Reading and watching

So far this month has been fairly laid back.  We watched season four of Van Der Valk so we are all caught up on that.  Just picked up Madam Secretary series from the library so we'll see if we like it enough continue with six or so seasons. Christmas movies are in the lineup soon.

This week I joined The Classics Club and added a tab at the top of my blog. 👆 I can link each book as I finish and started with The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. As I have been inside quite a bit I've made good progress with this book.  The setting is wartime England.

I also added a tab for apocalyptic/dystopian books with links for the ones I have read and reviewed.  Other titles will be added as I learn of them from Goodreads or suggestions by others.  Please feel free to share some of your favorites if you like that genre.

That's the weekly excitement around here, haha.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday.

The Classics Club - My 50 titles

 Well I am taking the plunge and joining The Classics Club.  Having been intimidated by it for years I think I can manage these books in a five year period. Now I am excited by it and had a blast making my list!  

It's meant to be your personal dream list of titles and after reading the "rules" I am comfortable with the titles selected.  All are over 25 years in publication.  If you are interested check out the link HERE, or scroll to the bottom where I copied/pasted the details for joining in.

Here is my living list. I will add  a tab on this blog to link reviews and completion dates.

1. Braithwaite, E.R. - To Sir with Love
2. Brin, David - The Postman
3. Brittain, Vera - Testament of Youth (nonfiction)
4. Bronte, Anne - Agnes Grey
5. Bronte, Charlotte - Villette
6. Bronte, Emily - Wuthering Heights
7. Brookner, Anita - Hotel Du Lac
8. Capote, Truman - Breakfast at Tiffany's 
9. Christie, Agatha - And Then there Were None
10. Collins, Wilkie - The Woman in White 
11. Conrad, Joseph - The Heart of Darkness
12. Du Maurier, Daphne - Scapegoat
13. Fielding, Henry -Tom Jones
14. Ford Madox Ford - The Good Soldier 
15. Forster, E.M. - A Room with a View 
16. Forster, E.M. - Howards End 
17. Fowles, John - The Collector
18. Frank, Anne - The Diary of a Young Girl
19. Gaarder, Jostein - Sophie's World
20. Gallico, Paul -The Snow Goose 
21. Golden, Arthur - Memoirs of a Geisha
22. Greene, Bette - The Summer of my German Soldier
23. Greene, Graham - The Quiet American
24. Hardy, Thomas - Tess of the D'urbervilles
25. Heller, Joseph - Catch 22
26. Heller, Joseph - Closing Time
27. Hemingway, Ernest - A Moveable Feast (nonfiction)
28. Hemingway, Ernest - Farewell to Arms
29. Ishiguro, Kazuo -The Remains of the Day 
30. James, Henry - Daisy Miller
31. Kerouac, Jack - On the Road
32. Lewis, Sinclair - It Can't Happen Here 
33. Lindsay, Joan - Picnic at Hanging Rock
34. Magorian, Michelle - Goodnight, Mr. Tom
35. Maugham, W. Somerset - Of Human Bondage
36. McCullough, Colleen - The Thorn Birds
37. Michener, James - Chesapeake
38. Orwell, George - The Road to Wigan Pier (nonfiction)
39. Plath, Sylvia - The Bell Jar
40. Remarque, Erich - All Quiet on the Western Front
41. Shute, Nevil - A Town Like Alice
42. Steinbeck, John - The Pearl
43. Styron, William - Sophie's Choice 
44. Tolstoy, Leo - The Death of Ivan Ilyich
45. Vonnegut, Kurt - Slaughterhouse Five
46. Waugh, Evelyn - Brideshead Revisited 
47. Wilder, Laura Ingells - Little House on the Prairie
48. Wilder, Laura Ingells - Little House in the Big Woods 
49. Wodehouse, P.G. - My Man Jeeves
50. Woolf, Virginia - Mrs. Dalloway

My projected goal to complete this list will be December 30, 2029 but I hope to finish sooner.  Starting this month with The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

What is the Classics Club? From the blog:

• choose 50+ classics
• list them at your blog
• choose a reading completion goal date up to five years in the future and note that date on your classics list of 50+ titles
• e-mail the moderators of this blog (theclassicsclubblog@gmail.com) with your list link and information and it will be posted on the Members Page!
• write about each title on your list as you finish reading it, and link it to your main list
• when you’ve written about every single title, let us know.

Book one on tap 

Let's get reading!

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger and I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Two books this week.  Let's start with I Cheerfully Refuse as it was the better of the two I read.

Rainy is a musician living with Lark, a women he loved before he saw her face. He would hear her read aloud to others at a library and this introduced him to reading classics. Lark brought the stories to life for him. They have a good life and while money was tight thay made ends meet - he playing his bass guitar in a band and Lark forming a library and book store for those who still care about reading. Apparently in this dystopian time there are those who protest the shop, thinking reading is an evil thing. Geez....a little close to what some folks think today with the book banning. (Scary)

 

There are numerous passages I bookmarked in this dystopian/apocalyptic novel by Leif Enger.  In spite of society collapsing, there were still very good people, just ordinary people who didn't know wealth or privilege, going that extra mile to help others.

The early part sets the scene with Rainy describing a ruined road.  

Driving down the road that was described as level once it is now full of holes, shoulders of the pavement sagging into a ditch. There’s a spot where two flash floods in a month blew out a culvert. Technically, it’s still a state highway , but the state ignores their compliance saying they were going to “allocate funds“ but they never did repair it. 

Here is an example of people helping others when they didn’t have to:

“After more than a year, a pair of loggers, a basement contractor, and a retired mining engineer showed up with their skidders and chainsaws and cement truck and they rebuilt the missing section with pine logs and concrete.”  

A helping hand for those who didn't have the skills.  A small segment of the society who looked out for each other, helped when needed and knew they could count on their neighbors when they needed something.

In the beginning Rainy and Lark took in a boarder named Kellan.  He had his own secrets as he had escaped a “medicine ship."  People willingly signed on to live on the pharmaceutical ship  to be used for drug/medicine experiments.  They were working on a cure for something obscure, never quite sure what it was exactly.  After so much time they were allowed to leave and return to their families. You did what you had to for survival.  Apparently the trials were so bad that some people escaped and this was Kellan's situation.  That and some drugs he absconded with which meant....some one would come looking.

 Kellan warned Rainey about this mythical bad man named Werryck and true to form, Werryck was definitely one bad guy to be avoided. He warned Rainy, “You think he won’t come but he will. You’re big and strong? Doesn’t matter. Listen to me. When you see him standing in your kitchen, you slip out the back. Be quiet, be quick. Don’t hunt for your wallet. Don’t grab a coat. Go out the window if you have to.” 

Werryck did arrive and brought destruction, crushed Rainy's dreams and life, causing our narrator to flee in a ship he and Lark had once sailed.  The story takes us on a voyage across Lake Superior with Rainy doing what he can to survive, helping others even when it puts him in danger, giving hope to the humanity left when they choose to accept it.

The lake itself seemed like a character on it's own with the vivid descriptions of waves, the storms, the unpredictability of the weather and how a man can challenge it and still survive.

I would read more by this author. 4 stars

📚📚📚📚

This book - I Let You Go - is a hard one to rate.  I have enjoyed previous books by Clare Mackintosh and while this wasn't boring or dull it did deal with the death of child in the beginning. The settings are Bristol England and coastal Wales.  

Jenna is walking five year old Jacob home from school on a rainy evening.  While they are happily chattering away, despite the rain and cold, it seems like an ideal evening is in store for them.  Then he says, "race you home" and pulls away from her hand, running straight into the path of a car.  Every parents nightmare.  This is not a spoiler as it's stated in the book description straight away.

 

Jenna moves away from Bristol to a place she has never been to start over and leave memories behind.  She arrives in a remote town in Wales with zero possessions and rents a cottage well off the beaten track.  Meanwhile the police in Bristol are frantically searching for her as she was the only witness.  There is quite a bit more to the plot and story but suffice it to say, she is hiding a big secret.  It's sort of like Gone Girl where you read the first part of the story then go over the waterfall with all this information falling into place very quickly.  Themes of domestic abuse could be triggers for some readers.  As I said, I have enjoyed her other books but this wasn't my favorite. Rounded to 3 stars.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday for Long Island and The Life Impossible.

November Reading Roundup

I can't believe I am getting my November reading round up posted in November! I read four books this month and made plans for some great challenges next year.   Looking forward to more buddy reads, classics and nonfiction....but for now let's get this short post started.

📚📚   Books read  📚

 

Bullfighting by Roddy Doyle

The Woman Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

November book travel took me to Rhode Island, Ireland and Italy.

📚 Currently Reading 📚

That's it for the November round up.   Looking forward to more good reading in December. I'd love to know what books you favored this month and what reading goals you may have for next year.  Hope life is good for you all :-)

Here’s a snap of Loki soaking up the sunshine.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

This book is not at all what I expected.  I wanted a lighter read but nothing cozy or frivolous. The labels for chicklit and romance were neatly balanced by literary fiction and humor. Couldn't put this one down.

Without spoilers - this is a story about Phoebe, a serious intelligent woman, a professor of English literature, arriving at a posh hotel with the intention of taking her life.  She arrives when, unbeknownst to her, an enormous group of people swarm in for a million dollar wedding.  Lila is the bride-to-be and streams into the lobby with hoots and hugs, passing out gift bags to all.  She sees Phoebe, hugs her and tells her she is SO happy she could attend, gives her a gift bag and makes her rounds. Lila and Phoebe had never met until that moment.

Later they meet in the elevator:

"But you have to be in one of our families," Lila tells her.

"No," Phoebe says "I’m not in any family."

What has she got to lose now by telling the truth to this stranger and so she does.  Informs Lila she is there to kill herself. Lila informs her she just can't as this is a week long celebration culminating in her dream wedding.

 Believe it or not but this is the beginning of the strangest friendship and honest conversations ever. There were so many pages I bookmarked; here are some:

It’s been a crushing realization, one that started slowly after the divorce, and got stronger with each passing holiday, until she woke up this morning to a quiet house. She finally understood what it meant to have no family. She understood it would always be like this, just her, in bed alone. Not even the sound of her cat, Harry, meowing at the door. 

This is the gift random strangers can give you, Phoebe is realizing – the freedom to say or be anything around them. Because who cares? He doesn’t know her, and he’ll never know her. He will list all kinds of reasons why she shouldn’t die and she’ll tell him she’s not planning to die anymore then they’ll get out out of the hot tub and she'll carry on with her life. 

What a waste of money. A huge waste of money. “Every wedding even a successful wedding, is a waste Phoebe says. Every wedding is an egregious amount of money that could have been spent on much more practical things, like say a house, a down payment, on a school in a small dying Midtown. A wedding is a fleeting spectacle that is 100% going to become packed down into teeny tiny garbage squares that end up in your landfill one day. 

There are so many heartfelt conversations between the two women, revelations which helped them both.  Character growth and an ending I just loved. Both women were suffering with different issues and each sought to handle their problems  in very different ways. 

Themes of friendship, infidelity, infertility and hope are strewn throughout.  Would I read more by Alison Espach?  Absolutely. 4.5 stars

Thoughts about bookish goals.....

 Here we are ushering in the end of November with December creeping up rapidly.  Or so it seems.  Time for me to think about reading goals for the upcoming year and deciding what is....achievable.  I have an ambitious list so far but some of the goals entwine with others.  

 #1 The Classics Club 

This has been a fascination for quite some time as I have seen it on bookish friends' blogs. Step one is making my list of 50 books and with a five year goal in mind, that seems like something I could accomplish.   Still making the list at present ....

#2 The Nonfiction Reader Challenge

This Challenge has been hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out. and so next year I plan to join in.  Already have a few titles listed.

#3 Read what I own

A personal challenge/goal to get through stacks on my shelf and on my Kindle. I like that my Kindle has a feature to sort by newly owned books or those unread so, that part will be easy to select from.

 It's early for the goals but I wanted to get my list started.  Have any of you bookish friends started a list yet or have something new in mind for 2025?  I love new ideas so please make a suggestion and let me know about other reading groups.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon.

Roddy Doyle and Elena Ferrante {Armchair travel to Ireland and Italy}

When it rains I end up inside reading quite a bit.  No complaints about that!  First up is a trip to Ireland with Roddy Doyle's book of short stories titled Bullfighting.

In this collection of short stories the meandering stream of consciousness of an older man dominates the narrative.  I can see things from the female point of view when he wonders at what point in time did his wife move to another room.  When did certain things occur when he was, apparently, not paying attention.

The stories take you into a middle aged man's life in Ireland.

Getting older wasn’t too bad. The baldness suited Martin. Everyone said it. He’d had to change his trouser size from 34 to 36. It was a bit of a shock, but it was kind of nice wearing loose trousers again, hitching them up when he stood up to go to the jacks, or whatever. He was fooling himself; he knew that. But that was the point—he was fooling himself. He’d put on weight but felt a bit thinner.

The story Bullfighting is about four male friends in Spain and their honest conversations.  They are all middle aged and facing the realities that life is half over for them.  Admitting loneliness and being honest...for once.

Not my favorite book by Doyle by a longshot but a nice respite to read something short between anything else I am currently doing.  Themes of aging and loneliness with some humor and a great deal of Irish culture. 

*******************

Next up we visit Naples Italy in the 1950's with My Brillant Friend by Elena Ferrante.  This was an enjoyable buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.

This book starts off in Turin Italy, present time with Elena getting a frantic phone call from Rino, her best friend Lila's son.  His mother is missing. Lila and Elena had been friends for over 60 years and more than 30 years ago, Lila had confessed to Elena she wanted to disappear one day.  Leave without a trace. Apparently this is what happened.

The book is about Elena's account of friendship with Lila growing up in 1950's poverty stricken Naples. Lila was from a poor family, her father a shoemaker with little money to spare on a girl's eduaction...or anything else.  She was very intelligent and headstrong, teaching herself to read and educate herself  despite being held back by her family and financial standing.  That said, she never let anything dampen her spirit for life and learning.

Elena and Lila crossed paths in school at a young age but it wasn't an immediate or tender friendship. In the era described, their lives were filled with misogeny and violence, something they didn't find appalling as it was predominent in their culture and upbringing.  It was just life.

I think each girl challenged the other to do better.  Possibly from Elena's point of view she was motivated by Lila's  strong will and refusal to conform to the norms of their society.  Lila was intrigued by Elena's stubbornness and her refusal to capitulate to her bullying.  Not many stood up to Lila's strong personality.  That is my opinion on the ongoing relationship.

If you have read the synopsis this won't be a spoiler - it ends with Lila's wedding.  I was half expecting it to end with her appearance in the story, finding out where the 66 year old went and some resolution to her disappearance.  Book 2 will no doubt continue the story and I am looking forward to that eventually.

This would make a good series of books to read in August for the Women in Translation month/project but I can't wait that long to tackle books 2 and 3.

Currently I am working on a list of bookish goals for next year and hope to post about that next week. Happy reading to you all!

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday for Long Island and The Life Impossible.

October round up

First off, a big shout out to Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.  I was so happy to see her posting again and hope to join her for an event next year :-)

The election - I am glad it's over and frankly, I was surprised by the results. I remember way back in the day when things were civil between people, regardless of which party you supported.  If your candiate lost you'd say, oh well...maybe next time, and life went on.

Not so much anymore.  The outward gloating with new yard signs here is unbelievable. 

Reading and travel - Last month I didn't get much reading done because of travel but staying in a hotel we were able to watch two games of the World Series!  

Here is Loki balancing on a chair while he watches me, him on the bed while we watch the baseball game and a photo of delicious fish tacos and black beans from  Bahama Breeze restaurant.

He was kenneled for a day while we toured houses and had a meal out.

October reading consists of only two books but no DNF this time.  One book was on my fall reading.

📚📚   Books read  📚

The Woman Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle

Within Arm's Reach by Ann Napolitano

October book travel took me to New Jersey and Ireland.  Currently reading My Brillant Friend with Susan at The Cue Card so I am immersed in an Italian town.

Currently doing a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.  We are immersed in 1950's Italian culture with My Brilliant Friend by  Elena Ferrante.

 That's it for the round up.   Looking forward to more good reading in November. I'd love to know what books you favored this month.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. 

The Woman Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle

Well, we are recovered from more travel than we usually do and now I can read again.  Yea! I started with the new Roddy Doyle book.  Also went to vote early and made another slow cooker meal for Crocktober - click HERE for Thieves Stew..

From my fall reading list I have managed to fit in Roddy Doyle's latest book The Woman Behind the Door. Our main character is Paula Spencer and one I am familiar with.  My introduction to Paula and her story was in the 90's with in The Woman Who Walked into Doors.  She was a young 39 year old reminiscing about her childhood (which was good) and dealing with her marrige to an alcoholic, becoming one herself.

Then ten years later the book Paula Spencer  was published. Continuing her story Paula is a widow, dealing with her new sobriety but also the PTSD of beatings and a horrible marriage.

This may well be Paula's final chapter (no pun intended) as we now see her as a sober 66 year old.  I loved the language and how you could grasp the raw emotions in some scenes, especially between Paula and her daughter Nicola. Not a cozy, feel good novel but a powerful look at a life with broken dreams, surviving it all and the impact it made on her daughter growing up.

The only two complaints I have is the way the conversations were not written with quotes or the typical identifier on the speaker.  It wasn't hard to keep up with but that's my preference.   The other is the excessive detail in some scenes about the ordinary things like making tea, etc.  

3.5 stars

Other books by Irish author Doyle which I have enjoyed are Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and A Star Called Henry.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday.

Thieves Stew for Crocktoberfest!

Thieves Stew for Crocktoberfest!  This is a recipe my son told me about.  He saw it on Tic Tok by a fellow called Quincy.  I am not on TicToc but the link he sent worked and I could watch the video.

If you look for it there the video shows you the step-by-step but there is an error in the cooking time.  It states cook on high for 8 hours. No!

I told my son and his brain had corrected it to LOW because c'mon....high heat for that long would result in shoe leather.  But I did try it and I cooked on low for about 6 to 7 hours.  It was delicous!

This uses some convenience items but it was great and we are making it again this week.

Thieves Stew

1 chopped onion
8 ounces of chopped mushrooms (I used way more)

salt and pepper

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

3 and bit more cups of beef broth

2 -3 pound beef roast

Egg noodles - uncooked

Add all ingredients EXCEPT the egg noodles.  Cook on low approximately 7 hours then stir in about 10 ounces of uncooked egg noodles.  Put the lid on and when the noodles are cooked in 30 minutes you can eat.

This is my last post for Crocktoberfest.  This one is hearty and good for fall or winter weather, in my opinion.