Hi. Sorry I have been out of the blogosphere for a few weeks. We had a good trip to Southern California around Thanksgiving to see siblings and visit with my folks at a senior community. It was quite a bit warmer than expected and we were at the beach for a few days and even took a dip in the ocean. Luckily there were no signs of the gloppy oil spill that happened back in October off the coast of Orange County. I was so involved with family there, which was terrific seeing them after such a long absence, that I never got to post a Happy Thanksgiving message, but I hope those from the States had a warm and wonderful holiday. How was yours?
Now we are into December, and I’m looking to buy a Christmas tree and wreath this week to get into the spirit. There’s a little bit of snow on the ground here and I’m just catching up. I’ve seen a couple Best Books of 2021 lists, such as from the Washington Post here, and the New York Times here, but I won’t be announcing my list till the end of the month.
It’s interesting to see that the only novel that is on both the Post’s and Times’ lists is the novel by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers called The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, which came out in August. It’s over 800 pages long so I haven’t gotten to it yet, but just hearing the author talk about it back in October on the New York Times podcast was enough to think ‘Wow this sounds really good.’ Could it be the novel of the year for those who’ve read it?
Recently, a few tennis friends and I went to the movies to see King Richard starring Will Smith as Richard Williams, the father and first coach of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. It basically covers the early years, when their Dad starts to teach them the sport and the family is poor and living in Compton, California. You could say his coaching and decisions for the two young athletes are quite unorthodox but proved to be just the right thing for the girls.
The movie is better than I expected it would be. I guess I thought it’d be a cheesy sports movie, but the performances by Will Smith and some of the other cast, such as the mother played by Aunjanue Ellis, make it rise quite a bit above that. And while it seemingly portrays Richard Williams most frequently in a good light, I don’t think it always makes him out to be an easy person. The girls’ story, too, is pretty inspiring. As a tennis player and fan, I knew I had to see it, but I think non-tennis fans will enjoy it as well. It’s likely Will Smith will get an Oscar nomination for the role as it seems he put a lot into the portrayal.
Last up this week is a review of Canadian writer Cedar Bowers’s debut novel Astra, which came out in June and was longlisted for Canada’s Giller Prize. I picked it up since the novel was on display at the library and has a fetching book cover, don’t you think?
Each of the chapters in the novel focuses on a different person and propels the story forward about Astra and their relations with her. Astra is a girl who was born and raised at an agricultural commune in British Columbia. She grows up a feral wild child from a poor background who eventually leaves the commune for Calgary and tries to manage with what she’s been given and can do for herself. There’s chapters of her father, women who knew her from the commune, people who gave her jobs, her former boyfriend, her son, and others.
Through these, a picture emerges of Astra … of her flaws, damaged self from her commune life, and her elusive nature … as well as her allure to the people she meets and knows. The story covers her life from her youth to middle age and as a grandparent, and where she ends up seems to take the story full circle. She can never truly escape the impact the commune had on her. There’s some interesting parts to this character study … and some decent storytelling. I’ll be curious to see what Cedar Bowers puts out next. Her husband is novelist Michael Christie, who wrote the novel Greenwood, and they live on Vancouver Island.
The structure of Astra reminded me a little of Elizabeth Strout’s novel Olive Kitteridge, since Astra, like Olive, has a part in each chapter that focuses on other characters and their relation to her. It’s an interesting way to see the main character from different sides and viewpoints.
That’s all for now. What about you have you read this one and how was your week?
Glad to read you had a nice time in CA with friends and family. It was that many of us were able to gather with loved ones once again.
It’s hard to believe it is time to start thinking of BEST Books of 2021 – where did the year go. I always enjoy seeing everyone’s lists which gets me thinking about books I missed and others loved and compiling yet another list for the New Year.
Most recently, I loved Anne Patchett, Louise Erdrich, Jodi Picoult and Joyce Maynard’s 2021 books and I’m sure there are others read earlier in the year that will make my list.
Have a good week.
Hi Diane thanks, great to hear from you. You are on top of a lot of great novels this year! Of those, I’m curious what is your pick of the Year would be. Hmm. I hope your holidays were very happy …. and now Christmas time ahead! Enjoy your week too.
How great you had a nice trip! How contrasting the pictures above. 🙂 I haven’t seen King Richard yet, but soon. I’ve seen a few good movies lately though. I saw Passing; I gave it 3*. I liked Tessa Tompson more in Silvie’s Love, which made me cry, and of course, she was phenomenal as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok, and Westworld. Anyways, I read The Promise. Had it kept the pace and tone of the first two chapters it would have been a 5* read; as it was, it was a 4*, still very good. I think I’ll be reading Damnation Spring next, not sure yet. I’m glad you read and liked Astra.
Hi Carmen, glad you told me about all these Tessa Tompson movies … she seems terrific and I really like how she acted with Ruth Negga. I have not seen those other movies with her. Also thx for the report on The Promise. I’m a bit intrigued. I probably won’t get to it this month but I’ll keep it on my radar. Sounds like your reading is going very well. Happy December to you!
And to you as well!
🙂
San Diego is one of my favorite cities, and I also love the little suburbs up the coast like Del Mar. You didn’t say specifically which beaches you were at — I just love the one that’s down below Torrey Pines park. Your Thanksgiving trip sounds wonderful. I hope you enjoy the Christmas season in your own home.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, I was a bit unspecific wasn’t I about which beach. We were in Newport Beach (Balboa area) and also biked up to Huntington Beach where the spill happened off shore. It was lovely and hot out! We had fun too in San Diego about 5 years ago … we stayed near the harbor area … much to do around S.D. and we liked taking a tour of the USS Midway ship there. I can see why you’d like it. Hope you have a great week.
The end-of-the-year best-of book lists are one of the things I look forward to at this time of year. I love to work on my own. Maybe that’s one of the things I will start on today.
I’m glad you had a good visit with family. It’s good that we are finally starting to feel like we can visit with people again, though I’m still on the cautious side.
I like the sound of Astra. Hearing others thoughts about a character certainly is an interesting way of seeing what a character is like, and it seems more like the way we actually assess people ourselves.
Hi thanks Deb, it was fun seeing family for Thanksgiving. I enjoy book lists too and so I need to look at what I read this year. Astra was offbeat and a bit interesting in the way it moves the story from different viewpoints. Have a great week!
Welcome back! I am so glad you had a lovely visit with your family and am truly impressed that you went in the ocean!
I like Will Smith, but King Richard isn’t a movie I would have thought to watch. But, I think I will now that I’ve read your thoughts about it.
Hi thanks Helen, yeah it was so hot in SoCal (like 80s at the beach) that people were swimming ! and we braved the water too. Pretty refreshing. It was lovely being in California again. Though it didn’t seem like “winter.”
I guess I hadn’t planned to really see King Richard at the theater either … but some tennis friends talked me into it … and I was surprisingly entertained by it. Have a great week.
I don’t recall having heard of this book before but it sounds completely intriguing, especially the comparison to “Olive.” Adding to my list for next year.
It’s great that you were able to have the trip to California to visit family. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and one of the things I’m most thankful for each year is having family around me. It was especially nice this year after a more solitary Thanksgiving last year.
Hi Dorothy, I’m glad your family is there and you were able to be together for the Thanksgiving holiday. It is really nice, right? It was a lovely time.
The only other thing is that Astra is a bit gritty a read … people from poor circumstances … but I liked the various viewpoints. I’ll be curious to hear what you think. Enjoy your week.
I am now curious about Astra.
Glad you had some lovely time with family. Enjoy your books and the weeks ahead.
Thanks for visiting my blog, and in looking back at my post, I see that I didn’t add much about my life for the week. I went back to fill in a few details.
Oh good Laurel, I’ll have to go back & see how your week went. I heard in the news that the Fresno area is getting a lot of Covid cases … so I hope all is safe where you are. I hope we don’t have to go thru high cases again, Ugh. Enjoy your week and books.
I just finished 2 first novels. Five starred both. They are “Dara Shastri’s Last Day”, by Kirthana Ramisette and “The Sisters Sweet”, by Elizabeth Weiss. Look them up if curious.
Hi Gammyjill, thanks for stopping by …. I will take a look at the two books you mention … thanks for the tip. & Happy reading to you.
Glad you had a good Thanksgiving! Though I’m a little jealous of your beach time; I’d love to be at a beach right now. And I’m glad to hear you liked the movie King Richard. It’s one I’d like to see. Have a good week. 🙂
Thanks Lark. It was so warm at the beach – you wouldn’t believe. We had a week like in the 80s … which didn’t exactly feel like winter but it was very Nice! The Ocean was gorgeous. We’ll miss it now.
See what you think of the movie King Richard. Cheers!
Welcome back… glad you had such a great trip! It’s great to be able to spend time with family again, and time at the beach is an added bonus.
I also noted The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois was the only overlap in the two lists. It’s on my list and, at that length, will definitely be a read/listen combination. Can’t imagine holding an 800+ page hardcover, so will go with the ebook or wait for a paperback edition.
It will be tough coming up with my list of favorites this year. There have been SO many books I’ve loved, both fiction and nonfiction.
This is the first I’ve heard of Astra and it sounds like my kind of book!
Hi JoAnn: I’m glad to hear too that you had a great Thanksgiving time – really nice this year seeing family! You’ve also had a really great reading year so I look forward to seeing your favorites list. Not sure what mine will be. Hmm.
The length of the W.E.B. DuBois novel is scaring me off … but I should take it on in 2022 nonetheless. Likely e-book is the ticket!
Hope you have a great December … it seems it’ll be busy but hopefully fun.
How lovely you got to visit family and go to the beach as well. Here in the UK we have close to freezing temperatures, so I daydream about sunshine and beaches from time to time. It’s interesting how the hyped books in the US and UK differ. I’d never heard of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois before I saw it on these lists. Look forward to see your list for 2021!
Hi Stargazer … What’s the best UK book list going around? I’d love to see what’s the best 2021 novel over there … or the most hyped. I’m back in Canada now and it’s freezing up here … winter has finally arrived … with very cold temps -20C. Ouch. Our beach time was really nice while it lasted. Happy reading to you!
Oh, I’ve realised that The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois isn’t even out in the UK yet, so that explains why no one is talking about that ! 😉
I don’t think we have a list comparable to The New York Times’ but Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/dec/04/best-fiction-of-2021) and WaterStones (https://www.waterstones.com/blog/the-best-books-of-2021-fiction) have recently published Best Fiction 2021 lists. Some of the most hyped books in UK include Rooneys Beautiful World, Where Are You, Patricia Lockwood’s No One is Talking About This, Klara and the Sun and to some extent The Promise.
Thanks for these lists. I plan to arrange my TBR list accordingly. I enjoyed Klara and the Sun quite a bit though others didn’t like it as much I did. Hmm. I have a few of these that I haven’t gotten to yet, but will get to in 2022. The reading year got away from me a bit. I wonder when WEB Dubois will publish there? Have a great week.
Ahhh look at that gorgeous picture of the beach!
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois will most certainly be #1 on my end of year list. Not sure how anything can top that book. SO good. Wow. I devoured it in record time via Kindle. Could not put it down.
I’m really intrigued by Astra and will jump over to Goodreads and add that one to my TBR and take a look at Greenwood. Never heard of it.
I had no idea what King Richard was about so I’m glad I read your post. I thought it was going to be some silly parody of a real King or something. lol Thanks to your review, I will add it to my TBW.
Oops. Correction. I guess I HAVE heard of Greenwood because it’s already on my TBR list.
Hi Jinjer …. yeah I haven’t gotten to Greenwood yet but I have a copy! But it might have to sit on the shelf a good while longer to “ripen.” Ha. Yeah and when I first heard of King Richard … I thought it was a takeoff of Richard III … so I can relate. Don’t tell anyone this. I’m glad you are a fan of the W.E.B. DuBois novel; that’s terrific. It sounds awesome. I think I will buy the e-book too. It seems like the best way to read it. It doesn’t sound like a slow read despite the many pages. I know you lived in L.A. …. so the beach photo is of Newport Beach (Balboa part). It was awesome over Thanksgiving. Very warm there. I hope they get rain sometime. Hope all went well with your holiday … I’ll stop by soon to see. Cheers.
Astra sounds really good; I’ll have to see if I can find a copy of that one. Don’t know if it’s my imagine or not, but Canadian fiction seems harder to find in the US than British fiction and that doesn’t make sense. It could be that publishers don’t make it as obvious that a book is Canadian as they do if it is British based. It’s probably just my personal blind spot,
Hi Sam, I think you are right. Canadian fiction is sometimes hard to find in the U.S. It’s usually delayed from its publication date in Canada and by the time a Canadian book comes out in the U.S. it can get buried. Atwood or Emily St. John Mandel being exceptions. British novels seem to receive a bigger splash, right? Not sure what it’s about or if it’s just a perception. I need to read more Canadian fiction – being here. Have a great week.
Reading “Best of” lists is one of my favorite things to do this time of year. I have heard of the W.E.B. Dubois book, but the 800 page length makes me hesitate.
I like the sound of King Richard. Will Smith usually puts on a good performance.
I saw that you mentioned you were at Newport and Huntington Beach. I have spent a little time at both. I live in the cold midwest, but have relatives in the LA area. I’m glad you enjoyed your trip.
Have a good week!
Thanks Gretchen. It was a good trip. Do you ever get out to L.A.? Now we are back in the cold north. I havent gotten to many on these Best Of lists but I still plan to. I seldom read really long novels but I’m thinking about reading the Dubois sometime. Hmm. Have a great week too.
Ah, look at that gorgeous California beach! I’m so glad you had a good trip and visit with your family. Was the water really warm enough to go in? I used to love to swim in the ocean when we lived in San Diego (I practically lived at the Del Mar beaches during my years in high school) but it was always pretty chilly until we got a south swell and the water temp got up to 70! Bliss! And now you have snow. I have to admit, it does look pretty. I remember many Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations in SoCal when we had to turn the A/C on, it was so warm.
We’re getting into the Christmas spirit. Both trees (my mom and I each put one up every year) are up and decorated and I’m finished with my shopping. Now to start wrapping the gifts and sending out a few Christmas cards. I don’t send as many as I used to. I don’t think many people do anymore, which is kind of sad. It’s not quite the same to read a holiday greeting on Facebook or Instagram.
I’m getting excited about my “Best of 2021” list. I had a few 5-star reads this year, which is always nice.
Hmmm, you may have convinced me to watch King Richard. I’m not a tennis fan (don’t dislike it, but don’t follow all the pro matches), but I do like Will Smith.
Have a good week! I’m getting ready to head out for the first of three birthday celebrations. I turn 60 next Monday. Eeek!
Hi Lesley, I hope you’re having a bash for your 60th …. or at least a really nice bday treat. We’re all getting there. Time flies and it’s a bit hard to believe. How is your cove these days? Rainy? Winter is starting to kick in here … and now lower temps after a mild Oct. & Nov. Glad you have the trees up … we have a tree but hope to decorate it on the weekend. You sound ahead of the game on Christmas … I’m behind as usual. The water at the OC in Calif was cold but was doable only b/c it was so hot out. I think I went in only once but just wanted to know I did it for that late in the season. Have a great bday!! and take pics.
I’m having a wonderful birthday week with a luncheon with my close friends and two nights out to dinner in a couple of days. Feeling the love!
Yes, it’s rainy and very windy here. We had gusts up to 75 mph today and five trees came down in our neighborhood. Thankfully, nobody was injured and I think they all fell away from homes.
Stay warm and thanks for the birthday wishes!