Looking Back - How to Be Good

 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.

How to be Good by Nick Hornby

Fiction

2001

Finished on July 24, 2002

Rating: 2/5 (OK)

Publisher's Blurb:

In Nick Hornby's How to Be Good, Katie Carr is certainly trying to be. That's why she became a GP. That's why she cares about Third World debt and homelessness, and struggles to raise her children with a conscience. It's also why she puts up with her husband David, the self-styled Angriest Man in Holloway.

But one fateful day, she finds herself in a Leeds parking lot, having just slept with another man. What Katie doesn't yet realize is that her fall from grace is just the first step on a spiritual journey more torturous than the interstate at rush hour. Because, prompted by his wife's actions, David is about to stop being angry. He's about to become good--not politically correct, organic-food-eating good, but good in the fashion of the Gospels. And that's no easier in modern-day Holloway than it was in ancient Israel.

Hornby means us to take his title literally: How can we be good, and what does that mean? However, quite apart from demanding that his readers scrub their souls with the nearest available Brillo pad, he also mesmerizes us with that cocktail of wit and compassion that has become his trademark. The result is a multifaceted jewel of a book: a hilarious romp, a painstaking dissection of middle-class mores, and a powerfully sympathetic portrait of a marriage in its death throes.

My Original Thoughts (2002):

I enjoyed the British side to this novel, but didn't really like the characters. Katie & David have a horrid relationship and speak to each other, in front of their two children, with such lack of respect that I was turned off immediately. I think the premise of the novel is good, but I didn't see the humor. Really doubt I'll read more by Hornby.

My Current Thoughts:

I have yet to read another book by Nick Hornby. Was it a matter of poor timing? Am I missing something?

Looking Back - The Lovely Bones

 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.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Fiction

2002

Finished July 16, 2002

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."

So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her -- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.

My Original Thoughts (2002):

An interesting perspective on the afterlife of a murdered teen. Susie Salmon is raped and murdered in the first few pages of Sebold's remarkable novel. Susie narrates the story, allowing the reader to see through her eyes how family and friends deal with their loss while they attempt to discover who killed her in such a violent manner. Extremely well-written, yet disturbing to this mother of a teenage daughter. I did enjoy the little glimpses of "heaven" through Susie's eyes. It was easy to care about the characters. Great storytelling!

My Current Thoughts:

I think I watched the movie version of this, which came out in 2009. Despite the great storytelling, this is not one that I'd like to read a second time.

Favorite Novels with Older Characters

 

I feel as if I've shared a similar list of books with favorite "older" characters in the past, but decided to put together a visual for future reference. Every one of these books is worth reading more than once. I've re-read a few and look forward to re-visiting the others in the not-too-distant future. 

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (read twice) (5/5)

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark (5/5)

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (read twice) (4.5/5 and 4/5)

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (4.5/5)

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (4/5)

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher (read twice) (5/5)

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (read twice) (5/5 and 4.5/5)

Henry, Himself by Stewart O'Nan (5/5)

We Spread by Iain Reid (4.5/5)

Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan (4.75/5)

Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen (4/5)

Evensong by Stewart O'Nan (3/5)*

Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg (5/5)

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (4.5/5)

Evenings at Five by Gail Godwin (read twice) (4/5)

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (4.5/5)

A Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg (5/5)

Update:

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (4.5/5)

*So odd. I thought I enjoyed this one better until I re-read my review!

Life, Death, & Giants

 

Life, Death, & Giants by Ron Rindo

Fiction

2025

Finished on October 6, 2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Gabriel Fisher was born an orphan, weighing eighteen pounds and measuring twenty-seven inches long. No one in Lakota, Wisconsin, knows what to make of him. He walks at eight months, communicates with animals, and seems to possess extraordinary athletic talent. But when the older brother who has been caring for him dies, Gabriel is taken in by his devout Amish grandparents who disapprove of all the attention and hide him away from the English world.

But it’s hard to hide forever when you’re nearly eight feet tall. At seventeen, Gabriel is spotted working in a hay field by the local football coach. What happens next transforms not only Gabriel’s life but the lives of everyone he meets.

Life, and Death, and Giants is a moving story of faith, family, buried secrets, and everyday miracles.

Life, & Death, & Giants hasn't shown up on a lot of the blogs that I follow, and I think I first heard about it on a friend of my daughter's Substack page. She raved about it, so I decided to give it a try. I went into the book cold, curious to see where it would take me. Reminiscent of John Irving's magnificent best-selling novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany, I was quickly engrossed, enjoying the prose as well as the story. Told from four points of view, we observe Gabriel's unusual life through the eyes of his grandmother and three other adults who are involved in his young life. Baseball, football, and wrestling play major roles in Gabriel's youth and early adulthood, and I didn't mind the lengthy details about those sports, although the wrestling matches weren't as interesting as the other two. Despite a couple of surprises toward the end of the novel, I felt the book began to drag in the last third of the story. What started out as a 5-star read, fizzled out with a quiet whimper. I have a feeling this book will stay with me, and I enjoyed it a lot, but I wish I could say that I loved it.

Looking Back - True to Form

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.

True to Form by Elizabeth Berg

Katie Nash #3

Fiction

2002

Finished on June 30, 2002

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In this warm and engaging novel, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg revisits the heroine she so lovingly brought to life in Durable Goods and Joy School.

It is 1961, and thirteen-year-old Katie is facing a summer full of conflict. First, instead of letting her find her own work for the season, Katie's father has arranged for two less-than-ideal baby-sitting jobs. Worse, Katie has been forcibly inducted into the "loser" Girl Scout troop organized by her only friend Cynthia's controlling and clueless mother. A much-anticipated visit to her former home in Texas and ex-best friend Cherylanne proves disappointing. And then comes an act of betrayal that leaves Katie questioning her views on friendship, on her ability not to take those she loves for granted, and most important, on herself.

Full of the anguish and the joys of adolescence in a much more innocent time, True to Form is sure to make readers remember and reflect upon their own moments of discovery and self-definition.

My Original Thoughts (2002):

Touching. Took me a few chapters to get interested.

My Current Thoughts:

I still have the ARC of this novel. I re-read the first in the Katie Nash trilogy this past January, and plan to give both Joy School and True to Form a second reading, as well.

Wordless Wednesday (more or less) - Cape Blanco

Cape Blanco Lighthouse

Cape Blanco State Park, Oregon

This isolated lighthouse holds five Oregon records: it is the oldest continually operating light, the most westerly, it has the highest focal plane above the sea, (approx. 250 feet), James Langlois has an unmatched tenure at any other West Coast lighthouse (42 years) and Oregon’s first woman keeper, Mabel E. Bretherton signed on in March 1903. (Cape Blanco Heritage Society)

A Month in Summary - September 2026

 

Cape Blanco, Oregon

September 2026

Well, I suppose summer is now officially over. I'll try not to whine. We've been very fortunate this year. It actually felt like we had a summer. We didn't have the terrible heat that others suffered through, but we had a lot of sunshine and comfortable temps (60s). 

We got away for another camping trip right after Labor Day, spending a week near Coos Bay, and several other days at Cape Blanco. We had very nice weather, which was good for long walks and sitting by the campfire.

After our return, we enjoyed a nice visit with both of mom's siblings and their spouses. Lots of reminiscing, good meals, and a little Dodger baseball.

I didn't get much reading in during September, especially toward the end of the month. I had hoped to read a lot of mysteries, but couldn't get interested in several that I tried. I wound up filling two bags to donate to our community library. After that, I started looking at the books on my "keeper" shelves and filled another bag with books I know I'll never read again. Nice to see some space on those shelves.

As far as what I did read, I enjoyed two and the other two were just so-so. One was a re-read that dropped in my rating since my first reading. I'm hoping October will be a bit better with regard to quantity and quality.

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

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Volume 2) by Beth Brower (4/5)

Faithful Place by Tana French - reread (3/5)

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (4/5)

Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel (3.5/5)

Gave Up On:

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf 

Since She Went Away by David Bell

The Unforgotten by Laura Powell

Movies & TV Series:

Downton Abbey - I enjoyed all three movies, although the third wasn't as good as the other two. I miss Dame Maggie Smith!

Bergerac - Well. This was ok, but an awful lot of angst on Bergerac's part. 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - This was a fun movie. A bit violent, but not gory.

Trips:

I plan to post about our trip, but here are a few favorites:

Eel Lake

William Tugman State Park, Oregon

Port Orford, Oregon

Cape Blanco State Park, Oregon

We're off on another camping trip in the van in a couple of weeks. Heading up to Washington to a lake near Mount Saint Helens, Whidbey Island, Port Townsend, and then back down into Oregon to Cannon Beach. Fingers crossed for beautiful fall weather!