Hi bookworms — how is everyone doing? It’s been a busy week here but I’m coming up for air now … after completing a couple things for my part-time jobs I had to get done. It was a really cold week too and the deer were on our road in 30+ herds looking for something to eat. They came running to our bird feeders. The photo shows just a small part of their group. The one deer in front stopped when he saw me taking a picture from the window. We usually let them have a snack or two in such cold weather, though they can drain the bird feeder pretty lickety-split, so eventually we put the feeders in the garage at night when we remember to.
Meanwhile the Super Bowl is on soon. Will you be watching the game, or skipping it? I admit I’m usually a big football fan, but neither of these teams playing is one of my teams, so we’ll be watching at home mostly for the ads, halftime show, and munchies. I hope there’ll be a Clydesdale Bud commercial with a Labrador puppy, lol. That would make me happy. But I think this year it’s going to be a young Clydesdale that’s the star in the ad this time. Watch for it. I still miss the puppy ad though, lol. You can rewatch it here on the link.
My reading has been a bit meandering due to busyness, but I’ll leave you with a couple reviews of what I finished lately. These two books below make a good pairing — and I didn’t even do it on purpose. The first is a novel about a female immigrant from Afghanistan who lives in Berlin and tries to hide her background amid her active night life, while the second is a memoir of a refugee from Vietnam (during the fall of Saigon in 1975) who grew up in Michigan and also describes trying to blend in and hide her background. The immigrant life is tough. Come to think of it, I also read the novel The Leavers in January, which is about immigrants from China in New York, so I guess I’m on a reading theme these days and I didn’t purposefully know I was doing it. I think what draws me to these kinds of tales are the immigrants’ challenges and perseverance, and how the stories about them are often quite moving and well written. They certainly are relevant right now.
Good Girl by Aria Aber / Hogarth / 368 pages / 2025
3.7 stars. Nila, 19, who narrates this novel details a lost year she has going to night clubs in Berlin with friends and where she meets Marlowe, a thirty-six-year-old American writer who once wrote a notable book. Nila is going through some tough times and growing pains — taking drugs with her group, obsessing about Marlowe, and trying to hide her Afghan and poor background. She also misses her mother who died years earlier. Her parents were doctors in Afghanistan who fled a decade or so ago with her and then wound up in public housing in Berlin, graffitied with swastikas, where Nila was raised. They were unable to get good jobs.
Now Nila amid her partying tells those who ask that she’s Greek. She gets involved with Marlowe who’s controlling and at times violent … and much of the narration details their drug-taking and relationship over a year’s time. Nila seems to be trying to find and right herself …. to try for grad school and become a photographer, though she keeps disappointing herself and her father who expects her to be a “good girl.”
You have to read to the end to see if Nila continues on her path of self-destruction or gets on with it to something better. There’s some sharp writing throughout this debut, so although I tired of some of the continual cycle of partying and sex with Marlowe, I was impressed by the writing style and Nila’s impressions and the details of Berlin and pleased it ended a bit more upbeat. The author, first a poet, apparently grew up in Germany and now works as a writing professor at the University of Vermont. She was raised speaking Farsi and German and now writes in her third language, English.
Owner of a Lonely Heart by Beth Nguyen / Scribner / 256 pages / 2023
4 stars. I liked hearing the author narrate the audio of her life as a Vietnam refugee who when she was 8-months-old was taken by her father out of the country with her sister, uncles, and grandmother the day before the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces in 1975. Later she was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by her father and stepmother and only came to meet her birth mother who was left or stayed behind in Vietnam until years later when she was 19. Her mother had come to the U.S. when she was 10 and had settled in Boston, yet they didn’t meet until years later.
Her memoir is clear, raw, and sincere describing what it was like growing up as an immigrant minority in a White Midwestern city and trying to understand her identity and their family dynamics, which wasn’t really talked about at the time with her often bad-tempered father. Much of it too talks about motherhood … trying to get know her own mother who she’s only visited a handful of times and is not close to and what happened in Vietnam when her mother stayed behind — along with being a mother herself to two young boys.
Part of the book feels like a memoir looking back on her life and school years in Michigan and other parts feel like essays about her perceptions as an immigrant in the U.S. and about motherhood. She wrote the book during the pandemic, which adds another dimension to it. Towards the end there’s a chapter about changing her Vietnamese name from Bich to Beth, which she does since it would cause less fuss and questions. Overall I was moved by the author’s story and perspective and liked her sensibilities.
I had forgotten I had read and liked the author’s 2015 novel Pioneer Girl and reviewed it on the blog. That’s when she was going by Bich Minh Nguyen, so I might not have realized this memoir was by the same author when I picked it up. She is a Guggenheim Fellow recipient, has an MFA from U of Michigan, and now teaches creative writing at the University of Wisconsin. I will look for what she writes next.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read books like these and if so, what did you think? Enjoy your week.
When I was growing up in the country we often had deer visiting our bird feeders in winter. No doubt finding enough to eat is hard for them when everything is covered in snow.
Hi Dorothy, yes the deer are very hungry right now when the temps are below 0. Did you say you grew up in Tennessee? We often forget to take the feeders down at night and they’re cleaned out by the morning. Then the birds aren’t too happy. Enjoy your week.
I read “Stealing Buddha’s Dinner” a long time ago (blogged here
https://maefood.blogspot.com/2008/05/in-real-life.html )
The memoir you read sounds like it redoes some of the same material.
Thanks Mae, so glad you gave me the link to your review of the author’s earlier memoir. Pretty interesting. It sounds quite vivid and perhaps more so than parts of this latter memoir. I think the material in both overlaps some, but this one also deals with her birth mother who settles in Boston. Hmm. I liked your review. Hope you have a great week.
Owner of a Lonely Heart is on my list but I had not heard of the other book.
That is a huge population of deer! Great photo. Probably best to get those feeders in at night with the competition for a snack out there in the wild.
Thanks for all your nice comments on the blog. It has taken me a bit to get organized with the newer tablet but now I think I am set. Most of what I was going to email you I answered on the blog. But I am still emailing you.
I am more of a baseball fan but being from Philly I’d support the Eagles. Won’t be watching, we are into Burn Notice the last season. Chat with you soon 🙂
Hi Tina, we forgot the bird feeders again last night and the deer cleaned us out again, lol. It was like -13F when we woke up today, ugh! So the deer come when it’s really frigid.
I hope you are liking your new tablet machine. Someday I need to update my 2014 Mac laptop, but it still works well for me. Knock on wood.
We were pleased Philly won the SB last night as the underdog team is fun to root for and they surely had a big upset. I will look up Burn Notice as I’m not sure I know of it. Hope you have a great reading week.
Minus 13?! You are a ahrdier soul than I am. Having grown up with cold winters in PA and then Michigan I liked it fine, as a young person. But I fear my blood has thinned living so far south for so long.
The tablet had some updates from the version I used before as I keep things until they die. I’m good now. My computer is probably about 15 years old so it’s slooooow to boot up and i can’t really use it for blogging. It does have a DVD drive so I use it to watch a DVD sometimes.
Philly must have been crazy celebrating! At heart that remains “home” for me. Will send you an email, ought to have saved all this for the email, ha!
Hi Tina, yeah the next five days will be dicey temps. I think of people’s animals outside, I hope they will be all right, ugh.
Good luck with your new tablet; it sounds good. And I’m glad to know you’re a Philly Pa. girl. Enjoy your weekend.
Beautiful photo of the deer! Thanks for sharing. I haven’t heard of those two books. They sound really interesting, though. Stay warm and happy reading!
It’s my son’s birthday today so we’ll be off doing family fun stuff rather than watch the Super Bowl. But usually it’s to watch for the ads and snacks and hope the game is at least somewhat watchable!
Hi Heather, great hearing from you. It was -13F this morning, certainly frigid now, argh!
Funny you said it was your son’s bday yesterday — it my older brother’s bday too. I hope you all had fun. Your son is growing up quickly and seems a happy kid. 🙂
Have a great week.
Such a pretty picture you shared, Susan! We have a lot of deer stop by. Have had to put some spray repellant on some of our new plants because we don’t have a fence and though they were ‘supposed’ to be deer-unfriendly, apparently not. Ha! We’re probably going to watch at least part of the Super Bowl. No, not our teams, but the half-time is usually fun. Hope you week goes well and you get some good reading!
Thanks Kay, nice to hear from you. Yeah I can imagine the deer would decimate your garden if you didn’t have some kind of repellant (too bad it didn’t work too well!). The herds here are growing … but we mostly only see them that big when temps get frigid. I hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl. Quite an upset.
Have a good week too.
That is a good reading theme for the present moment. I’m glad that stories of immigrants are getting attention. Solito by Javier Zamora was an important one for me last year.
Hi Joy, thanks. So many bad things going on now. I am reminded of these immigrant authors & their stories. I will have to get to Solito sometime. It seems a heartbreaking struggle. Hope you have a good week. I’m impressed by your calls to Congress members.
That deer standing in attention is really something! Big herd you got there. I’ve had a few deer sightings over the years, some pretty up close, but nothing like that. I would love to get a photo! I’m rooting for the Chiefs but I won’t be watching the big game; I want to make a fair dent on a new book. Both of your books sound interesting. Immigrant stories make for riveting literature. I’m glad you enjoyed both. Another week, another Penelope Fitzgerald book down. I’m trying to finish all her novels before I move on to something else. Happy reading!
Thanks Carmen, yeah the deer are very hungry now and come close since the temps have been frigid here. -13F this morning, argh. They cleaned out the feeders again last night, lol. I will keep my phone camera ready.
It seems the Super Bowl was an upset last night. Most were expecting the Chiefs but they didn’t seem to get going. We watched some of it.
I’m impressed by your Penelope Fitzgerald reading … you must like her writing style. You’ll have to tell me which one you liked best. I might have to read The Bookshop. I once worked at an indie bookstore in 1980s in Colorado, lol. I think I’ll move on a bit from immigrant stories after the 3, (they are compelling).
Have a great week.
Penelope Fitzgerald is an acquired taste, I think. Most reviewers on GR give her novels 3-3.5ish*, while most—I have read 6 out 9, have been 4* for me. They don’t follow conventional plots and aren’t necessarily linear; one comes more for atmosphere and characterizations. My favorite among all is The Beginning of Spring; it’s bubbly and very funny, but The Gate of Angels, The Bookshop and At Freddie’s come close to the top as well. Those are the ones I strongly recommend, probably in that order as well. I’m reading Offshore now, which won the Booker. Jose Saramago was also a nice surprise. I have to read more of his work too.
Great to know about these, thanks. I might fit one in sometime this spring. Glad you are liking these. You’re off to a good reading start!
Owner of a Lonely Heart sounds like a moving memoir. One of the brightest students I ever had was a refugee from Saigon who escaped with her family on a boat.
I’m skipping, as I always do, the Super Bowl. I think there should be more alternatives for people who love the bonding that group events like the Super Bowl brings but who don’t like football much. Could a channel please host a five-hour readathon nationwide?
Hi Deb, interesting to hear about the refugee student. I can believe it — so many seemed so bright … and many overcame so much.
Ha. That’s a good idea about a group readathon channel. That gave me a good laugh. But a great alternative! Happy reading this week.
I’ve seen deer one or two at a time, but never so many at once (unless at the zoo). Seeing them in the wild like that would be quite a sight (maybe normal for you, though. LOL). No Super Bowl for me. I don’t care for football. I think my husband may be watching upstairs on his computer. He doesn’t really follow football, but he likes seeing the commercials. I had a book club earlier and am now doing a little blog visiting before dinner.
Owner of a Lonely Heart and Good Girl both sound interesting. The Isabel Allende book I recently read was about refugees. It was very relevant for today–but then, I don’t think the book is that old. I hope you have a good week, Susan!
Hi Wendy, thanks. we seem to be getting used to seeing these deer herds when the temps are frigid … this morning was -13F, ouch! They ate the feeder birdseed again last night.
Interesting to hear about the Allende novel also being about refugees. I will look for your review. You seem to have a good book club going. Enjoy your week too.
Hi Susan, very nicely reviewed and I am going to look into Owner of A Lonely Heart. Immigrant stories are often about reconnecting with your culture and finding yourself because it helps to know where you are from to know know how to move forward and what direction to take.
I saw the puppy commercial. Very cute!
Hi Kathy, yeah I love that puppy in the ad, ha lol. Our dog Stella looked a bit like that when she was a puppy. 🙂
You make a good observation about immigrant stories. I think you would like the Owner of a Lonely Heart memoir. It also seems like both of the girls in these books are trying to fit in so much where they’re living … and hide their immigrant pasts. But Beth Nguyen also wants to try to understand and know her mother but not sure it’s that successful.
Enjoy your reading this week.
I love the photo of the deer. I shared it with my husband and the link to that old Clydesdale ad with the puppy. We never watch the Super Bowl but I would love to see the Clydesdale ads.
Hi Tracy, thanks. The deer are coming pretty close now in these frigid temps.
And I’m a sucker for that puppy & Clydesdale ad, lol. I’m intrigued by Clydesdales and think they’re beautiful animals. I didn’t see the Bud ad with them last night … but if you’re ever need of the Bud ads with the Clydesdales they’re searchable on YouTube, lol. Have a great week.
The deer here in NC like our bird feeders as well. We don’t begrudge them either. No Super Bowl for me. Until a friend mentioned The Chiefs, I couldn’t had no idea who was playing. All of the books you mentioned sound compelling.
Hi Olivia, you must have a lot of deer in NC, if you’re not in a city.
Yeah the books were compelling. I think we need to keep up our reading in these times. Thanks for stopping by & have a great week!
It’s colder this week here in Salt Lake. wahoo. And I did watch the Superbowl…at least the first half. Then I switched over to watch an episode of Miss Scarlet. But then I didn’t really care who won the game. The Eagles certainly played well. Wishing you a good week this week!
Hi Lark, yeah the Eagles really upset the Chiefs. It wasn’t expected but I was glad for the underdogs. This morning was -13F here, ouch! Hope you get some snowflakes for your mountains. Enjoy your week.
I usually try to watch the Super Bowl ads on YouTube but I couldn’t care less about the Super Bowl.
Poor deer, I’m sure they appreciate the bird feed.
Wishing you a lovely reading week
Hi Shelleyrae, there seemed to be only 2 or 3 ads that stood out during the Super Bowl. And I missed the Clydesdale one — but I should check YouTube.
The deer seem happy when we forget to bring in the feeders, lol.
Hope you have a great week too. Happy reading.
Boy, it looks cold but beautiful at your house, and I love that there were so many deer!
I did not watch the Super Bowl, but I wanted the Eagles to win of the two playing so that went well for me.
Hi Helen, thanks. It’s really freezing this week, so the deer are here in droves. They usually come in the evenings and empty the bird feeders. lol.
And yes we were rooting for the Eagles too. We wanted the underdogs and they upset the Chiefs big time. It was good. Hope you have a great week.
Wow! Look at all of those deer! I wonder what else you can feed them besides bird seed, although they don’t look as though they’re starving. 🙂 I’ll bet you’ll have really cold temps later this week. Our overnight lows will be down around 20, which is quite chilly here.
We skipped the Super Bowl, but I did look at a bunch of the commercials (online) and watched the halftime show on Youtube.
I haven’t read either of those books, but they sound good. I read a lot in January, but feel as though things are slowing down this month. I have several that I want to read before the end of the month, so I need to stop doomscrolling!
Hi Lesley, yeah it’s really cold now … it was -13F this morning. Sigh. It’s hard to do things when it’s below 0. So no wonder the deer are so hungry. I think if we can get through a couple more weeks … then the winter temps will start to rise. Feb. is usually our coldest month. 20 degrees where you are is cold.
I didn’t see many good commercials during the Super Bowl, but we were glad the Eagles won, since they were the underdogs.
It’s hard to not to doomscroll … all the news is so bad right now! Good luck with your reading. So far I’ve been slow this year but I hope to pick it up. Cheers.
We were invited to a Super Bowl party, thrown by some of my church friends so it was a nice group. The game. Meh. But hey, KC didn’t win. I was okay with that.
No clever commercials.
Half time show went over most people’s heads but there was a definite message, a few of them, regarding child predators and how our nation has gone down the tubes. A black Uncle Sam. I thought it was a bold move given the orange pop tart was in attendance but from the photos, looks like he was asleep for most of it.
Hi Ti, glad you went to a fun S.B. party. And yeah the half-time show sort of went by me. It’s not really the music I listen to … but then I saw Serena Williams dancing there … and I was like — Is that Serena Williams? lol. I was glad the Eagles won. And I didn’t see any great commercials either, but that Willem Dafoe pickle ball ad was a bit odd & amusing. There were several strange ones.
I hope they had guacamole were you were. Have a great week.
Beautiful photo of the deer. I do like a well-written. memoir so I’d like to read the Beth Nguyen.
Hi Nicola, it’s great to hear from you and I’m glad you’re back on your blog. I’ll visit it soon. Yeah the Beth Nguyen memoir is thoughtful and made for an interesting audio. I felt sad that her family had been broken up early in life by war. Wishing you a happy 2025.
It sounds like you’ve had a busy week. Those deer must be quite the sight, especially when they come to the bird feeders. The Super Bowl is always a mixed bag of fun. I’m with you on watching it for the ads and halftime show. And mixed reviews from both, huh? Have a wonderful week ahead!
Hi Lux, thanks for stopping by. Yes it was quite a sight when the deer were running straight to the bird feeder from across the street, whoa! I agree the Super Bowl ads and halftime show weren’t that good, or they weren’t for me. But the Eagles scored a big upset, so that was interesting. Hope you are well. Have a nice weekend.
Love the fact you have deer more or less in your back yard! Owner of a Lonely Heart sounds like an interesting book. It is always insightful to read about the immigrant experience. Have you read Wandering Souls? That is also about a Vietnamese refugee family (who end up in London). It is fiction, but based on real life events. Can highly recommend.
Hi Stargazer, great hearing from you. The deer are here almost everyday now. They’re hungry. And I’m so glad you told me about Wandering Souls. I haven’t read it and it sounds exactly like my kind of read, especially from Vietnam. So I will check the library for it and get on the list. Thanks! Enjoy your week.
We’ve had a pretty mild winter so far, here at home. No snow…yet. I probably shouldn’t say that because now we’ll get a late snowstorm like we did last year! I’ve had my share of snow adventures over New Years and this last week in Montana! Lots of rain here at home, though. I didn’t pay much attention to the Super Bowl. I popped in and out to watch a couple of the commercials. I was listening to an audio book while working a puzzle and we don’t have a TV in the living room, only the master and guest bedroom, but we had it playing.
Those deer are pretty cute when they’re not munching on my plants, haha! I think I’d give them a snack if I had that much snow, as well. They have a lot to eat here right now with acorns and things are green. In the summer I thrown out all the apples that’ve been snacked on by the birds or worms. They love our birdfeeders, too. We installed a higher pole so they can’t reach them.
Hi Rachel, You are a puzzle master! Working a puzzle and listening to an audio is the best, isn’t it? The Super Bowl was a bit of an upset so we liked that part.
It seems you have gotten a lot of rain, but no snow eh? A bit unusual right?
The deer are definitely eating everything in sight but there’s enough snow cover here that there’s not plants to get at. You are smart about the higher bird feeder pole. We have not gotten one yet. I hope they don’t eat your plants! That’s hard to watch. Have a great week.