Wordless Wednesday

From our recent trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia...

September 27, 2023

Elk Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia

Mad Honey

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Fiction

2022 Ballantine Books

Finished on November 10, 2023

Rating: 4.5/5 (Terrific!)

Publisher's Blurb:

A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind.

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father's beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can she trust him completely . . .

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.

Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.

Once again, Jodi Picoult has written a compelling and thought-provoking novel (really more of a mystery than general fiction) that grabbed me from the first page and never let go. I went into Mad Honey completely cold, not even tempted to read the publisher's blurb, confident that a book by Picoult is almost guaranteed to be a winner. I was a little hesitant to read a co-written work, but then I remembered that the Monkeewrench series was written by a mother-daughter writing duo (P.J. Tracy), and I loved those books. Picoult and Boylan have created a seamless story, never once did I feel jolted out of the narrative, their two voices blending into one. Unaware of the central theme of the story, I gasped out loud when the main secret was revealed. I knocked off half a point due to some of the teenage angst in Lily's chapters, pushing the story toward the YA genre, of which I'm not a huge fan. I also guessed the final outcome early on, but that didn't spoil my reading experience, and I'm eager to discuss the book with others. I plan to nominate it to my book group for our 2024 calendar. Fans of Defending Jacob will enjoy this dramatic story. Highly recommend!

Damnation Spring

 

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

Fiction

2021 Scribner

Finished on November 3, 2023

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A stunning novel about love, work, and marriage that asks how far one family and one community will go to protect their future.

Colleen and Rich Gundersen are raising their young son, Chub, on the rugged California coast. It’s 1977, and life in this Pacific Northwest logging town isn’t what it used to be. For generations, the community has lived and breathed timber; now that way of life is threatened.

Colleen is an amateur midwife. Rich is a tree-topper. It’s a dangerous job that requires him to scale trees hundreds of feet tall—a job that both his father and grandfather died doing. Colleen and Rich want a better life for their son—and they take steps to assure their future. Rich secretly spends their savings on a swath of ancient Redwoods. Colleen, desperate to have a second baby, challenges the logging company’s use of herbicides that she believes are responsible for the many miscarriages in the community—including her own. Colleen and Rich find themselves on opposite sides of a budding conflict that threatens the very thing they are trying to protect: their family.

Told in prose as clear as a spring-fed creek, Damnation Spring is an intimate, compassionate portrait of a family whose bonds are tested and a community clinging to a vanishing way of life. An extraordinary story of the transcendent, enduring power of love—between husband and wife, mother and child, and longtime neighbors. An essential novel for our times.

I read Damnation Spring in mid-2022 and thought it was outstanding. I enjoyed the story and writing so much that I decided to recommend it to my book group, and we are discussing it later this month. I wish I could say that I loved it as much the second time around, but it didn't pull me in until about halfway in. Maybe it was simply too soon for a full reread. I dropped my original 5-star rating down to 4 stars.

I won't repost my original thoughts about the book, since that review is pretty long, but you can find it here.

Wordless Wednesday

 From our recent trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia...

September 30, 2023

Black Creek, British Columbia

A Month in Summary - October 2023

Sooke River Campground

Sooke, British Columbia, Canada

October 2023

Another brief summary, as we've been busy getting settled after our adventure on Vancouver Island, as well as hosting more friends and family here in Little Whale Cove. Our trip on "Van Isle" was everything we had hoped for, and I have no doubt that we'll return in the not too distant future.

I read even less in October than in September, and have given up on several audiobooks, still waiting for something that will hold my attention. I may need to take a break from listening to books until after the holidays. 

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

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark (5/5)

The Shadows in the Street by Susan Hill (4/5)

Movies & TV Series:

Not only has my reading taken a dive, but we haven't watched anything in the way of movies or TV series since we got home. We've been watching a lot of MLB, first cheering for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and after they lost their chance to be in the World Series, we switched our allegiance to the Texas Rangers. 

Visitors:

Deb, Dean, Rod and Me

Our great friends from Nebraska have been on the road in their RV for a couple of months and we were so happy they were able to spend a couple of days hanging out with us. We had a wonderful time catching up and hope it won't be another six years before we get together again!

Mom's sister and brother

Libby, Alison, Mom, Georgie, and Rick

Shortly after Deb & Dean's visit, my mom's brother, sister-in-law, sister and niece arrived for a few days. We had such a nice time catching up and reminiscing, and after a bit of damp weather, the sun did eventually come out. 

With the holidays rapidly approaching, things may get a little quiet around here. I am hoping to share a few "Wordless Wednesday" posts with photos from our trip, but we'll see how that goes.

The Shadows in the Street

 

The Shadows in the Street by Susan Hill

Simon Serrailler #5

Mystery

2010 Chatto & Windus

Finished on October 22, 2023

Rating: 4/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

Simon Serrailler has just wrapped up a particularly exhausting and difficult case for SIFT – Special Incident Flying Taskforce – and is on a sabbatical on a Scottish island when he is recalled to Lafferton. Two local prostitutes have vanished and are subsequently found strangled. By the time he gets back, another girl has disappeared. Is this a vendetta against prostitutes by someone with a warped mind? Or a series of killings by an angry punter? But then one of the Cathedral wives goes missing, followed by another young married woman, on her way to work.

Serrailler follows lead after lead, all of which become dead-ends. The fear is that more women will be killed, and that the murderer is right under their noses; meanwhile the public grow more angry and afraid. It is only through a piece of luck, a chance meeting and a life put in grave danger that he finally gets a result…

Susan Hill has a genius for evoking atmosphere and suspense, and her characters are so real that the reader is caught up not only in the mystery but in the drama of their lives.

It's been ten years since I read this fifth installment in the Serrailler series, but after a decade, most of the details were long forgotten. I thought it was very good, and almost gave it the same rating as I did in 2013, but in comparison to some recent 4.5/5 reads, it wasn't quite as good so I bumped it down to an even 4-star rating. I don't have much new to add to my original review, so I'll simply share that below. 

2013 Review (4.5/5):

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery, which kept me on the edge of my seat (and reading late into the night) for most of the second half. Hill kept me guessing and it was only at the very end that I finally sorted out the clues, threw out the red herrings, and worked out the identity of the killer. I rarely ever read a series out of order, but I had this book in my stacks and decided to give it a try without realizing there were four others leading up to this one. My only complaint is that the lack of substantial backstory forced me to flip back and forth between the early chapters, trying to piece together the relationships among the main characters. The introduction of new characters throughout the mystery also added to my confusion, making me stop and question their importance to the narrative. As I’ve discovered in other crime novels I’ve recently read (especially those set specifically in Great Britain and Ireland), I came upon quite a few abbreviations (PC, DCD, DI, DS, DCS, DCI, CID, OIOC), but eventually was able to sort them out, pretty much in time to realize their lack of importance. However, initially their presence disrupted the flow of the narrative. I guess that’s more than one complaint, but they’re very minor quibbles and I’m quite anxious to read the other titles in this series, as well Hill’s stand-alones.

On life after loss:

Ordinary things, Cat thought gratefully. Washing up the coffee cups. Making a lamb stew. Chopping vegetables. Ordinary life. That’s what saves us.

Final Thoughts: Susan Hill, where have you been all my life?! I loved this mystery! Readers who enjoy Tana French and Mo Hayder will likely concur.

2023 Additional Thoughts:

Of course, now that I've read the earlier books in the series, I'm familiar with the main cast of characters and wasn't confused by their relationships or the lack of backstory. An extensive backstory would have revealed too much should someone read the books out of order, as I did originally. I'm very happy that there are seven more books in this series (as well as four novellas) to look forward to. 

Fellowship Point

 

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

Fiction

2022 Marysue Rucci Books

Finished on October 10, 2023

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

Celebrated children’s book author Agnes Lee is determined to secure her legacy—to complete what she knows will be the final volume of her pseudonymously written Franklin Square novels; and even more consuming, to permanently protect the peninsula of majestic coast in Maine known as Fellowship Point. To donate the land to a trust, Agnes must convince shareholders to dissolve a generations-old partnership. And one of those shareholders is her best friend, Polly.

Polly Wister has led a different kind of life than Agnes: that of a well-off married woman with children, defined by her devotion to her husband, a philosophy professor with an inflated sense of stature. She strives to create beauty and harmony in her home, in her friendships, and in her family. Polly soon finds her loyalties torn between the wishes of her best friend and the wishes of her three sons—but what is it that Polly wants herself?

Agnes’s designs are further muddied when an enterprising young book editor named Maud Silver sets out to convince Agnes to write her memoirs. Agnes’s resistance cannot prevent long-buried memories and secrets from coming to light with far-reaching repercussions for all.

It's been a couple of weeks since I finished reading this marvelous novel, and while it took me over three weeks to read, I'm still thinking about Agnes, Polly, and Maud, wishing I could return to Fellowship Point and their stories. Fellowship Point is a literary work with a strong sense of place and unforgettable characters. It took me several chapters before I was fully immersed in the story (and I didn't care for a few of the men), but I loved the friendship (80 years long!) between Agnes & Polly. Friends and neighbors their entire lives, this is an epic friendship, though not without its faults...

I guessed one of the plot twists, but not most significant one, which was a lovely surprise and almost had me shouting, "No way!" Alice Elliott Dark is a new-to-me author, and I plan to jump into her backlist as soon as possible with hopes for a new novel in the coming years.  

Some random passages that spoke to me:

Rarely did she have to compromise for anyone, a privilege she did not take for granted and refused to squander. She was eighty, but she had not slowed down. Just the opposite. Her remaining work was urgent, and she was well aware of working alongside the specter of the unknown moment of her last breath.

and

The world through the looking glass, the parallel universe where life is as it should be, so close to us yet impenetrable except when we accept the graces and the love offered to us. What I have learned is the grace and love are offered all the time, in every new moment, at every glimpse of the sky, or dawn of a day that has never before existed, or squirrel skittering along a branch, or a conversation with a sister or a friend, or the sense of time suspended when reading a good book. We are free, always, to accept what is offered; it is we who don't recognize this. This is our free will. The result is what we call our experience, which in turn forms our beliefs. There are a lot of bad ideas in the world. I have less and less patience with any ideas at all. Animals, flowers, the sea. Friends. Children. Art. The end.

Is it too soon for a second reading? Perhaps on audio? Fellowship Point may just be my favorite book of 2023.

I have to include this photo from my neighborhood. It reminds me so much of the cover art for Fellowship Point!

A Month in Summary - September 2023

Strait of Georgia

Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

September 2023

We are currently on the road, or should I say we're on "Van Isle" as the locals call Vancouver Island. We began our trip two weeks ago and are currently in Nanaimo for the next few days. We've been to Victoria, Saanichton, Campbell River, Telegraph Cove, Black Creek, as well as a few spots in Oregon and Washington. We have two more weeks of fun as we head over to the western side of the island, then down to Port Townsend and the Seattle area before we head home. This trip has checked several items from my bucket list, most notably: three black bear sightings (across a small river from us!), more humpback whales than you could count, and two orcas! I also saw four eagles and several kingfishers, but those weren't new-to-me sightings; just fun. I also conquered my fear of driving our 26' motorhome onto the Black Ball Ferry, which took us from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, British Columbia. Thank goodness for the awesome parking crew who helped guide me into our space on the ferry!

I haven't done much reading while we're exploring the island, but I am enjoying another big novel and should finish in the next week or so. I had another wonderful month of reading before we left Oregon, wrapping up a very long audiobook that turned out to be a great listening experience. I also read two new novels that I can recommend highly. 

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

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton (5/5)

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur (4.5/5)

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (4/5)

Good Harbor by Anita Diamant (3/5)

DNFs:

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Movies & TV Series:

The Fall - Starts out very dark and disturbing, but I'm glad we stuck with it through the end of the third (and final) season. The conclusion was somewhat anticlimactic, but overall a very good show.

Visitors:

Pippa, Nathan, Mom and Meghan

Ana and Mark

Proud Moment:

Our daughter, who is a fashion influencer (Fashion Jackson), launched her clothing line on September 7th! We couldn't be more proud of all she's achieved in the past decade. You can read more about the launch here and check out the latest arrivals on the website (MAYSON the label ).

Travels:

As mentioned, we are currently on another road trip through Canada. I'll blog about in the coming months, but for now, here are some highlights from our trip.

Victoria, B.C.

Telegraph Cove, B.C.

Prince of Whales excursion

Sunrise over the Strait of Georgia

My favorite travel companion

For more photos of our journey, follow me on Instagram.

Good Harbor

Good Harbor by Anita Diamant

Fiction

2001 Scribner

Finished on September 15, 2023

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Anita Diamant, whose rich portrayal of the biblical world of women illuminated her acclaimed international bestseller The Red Tent, now crafts a moving novel of contemporary female friendship.

Good Harbor is the long stretch of Cape Ann beach where two women friends walk and talk, sharing their personal histories and learning life's lessons from each other. Kathleen Levine, a longtime resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts, is maternal and steady, a devoted children's librarian, a convert to Judaism, and mother to two grown sons. When her serene life is thrown into turmoil by a diagnosis of breast cancer at fifty-nine, painful past secrets emerge and she desperately needs a friend. Forty-two-year-old Joyce Tabachnik is a sharp-witted freelance writer who is also at a fragile point in her life. She's come to Gloucester to follow her literary aspirations, but realizes that her husband and young daughter are becoming increasingly distant. Together, Kathleen and Joyce forge a once-in-a-lifetime bond and help each other to confront scars left by old emotional wounds.

I decided to pull this one off my shelf and give it a second reading. Cancer, infidelity, and books are the main themes and while I zipped through it quickly, it's not one that's going back in my permanent collection. I read this in 2001 and wrote a short post about it here.

20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge Results - 2023

 

I love the 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge and this summer was the fourth year that I've participated. I like to wait until the fall equinox (September 23rd) rather than Labor Day to finish up the challenge, giving myself three extra weeks to complete my goals, but we had visitors this past weekend, followed by a month-long road trip that began a couple of days ago. So, I decided that I better wrap it up now before life gets busier!

This year I chose 20 novels, many of which have been in my stacks for well over a decade. I had so many DNF'd titles in this collection, but it's nice to have finally sampled them and cleared them off my shelves. I had high hopes for a few, but I started those shortly after reading Tom Lake, which may have set up any book for failure. 

In addition to the books on my original list, I added a few others, including a couple of audiobooks. I wound up reading 16 books (see image below), but gave up on a dozen. Overall, I'm very pleased with my results. I won't link to each review (they're all available on this blog), but here are the final ratings:

Three 5-star books

Four 4.5-star books

Five 4-star books

One 3.5-star book

Two 3-star books

One 2-star books

For past posts (and results) about this challenge, click here.