Hi all. I hope everyone in the States has a very Happy Thanksgiving or wherever you may be. My relatives are gathering in Southern California for the holiday and it should be fun there. Though we are staying put for my knee surgery next week, so we will celebrate it here. Will you be getting a storm where you are or will it be nice and balmy for your turkey day feast?
Lately my husband has put up four bird feeders around the house, including the one in the photo, and we are watching to see which birds appear. I think the seasonal birds have flown south by now, so we are seeing many: Black-Capped Chickadees, House Sparrows, Magpies, Blue Jays, Northern Flickers, Mourning Doves, and Downy Woodpeckers.
And occasionally we see various other birds such as Pileated Woodpeckers, which are good-sized and have nice red-capped heads, and once this summer we saw a Great Horned Owl. The Northern Flickers (shown at left), which are also in the woodpecker family, have a colorful design to them so it’s nice seeing many of them here. But I have to practice taking pictures of the birds as they fly away at a second’s notice and I miss them. Our recent bird fixation jibes well with my nonfiction audiobook this month of Christian Cooper’s book Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World. I’m not that far yet, but I’m liking the author’s enthusiasm who narrates it for the audio.
In other book news, I see that Justin Torres won this year’s National Book Award for fiction for his second novel Blackouts, which according to AP’s Hillel Italie is a “daring and illustrated narrative that blends history and imagination in its recounting of a censored study of gay sexuality.” Torres’s book imagines a conversation between a dying man and the young friend he educates about a real history in 1941 called “Sex Variants.”
Although I don’t think his novel will make my TBR list, it is worth noting that it beat out four other finalists, including Paul Harding’s novel This Other Eden, which I had picked to win, so I’m 0-2 on my literary award guesses so far. Next up, is the Booker Prize announcement on Nov. 26.
Meanwhile we’ve been alternating watching episodes of Lessons in Chemistry starring Brie Larson as the quirky Elizabeth Zott — with the final season of The Crown starring Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana. We all know how that tragedy unfolded and I’m not finding it very easy to watch the tragedy again, though the performances seem pretty well done.
We also finished the four episodes of the miniseries All the Light We Cannot See – the first two episodes seemed pretty good, but the final two episodes seemed quite wobbly and a stretch to believe. Still the theme of a radio program connecting characters across enemy lines is a touching one. I liked the novel quite a bit more than the series.
And now I’ll leave you with a review of the book I finished lately.
The Last Ranger by Peter Heller / Knopf / 304 pages / 2023
3.7 stars. I liked the main character of this outdoorsy crime novel named Ren Hopper, who’s an enforcement ranger at Yellowstone National Park. Ren seems burnt out dealing with unruly tourists and those who get into trouble with wildlife. And he’s still grieving over the loss of his wife and his mother’s descent into alcoholism, but he finds refuge in the nature of the park, fishing, and his chats with his friend Hilly, a wolf biologist, who lives in a nearby cabin.
Then while going fishing one day he runs into a man with his dog whom he senses is poaching a bear in the park. The guy Les seems bad news and soon after his friend Hilly is nearly killed in an episode in the park. Meanwhile someone is leaving Ren threatening notes and signs.
As Ren investigates, the storylines play out in a slow-burn kind of way with plenty of atmosphere of life in the park and info about wildlife, particularly wolves, which were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. I thought Heller intermingled these snippets fairly well without losing sight of the main thread. Towards the end, Ren gets involved in a relationship he doesn’t see coming, though perhaps the reader does. A flurry of action comes in the final stage, which I was waiting for. There’s not much of a surprise with it, but Ren and the perpetrators have their day.
I sort of wonder if a sequel with Ren might be in the works. He’s a good character and Heller seems at home writing about national parks and life as a ranger, and Ren’s love life might just be going somewhere. I’d be happy to see a sequel. I have listened to four out of the six books written by Peter Heller, which were all outdoorsy/adventure male-propelled novels with a bit of suspense.
This wasn’t my #1 favorite (perhaps The Dog Stars still is), but it was engaging nonetheless. I listened to the audio narrated by Mark Deakins who’s done well reading some of his other titles. I expect another book perhaps next summer. And thanks to Sam over at the blog Book Chase, who also reviewed this novel, for reminding about it.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read this author or seen these shows — and if so, what did you think? Happy Thanksgiving.
Love all your fun birdfeeders! We get Northern Flickers coming to our yard, too, as well as Downy Woodpeckers. And I absolutely love Black-capped Chickadees. They’re such cute little birds. 😀 We’re having a very small Thanksgiving this year, but the weather is supposed to be nice. And I hope your knee surgery next week goes well.
Thanks Lark. We will see how it goes next week, gulp. It sounds like we get the same kinds of birds. I like seeing the woodpeckers … and they really seem to like the suet feeder. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I enjoyed your review of The Last Ranger. What you say about it being “male-propelled” does make me wonder how much more likely male readers are to enjoy this one than female readers. I really have to try The Dog Stars because you’ve mentioned that is your favorite of Heller’s books, and I do want to try another one of his early next year some time.
I still haven’t gotten around to Lessons in Chemistry because it’s the most in-demand book at my library still. I normally detest movie tie-in covers, but have to admit that the one for Lessons in Chemistry is better than the original this time around. Can’t remember the last time that’s happened for me.
Blackouts sounds a little heavy to me. I know that Justin Torres is a heck of a writer, and I’m sure I’ll get around to this one at some point…maybe just not right now.
Hi Sam, yeah Blackouts is probably too much for me perhaps. But his first book We the Animals I hear is very short. So I might try that instead.
Lessons in Chemistry was an unexpected winner for me last summer. But I wouldn’t overhype it either. It was just a fun summer kind of read with some quirks to it and a headstrong female lead.
This Heller novel had a bit less action than some of his other outdoor tales such as The River or The Dog Stars. I think you might enjoy either of those two novels. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Ok. I am posting about this on Sunday, but I also watched All the Light and fast forwarded through most of it. And I couldn’t read the book. I finally got the book off my TBR shelf though where it has been taunting me for years.
I forgot that Lessons in Chemistry is now a show. I enjoyed the book so tonight will start watching the series. Thank you for the reminder.
Good luck with your knee surgery!
Thanks Helen. I have this surgery hanging over me, ugh. We’ll see.
The Lessons in Chemistry series seems to be following the book pretty closely. And Brie is good as Zott. See what you think.
I think the book of All the Light will go quicker as it goes than you think. The alternating two characters will likely draw you in. It’s not a dense thing – I don’t think. Happy Thanksgiving in SB!
Hi Susan, Happy Thanksgiving and good luck with the knee surgery. Lessons in Chemistry was a very popular book. I don’t know if I will ever get to it though because so many books are out there. I should put at least one or two of the National Boik Award winners or Booker nominees on my TBR list.
Hi Kathy, thanks. I wish Canada aligned its Thanksgiving holiday with the U.S. – that would make things easier. So the country wouldn’t be working.
I know what you mean: there are so many books — and I’m very slow at them. You seem to find various golden gems of the past. I’m glad Lessons in Chemistry did well last summer (I enjoyed it) but perhaps one of the prize winners might be more worth the time. See what you think. And Happy Thanksgiving!
You really have a great reading list— I should read several of those books.
Have a happy Thanksgiving.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, ha, this outdoor crime novel was sort of a break for me from my list for the end of the year. I have a ways to go with that. But I know you’re a birder so perhaps you’d like the Christian Cooper book that’s briefly mentioned above. I’m just listening to the audio of it now. Hmm. We’ll see. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well! I hope your surgery goes well and you heal quickly and completely. I, too, guessed that This Other Eden could/would win the National Book Award for fiction, but I wasn’t that invested since I haven’t finished it yet and it’s been a nightmare to get to the 76% I reached last night. Anyway, considering I hadn’t read any candidate that wrong guess may not even count. I’ll be finishing Season 6 of Games of Thrones tomorrow night; when I finish Season 8, I’ll watch Lessons in Chemistry, The Crown, and Julia. The Last Ranger sounds interesting, especially the national park bits.
Hi Carmen, yeah the Last Ranger was sort of a break for me from my list of what I should be getting to — a diversion. I listened to This Other Eden (Twice!) on audio before understanding a thing. I often have to drive to the city (50 mins each way) and so there I was listening to it. Some of it seems like verse. It’s okay if you want to throw it against the wall. There’s other things to read!
I still think The Bee Sting will win the Booker … but likely I’ll be wrong again, lol. Not sure I will read that. But do you think I’d like the series GoT? I probably would but whether I can get my hub onboard is another story. Hmm. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Based on what you watch most of the time I think GOT may not be for you. Re-watching it has been a big commitment. I agree about The Bee Sting winning the Booker. If not, I back Study for Obedience or How to Build a Boat as dark horses.
I want to throw This Other Eden against a wall and be done with it, but I read most of the shortlist and I don’t want to give up. I can understand why you had to listen to it twice to make any sense. Even in print (Kindle in my case) is written in long blocks of prose with no stop in sight. I swear I would have given up if this were any other book. :-o. BTW, I loved the bird pic up there. Why don’t you install a bird feeder camera. That would be something!
Hey thanks Carmen. We are keeping an eye on the birds. My husband probably will install a camera knowing him.
I guess long blocks of prose without breaks make it very difficult to read. I need breaks too. Luckily I listened to the audio and the narrator was quite good which helped. It’s Okay to throw it against the wall … life is short. 🙂
What did you think of GoT the 2nd time around? Was it as good? The first time I’m assuming is likely the best. I’m not sure we’ll start it. Maybe we’ll see a movie this weekend, though I saw some bad reviews for Napoleon. Darn.
I liked this book and have previously read The River, the Guide and Celine. I liked how he brought the character Jack back in the Guide from The River novel. Would love to read more about Ren Hopper. He was so well detailed and I liked the character very much.
Honestly, I didn’t see that relationship coming near the end!
Hope you have a nice Thanksgiving celebration – it’s us two here and i am making a dinner simialr to what we usually have 🙂 Except today there will be pie.
Will be thinking of you about the knee surgery and I expect you’ll be up and doing great in no time.
Oh, lovely photo of the bird. That’s a beauty I’ve never seen in north Florida.
Thanks Tina. I appreciate your message about the knee surgery and all else. You reminded me that Heller did have a return character in The River and The Guide. I didn’t get to The Guide but liked The River. My husband read The Guide. It’s seems like you’re a fan of Heller’s fiction. I was thinking Ren might get together with Hilly in The Last Ranger or maybe I was hoping it? And I hope he continues the character. Enjoy your pie. We are not having a Thanksgiving dinner here either as it’s a regular work day in Canada. It always feels a bit weird though. I like seeing these Flicker birds … their design looks unique. Cheers.
Good luck with your surgery. I don’t have Netflix but am hoping that Thanksgiving with my sister and her family will include some because I really want to see the last two seasons of the Crown. I was curious about All the Light You Cannot See (although did not love as much as others did) but maybe it can wait, based on your reaction.
I overlapped with Christian Cooper in college but had not heard of him until the horrible incident in Central Park. I am glad that the fallout from that situation has resulted in his talents/interest in birding being so widely shared. I put up a birdfeeder during the early months of the pandemic outside the window where I was working remotely and I got so excited every time a cardinal showed up! However, it was a constant battle with the squirrels. Eventually, I had to put it so high that I needed a ladder to refill it!
By the way, I am also a PW reviewer! Isn’t that funny?
Constance, that’s terrific! A fellow PW reviewer, so pleased to have found your blog recently. Do you review fiction too? I once reviewed memoir there but moved over to fiction long ago. But now I review a bit less for them — still do a novel a month, but used to do every 2 weeks. I like the fiction editor.
We just got Netflix for a month to watch The Crown … and All the Light but we’ll probably drop it after. And that’s so interesting that you overlapped school with Christian Cooper. He is an interesting, bright guy and I’m liking his narration of his book. He talks a bit about his Harvard years and his roommates.
And for whatever reason there aren’t as many squirrels here so we haven’t had troubles with them at our bird feeder, which surprises me. In Virginia, the squirrels were crazy & all over. We are you located? Cheers!
I review women’s fiction and romance, and because I only have time to do one per month, I sometimes get some really lame books, but I still enjoy it.
I live in Boston in an old house with bookcases in every room except the dining room and bathrooms. My family tried to persuade me not to go to a library book sale this morning but I slipped out when they weren’t looking, haha.
My brother and his family went to Calgary and Banff for Thanksgiving.
That’s great. I’m glad to meet a fellow PW reviewer and bibliophile. Your house in Boston sounds like a great place to browse books. We moved last January out of the city to a more rural location and I gave away about six boxes of books but I still have a lot … as well as my husband’s piles.
I hope your brother & nephew have a great time in Alberta. I don’t know if there’s that much snow for skiing but maybe in the mountains. We dont have snow on the ground here, which is crazy. And the temps are higher than normal. El Nino. I think. But maybe there’s still skating on Lake Louise 🙂
I hope your surgery goes well, Susan. We were cleared from COVID just in time so will be heading to my mom’s house for a quiet Thanksgiving just the four of us. We don’t do the whole traditional turkey meal and haven’t in a while. It’s lasagna for us again this year. I hope you have a happy holiday!
Hi LF, having lasagna sounds quite good to me. Glad you all are clear of Covid and can be together. It’s a regular work week here so we are just having a regular dinner. It feels a bit weird though. I’d rather be celebrating it in SoCal with the rest of our group. Enjoy your night!
You are inspiring me to watch Lessons in Chemistry and All the Light We Cannot See. Either of those would be great series to watch this weekend, I think.
I do want to read Better Living Through Birding, too. I need to remember to look for it.
Happy (American) Thanksgiving! I’m just getting around to visiting my blog friends this week—apologies for being so late to the table.
Hi Deb, yeah we are liking the series Lessons in Chemistry but are just 2 episodes done so far. It seems to follow the book closely. And Brie is enjoyable as Zott. I think you might like it … as well as the Birding book. It seems a bit more of a memoir of the author’s life but still there’s some birding things mixed in.
I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving Day & weekend. Not sure if you’re traveling again or having it at home. Enjoy!
I read and enjoyed both “Lessons in Chemistry” and “All the Light We Cannot See” so I’ll be adding those to my watch list. It’s been a wonderful, if somewhat gloomy, Thanksgiving Day here with my family. I hope you’ve had a good day as well.
Thanks Dorothy. I’m glad you had a good day with family. You have daughters not far away right? Is your garden still going or have you had a cold spell? I think you might like those TV series … both are decent. Enjoy the holiday weekend.
Great post! First, yesterday was cold but the snow held off until the night–we woke up to 3-4 inches in the Boulder area and very cold temps. Seems right to be decorating for Xmas with snow on the ground.
I have been birding for awhile now, and bird feeders are a fixture at our house. We get much the same as you, except no pileated woodpeckers in our neighborhood. Better Living Through Birding is on my tbr list. If you are looking for a fun video, look for The Central Park Effect, which includes Christian Cooper. I’ve watched it twice.
Just one episode into Lessons in Chemistry, but so far so good. I decided not to watch the final season of The Crown. I remember the day Diana died, and I just don’t want to watch that.
I recently listened to Peter Heller’s The Guide, which I liked, maybe even more than The River. I really disliked Celine, but am looking forward to The Last Ranger. I haven’t read Dog Stars, not sure why, but if it is your favorite, I should put it on the list!
Hi Jane, thanks for your comments! Great to hear you had snow around Boulder. Nice! We had a trace here but it’s bare again now. So glad to hear of your birding too. I love watching the feeders from our living room window. I will check out the Central Park video you mention, thanks! I like Cooper’s enthusiasm and the audiobook has bird sounds to it. It’s more of a memoir but has a mix of his birding interest too.
And I think I stayed away from Heller’s Celine based on your review. Dog Stars is an apocalyptical tale so it differs a tad from his current ones, but still a survivalist kind of outdoor story … with more action to it. I liked The River but haven’t tried The Guide yet.
I don’t blame you for avoiding The Crown … it’s a bit too much going over the tragedy again ugh – I was in pieces.
And I wish Calvin in Lessons in Chemistry had a longer role … but we continue on. Wishing you happy reading & holidays. Cheers.
I live in Northern California now, but used to live in Southern California. We didn’t have a storm, but it was cold. We get Norther Flickers here occasionally. We have a lot of Juncos, Acorn Woodpeckers, American Robins, Spotted Towhee, Oak Titmouse, and more I can’t think of offhand. I can’t ever get a good picture either.
I haven’t read or watched Lessons in Chemistry, but I’ve heard good things. Hope your knee surgery goes well!
Thanks Rachel. I’m quite chicken about this surgery coming up so I need encouragement. lol.
It sounds like you get various interesting birds there. I looked up the ones you mention to see what they look like and they seem pretty and neat to see I’m sure. I’m hopeless at getting a picture of any. You must be happy to have moved up North near Truckee … very pretty areas around there. And you’re planting trees! I’d like to plant some here too … because the high winds broke a few populars.
Have a great holiday weekend.
I’ve only read The River and Dog Stars and I loved them both! (And now I’m wondering if my hardcover of Dog Stars made it from Arkansas to L.A. with me!!! I’ll look for it the next time I get up. I sure hope it didn’t go with the people who cleaned out my mom’s house!)
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and that all goes smoothly with your knee surgery.
Thanks Jinjer. The knee surgery is a worry. sigh. like impending doom.
And because it was a regular work week here — there was no real Thanksgiving (and I didnt motivate to cook a turkey) but we are enjoying it from afar. And the football & black Friday shenanigans.
I hope you still have your copy of The Dog Stars. You must find it! I still have a copy of the blue hardback here. It’s an apocalyptic bible …
Enjoy your holiday weekend there in L.A.
Hope you enjoyed your quiet Thanksgiving. We had a great time here with the girls, partners, and a couple of dogs. I’m envious of your bird feeders and am thinking about getting some for CT next summer…that birding book is on my list, too. Glad to hear you’re liking it so far.
After Blackouts won the award, I borrowed We the Animals from the library… really well written, but a sad, tough read. Torres grew up in my old area of NY. I’m curious about Blackouts, but it’s not a priority right now.
Good luck with your knee surgery this week… will be thinking of you.
Thanks JoAnn. I really appreciate it. This Wednesday is the surgery, so just trying to get things done at the house in time. I’m glad you had a great Thanksgiving, sounds wonderful with everyone there.
The bird feeders have been a lot of fun and we are really enjoying seeing the birds. I hope you get a feeder for 2024.
I’ll be interested to see what We the Animals is about. Have you found any good books on Hulu lately? I wish they had more offerings. Have a great week.
Susan – My latest hoopla find is the audio edition of If I Survive You, which Sam (Book Chase) recently reviewed. I’m hoping to listen early next year. I don’t pay as much attention to their ebook offerings because I can’t read them on my kindle. Oh, well…. I have daily deals on it that could keep me busy for years!
Sounds good JoAnn. I’m mostly looking for audios on Hoopla … so I will check for that title. I dont pay attention to the Hoopla ebooks either. I have too many too. Thanks for letting know. Cheers.
We have Northern Flickers here too, and I love them! They’re the most colorful birds I’ve seen. However, the roof of my house needs replacing, and they keep pecking on it, which is making me feel crazy. Whenever I try to sleep in, I wake up to them tapping on the roof.
Hi AJ: yeah sometimes at the old house we used to get doves pecking at the wood house and maybe flickers too. It can be bad … then I go out and try to shoo them away. Since we moved we have more metal siding and haven’t gotten the pecking. Glad to hear you see the Flickers too; they are pretty. But the pecking on the house can be pretty annoying. Hope it gets better there. Cheers.
How nice to be able to bird watch by looking out of the window. Well, technically I can do that as well, but I only see a bunch of overfed city pigeons! Taking photos of birds is a fun challenge, you’ll improve over time. 🙂 . Since I didn’t love All the Light… I probably won’t watch the show. Lessons in Chemistry, on the other hand, could tempt me.
Hi Stargazer, great to hear from you. Yeah I get a bit transfixed watching the amount of birds that come to the feeder all from the living room window. No wonder I get so little done!
See what you think about Lessons in Chemistry. It received mixed reviews, but I am enjoying it nonetheless. Happy holiday season to you in London!