Happy January. How is your new year going so far? The month is already getting away from me a bit, but I will try to rectify that asap. Maybe it’s been the news lately, or maybe it’s the head cold I’m trying to conquer, or the busy days so far, but I’m off to a bit of a slow start with reading and posting in 2020. Still there is plenty of the month left so not to fret. January is usually a likable start to things as it bodes well for new beginnings and changes … though the weather can get quite cold and dreary. You got to stay upbeat and just go with it.
Now let’s parse through what is coming out this month. Like many readers I often want to see if the most hyped books will live up to their high praise. And perhaps no novel has received more buzz than Jeanine Cummins’s much ballyhooed novel “American Dirt” (coming out Jan. 21), which is a tale that apparently breathes life into why thousands are fleeing their homelands to try to get into the U.S. from Mexico.
It’s said to be essential reading and “the international story of our times” by a youngish author living in New York who I haven’t read before. The story sounds scary, suspenseful, and moving … involving the risks immigrants are willing to take to escape persecution and death. It might be too talked about to miss, so count me in.
Next up, I like what I’ve heard about Liz Moore’s new crime novel “Long Bright River,” (due out Jan. 6) about a young Philadelphia policewoman who searches for her opioid addicted sister on the city streets. Publishers Weekly says it weaves a police procedural and a family drama into a captivating novel and NPR’s Maureen Corrigan calls it an extraordinary crime novel that “subverts readers’ expectations till its very last pages.”
Susie at the blog Novel Visits has already read and liked it, saying she flew through its hefty 480 pages, which is always a good sign. I read Liz Moore’s last novel “The Unseen World,” which was so-so for me, but this one sounds much better so I’m game to delve into its story of two sisters with different lives set in Philly.
Lastly in books, I’m looking at a few others such as Charles Yu’s new novel “Interior Chinatown,” Isabel Allende’s “A Long Petal of the Sea,” and maybe Ann Napolitano’s novel “Dear Edward” about a 12-year-old boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash.
Napolitano’s novel might be a bit over-the-top in the heartbreaking category, and perhaps I’m not ready for a decades-spanning Allende tale right now, so perhaps “Interior Chinatown” (due out Jan. 28) might be my ticket … which is said to be an “inventive drama about an Asian actor who dreams of becoming a star,” according to Kirkus Reviews. Apparently it’s a clever and satirical look at Hollywood tropes and Asian stereotypes via a protagonist who’s learning his way in a world that treats him as barely human. It sounds heartfelt and daring by a talented author I haven’t tried yet, so count me in.
As for movies in January, I’m looking at two upcoming ones (due out in wider release Jan. 10) that I mentioned briefly in my December Preview. First the big winner at the Golden Globe awards — “1917” — looks to be an epic war film I shouldn’t miss. Will it do for World War I depictions what “Saving Private Ryan” did for World War II? Like that film, “1917” seems to involve a journey; this time two British soldiers have to get a message behind enemy lines to stop an all-out catastrophe. Remember in Private Ryan soldiers also had to go behind enemy lines to deliver a message and bring home a paratrooper.
Quite a few movies have already depicted the awful nature of WWI trench warfare that is depicted in the new “1917” film, so I’m not sure what more will transpire, but I’m sure it will breathe life into the horrendous conditions and war that it was. The explosions in the movie trailer alone were enough to lodge me off my seat.
Next up, I want to see “Just Mercy” about the tale of civil rights defender Bryan Stevenson as he fights to get a wrongly convicted prisoner off death row. It’s based on Stevenson’s bestselling 2014 memoir, which I still want to read beforehand. I’m one of the very few who missed it when it came out but plan to read it soon as I’ve heard such great things about how powerful and good it is.
That’s the nice things about movies … they can make people return to read the books. I like comparing and contrasting the two different mediums … what’s left on the cutting room floor and what’s emphasized can be enlightening. The two mediums always differ somewhat … though it’s rare when a movie can surpass a powerful book … but it’s neat when it can do it justice. Perhaps the movie “Just Mercy” can.
As for albums in January, I didn’t really see many by artists I really know, but there are new ones by the country group Little Big Town, the Drive-by-Truckers, and folk groups Joseph, and Bonny Light Horseman. The latter group — the Bonny Light Horseman — has newly formed and is named after the English-Irish folk ballad that dates back to the Napoleonic Wars. Being a folky kind of listener, I’ll choose the Bonnys debut album, which features — along with their namesake ballad — a song called “Deep in Love,” which can be heard here.
That’s all for now. What about you — which new releases are you most looking forward to this month?
I really want to read American Dirt even though, these days, I can’t understand why anyone would want to immigrate to the US.
I loved Just Mercy and am worried the movie won’t do the book justice.
Happy New Year!
Hey Kathy, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the movie Just Mercy that it can live up to the book. American Dirt is quite the talk … so I look forward to hearing what you think. I hope to get a library copy.
My reading progress has also been slow. I have been working a lot and I have been watching a few television shows and movies. Screen time always reduces my reading time. Reading tine can be scarce.
1917 looks really good. I want to see it.
Yeah Brian I’ve gotten stuck in a wordy book at the moment so reading feels like quick sand. I must end this one. I agree TV shows at night can take away from book time! Perhaps I’ll see 1917 soon.
Happy New Year, Susan! American Dirt sounds promising. I’ll be reading A Long Petal… in Spanish in a few months. 2019 was an embarrassment of riches book- and movies-wise. Let’s hope for an equally bountiful 2020! I’ll be watching 1917, and possibly Just Mercy as well.
Hey Carmen, reading Allende in Spanish would be awesome. I hope it makes the story even better. There were lots of good movies last year …. I’m still trying to catch up before the Oscars. I just saw The Farewell which was a bit interesting. I think we’ll see the Joker this week since it’s finally streaming. Hope your winter is going okay in Connecticut.
I haven’t read her in English, but I wouldn’t even try. She is very good in Spanish, and translations can be tricky. I liked The Farewell a great deal. Did you see Parasite? It’s very good too, and interesting but in a different way. Hope you like Joker; I did, though there were far better movies last year, in my opinion. Winter has been a mixed bag in Connecticut. In Nov/December we had low temps and snow. Nowadays we’ve had 40F in daytime and relatively mild nights too, winter-wise, I mean. This Sat we may even reach 50F.
Wow it sounds like winter hasn’t fully arrived there yet. We are getting our first big cold this weekend it seems. Single digits, yikes! I haven’t seen Parasite yet …. but I definitely want to. I will look as how to find & see it. Reading in Spanish sounds the way to go with Spanish authors. I’m envious. I should have taken it up in school.
That’s an interesting line-up of books and they are all on my radar. I hope to get to them as the year progresses.
Excellent Dorothy. I hope you are having a good start to 2020. I will pop over to your site soon to see what you’re reading.
Thanks for the mention, Susan. I think you’ll like Moore’s book and if you haven’t read her earlier book, Heft, that one is excellent, too.
Like you, I’m anxious to see 1917, especially after seeing the attention it garnered at the Golden Globes.
Stay warm!
Hey Susie, you are off to a great start in 2020. I still need to get my hands on these books but I’m on the library list. We are supposed to get our first bad cold Arctic air blast this coming weekend. It should be grueling. I’m sure a movie would be perfect for such conditions. Perhaps 1917. I enjoyed seeing Little Women over Xmas.
I’m eager to read American Dirt, too. Of course, living where I do, in south Texas, I know many, many people who have shared their immigration stories with me. Those who are anti-immigration need to visit with a few of these people. Or read more books.
Yeah Deb you are right. I think if we want to stop mass immigration from happening then maybe we should try to help stabilize the homelands these people are fleeing from. Can’t we do more on that front? Thx for stopping by.
The year is starting off slowly for me, too, but that’s because I chose an 800+ page Trollope novel as my first book!
American Dirt is getting so much hype and I’m eager to read it. Long Bright River sounds really good, too, and I heard someone mention that it would make an excellent pairing with Dopesick (nonfiction)
Just Mercy is one of the best books I’ve ever read, so am slightly apprehensive about the film adaptation. Still looking forward to it though…
Yeah JoAnn … the movie of Just Mercy I look forward to hearing what you think if you see it. A Post reviewer liked it but who knows if it can come close to the memoir. I can’t believe you’re starting with an 800 pager, wow! Still it’s quality over quantity that counts. Last year, the long Goldfinch novel took me a month but in the end it was worth it. Best wishes with your reading.
I requested Dear Edward or put it on hold, can’t remember which. It does sound very, very good.
Just Mercy. I chose the book for my book club to read. At the time, there was no buzz for it and no mention of the movie. Now, I wonder if we can combine the the book and the movie in the meeting.
My reading is on fire. I will probably only say this once because for whatever reason, I get side tracked by life and then begin to fall behind but I will be on book 4 this weekend, and I think it will be The Other Mrs. Miller. I just want to read and read and not think about work.
Of course, my daughter’s shows have arrived so three weeks of production week will be a challenge to work around. Getting food into her body is even a challenge when you only come off stage for a few minutes at a time.
Hi Ti, sounds like you are back in the full swing of things post holidays & are off to a good reading start for 2020. I think Just Mercy would be a wonderful book club pick — I’d like to combine the book & movie soon too. Perhaps I’ll let you vet the novel Dear Edward for me …. I have heard it is good. I’ll stop by your site soon to find out which shows your daughter will be involved. Sounds good.
January is flying by at this point. I liked an earlier book I read by Charles Yu and of course I will read Allende, I never miss her. I would like to see more reviews of American Dirt. It sure sounds relevant to today.
I saw Little Women the other week and ended up liking it. I want to catch Bombshell if I can.
Last night saw Dar Williams in concert. Wow, I knew all the songs!
Wow that’s great Judy! Like Dar’s songs. Glad you saw her in concert. I’m curious about the Charles Yu novel. I have not read him before. I definitely need to see more movies before the Oscars such as Bombshell. We saw Joker recently and didn’t like it too much …. pretty bleak stuff!