novel than Le Carre. I just don’t get him at all without a tremendous struggle.
ReplyDeleteMeredith, my husband read Slow Horses, but hasn't gone on to read more by Herron. I've not read anything by Le Carre, and I get his books mixed up with Ken Follet's earlier thrillers like Lie Down with Lions and Eye of the Needle.
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