Books read and goals accomplished!

In my previous post I talked about making some short term goals and listing a few books I have on hand.  It's working well for me as I have finished two books I own.  One fiction and the other a nonfiction. 

After reading Cecile Pin's book Celestial Lights I found myself a fan of her writing style.  As I own Wandering Souls I thought I'd start with that one on Kindle.

This is the story of a family, broken apart while fleeing Vietman after the war ended. 

I can't imagine the fear and obstacles of leaving your country, grasping at an escape so scary, possibly unreliable  smugglers transporting you and loved ones..... hoping it will be safe. Hoping to escape horrid living conditions in exchange for a good life.

The story is told with multiple narrators.

"Because Anh, Minh Thanh were the 3 oldest children, their parents decided they would travel ahead on a separate boat, dividing the family in two. It hadn't occurred to Anh that this breaking in half was the first sign of peril. The first clue that her father knew that one of the halves might fall."

When Anh's parents and siblings don't arrive when planned she knows things went wrong.  Now at 16 years of age she is the care taker of her younger brothers.  She must keep them safe and fed while living with uncertainties in resettlement camps.

In between her story and viewpoint are passages from the deceased brother named Dao.  Seeing his sister and brothers from a ghostly existence.   Sounds odd but it worked, especially in explanations about their culture.

For a more my review is here on Goodreads.  #Historical Fiction #Asia #War

📚📚📚 Nonfiction

Next on my list was Hayley Arceneaux's book Wild Ride. A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships.

This is an inspiring story of a pediatric cancer survivor, how she handled the treatment and how it gave her a different outlook on life. That sums it up. She went into some good detail about the emotional side of cancer treatment, her adventurous spirit and how incredibly driven she was; however I would have liked more detail on how she was selected for the civilian spot for space travel and the mission training.

She traveled as much as could, learned another language and eventually got her dream job.  It's an easy read of 208 pages, listed as a memoir.  Could have been a Readers Digest short series rather than a book, in my opinion.  3 stars

Currently reading / Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty. This is about Gerry and Stella Gilmore, a retired Irish couple who now live in Scotland and their midwinter trip to Amsterdam. As I'm not too far into the book it appears there will be reflections on their 40+ year marriage and uncertainties about past events.  I like books featuring older adults...probably because I am one. :-)

Upcoming will be a buddy read with the book Crux by Gabriel Tallent in February.

That's all I have this week book related. Otherwise it was just a few medical apointments, Loki going crazy and havng a seizure because I snuck out early to get blood work, made a beef stew and homemade baguette for the comfort food needed in this weather.  Still covering the plants as lows are 23 F/ -5 C for the week.

Hope your reading week was fantastic.

Linking up with:

Joy for British Isles Friday (for Northern Irish author Bernard MacLaverty)

Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge (using the Wild Ride book for the Nonfiction Grazer category as I have another book in mind for Memoir)

The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks

This memoir starts with the author's early life and his distain for the educational system. At age twelve the school sorts the children between the grammar or comprehensive groups, those moving into grammar deemed intelligent enough for higher education and eventually professional careers. Those in comprehensive are destined for labor jobs such as bricklayers, hairdressers, farmers.  The teacher tries to inspire the children to reach for more while the boys carry on and ignore her, dismiss her preaching because they are content to work on their family farm.  They fight and vandalize and never read. 

But James Rebanks is different and unwittingly educates himself by picking up books at home from his mother's library and then craving more.  Hemingway, Camus, Salinger and Orwell.  This he does not share with his friends.  

One day in a pub an old Korean war veteran sees Rebanks grab a book off the wall shelf and place it in his jacket.  He didn't want his friends to see but the veteran starts fussing about how he couldn't identify the plane on the book cover. The author does indeed identify it and good deal more, leaving the old man smiling and his friends gobsmacked. Eventually he ends up with an Oxford education in addition to invaluable educational experience he gains from years working with his grandfather and father.  

The focus of the book is mainly that of shepherding, raising the sheep and the workings of the farm in Cumbria.  The book appealed to be because I am the nerdy sort who likes reading about farm life and how they sustain a living with hard work and love of their environment. Also, the setting is Cumbria, an area I've done much research as my gg grandparents and their ancestors lived there until settling in the Philadelphia area.

I learned many things in this book such as much of the mountainous areas of the land in the Lake District were given to the National Trust by wealthy benefactors like Beatrix Potter.   Mrs. Beatrix (Potter) Heelis had a farm called Hill Top and made sure over 4,000 acres and fifteen farms were protected by bequeathing them in her will.  To read about the society click HERE.

This land was given to protect the landscape and its unique way of life, because it was deemed to be in the public interest.  I did not know that before I read this book. (Page 22)

It was interesting to me to read about Herdwick sheep. They're arguably the toughest mountain sheep in Britain, almost indestructible according to the author. Through the worst weather, be it snow, rain, hail or sleet they can live on less than any other sheep in these conditions. Scientific research show Herdwicks are genetically special. They have in them a primitive genome, possibly from Viking stock as their British sheep relatives are from Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

The fell farming way, grazing the sheep in the mountains during certain months, is an ancient way which has disappeared almost everywhere else. The sheep go there on common land with their neighbors stock and get sorted when they are brought down come winter.  Everyone works together.

I will be starting another book by this author titled Pastoral Song soon.

Families like ours roll on beside each other, through the ages. with bonds enduring.  Individuals live and die, but the farms, the flocks and the old families go on. P 65

#memoir #nonfiction #England

Olive, Mabel and me by Andrew Cotter & be Ready When Luck Happens by Ina Garten

My first book of the year was Olive, Mabel and Me by Andrew Cotter.  Reading wise this was the perfect start of the year as I like books about dogs.  The adventures Mr. Cotter described with his two labradors, especially the mountain climbing, was so well written.  

During the pandemic when everyone was on lockdown Mr. Cotter, a sports broadcaster, found himself out of work as all events were cancelled.  So he posted a YouTube video of Olive and Mabel.   The first video had many hits but the second one called Game of Bones was an overwhelming success.  I think I read it is still getting views and is over the 2 million mark on hits now.  

 There are so many observations about his time with Olive and Mabel and the quirks which any dog owner/pet parent can relate.  He delivers with humor and an excellent writing. Very down to earth, relatable narrative.

Mr. Cotter lives in Scotland and often takes the dogs on long hikes much to their mutual enjoyment.  There is quite a bit about the mountain climbing and hiking relayed here which I also found interesting.  It was explained in a way anyone could understand.  

There are loads of photos in the book and I sure hope he writes another one. 4.5 stars

 📚📚📚

Be Ready When Luck Happens by Ina Garten

I had been hearing good things about Ina Gartens's memoir and was pleased when the library had my copy available.  

If I'd had that childhood and such awful parents I don't think I would have succeeded  in much of anything.  They were demeaning, cruel and honestly should never have had children.  That said, she rose above the negativity despite the lack of support from her parents, obviously succeeding with most ventures she tackled.

The more negative reviews point out what a privileged upbringing she had with well-to-do parents in a Connecticut suburb. Money never being an issue doesn't mean you have a happy childhood nor does it mean you glide through life without strife.

There were many things I never knew about the famous cookbook author and the narrative moves smoothly through childhood to present day.  The fateful day she impulsively made an offer on the food shop Barefoot Contessa was interesting. 

Ina was in a fairly impressive position working on nuclear energy policy at the White House yet walked away to pursue something which made her happy - cooking.  Who would think someone with that gig would abandon it to work long exhausting hours preparing large quantities of baked goods and casseroles in a little shop?  That isn't saying she didn't burn the candle at both ends working for the government.  High stress there and all nighters for sure.

Ina is a type A personality and had the drive to make all of her endeavours succeed.  Cooking, gardening, business ventures.....I got tired just reading about all the work she put in.  Overall I found this to be an interesting memoir.  The parts about her husband were quite interesting to me as well. 4 stars

These books are shared with:

Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge. Category: Memoirs

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday