Hi everyone. How’s it going? Are you dealing with the time change all right? It’s been a bit disorienting, but hopefully things will fall into place after awhile. And it will stay light later, which is nice. Spring is coming!
Meanwhile we watched the Oscars Sunday night and the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once certainly cleaned up the awards. I actually haven’t seen the full movie yet but have seen many of the others. In any regards, it seemed a big win for diversity and immigrant stories in film, and I was pleased for actress Michelle Yeoh and actor Ke Huy Quan, who genuinely seemed euphoric after their wins.
Though I was a bit more thrilled that Canadian director Sarah Polley won Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Women Talking and Canadian filmmaker Daniel Roher won Best Documentary Feature for the film Navalny. These were huge wins for Canadian films and seemingly well deserved. I saw Polley’s film recently and it’s strong and moving with solid performances from its large cast. And I hope to see Navalny soon.
I was also pleased that Brendan Fraser won Best Actor for his role in The Whale, though Austin Butler was also excellent in the movie Elvis. I was moved by Fraser’s performance, though it’s not always easy to watch. I hope you enjoyed the Oscars, there were no major mishaps this year, but it was quite long, wasn’t it?
Now let’s move on to what’s releasing this month. I finally have my March book picks ready. I realize we’re already halfway through the month, but it’s still helpful for me to see what looks good. I’ll start by saying I read an early copy of Irish author Sebastian Barry’s novel Old God’s Time (due out March 21) last year.
It was a solid 4-star read for me about a retired policeman, a widower with a faulty memory, who’s questioned about a decades-old case that was never fully resolved. Little by little, parts of his past begin to be revealed. Irish writers — like Sebastian Barry, Donal Ryan, and Claire Keegan among others — are certainly putting out excellent novels these days and are ones to watch.
I’m excited too that author Jeannette Walls has a new novel — Hang the Moon — (due out March 28) about a young woman in post-World War I Virginia, who rises to the top of a bootlegging empire. Yay, it seems like an interesting premise and I am just now reading it.
I’ve been a fan of the author’s ever since her 2005 memoir The Glass Castle, which was astoundingly good. I think it was on the bestseller list for more than eight years! I also like that Jeannette Walls lives and writes in rural Virginia, where I once lived long ago. I’m hopeful about her new novel, which seems to feature a cinematic cover.
Next up is Margaret Atwood’s new short story collection Old Babes in the Wood (out March 7) that apparently features 15 stories that “look deeply into the heart of family relationships, marriage, loss and memory, and what it means to spend a life together.” It sounds good. And since I was taken with Atwood’s last story collection Stone Mattress in 2014, especially the title story, which was nice and creepy, I look forward to her new book.
I typically don’t pick up short story collections, but Margaret Atwood is an exception. Though didn’t she announce she was retiring from writing awhile back? Well apparently not yet … she’s got plenty left to write!
Also in March books, Rachel Heng’s novel The Great Reclamation (due out March 28) looks quite good. It’s a sweeping historical coming-of-age tale that takes place in Singapore during WWII and thereafter about “one boy’s unique gifts and the childhood love that will complicate the fate of his community and country.” Author Nathan Harris says it’s “a story of an entire nation reckoning with its past combined with a heart-wrenching love story.” What more do you want?
I was a fan of Min Jin Lee’s novel Pachinko, and if this is anything like that, then I’m in for a rich treat. Apparently the author Rachel Heng grew up in Singapore and now teaches at Wesleyan University. I have not read her other novel Suicide Club from 2018, but I hope to try out the new one, and it features a pretty cover too.
There also looks to be a couple good thriller-type reads this month, which could be thrown into the mix. William Landay’s new novel All That Is Mine I Carry With Me (out March 7) seems to have a mouthful for a title, but if you liked his 2012 crime novel Defending Jacob, which I did along with the TV series, then you might want to check this one out. I don’t want to say too much, but it seems to be about a family that is forced to take sides over their mother’s death.
And the second book, is Victor Lavalle’s novel Lone Women (out March 28), which apparently mixes horror and suspense to great effect, about a young woman who flees to Montana as a homesteader in 1915, hiding a horrifying secret. Hmm. I have not read Victor Lavalle before (or the genre of horror much), but many think his writing and spooky plots are excellent.
As for what to watch this month, there’s a slew of TV series coming out, notably Season 3 of Ted Lasso (starting March 15 on AppleTV+) and Season 4 of Succession, starting March 26 on HBO. Both will likely be final seasons of the shows. Succession is positively a decadent series but also satirically fun to watch.
Also Perry Mason Season 2 has started (March 6 on HBO) for those who like Matthew Rhys from The Americans spy series. And in debut shows, Daisy Jones & the Six (March 3 on Prime Video) hasn’t received great reviews, but you might check it out to see if the characters and songs from the novel are what you thought they’d be.
In British shows, there’s debut seasons of The Confessions of Frannie Langton (March 8 on BritBox) and A Spy Among Friends on Prime Video March 12, which we’ve started. It doesn’t seem to be as good as the book by Ben MacIntyre, but we will stick with it for awhile to see if it picks up.
You might also try The Great Expectations series (March 26 on Hulu) based on the period drama classic, featuring orphan Pip and the infamous Miss Havisham. Unfortunately I don’t get Hulu here, but I will keep my eye out for it elsewhere. I have seen various versions of it as a movie in the past.
Lastly in music this month, there’s new albums by Van Morrison, Lana del Rey, and of course U2’s Songs of Surrender, which consists of re-recorded and reinterpreted versions of 40 songs from the group’s back catalogue. It’s a companion album to Bono’s memoir from last year. Truth be told, I like the original versions of the songs much better, but there might be a gem or two somewhere in the mix.
That’s all for now. What about you — which new releases are you looking forward to?
Hope you get a chance to read Hang the Moon soon… I’m dying to see what my reader friends think of it! I’m looking forward to the Sebastian Barry, too.
Hi JoAnn, I’m liking Hang the Moon so far, but I’m not too far into it. We will see. Glad she’s back. Much to read this month. Hope you have a happy March.
I didn’t see the Oscars, a trend I’ve followed for several years now. I wasn’t as taken with Everything Everywhere All at Once as the rest of the world seems to be. I thought that awarding three acting prizes to that movie, above better movies and performances—such as Brendan Gleason, Barry Keoghan, Cate Blanchett, and Angela Bassett—was a great travesty. The Banshees… should have won big time! Anyways, enough venting. 🙂
I didn’t read The Glass Castle, but I’m glad that Jeanette Walls is switching genre; maybe she’ll be able to replicate her previous success. I read LaValle’s The Changeling a few years back, and found it disturbing, at least the first half, after that it’s standard horror fare. I have my eye on The Biography of X, which was selected by Amazon editors as one of the best offerings this month; hoping I’ll get to it and it delivers on its promise.
I have been waiting for Succession to come to an end to start watching, because if a new season is released after I have watched a previous one and enough time has passed, I feel obligated to re-watch the show, sometimes from the beginning to capture the magic of the start. I also want to watch A Spy Among Friends, and Daisy Jones… I may be the last person in the blogging world not to have read the book yet. Hopefully I’ll rectify that one of these days.
Hey Carmen, it’s Okay to vent away about the Oscars! I was quite surprised the Everything movie won all that, it seems overboard. I haven’t made it thru the movie and not totally sure I will. It seems a bit crazy?
I guess I haven’t read the horror genre before so not too sure about the Lavalle novel. Don’t like too disturbing. I’ll check out Biography of X, thanks for the tip.
Succession seems so full of bad that it’s good, ha. We’re trying out A Spy Among Friends but it’s a bit slow and complicated. See what you think of the Daisy Jones show. Hmm. Much to see & read this month. Have a Happy March!
So many good things to read and watch! I haven’t seen any of the Oscar-nominated movies yet, but really want to see Everything and the Irish one. And Ted Lasso starts tomorrow, whoopeeeeee!
Have a wonderful week. My daughter is driving up to Canada (Montreal) today for her first ever presentation at an academic conference. I hope the snow storm isn’t too horrible. I think it gets better the further north they go so that’s good.
Hi Helen, I hope your daughter’s presentation goes well. I’m curious what the topic is. I’m impressed with her studies. Montreal is a fun city but maybe not in winter, LoL. Enjoy the Ted Lasso … I am still in Season 1 with that. Have a great week.
Everyone seems to be talking about the new Ted Lasso. We don’t subscribe to that channel, so, sadly, we must wait.
Hang the Moon sounds promising. I, too, loved the author’s memoir. I tend to think an author that’s good at nonfiction should stick to nonfiction, and vice versa, though that is not always the case. I’ve not read any of her fiction.
Hi Deb, I also have not read Jeannette Walls’s fiction either, but I have belief that she can transcend to write it. We will see. Her memoir really impressed me.
And I have not seen too much Ted Lasso but it seems to be a good show. I will need to pick it back up. Enjoy your week.
I do love the longer days filled with lots of sunshine, but it usually takes me about a week to get adjusted and not feel so tired during the day. The sun is finally shining here, so I plan to get outside and soak it up!
I have Hang the Moon on audio, which I’m looking forward to. I haven’t read any of her novels, but really like The Glass Castle. I enjoyed Defending Jacob (didn’t know it was a tv show!), and am eager to read All That Is Mine I Carry With Me.
We watched the first episode of Perry Mason’s season two and enjoyed it. I don’t like waiting an entire week to wait for each episode to drop, but that’s how it used to be with regular tv, right? 🙂 I read Daisy Jones and the Six (on audio), but will probably pass on the show. Both British shows appeal, so I’ll add them to our list.
Enjoy the rest of the month!
Hi Lesley, there’s a lot of shows right? I too will likely pass on the Daisy Jones series unless I watch everything else, which is unlikely, ha. Did you watch Perry Mason season 1? I have not seen the show, but I like the actor. Let me know if it’s good.
I think the new William Landay crime book sounds good. Maybe watch Defending Jacob if you can on AppleTV+. It has Michelle Dockey & Chris Evans! A satisfying show that follows the book. A bit dark, LoL. I also haven’t read any fiction by Jeannette Walls but I’m hopeful for the new novel. Her memoir blew me away.
And I agree, I’m tired too this first week of the time change, ugh! It’s hard. Where does the day go? Enjoy the sunshine at the Cove! I think things will start to melt here soon.
Yes, we watched the first season of Perry Mason (in March 2021). In a blog post, I wrote, “We finished the season and while it took me several episodes to get interested, I wound up loving the show.”
We started watching Defending Jacob last night. I really like the cast, but we’ll see if they can fill all 8 episodes without dragging it out.
We’ve had two days of sunshine, so I’m very happy! 🙂
Yeah we might try the Perry Mason show sometime. But there’s so many shows right now, ha. I think the cast will keep you going on Defending Jacob – though it’s a bit grim subject matter. Is it believable? Reminds me a bit of the book & film: We Need to Talk About Kevin, which gives me a chill.
I hope the sunshine continues!
Hi Susan
Great post.. I don’t really go to the movies anymore but I must watch Everything Everywhere All At Once. I have heard good things. Glad to hear the Navalny film won He is so brave and its terrible what he has been put through.
I confess I have yet to read Jeannette Walls and I must change that this year. I will start with The Glass Castle. Everyone I know who has read it has raved.
Thanks Kathy. Yeah The Glass Castle is sort of brutal (the poverty and non-parenting) but also well written. Walls seems to speak to what the family went thru to a T. So it’s not always easy to read.
I still enjoy the good movies ha (mostly seeing at home) … most are from books and it can be interesting to see how they translate to the screen. See what you think of Everything Everywhere. It’s quite different. Enjoy your week.
I’m waiting for the streaming version of the Oscar winners, and I hope they release those films soon. I don’t want to go to a theater. I don’t think I liked The Glass Castle but I read it a long time ago. I am a big fan of Margaret Atwood, so I will be reading her new book soon. I think I have read every one of her novels. I hope you have a good month with the books you have chosen.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae, it’s great you have read all of Atwood’s books! I think I have read about 5 but far short of all of them. Which is your favorite?
The Glass Castle is not easy subject matter-wise — and usually it wouldnt be for me either but somehow Walls’s writing transcends her neglectful parents & how awful it all was. Hmm.
I watched several of the Oscar films at home, so it seems some or most are streaming now. But I’d still like to watch Navalny sometime. Enjoy your week.
I’m shocked that Austin Butler didn’t win for Elvis. He did an amazing job and even made me a fan of Elvis!
I love reading books that take place in Ireland and it’s been too long since I read one.
I didn’t read Daisy Jones & the Six but after seeing the ads on tv for the show, now I want to read it and watch it.
Hi Vicki, Yes I agree I was really surprised Austin Butler didn’t win for Best Actor. I was sure he would. He was amazing as Elvis. Not sure why he didn’t win actually. I think he had to do more as Elvis than Brendan Fraser in his role.
Notable Irish authors seem to be flourishing now.
And I liked the Daisy Jones novel … so I might eventually check out the series. I guess in my imagination some of the characters look a bit different than the actors playing them, but I will see if they are good nonetheless. Hope you enjoy it. Happy March!
The time change always throws me off, although I have to admit it is nice having that extra daylight. I did not watch any of the Oscars so I am woefully behind on the results, but I have heard good things about several of the nominees. I heard good things about both The Whale and Elvis.
The new Perry Mason series is new to me, I just saw something about it the other day. And I’ve been listening to Lana del Rey thanks to my daughter 🙂
Hi Greg, Since you’re a big music person – I wonder what you would think of the Elvis film. The actor did a pretty great job in the role but somehow he didn’t win the Oscar. Go figure.
We might try the Perry Mason too. And what do you think of Lana del Rey’s voice? Pretty great right? She’s got quite the voice. I like quite a few of her songs. Enjoy. Happy listening.
Lana del Rey does have a wonderful voice. I had heard of her but didn’t really know her music until my daughter played some of her songs for me.
Yeah that’s great. Your daughter has good taste. I need to check out more of Lana del Rey’s songs — I don’t know too many yet.
We haven’t set the clocks forward yet in the UK, I think it happens late March. It has always wondered why it isn’t coordinated across time zones. I work in a global company and taking the time differences into account when scheduling meetings is difficult enough as it is, but this period with unsynchronized summer time always throws me.
I recently read Great Expectations. I’ve had mixed experiences with Dickens, but I really loved this novel. Don’t know if I will watch the tv adaptation.
Hi Stargazer, I didn’t realize in the UK clocks are set forward at a different time. Hmm that would make meetings hard to coordinate, argh. It takes me about a week to get used to the change.
I remember that you just read Great Expectations. Yeah I think it’s my favorite of Dickens’s novels. Sometimes adaptations can really kill a good book – so it’s probably fine to skip the new TV version. Hulu is not something we get here, alas. Enjoy your weekend.
The time change has been so hard this week! Every day I’ve just felt more and more tired. I’m glad it’s the weekend. Maybe I can catch up on my sleep. And I love the sound of Lone Women! I’ve got that one on my TBR list and am looking forward to reading it. 😀
Yeah Lark: Lone Women does look good. I’m usually not a horror genre reader but this one could be an exception. Hope you have a great weekend. Happy reading.
Hi Susan!
I so love all the updates you always give us. I just don’t have time to stay up to date and it’s lovely to have you around! One stop check in! Oooh, I think I want to read just about all your new book releases… Especially the new Jeanette Walls.
Still haven’t watched Ted Lasso, think I need to catch up a bit!
Hope you are doing well otherwise Susan!
Elza Reads
Thanks Mareli for the kind words. I try to stay up to date, but I fall by the wayside often, LoL. I scramble. I just finished Jeannette Walls’s new novel – it’s pretty good (a bit of a crazy bootlegger novel) but not as good as her memoir.
I’m still on Season 1 of Ted Lasso. I need to pick it up again. I hope your school is doing well. Enjoy the week!