Hi all. Time has flown by this month. You might already be gearing up for Thanksgiving. It’s that time of year. Gobble, gobble. Winter hit us full on this past week! We were lulled into thinking fall would continue on, but no! All of sudden it was snow, snow, snow!
I can’t complain too much because the drought wasn’t good for a while. So it’s better to snow. And it’ll be good for the ski areas. We might have a foot of snow on the ground by Sunday, lol. I keep filling all the bird feeders around the house. The birds are very hungry these days and are emptying the feeders so quickly. Meanwhile I hope those who live along the northern West Coast weren’t too hard hit by the “cyclone bomb,” which brought a lot of rain and wind this past week. It was crazy in some areas apparently.
In book news this week, Percival Everett’s novel James, a retelling of Huck Finn, won the National Book Award for fiction. Yay. I think it was quite deserving of a big award. While the Booker Prize chose Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital recently, James took the NBA, which was hosted by comedian Kate McKinnon. Her speech was pretty amusing and can be heard here if you’re in need of some levity.
Also this past week author Anne Michaels won Canada’s Giller Prize for her novel Held, a multigenerational tale that looks at war and trauma and spans more than a century. While I have read James, I have not read Held yet. So I will give it a go sometime.
Also in book news, we had good news this week that the city’s library system here was coming back online after being down for a month. Around Oct. 18, they shut it down due to an apparent cyberattack. You couldn’t put books on hold, or return books. The whole library system was virtually shut down. And it went on for four weeks. Gosh we all learned how much we value the library after that. It is finally back open again and our flow of incoming and outgoing books can be restored, hooray. Both dogs are happy that their mother is happy about this, and Willow, at right, is celebrating her fourth birthday today. 🙂 But Stella doesn’t want her to get all the attention.
Also in good news, I had the great fortune to see Bruce Springsteen in concert last Saturday night. I’ve been a big fan of his ever since I was a teenager when I saw him in concert in 1981 at the L.A. Forum. News of the show came up quite suddenly. I found out about it late, the morning of the concert, but I knew I had to go. I worried it might be the last time I saw Bruce perform, so I went all out to see the Boss: driving an hour, parking in craziness, trying to get a ticket at the box office! Which I did somehow, someway.
And of course, I wasn’t disappointed. Bruce gave a 110 percent and rocked so many of his great songs throughout his career for nearly three hours. He and the E Street band brought the house down! I was moved beyond belief. He gave an amazing show! I never sat down. I know I won’t soon forget it. It was like a healing balm after the election. And at 75, Bruce is still more energetic than most of us combined. You might recall I wrote about the last time I saw him in 2012 here. But it seemed even more poignant this time. For his song setlist of the show you can look here. And yes, he did sing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” which is sort of silly and fun, even though I’m not even thinking about Christmas yet.
Lastly, I don’t have a book review to feature this week as life was busy. But I’ve been reading the novel Pearly Everlasting by the Canadian author Tammy Armstrong lately, and it seems good so far. I’ve also been working on a project for Publishers Weekly, which asked me to do an author Q&A. I can talk about it more next week once it’s published. But I was a bit nervous since I had to come up with questions about a new novel by a previous National Book Award-winning author and talk with the author on Zoom about it. I’m sort of an introvert so things like that don’t come too easily. Luckily the chat went well and I just need to pare the interview down now.
That’s all for this week. What about you — have you read anything good lately? Happy Thanksgiving to those in the States.
Snow, oh nooo! 🙂 We’re about to have it here too. The western part of the state was supposed to get snow today. We’ll probably get it by Thanksgiving, if not sooner; I’m not ready for that yet. Great news from the book world with all those prizes/awards announcing their winners. I was happy for James. The Booker should have gone for it too… still the NBA is one of the biggies so I don’t think Everett will be complaining. Now he just needs the Pulitzer (fingers crossed). Wasn’t Pearly Everlasting longlisted for the Giller? Don’t quote me on that though, I never get those things right. 😀 I’m making progress with Martyr! I’m liking it so far. Your PW project sounds exciting and terrifying at the same time. Be sure to let us know the outcome and the personality behind it. Are you traveling at the start of the month? Have a nice week and happy reading!
And, Happy Birthday Willow! I forgot about that. 🙂 I can’t believe she’s already four!
Thanks. It seems wild Willow is 4. Time is flying. She’s a happy pup, and needs so many pats per day. Lol. She’ll be pleased you said Happy Birthday. 🙂
Hi Carmen, great to hear from you. Yep this snow might bury us this weekend, lol, strange how it came on strong so suddenly. You might see it too eh?
It is good James prevailed … I’m pleased for Everett. I was surprised by the Booker. And interesting you should say that about Pearly Everlasting …. I just checked to see if it was on the Giller longlist but I don’t see it. Perhaps it came out too late? It was released in June. Hmm. But I think much of the writing is better than those on the list! And it is a debut. Very lyrical, you can tell the author’s a poet. I’m glad you are liking Martyr; I hope to read it too. The PW project was scary for me ha. I’ll let you know about it. We will head off on our trip the beginning of Dec. week. Much to do it seems. Have a great Thanksgiving week!
Your post brings back memories of a Springsteen concert that we attended a few years ago. He ALWAYS gives 110 percent – I don’t know where he gets the energy! I still have “James” and “Orbital” on my to-be-read list and will be getting to them soon.
Hi Dorothy, that’s great to hear. So glad you all enjoy Springsteen too. I was surprised and amazed he’s still performing that energetically … and at that high a level. It was 110% for each song! The show blew me away … and restored some sense of happiness after a few downer weeks post-election. I look forward to your reviews of these books whenever you get to them. Happy Thanksgiving week.
That was some concert! Doug saw him in 1981-ish at Atlanta Omni and said he played 3 hours. He had a girl come up from the audience to dance on stage, can you imagine?! Apparently that’s something he did at concerts. Maybe not at 75, lol. That;s so cool you were able to see him again.
I see Stella nudging Willow out there with a paw, hey I am here too!! Always love seeing dog photos. They are all over my Bluesky feed 🙂
Orbital is slowly making it’s way down my holds list. I guess you’ll be getting more reading time in with so much snow. Love to hear about your book lists and I am still working on mine. Reading what I have here right now.
Hi Tina, thanks. My book lists are fluid right now, lol. I’m trying to get to a few in by the end of the year. But life is busy too.
And that’s great Doug saw Bruce back in the early days; those were awesome shows. He did bring people up onstage. I think he was still doing that when I saw him in 2012, but not this time. But he went quite far out into the crowd once which everyone went crazy about. It was a fun highlight of the year.
And I signed up for Bluesky since you, Lesley, Deb & others have. I’m glad to be off Twitter X. So I will try it out.
Stella & Willow are glad to be so popular on Cue Card, they each try to get the most pats out of us. And they usually get all they need.
I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Those are such good memories of the Springstein concerts. I never got to see him but i have seen some good legendary bands in my youth 🙂 Crosby, Stills and Nash, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney and Wings to name some of the bigger ones.
Glad to see you on Bluesky. Twitter was a favorite in the day but got too toxic so, I deleted that account. Starting over with book friends and loads of animal pictures too. Love when Willow and Stella are in your posts.
I started I Cheerfully Refuse, a dystopian book, and am waiting on Shelleyrae to post her nonfiction challenge so I can see which books will fit specific categories. One of my classics is a nonfiction so that will do for both lists – The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell.
Oh good, see what you think of the Leif Enger novel. I read it not too long ago. It had some vivid scenes and I could picture Rainy on Lake Superior. A bit sad though.
And yeah I’m keeping it light on Bluesky — just book friends and links. No political news! It’s nice so far.
I’m impressed by the bands you saw in your youth. Those are great ones. I still listen to those classic tunes. Way better than much of today’s music.
We’re gearing up for our road trip — one more week. I have not heard of that Orwell title you mention … and now you have me interested. Enjoy your week.
All the positivity about “James” is beginning to influence my choices — I guess I have to read it. NOT getting the Booker is a plus for me: I almost never like the winners, but often like the runners-up. I hope you get all the snow you want. I can do without it but I’m glad we’ve been having some rain.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, I hope the book James meets your expectations. I know sometimes books can get over-hyped and then they can displease when they don’t meet up to those expectations. But I admired the novel and thought it added some interesting points to the original. See what you think.
Happy Thanksgiving!
It tried to snow here the last few days but we landed up with sleet and cold rain. Ugh! I have requested James from the library and hope I get it soon.
Have a good week.
Hi Harvee, I wonder if this big storm we have now … will head your way. We’re getting blasted with snow this weekend. It’s a lot!
See what you think of James. & Happy Thanksgiving.
Whoohoo! Look at that beautiful snowy scene. While I no longer wish to live where it snows like that, I do remember how much I loved watching it snow when we lived in the country just outside of Lincon, Nebraska. As far as the bomb cyclone, we got lucky here and escaped the worst of it. Phew! By Tuesday, we should get a break in the rain for about 5 days, which will be lovely.
Happy birthday to Willow. She’s still a pup, isn’t she? And how cool that you saw the Boss in concert! Looks like you scored a great seat, too. I saw him in 1984 at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena. It was an amazing concert.
Looking forward to hearing more about your author interview. I would be nervous about that, too. I have interviewed a couple of authors for my blog (many years ago), but the questions were posed via email, which made it much easier for me!
Currently reading an interesting nonfiction work by Richard Preston (author of The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event) called Wild Trees. Who knew a book about the giant redwoods could be so engrossing! Have a great weekend, Susan.
Hi Lesley, my sister says there was a lot of rain in the San Fran area. And I can imagine there was there too…. Those waves you showed were big! I hope the sun comes out soon. We’re getting pounded by snow this weekend, ha! Robert is still out shoveling. It’s a white wonderland.
Willow is happy to be 4. She is still a pup in spirit. And Bruce was so great. I found a good seat on the floor. They had like 1 tix left there. Crazy! If you saw him in ’84, that was a great year, Born in the USA tour right? Wow.
I will let you know about the author interview soon. Much anxiety lol. And I look forward to hearing about the Wild Trees book. I don’t know that one. But I’m interested. Have a Happy Thanksgiving week!
Well, I’m now #73 on the library reserve list for Orbital… looking forward to it. Lucky you going to the Springsteen concert! Not so lucky with all that snow. I enjoy the warmer weather here in Hawaii.
Hi Claudia, #73 on the list is pretty high but if they have multiple copies that would help. Orbital seems to be in very high demand now. And Springsteen was a highlight of the year.
You live in paradise there … but maybe I’ll send you some snow. Lol. Aloha and Happy Thanksgiving.
What a week – snow and Springsteen!! Just rain for us on CT coast, but our old hometown in NY had a snow day yesterday. I know we’ll see plenty of snow when we head up there in a few days.
Sounds like a great concert. I remember seeing Springsteen at the RPI Fieldhouse back in the late 70s, probably 78 or 79. Seems like another lifetime…he sure has come a long way!!
Glad your library is finally back online, what a relief. Happy birthday to Willow… give them both an extra pat for me!
Hi JoAnn, thanks. The dogs are happy with the extra pats.
And wow you saw Springsteen back in the ’70s — that surely was a lifetime ago. But it must have been rip-roaring. He was as good as gold then & now, lol.
If this snowstorm moves east … then you’re in for a doozy of a storm. So much snow! We are being buried in our driveway, lol. I better make some hot cocoa.
So glad the library is back. A month is a long time to be off it.
Enjoy your NY trip. And happy reading & Thanksgiving this week!
That’s great that the library is up and running again. I’m so dependent on my library these days!
Cool that you got to see Bruce Springsteen!
Thanks Joy, both of these things were major plusses this past week. Springsteen helped get some of my blood back after the election … and the library was so needed. Good grief, I’m lost without it. I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving week!
I agree about James. Excellent book! I’d love snow here 🙂
Hi Sarah, glad you liked James as well. It probably will make one of the top literary novels of the year. And we are surprised by all the snow we’re getting this weekend. Ha. It’s a white wonderland outside and it’s good if you don’t have to go anywhere. I’ll send some your way. lol. Happy Thanksgiving week!
Hi Susan, Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday to Willow!
Great news about your Publisher’s Weekly interview. I always check with them regarding books.
Didn’t know Bruce Springsteen was 75. He looks great and he is so talented. I am more of a book person but my sister was a big Bruce Springsteen fan.
Hi Kathy, thanks. Willow had a great bday. And the author interview for PW was pretty exciting. I usually just review novels for them, but every blue moon I’ll get asked to do a Q&A with someone. Tell you more about it next week.
And Bruce is doing great for 75. I couldn’t believe it. Funny about your sister being a fan. Tell her he’s still rockin.’ It was a great highlight to my year, lol.
Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving too!
Looks like you got hit with winter all at once! So much snow! Pearly Everlasting looks good. 🙂
Hi Erin, yes winter really hit hard this week. Ouch! I think we got a foot of snow which doesn’t happen too often. It looks pretty now.
And Pearly Everlasting is turning into a good read. Happy Thanksgiving week!
I got to see Bruce Springsteen once on his acoustic tour. He’s a great performer. I’m glad you were able to get tickets to see him this time around. I heard him say in an interview that he was never going to retire…just keep performing until he died. And it’s starting to look more like winter here in Salt Lake, too. Though we just got a dusting this morning. But the ski resorts got more, and more is on the way. Which is good for our reservoirs; I just don’t like shoveling it, or scraping it off my car, or driving in it. ;D Wishing you a wonderful week!
Thanks Lark. This week should be good and the following week we leave on our long road trip south. We’ll pass thru SLC. I’m curious how much winter you will have by then. Hopefully not a lot of ice.
I think I know which acoustic tour you’re talking about … I saw Bruce solo then too in D.C. years ago. It was amazing! He’s a pro, right? I guess it would be hard for him to retire … his music is what makes him tick.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving week!
Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!!!!! I’m insanely jealous you got to see him. I was never a big fan, just a “love this song on the radio” fan, but I did try to get tickets for the Born to Run tour. Impossible. Dialed my fingers off. Remember dialing? LOL
I learned how annoying snow can be when I was living in Arkansas, but it sure is beautiful to look at.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hi Jinjer, I think I surprised myself how I got to Bruce’s show and made it work. Usually I let things slide … but not this time! It was Bruce after all … and what if it is the last time he comes? I remember dialing for tickets … those were the days. Can you believe they had a ticket on the floor half hour before the show?
That was cool your snow in Arkansas, surprising a bit. It is nice to look at. We really got hit this weekend, wowsa! Happy Thanksgiving week to you too!
How fun to see Bruce in person–I love his music but haven’t been to a concert…yet!
Yay for snow. We’re supposed to get some this week–just in time for all the holiday travelers. Thankfully, my CA daughter visited this weekend to avoid the rush.
I do want to read James–it’s on my Xmas wish list, and so it’ll probably be a January read.
I know nothing about Pearly Everlasting, but I like the title and cover and the fact that the author is Canadian. Will check it out.
Speaking of checking out–happy to hear our library is again fully functional. I depend on mine so much!
Hi Jane, good to hear from you. Yeah the Springsteen concert was a big highlight this year. I hope he keeps performing in the future even if acoustically.
We have a lot of snow at the moment … I hope you get some for your mountains.
I look forward to seeing what you think of James. And I’m glad to spread the word about Pearly Everlasting — it’s a good debut and I think the author has talent. I need to finish it this week.
Having the library gone for a month was not good. So glad it’s back! Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving (though I know you’re up in Canada). The snow looks beautiful.
I am so pleased that James finally won a big award! It’s definitely on my best of list for this year.
I am jealous you saw Springstien (again) in concert. I have never seen him live but have heard that he puts on an amazing how.
Thanks Helen. I’m not sure we will celebrate it this Thursday but we are gearing up for our road trip south the following week. Big snow lately so we’ll see how it goes.
Glad you liked James. I was pleased it won too. It was a thought-provoking read this year. I enjoyed it.
And Springsteen was a good highlight for me — post-election it really helped.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Here is your pep talk from me: You’ve got this! You are a wonderful writer and I’m sure you know what you like to learn from authors so just ask those questions.
Happy Thanksgiving.
My Sunday Salon post
That’s lovely Anne: thanks so much for the pep talk and your assurance.
I need to buck up to have confidence at times. I appreciate your words.
Happy Thanksgiving.
We did have a ton of rain here in Northern California and more to come. Your snow is beautiful and I like it when we get it here, too, I just don’t like driving in it. How fun that you got to see Bruce Springsteen again last minute! I can’t believe he’s 75 yrs old, same age as my dad! Your pups are too cute! I’ve heard a lot of good things about James. Love Kate McKinnon so I watched a bit of her presentation. Yay for getting the interview completed! That’s exciting! Hope you enjoy your time in Southern California and have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Susan!
Thanks Rachel. SoCal is a different world than here, lol. But we’ll head to the (inland) empire and then the beach on the jungle of highways. Good luck with soaking up that rain … gosh that’s a lot to take all at once.
Bruce is getting up there — though it’s hard to tell with his energy & tunes. He was fun to see. And the Kate McKinnon talk near the beginning of the NBA made me laugh. Funny. Post-election I’m looking for levity. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Goodness I can’t even imagine the point of targeting a library in a cyberattack, I’m glad it’s been resolved.
It’s impressive that Springsteen still has the energy to perform like that. I don’t think I even have the stamina to attend a concert for that long!
Wishing you a wonderful reading week
Thanks Shelleyrae, ha, Springsteen is doing quite well … better than the rest of us it appears. He sang so many songs.
And I agree: why target a library system in a cyberattack? It’s crazy, the world is really losing it. I wonder if we’ll ever know more about what happened. But I’m really glad it’s back. (Apparently the Toronto library system also had a cyberattack sometime awhile back … and it was closed for 5 months! Good grief!)
I hope you’re beginning to feel better. Take it slow. Have a good week too.
We may set a record for a hot temp today. Oh dear. I long for some cool weather. I may have to move north to avert the early signs of climate change.
When I see someone doing something that person seems born to do, like Bruce Springsteen in concert, it makes the whole world feel right again. I’m glad you got to enjoy that concert, Susan.
Hi Deb, I hope it cools off there soon. It is not good that it’s so hot there when it’s almost Thanksgiving. I will send you some snow. We got about a foot, lol.
I agree with you about the concert & Bruce. It’s really helped me get through some tough weeks post-election. And I think he understands that people need a pick-me-up now. He delivered some old & new favorite songs & that is what he does best. Thanks for understanding. Wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
So awesome that you got to see Bruce! And under such last minute circumstances too. Willow and Stella are adorable. Happy birthday, Willow! My reading has been very slow, so I get it. The snow is beautiful.
Hi Olivia, thanks. I was very lucky to get a last minute ticket a half hour before the show to see Bruce — whoa. And on the floor too. The stars must have been aligned that day. Willow had a good birthday and the dogs are happy to see snow. It’s quite pretty outside with everything white.
I’m midway into three books but haven’t finished any lately. But I hope to finish something soon. Good luck with your reading.
I missed this post last week, but now I am enjoying your photo of the snow and the two dogs. Happy Birthday to Willow, a week late. We hardly got any rain in Santa Barbara from the cyclone bomb, I was disappointed.
Now that Held by Ann Michaels has won the Giller Prize I am going to have to consider reading it. Some reviews had convinced me to skip it, but I recently read other good reviews. I am also interested in Pearly Everlasting also, but don’t know whether I will wait a while to read it or not. I always want to try books by Canadian authors.
Thanks Tracy, Willow enjoyed her birthday. I can’t believe she’s 4 already. And that’s too bad the rain missed you in S.B. My sister was awash in the San Fran area. But I think they cyclone bomb might have hit Vancouver Island the worst … where power might still be out in places. You could’ve used the rain I know!
I’ve also heard very mixed things about the novel Held, so my expectations on it are sort of low. I might even skip it … but the good news is I loved Pearly Everlasting and think Tammy Armstrong is a Canadian writer to watch! I will review Pearly next week (I think). So nice to see you reading Canadian authors! That’s wonderful.