A Year of Elizabeth Strout

 

Amy and Isabelle (4.5/5 and 3/5)

Abide With Me (3.5/5)

Olive Kitteridge (4/5 and 4.5/5)

The Burgess Boys (4/5)

My Name Is Lucy Barton (4/5 and 3/5)

Anything Is Possible (3/5)

Olive, Again (4.5/5 and 5/5)

Oh, William! (3.5/5)

Lucy By the Sea (4/5)

Tell Me Everything (4.5/5)

Toward the end of 2024, I decided to read all of Elizabeth Strout's books, as well as all of Maggie O'Farrell's. I was inspired to start these personal challenges in 2025 since I had so many unread books by both authors. Rather than pick up where I'd left off with Strout's collection of novels, I chose to start with her debut, re-reading it and any others I'd read in the past. I wound up enjoying Amy and Isabelle and My Name Is Lucy Barton better than my first encounters, but dropped my ratings for Olive Kitteridge and Olive, Again by half a point with those second readings. I read the last four in December, which made for a seamless experience in Olive & Lucy's worlds. I'm looking forward to Strout's upcoming release (The Things We Never Say), which is set in Massachusetts with a new cast of characters. (Publication date: May 5, 2026)

A Year With Maggie O'Farrell

 

I Am I Am I Am (4.5/5)

The Marriage Portrait (5/5)

Hamnet (5/5) -- read in 2022

This Must Be the Place (2/5)

Instructions For a Heatwave (3/5)

The Hand That First Held Mind (3.5/5)

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (5/5) - read in 2022

The Distance Between Us (4/5)

My Lover's Lover (4/5)

After You'd Gone (4/5)

In late 2024, I decided to spend 2025 reading all of Maggie O'Farrell's books. I had already read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and Hamnet, and I wasn't inclined to re-read those despite my love for both novels. I began with O'Farrell's debut and worked my way through the stacks, finishing with The Marriage Portrait, which I also loved. There were a few duds in the mix, but overall, I can say that I'm a fan. I do believe her historical novels are more enjoyable than the contemporary works, but I'll continue to read whatever she publishes. Her memoir is exceptional, as well. 

Have you read an author's entire collection? In addition to this personal reading challenge, I spent all of 2025 reading Elizabeth Strout's books. I'll share those details in my next post. 

A Month in Summary - December 2025

Photo Credit: Nancy White

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

December 2025

And just like that, we have reached the end of 2025. Tempus fugit!

December is always a busy month, but this year I was able to relax and enjoy the quiet days between social events. We hosted a small-ish cocktail party to kick off the Christmas season, quietly celebrated my 64th birthday, attended a large neighborhood holiday gathering, and enjoyed Christmas with my mom, brother, and niece. I managed to read several great books, completed my personal challenge to read all of Maggie O'Farrell's and Elizabeth Strout's works, and started planning for next year's reading goals. 

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

The Nix by Nathan Hill (2/5)

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell (5/5)

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (4.5/5)

Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout (3.5/5)

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout (4/5)

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (4.5/5)

A Far-flung Life by M. L. Steadman (5/5)

Movies & TV Series:

Wake Up Dead Man - Entertaining, but not as good as the previous movies.

A Complete Unknown - I'm not a big Dylan fan, but this was a wonderful movie! Chalamet gives a great performance.

Train Dreams - We thoroughly enjoyed this quiet film. I'll bet the novella (written by Denis Johnson) is also worthwhile. 

Karen Pirie (Season 2) - We like this series, but after a couple of weeks, the storyline is long forgotten.

Death By Lightning - Very good miniseries based on Candice Millard's book Destiny of the Republic. I'm inspired to read the book. 

Visitors:

My younger brother and my niece came to celebrated Christmas with us. I failed to take any photos while they were here, so I borrowed this one from Chris' Facebook page. :)

64th Birthday:

I had a very nice birthday with lots of cards (I love snail-mail!), emails, texts, and phone calls. Rod ordered a delicious cake (raspberry-filled white cake), and my mom took us both out to our favorite restaurant (Local Oceans) in Newport. I now have 9 months to start researching supplemental health insurance to go with Medicare, which I'll sign up for in mid-September.

Christmas:

Another borrowed photo from my brother. Not only did I not take any photos of our Christmas party, but I failed to take any on Christmas Day!

My mom at 92!

That's it for me. Stay tuned for my yearly wrap-ups where I share my reading stats, as well as my favorite audiobooks and tv shows.