Hi all. Happy first day of fall. It’s going to be a beautiful and warm week here … though we already had one morning of frost on Saturday and we had to pick some vegetables the night before and tarp the rest. We saved most of the plants, while a few got shriveled. It’s hard to believe we’re already at this point. Meanwhile, I had a fun birthday on Friday with tennis doubles during the day and a dinner out with my husband and a cake afterwards, lol. You know you’re far, far along when one candle represents a decade, right? Oh well.
Lately we’ve been watching and liking the mystery/crime series The Emperor of Ocean Park based on the novel by Stephen L. Carter (on Crave in Canada) and also the mystery drama The Perfect Couple (on Netflix), based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand. Both of these shows are fun suspense and not too heavy. We’ll probably watch Season 4 of Slow Horses (on AppleTV+) next, and I’m curious whether to try to get the historical drama series Shogun especially since it won like 18 Emmy awards recently. Apparently you can view it in Japanese with English subtitles, or in an English dub version. Have you tried it?
In book news, I see that the longlist for the National Book Award came out last week, which included these 10 fiction titles:
All Fours by Miranda July
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
The Most by Jessica Anthony
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
James by Percival Everett
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
My Friends by Hisham Matar
Yr Dead by Sam Sax
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
Ghostroots by Pemi Aguda
The Finalists will be announced Oct. 1. You can see there’s two that overlap with two titles on the shortlist for the Booker Prize, which includes:
Held by Anne Michaels
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Orbital by Samatha Harvey
James by Percival Everett
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
I was surprised that novels by Richard Powers (Playground), Hisham Matar (My Friends), and Sarah Perry (Enlightenment) did not make the cut for the Booker’s shortlist. Are all these above stronger? I still want to read The Safekeep. I’ve been on the library wait list for it as long as it’s been on the Booker list, ha.
And now I’ll leave you with a couple reviews of what I finished lately.
Sandwich by Catherine Newman / Harper / 240 pages / 2024
I guess since a lot of people read and talked about this summer-set story that I’ll pick it for the popular novel of the 2024 summer. So get out the sunscreen if you haven’t read it yet. I listened to the audio version narrated entertainingly by Nan McNamara.
What it’s about: Mid-fifty-ish Rachel or Rocky as she’s called is really going through something — menopause and internal struggles — the week she and her family are at their usual old Cape Cod rental place, which they’ve been going to since their two kids were young. Now they’re older and almost leaving the nest. But yet here they all are together again: with Rocky, her husband Nick, her elderly parents, son Jaime (and girlfriend Maya), and daughter Willa under one small roof. Rocky’s grateful for them all but also nostalgic about the past years when the kids were young. Then she begins to remember sorrowful and secret things that happened back then, which start unfolding as the week goes on.
Rocky’s dealing with her kids’ changes and her parents’ on top of her own. It’s not a story with much action or activity, but it’s more of a domestic, dialogue-imbued plot with internal meanderings.
The author does a good job describing the beach cottage environs, household banter, and things going on with Rocky. Though I almost put it down early on — thinking it was hard to grasp onto much — but it gets a bit better further in, so I kept going. I did laugh at various funny things Rocky says as well as others in the book. Though if you have trouble with loose talk of “vaginas” in many chapters, then be a bit forewarned. Quite a bit of the humor is like that. Towards the latter half the story becomes a bit more heartwarming with the family’s bonds.
Despite her dramas, I thought Rocky seemed lucky to me, especially with her low-key, gracious husband who seems a bit like a saint facing Rocky with her inner turmoils, and the kids have a sweetness about them. Her parents are funny too — though they face challenges. It might not exactly be your family experience, but a slice of it was entertaining and at times warm like a mojito on an engaging summer evening.
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster / Penguin Classics / 1912
I remember my mother reading this book to me as a youngster and now I’ve returned to it these many years later. I recall being awe-struck as a kid that this orphan girl was now at college and writing all these open candid letters to the anonymous benefactor who sent her there … and that she was learning all sorts of things and having a wonderful time at college and setting her sights on becoming an author, which her benefactor wants her to do.
I could picture Jerusha (Judy) and her life there and I sort of wanted to be there too. Judy is a positive girl with a can-do spirit and has some perky, fun wit about her. It felt very interesting to listen to this epistolary novel published in 1912 and to get a glimpse of the world then and to see what Judy thought of such writers as the Brontes, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Shakespeare and to hear of her classes and writing process.
I enjoyed the audio version narrated by Kate Forbes. It’s a sweet story and maybe it’s a tad sentimental but that’s okay. I give her permission. Judy goes through quite an intellectual and emotional awakening in her coming-of-age journey from college freshman to graduate and story writer, which gives her confidence, happiness, and ultimately love. In some ways the novel reminded me slightly of Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen because of its journey of a young person’s learned awakening through school and books, though Judy’s is a secular awakening in contrast.
I have never read and didn’t even know about the sequel Dear Enemy, which was published in 1915 three years later. Sadly author Jean Webster lived only to age 39 and died giving birth to a daughter in 1916. How sad. Her days at Vassar College (class of 1901) apparently gave her material for this book. Returning to Daddy-Long-Legs reminded me too of my mother who passed in April. Such books are good to keep passing along to the generations after. You can still find plenty in Daddy-Long-Legs to treasure, including Jean Webster’s voice of a young precocious girl getting ready to meet the world.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read these and what did you think?
You really grow some beautiful vegetables! Sad to see the season end.
Have a good week… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, thanks. Sometimes the vegetables here come all at the end of the season all at once, so we have to make things with them quickly. Hope all is well there. Enjoy your week too.
What a productive garden you’ve had. This is the first time in many years that I haven’t had a vegetable garden – just too much going on at the time I needed to be planting. I hope to rectify that next year.
Hi Dorothy, thanks, most of the pickings came all at once at the end of the season, which makes things a bit crazy. It’s okay to take a break from having a veggie garden — they can take a bit of time …. and your ankle injury was a lot to handle. Yours will be back next year. And your flower garden is so pretty. Enjoy your week.
You had a great harvest! Where has this year gone?! Happy belated birthday! You’re right, Sandwich was popular. It sounds good despite your quibbles. What ratings did you give them, just wondering…? Daddy Long Legs sounds wonderful. It’s good to revisit books one read long ago to see if they still hold up well or they are not suitable for an adult audience. As you know I liked Orbital a bit. Now I’m reading Held, which is a bit out there, structure-wise. Hopefully I’ll finish by the end of this month. Happy reading! 🙂
Hi Carmen, thanks. I’m not sure where the year has gone either. It flew by.
And maybe I’ll put the ratings on – for some reason I didn’t — I thought Sandwich was around a 3.7 and Daddy-Long-Legs was 4 stars. Sandwich isn’t my typical book but I thought it was well done for what kind of book it is. If that makes any sense. And I’m a bit cautious to pick up Orbital and Held but will see what you think of Held. I’m right now reading Leif Enger’s I Cheerfully Refuse. I can’t recall if you said you had read that? I’m getting into it now. I’m trying to catch up with my GR goal but so far still behind.Were you surprised Sarah Perry’s novel didn’t make the shortlist? You seemed to like that one. Enjoy your week.
I’m not sure if I would recommend Orbital, though I liked it a bit. It doesn’t have a plot, per se. I still have way to go with Held; it’s early to say anything yet. Yes, I read I Cheerfully Refuse and liked it a bit. I think I recommended it to you when you were traveling to SoCal the first time this year. It seems that I read it sooo long ago. I find myself nowadays consulting my reading log quite often as I no longer remember what it was I read the first half of the year—the last 2.5 months have been crazy busy.
I’m not surprised that Enlightenment didn’t make the shortlist; if you remember I commented in your previous post that I thought out of the three I had read James and The Safekeep had the best chance of staying in the race. Enlightenment has been my only 4.5* read this year but it’s not the kind of novel the Booker goes for, if that makes sense.
Re: my GR goal, I just set the bar for 30 books this year. So far I’m only 3 books behind so I may still catch up.
Sounds good Carmen. I need to get a bit further into Enger’s novel before deciding if I like it — but so far I am. I’m glad you liked Enlightenment much. I might not get to Orbital. It seems like you’ll catch your goal. Sorry your past months have been so crazy. Hopefully it’s starting to settle down. My reading is a bit all over the place.
The vegetables look very good and I hope you had a great birthday.
I have heard of Daddy Long-Legs but I thought based on the title it was similar to Orphan Annie and figured it was a kids book. But your review has me very interested because I enjoy books told in letter form and Judy with her views on literature sounds like a character I would really like.
I read My Friends and I thought it was a very good choice for the longlist of the Booker and The National Book Award. At first I wasn’t sure where it was going but when the main character at 18 heads to the University of Edinborough I was hooked. It’s a thought-provoking read.
Hi Kathy, thanks. The bday went well and now we’re onto the next year, lol.
I think you would like Daddy-Long-Legs — it’s sort of a young adult classic and is still a joy these many decades later. I didn’t realize there’s a sequel — which I must get to.
I’m impressed you read My Friends — I started it on the beach in Calif — but the beginning felt a bit dense and I put it down. But I should try it again! You’ve given me impetus to get it back. Have a great week.
The fence next door came down on my garden during the hurricane. We pried the fence off (it still has not been carted off and replaced!) but we still got plenty of tomatoes and peppers, though the lemon tree looks to be a total loss. Your garden is amazing. We’ve just put in our fall garden seeds. Now all we need is a little fall weather.
Rachel Kushner isn’t coming to Houston to speak until December, so I will probably wait to read her book until then. Danzy Senna is coming next week, but I’m still waiting for a copy of her book to arrive. The author lineup for the Texas Book Festival in November has just been announced, so I need to get busy reading for it…sigh…
Hi Deb, that’s too bad about the fence falling onto your garden. It seems like things grow like the banshees there. It’s nice you can grow plants year around or through fall at least. We’ll have to take down all the veggie plants soon — maybe we have a couple more weeks.
Good to know about the Texas Book Festival and the Houston one. I still haven’t gotten a library copy of Danzy’s book either. I’ll be attending some of the Calgary Book Festival and Kushner is coming Oct. 21. But I’m not sure when I’ll get to her book. Still I want to hear what she says. Enjoy your events, we have some time still.
Happy day! Danzy’s book arrived at the library for me today, and her event is next Monday. I think, if I hurry, I can make it.
Wow great! I look forward to hearing if the novel is good and how the author event went. That’s exciting. I’m still on the wait list for the book.
Happy belated birthday!! Sounds like it was a good one. I hadn’t thought about ‘Daddy Long Legs’ for a very, very long time. I’m fairly certain I read it way, way back. Did not know it had a sequel. Your veggies look good. Fall is coming for sure. Our weather people are going a bit on and on about the summer-like temps here in September, but that’s not uncommon. I think we will be getting a cool front this week though and will start having lower temperatures all around. OK with me. After all, the Halloween stuff has been in there stores since late August. It’s practically time for Christmas things, right? LOL
Hi Kay, thanks the bday was a good one. And good to know it might cool off a bit where you are. The colors are changing up here. We have warm days and cold nights. Fall is right on time it seems.
You’ll be glad to know: Daddy-Long-Legs holds up these many years later. I’ll have to check out the sequel. I didn’t know about it either.
I saw Christmas stuff in Costco last week — yikes we need to get through Halloween first. Some of the Halloween decorations are very good ha. Enjoy your week and reading!
I love Daddy Long Legs and you have reminded me I wanted to give a copy to my niece who went to Vassar. I am glad you could appreciate it without being turned off by Jervis’ stalker-like behavior. Judy’s friend Sallie always reminded me of my mother’s roommate who was also from Worcester. Dear Enemy has some flaws but is still enjoyable.
I was on the waiting list for Sandwich so long I was startled when it actually appeared at the library. But I read about one chapter and decided it was too whiny, although having driven through Sandwich (or at least past the exit) a couple times in August I had been eager to read it. I returned it last weekend unread which is rare for me. There are still dozens of people on the waiting list.
I liked the Booker better when it was just British books!
Hi Constance — good to hear. I knew you’d know Daddy-Long-Legs well and its sequel. I had forgotten the ending from long ago — but was okay since I figured they fell for one another and Judy seemed happy with it — but it is a bit strange too — the stalking aspect. I will try the sequel.
The woman in Sandwich is pretty whiny throughout the book so not sure you’d like it. It’s not my typical read but I thought the author wrote some snappy dialogue for what kind of book it is. But it’s not a book for everyone.
I hear ya about the Booker Prize — I’m sure changing it upset anglophiles everywhere. It’s still a bit surprising. Have a great week.
Gorgeous veggies! And Happy Birthday a few days late. I hope it was a great day. (And I know what you mean about the candles which is why I no longer light them when my birthday rolls around. ;D ) And I thought Daddy Long Legs was a very cute book. I liked that one a lot. Have a great week!
Thanks Lark. I guess my bday cake would explode with too many candles, lol. You have a good policy on that.
I’m glad you liked Daddy Long Legs too. It is a cute story. Did you know there was a sequel? I never knew. Have a fun week too.
I knew there’s a sequel, but have never read it. Another book to add to my already way too long TBR list. ;D
I know what you mean. There’s so many books on my mind for fall. It’s crazy. I think I will get to the sequel called Dear Enemy sometime this winter. I need to find out where the story of Judy goes.
I’m glad you had a fun birthday. I get ya about one candle 🙂
I’m envious of your garden harvest. Seems it gets hot her so quickly that my tomatoes die before I have a chance. Nothing like homegrown produce and yours look great.
Just added The Emperor of Ocean Park in my notebook of shows to find. Our library is great and gets many new ovies and series but I do have to wait for the DVD. Still waiting on Slow Horses.
Hi Tina, thanks. The bday went well and the candles were contained, lol.
The veggies all come at once at the end of the season here which can be crazy. We are trying to use as much as possible 🙂 … The heat there would be tough. Too much watering.
You might like The Perfect Couple show too. That’s good to get the shows from the library — though they must be popular… like books I’m waiting a long while. Have a great week.
What a beautiful harvest! Love this time of year, but it can be difficult dealing with all that bounty at once. My brother-in-law planted some delicata squash at my request this year, so we came back from NY with quite a few. The cherry tomatoes have been especially sweet this year, too.
I enjoyed Sandwich over the summer… so atmospheric! Finished The Safekeep over the weekend – so, so good. A big twist/reveal at the beginning of Part III really took me by surprise. I’ve read two of the six Booker short list now and wonder if I can get to a couple more…
Thanks JoAnn. The bounty keeps coming. Glad you got your fill of squash & tomatoes too. Your trip to Central NY must have been very pleasant.
Nice to hear you got to The Safekeep! Did you like it better than James? I wonder if those two are running neck and neck now for the Booker. I plan to get to The Safekeep whenever the library gives me a copy. Enjoy your reading & week.
I liked James more than The Safekeep. It seems like James is among the top contenders for all the prizes this year!
Good to know. I liked James quite a bit, especially near the end really ramps up and gave me plenty to think about. I hope to get to The Safekeep sometime this fall.
I am cheering on James for the various awards since it was so well done. And I haven’t read the others. 🙂
I liked season 4 of Slow Horses, but it is definitely darker than The Perfect Couple!
I just got a copy of Sandwich and am looking forward to it.
Hi Helen, see what you think of Sandwich. I hope you like it. The Perfect Couple is fun to watch right now. Slow Horses sounds dicey.
James is a good book to cheer for. It’s got to win one of the big ones. Have a great week.
What lovely vegetables. And I am glad you had a good birthday.
I would like to watch The Emperor of Ocean Park but we don’t get the streaming service where it would be available here. Maybe someday.
I plan to read Orbital soon and I want to read Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner but that will probably have to wait a while.
Hi Tracy, thanks. We are in the last couple weeks of picking veggies and then it’s over. Usually we see snow around the end of Oct.
The Emperor of Ocean Park was pretty good — though 10 episodes could’ve been better at 8. Perhaps there will be a second season.
I plan to read Creation Lake too — but I’m not sure when. I’m supposed to see the author Kushner who is going to be speaking at the book festival near hear around mid-Oct. Perhaps I’ll get a signed copy.
Hope you have a great week. Happy fall season.
We’re bringing in fall with a stretch of rainy days. I’m reframing them from gloomy to cozy and enjoying my indoor pursuits.
Hi Joy, Sounds good. I like how you’re reframing rainy as cozy. We have some warm clear 70s/80s weather this week … but I’m making soup out of the butternut squash. Got to use them somehow. Enjoy your reads inside!
Sandwich, I did enjoy it quite a bit and happened to listen to a bit of it on audio when my library copy was returned. I liked the audio quite a bit. Very entertaining. We used to rent a beach house every summer when the kids were young so it brought back many memories. Those summers ended when my 13mo daughter proceeded to shove handfuls of sand into her mouth with resulted in a disastrous and painful diaper situation. We actually fled three days early out of respect to the neighbors. Her blood curdling screams were something!
I just wrote my review for James. I can see why it was shortlisted for the Booker. I don’t typically have much luck with the Booker lists but it was pretty good. We discuss it tonight at book club.
Hi Ti, whoa what a memory of the beach house you used to rent … yikes very tough situation, oh my! Which beach? We also once rented a beach cottage once in Laguna in 1976 & 1977. Gosh and I still remember it. It had a ladder to the beach. Those were the days.
I’m glad you liked James. I’ll check out your review. Didn’t the ending ramp up pretty good? Have a nice weekend.
My husband and I watched Shogun and I’d highly recommend it! We both watched it in Japanese with English subs. I hope you’ll like it too!
I reread Daddy-Long-Legs last month, and guess what? I just reread it again a couple days ago!! I listened on audio too, but with Julia Whelan as the narrator, I don’t think I’ve tried Kate Forbe’s narration. It’s such a lovely, charming book and I love Judy!
As for Wordfest, I hadn’t kept up with it and I didn’t even realize it was happening soon! Which days/events are you going for? I’d love to meet up with you and get a drink or something!
Hi Haze, thx for your note. To get Shogun, do you have to get Disney+? I think we need to sign up for a month.
Perhaps I got the idea to reread Daddy-Long-Legs from your site! It was an enjoyable listen and Kate Forbes sounds like Judy would sound. I’m actually listening to Julia Whelan narrate The Women right now, so it’s good to keep separate, lol. I like Judy’s optimism & wonder & wit in DLL. Glad you like it.
I will likely be at Wordfest in the city Oct. 19/20. Perhaps I will email you a bit later and we can make a plan. It would be fun to meet up. thx Haze.
Your garden haul is beautiful–I love those cornucopia pictures! We haven’t been near a frost yet, though I have cut back on the watering significantly. I am in the wrapping up stage myself.
Thanks for the recommendations of Emperor of Ocean Park and Perfect Couple–I jotted down both titles for future reference. I do prefer mini-series over movies because they come in more digestible chunks. I read Shogun decades ago when it first came out, and I’ve heard this adaptation is excellent. Will not be trying it with subtitles!
I’m way back on the library waitlist for Sandwich–will probably be reading this summer book in the depths of winter, but that is not a bad thing. I really enjoyed Hilderbrand’s Winter Street series, and this seems to have a similar vibe.
I wish I had read Daddy-Long-Legs as a child, but based on your recommendation, I just downloaded it from Audible, apparently without requiring a credit! It definitely sounds like something I would enjoy.
Great post! Enjoy the fall.
Thanks Jane. We’ve had a lot from the garden at the end of the season. I think about two more weeks and we’ll be taking down the plants.
I think we’re going need to get Disney+ for a month in order to get Shogun. We finished those other two shows … which were fun and we’ll watch Slow Horses next.
See what you think of Sandwich. It’s a long waitlist I know! And I hope you like Daddy-Long-Legs too. I liked Kate Forbes on the audio, perky like the character.
Happy fall to you as well.
Happy Birthday…and as usual, your pictures are real eye-catchers. I guess I’m not surprised that the National Book Award overlaps so much with the Booker Prize list, but like you, I’m wondering why My Friends didn’t make the Booker shortlist. I’m almost finished with that one, and I’m finding it to be right near the top of the eight Bookers I’ve read off this year’s list. Still have gotten my hands on Playground yet, so can’t speak to that one.
Hi Sam, thanks. It’s been a good bday month – and glad to hear you liked My Friends a lot. I plan to try the book again. It definitely seems a head-scratcher that it didn’t make the Booker shortlist. I look forward to your review it and I’m enjoying your Booker rankings. Playground is hard to get a hold of …. I’m on the waitlist still for it. Have a great week.
I am glad you had a nice birthday! I am glad to hear you are enjoying The Emperor of Ocean Park. I read the book years ago and really liked it. Someday hopefully I will be able to watch the series. My husband and I watched Shogun when it first aired, Japanese with English subtitles, and really liked it. It’s beautiful on the screen and very well done. I recommend it.
Sandwich is a title that I keep seeing pop up and have been curious about. Maybe because I feel seen with that title. LOL
I hope you have a great week!
Hi Wendy, thanks the bday was fun … and we finished & liked The Emperor of Ocean Park as well as The Perfect Couple. Both series were fun suspense. And I’m glad you let me know about Shogun — I hope after Slow Horses we will watch it … though we will need to get Disney+ for a month in order to do so.
I think you might like Sandwich … though some readers find the narrator a bit whiny but still there is some humor to it. See what you think if you get a chance. Happy reading.
Look at that beautiful bounty from your garden! Wowzers!
I’m glad you had a good birthday. Dinner with cake is always a great way to celebrate. 🙂
Ah, yes. Rocky’s husband did seem a bit saint-like, didn’t he? And the “loose talk,” as you put it could be off-putting to some readers. I think I chortled quite a few times reading those parts. 😉 Probably not a book for everyone, but I loved it and look forward to a second reading someday.
Reading your replies to some comments and I see your family rented a cottage once in Laguna. One of my childhood friend’s had an aunt & uncle who lived in Emerald Bay (Laguna) and we loved spending time there! Wonder where your beach cottage was located?
Hi. Yeah the garden veggies came all at the end of the season and we were flooded with everything. We got a bit tired of zucchini and tomatoes, lol. Everything tasted really good – and I liked the cucumbers.
I’m glad to have read The Sandwich …. i think it was the popular book of the summer as I heard so many have read it. It might not have been my fav but I laughed at various things Rocky & the kids said. So it amused me to a certain extent.
And yes Laguna was a lot of fun in 1976, 1977 when we rented there. It was a cottage past downtown on Thalia Street off PCH … and the beach house was on an over-hang and had a trap door that went down to the beach. So it was right there overlooking the water with a large deck. I have been past Thalia Street many times since but I’m sure someone bought the place and turned into their own place. It’s quite hard to see it from the street.
I’m sure Emerald Bay was wonderful. Those were the days, eh? But we got much more into Newport and Huntington beaches and even Corona del Mar in the 1980s and ’90s. Cheers!