Celestial Lights

 

Celestial Lights by Cecile Pin

Fiction

2026

Finished on 4/9/2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A beautiful, heartbreaking novel about ambition, love, and space from the award-winning author of the Women’s Prize longlisted Wandering Souls.

January 28, 1986: Soon after launch, the Challenger shuttle falls out of the sky and into the sea. At the same time, Oliver Ines is born. Celestial Lights is his story.

Ollie spends his childhood in an English village where his bedroom is covered in glow-in-the-dark wallpaper bearing the planets and stars. Decades later, he has become one of the most renowned astronauts of his time. When an enterprising billionaire taps him to lead a landmark mission to the distant moon Europa, Ollie makes a choice that will send his whole world spinning.

As the mission advances deeper into unchartered territory, Ollie finds himself retreating into the past: his university days in London and years in the navy, relationships found and lost, becoming a husband and father. But will the world he remembers still be waiting for him when he returns?

Cecile Pin’s novel is a portrait of a complicated man whose unparalleled understanding of the universe doesn’t always translate into stellar relationships on Earth. A breathtaking tale of memory, personal choices, and the relationships that define us, Celestial Lights is an unforgettable story of fate, love, and sacrifice that questions what we owe ourselves and our loved ones when our ambitions and loyalties collide.

I was gifted Celestial Lights by Tina (Turn the Page) a few months ago. I'd not read anything by Cecile Pin, but after reading the blurb for her latest book, I was eager to give it a try. Pin is a consummate storyteller, and her writing is lyrical and informative. The narrative is interspersed with Ollie's personal flight log, which gives the reader insight into the mission to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. I started off liking Ollie, but toward the end of the novel, I had begun feeling that he was selfish and egotistical.  I read this book at the same time as the Artemis II mission, which made it fun to think about that crew's experience, albeit much shorter than Ollie's Phoenix mission, which lasted 3,650 days.

Earth is now a pale blue smudge. Morale is good so far, but I worry what'll happen when it's no longer visible. We've had no contact with Earth for almost a year now, so having it within our sights feels like our only anchor. I often catch Shane and Lucia looking out through the round windows, as if willing it to stay, to accompany us on our ten-year journey.

The novel is divided into three parts, and the final section begins almost 2,000 days after Ollie's last journal entry. Basically, the journey home to Earth is omitted from the plot, which felt somewhat abrupt. Years have passed and relationships have altered in Ollie's absence. It's hard to imagine a mission that would take ten years, especially for those left behind.

Sometimes, when I've done my tasks for the day and Talos is quiet, I try and imagine my life had I followed her path. But then, I look out of the viewing port. I see the crescent moon and the faint shimmers of Venus and Mars. I see the deepest dark that surrounds us infinitely, awash with stars and the misty hues of nebulas, their rich purples, their vibrant reds. I see the Milky Way in all its glory, untainted by city lights, and the sun rising over Earth's atmosphere. I see them all, those celestial lights, and I know that no other path would have shown them to me.

Celestial Lights is the third space story I've read in less than a year. I didn't love it as much as Project Hail Mary, but I thought it was better than Orbital. I look forward to reading more by Cecile Pin.

2026 1st Quarter Favorites

 

Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly (4.5/5)

The Likeness by Tana French (4.5/5)

Where the Forest Meets the River by Shannon Bowring (4.5/5)

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (4.5/5)

In the Woods by Tana French (4.75/5)

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild (4.5/5)

Looking Back - Flight Lessons

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Flight Lessons by Patricia Gaffney

Fiction

2002

Finished on 6/26/2002

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Though Anna once adored her aunt Rose, that ended when she betrayed Anna and her mother - Rose's terminally ill sister - and Anna can't forgive or forget. Years later, her own heart broken, Anna returns home to Rose, and to the family restaurant, the Bella Sorella, now grown shabby with age. Anna is still reluctant to forgive Rose, insisting that her stay is temporary. But the intimacy of working with Rose to put the Bella Sorella back on its feet, and an unexpected chance at true love, bring about a change of heart. Patricia Gaffney once again delivers a story told with grace and warmth, reminding us that there's no place like home.

My Original Thoughts (2002):

Took me a while to get interested in the characters, but eventually I did. Enjoyed the emails between Anna and new friend, Mason. Touching passages put a lump in my throat several times. Nice follow-up to The Saving Graces. "Funny, moving, and insightful about love, life, and family..."

My Current Thoughts (2026):

I suspect this spoke to my younger self, but I have a feeling it would be to boring at this point in my life.

Culpability

 

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

Fiction

2025

Narrated by Stacy Carolan and January LaVoy

Finished on 4/5/2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Set at a summer rental on the Chesapeake Bay, a riveting family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence, from the bestselling author of the “wise and addictive” (New York Times) The Gifted School.

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret that implicates them in the accident.

During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie’s future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And Lorelei’s odd behavior tugs at Noah’s suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident—suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal. When Charlie falls for Monet’s teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI.

Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.

Technology, and more specifically A.I., is becoming increasingly ingrained in our daily lives. I don't know anyone who doesn't use Siri, Google, or Alexa. We have Alexa set up to turn on lights with a simple command. I ask Google questions throughout the day with my phone. I've also started using ChatGPT for random medical queries. 

Oh, and just last year we bought a new Subaru Outback. This is our second Subaru, but the two models are nothing alike. Our 2025 model has all the bells & whistles you could ever imagine: Touchscreen information display. Android Auto. EyeSight® Driver Assist Technology (rear-vision camera, pre-collision braking, automatic emergency steering, front view monitor, blind-spot detection, reverse automatic braking, high beam assist, lane departure prevention, etc.). Voice recognition to control navigation, entertainment, phone calls, and climate control. The car recognizes me when I'm in the driver's seat, knows when I depart from a lane without signaling, alerts me if I take my eyes off of the road for too long, lets me know when the car in front of me as moved, dims my high beams (I love this feature), etc., Our first Subaru didn't even have a back-up camera! I'll admit that I don't enjoy lane assist "feature" while using cruise control. My family jokes about my need to be in control (I always prefer to be the driver rather than a passenger), and this was most apparent when my car took over the steering when I tested the cruise control. I can honestly say that I will never ride in an autonomous vehicle. And yet, I can appreciate the safety advantages of driverless cars.

"Every accident in a self-driving vehicle is huge news, because it's covered as if a malevolent robot has killed a human. Meanwhile some random truck driver falls asleep at the wheel and kills a young couple, yet we never once consider taking all eighteen-wheelers off the road."

She turns and looks out over the inlet. "I want to believe in humans. I want to believe that even at the last second, an AI can and should be over-ridden by a knowing, human conscience. By a moral mind with a soul. Now I'm not so sure. There's a place for algorithms, a bigger and bigger place. But people have to be better, too. They have to not drink and drive. They have to not text behind the wheel. We shouldn't make these machines because we want them to be good for us, or good instead of us. We should make them because they can help us be better ourselves."

Culpability, Bruce Holsinger's relevant and timely novel, takes a deep dive into the moral issues of A.I., whether used in personal vehicles, chatbot friends (or therapists), or autonomous warfare systems. It's a compelling book, and I enjoyed the audio narration, which kept me entertained on my afternoon walks. Holsinger teases out information, revealing each family member's secret regarding the accident. It was easy to assign blame as I read the early chapters, but as the story progressed, what I was sure was a black and white case became muddy and gray.

 

I love it when I come across a book that I can recommend to my book group. With ethical questions about artificial intelligence, Culpability will appeal to a broad range of readers, and is sure to prompt lively discussions.

The Song of Achilles

 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Fiction

2012

Finished on 4/5/2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles.

Achilles, “best of all the Greeks,” is everything Patroclus is not—strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess—and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative connection gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper—despite the displeasure of Achilles’ mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.

Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

It seems like it was just a year or two ago that I read Circe, but it's been five years since my book group read and discussed this second novel by Madeline Miller. I enjoyed the book so well, I promptly bought a copy of The Song of Achilles. I've had this debut novel on my summer and fall reading lists for far too long, and decided it was finally time to read it. 

My knowledge of Greek mythology is pretty slim, so I enjoyed learning about the various heroes involved in the war to rescue Helen of Sparta. I was immediately drawn into the early lives of Achilles and Patroclus, and as they headed off to war, the suspense kept the pages turning. The ten-year war, though, became a bit of a slog and I grew impatient, eager to see how Achilles would fare in the battle. I was rewarded with the final chapters of the novel, and as I mentioned after reading Circe, I'm very much interested in reading The Iliad and The Odyssey.

I've not watched the film Troy, but it's now on my list. 

A Month in Summary - March 2026

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

Hooray for spring! I love this time of year. Longer days and more sunshine always makes me happy. Other than various medical appointments (for me, my husband, and my mom), it was a fairly quiet month, as my reading reflects. Looking back at last March, I see that I read two more books this month than in 2025. I also see that I learned how to play American Mah Jong in March 2025. The 2026 cards were recently mailed out and I'm enjoying the challenge of learning the new hands. What a great way to exercise your brain! No trips in April, but we're excited about a two-week RV trip in late May. 

My reading was pretty good in March. I had one re-read, which was very entertaining. I finished the Dalton series, and am eager to see what Shannon Bowring comes up with next. Only one of the four new releases was a winner, so it's back to my backlist TBR stacks. I am determined to read the books that were on my fall reading list. (I'm looking at you The Lacuna!)

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

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (3/5)

Where the Forest Meets the River by Shannon Bowring (4.5/5)

In a Distant Valley by Shannon Bowring (4/5)

Heartwood by Amity Gaige (3/5)

The Likeness by Tana French (4.5/5)

Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen (3/5)

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch (4/5)

Gave Up On:

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Flesh by David Szalay

Movies & TV Series:

The Bear (Season Four) - Gloomy. Morose. 

The Pitt (Season Two) - Love this show! Great cast and writing.

Shrinking (Season Three) - I probably wouldn't continue with this show if it weren't for Harrison Ford. The tender moments are very good, but the humor falls short.

Miracle: The Boys of '80 - We enjoyed watching this documentary after the 2026 Olympics. I always thought the U.S. team beat the Russians for the gold, but it was Finland they beat in the final game. 

Puzzlemania:

Family News:

Mom came home after almost two weeks in rehab after hip replacement surgery (due to a broken hip). We are so happy to have her back home with us!

Ladder:

I joined Ladder at the beginning of the year and am so pleased with Team Elevate. Coach Elise keeps me motivated, and I've been getting in 4-6 workouts every week. I especially love that I can workout from home with my own equipment (weights, bench, Peloton, and yoga mat). Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you a link for a free week.