Hi all. We arrived home on Saturday from our road trip after a month in California. It’s still chilly up here, lol, and the leaves on the trees aren’t quite out just yet.
I want to thank all of you who sent kind words after my mother’s passing. It was so helpful to get your notes of sympathy, encouragement, and commiseration. You all are terrific and I appreciate each and everyone of you. Many of you I’ve known for many years through chatting about books here and at your sites. It’s been a great community to me.
And it just so happens that I recently passed my 15th anniversary blogging at The Cue Card. Apparently back on May 5, 2009, I put out my first three posts all at once: one was a review of German author Bernhard Schlink’s novel The Reader, another was a review of Richard Yates’s modern classic Revolutionary Road, and the last was an interview and book review I did with author Nien Cheng, which is still one of my favorite posts. Her 1987 memoir Life and Death in Shanghai is essential reading for anyone wanting to know more about China’s Cultural Revolution. I had the great fortune to meet Nien back then and to be invited to her place for tea, which was quite an honor.
Little did I know in 2009 that I would still be blogging this many years later, ha. At the time, I was living part of the year in Washington, D.C. and part of the year in Alberta, Canada, where I would come to move after getting married the following year. I don’t know what made me start the blog exactly, but I think I wanted to be able to remember the books I read in some meaningful way … so writing down synopses, thoughts, and asking for feedback was my way of doing that.
Mostly it’s been great and I have fifteen years worth of thoughts about what I read. Granted, there’s been times I thought about giving up blogging, but you all are such good readers and expand my horizon about books reviewed and what books to pick up that I’m inspired to keep it going. It’s been fun. So here I am on the way home going into the bookstore in Dillon, Montana.
And now without further delay, let’s look at what’s coming out this month. May is sort of the gateway between spring and summer, though I think it’s not really summer till the end of the month, and it’s more spring-like here. So let’s not go full-bore into summer reading just yet. We need to save that for June. For now I’m looking at three novels for May that hopefully will be enticing.
First is Colm Toibin’s novel Long Island (due out May 7), which is a sequel to his 2009 bestselling novel Brooklyn. It picks up the story of Eilis Lacey, two decades later — now in her 40s and with her husband Tony on Long Island in 1976 and his overbearing in-laws. But then something happens which infuriates Eilis and she returns to Enniscorthy, the small town in Ireland she left in the 1950s. Apparently Eilis’s second homecoming upends life in the village, so we’ll have to see what happens.
I’m woefully short on reading any of Toibin’s novels and I only watched Brooklyn at the movie theater in 2015 with Saoirse Ronan starring as Eilis, the young immigrant girl. But I liked it, so I plan to read the sequel and get the lowdown on Eilis in her middle years. Will she find happiness?
Next up is British author Elizabeth O’Connor’s debut novel Whale Fall (due out May 7), which follows the story set in 1938 of Manod, an 18-year-old girl who’s lived on a remote, rugged island off Wales with her father and sister. Then a couple arrives to study the island’s culture and Manod is drawn to them and their glimpse of the world beyond … “leading her to make some hard decisions about the life she ultimately wants to lead” says Publishers Weekly. Overall “O’Connor paints a portrait of a community and a woman on the precipice, forced to confront an outside world that seems to be closing in on them.”
Yikes. It sounds like the kind of isolated island story I often fall for … and here I go again! Exactly how many island novels have I read in the past few years? It feels like at least half a dozen, but they’ve all been good.
Another possibility this month is Michael Deagler’s debut novel Early Sobrieties (due out May 7) about “a young alcoholic in the early days of sobriety,” says Kirkus Reviews, “who gets the boot from his parents’ suburban Philadelphia home and begins what will be a half-year odyssey as the serial houseguest of relatives, old flames, and running buddies from high school and college.”
It’s said to be wry, sharp, and charming, and one that maybe slightly reminds me of Frederick Exley’s novel A Fan’s Notes mashed up with John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces combined with Carrie Fisher’s Postcards From the Edge. Even if it’s not any of these, I still have to check it out. Over the years, early sobriety novels have come and gone, but only a few have the staying power to be modern classics, right?
I’ll pass this month on talking about what’s releasing to watch, but it’s likely that a new Mad Max prequel (due out May 24) will battle another Planet of the Apes sequel (coming May 10) for movie box-office glory. Who will win? And what was the last one of these that you watched?
As for music this month, there’s new albums by Billie Eilish, Kings of Leon, Lenny Kravitz, Ani DiFranco, the Avett Brothers, and Kim Richey among others. I’ll pick the Avett Brothers new self-titled album (due out May 17) since it’s the band’s first in five years. The folksy brothers hail from Concord, N.C. and will follow up the album with an expansive tour. Here’s the sound of their new song Country Kid.
That’s all for now. What about you — which new releases are you looking forward to this month?
I have Brooklyn and might read it again before I get to Long Island. My library holds show Long Island will come up for me soon. The movie was good, loved Ronan in that role. I also have The Whale Fall on my radar and library list. It is being ordered now and not in circulation yet. Saw that title via Book Page magazine.
I get you about the blogging and community. I blogged in 2007 for a genealogy project which inspired a food/book blog. The food blog is shut down now because I was tired of snarky comments but book people never let down.
Glad you are home safely and I hope your father is doing ok.
Thanks Tina. We’re back home. And it seems my Dad is doing all right.
Good to hear you have a couple of these books on your list as well. It seems we often read the same titles or have them on the radar, which is great.
Too bad to hear about the snarky comments on your former blog. I feel lucky I don’t encounter them here. We seem to have a good group of readers who are genuinely thoughtful and kind. Happy May to you.
Fifteen years of blogging is awesome. Congrats! I started my blog to help me better remember the books I was reading, too. But then it blossomed from there, and now it’s more about the blogging community that makes keep going. I love talking books with other people who love to read as much as me. Happy reading in May. 😀
Thanks Lark. I don’t know where the 15 years went. I like how you mention how blogging blossomed for you into something more. That’s great. It is fun discussing what we read. Enjoy your month!
Happy 15th Blogging Anniversary! That is such a milestone and worth being celebrated! I blogged all through my teen years and young adulthood but stopped after some major life changes and only started again last year. I’ve barely made it one year, but I hope one day I’ll celebrate 15 years too! Congratulations!
Thanks Haze. The 15 years seemed to go by quickly. I’m glad you’re back blogging. I can understand stopping for a time when one’s life & work & family are full on. I didn’t really start blogging till near the end of my full-time work life, so I had more time & head space for it. I’m enjoying your blog. Cheers!
Welcome home! I’m sure you’re happy to be back despite the colder temps. What was your route on the return trip?
And Happy Blogiversary! I just hit my 18th this past February. I’m always so happy that my favorite old blogs are still chugging along, and while I didn’t discover yours until a few years ago, it feels like I’ve known you since 2009. I hope you plan to stick around for the next 15 years! 🙂
Like you, I only watched Brooklyn, but I might consider a reading of the novel before I give Long Island a try. I’ve only read one book by Toibin (Nora Webster), which I found disappointing, so we’ll see about this new one.
Ooh, I haven’t thought of Kim Richey in years. I used to love to listen to her Glimmer album. I tend to get her mixed up with Kate Campbell.
Take care. I know it’s difficult returning to a normal routine…
Thanks Lesley, it’s nice being back … I’m trying to get back into things but it’s been very slow, as well as any reading argh. We went the same route both ways: thru Montana, Idaho, Salt Lake, Vegas, and into Calif. I guess I-15 is the quickest route from here.
And Wow 18 years blogging for you — that’s great! Us old school bloggers still are chugging along ha. Glad to have found your blog years back.
I hope Long Island will be much better than Nora Webster. We’ll see.
It’s cool you like Kim Richey … I loved her 2013 album Thorn in My Heart. Check it out if you haven’t … and I will get her Glimmer album. thanks!
Thinking of you today. The first year of special days and anniversaries are so hard. I hope you find peace and comfort today. xo
Thanks Lesley for thinking of me today. It is tough the first mother’s day without her. It’s all so recent. Still coming to grips with the past month. I appreciate your kind note. It helps. Enjoy your Mother’s day …
Hi Susan,
Congratulations on 15 years of blogging! And your posts continue to be so well written alerting us to wonderful books.
I did see the movie Brooklyn and loved it. The new novel Long Island J may pass on because it seems like there is trouble in Paradise for Ellis and Tony and I want to remember them from Brooklyn.
I read A Cnfederacy of Dunces many years ago and if you have never read the novelist Walker Percy’s introduction it is memorable. Percy relates being handed a copy of a manuscript of A Confederacy of Dunces by O’Toole’s mother, not wanting to read it and then gradually discovering how good it is.
Hi Kathy, thanks much. The blog keeps chugging along, somehow someway, lol.
It does sound like Eilis and Tony are headed for trouble in Book 2 of Toibin’s. Uh oh. But I’m hoping there’s some kind of happiness by the end? I need to get on the library list for it.
Interesting to hear about your reading of A Confederacy of Dunces and the Percy intro. I still have my copy so I’ll check for that and reread it. I like hearing that. It’s a bit of an unusual story that made its way even after the author’s passing.
Good to hear that you are back home. Congratulations on 15 years of blogging. That is a lot of time and effort. I also started my blog as a way to track books read and my reactions, and my focus is still the same now although I review less of the books I read, but of course I get a lot more out of blogging and the community of bloggers than I expected back then.
I have a suggestion for an isolated island novel. Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand. It won the Shirley Jackson Award for Novel in 2007 and has elements of horror, which I did not know when before I read it, but at a low enough level not to bother me.
We have watched all the Mad Max movies, as far as I know. Some of them multiple times. I was just along for the ride, my son and husband are the ones really interested in the movies, but I have enjoyed them. We have not kept up with the Planet of the Apes movies. I have seen Planet of the Apes and the second movie, but not in a long, long time.
Hi Tracy, great to hear. I’m keen to get to your island recommendation. I’ll put it on hold at the library. It sounds good the Elizabeth Hand novel. Her latest novel A Haunting on the Hill got good reviews when it came out but I haven’t read it yet. Do you know that one?
I’m really glad to have found your blog in the past year or two. It’s interesting to hear how a blog starts as one thing — and morphs into more or something a bit else later. I agree with you on that. Who knew it would.
And my brother is a big Mad Max fan. So I can relate. I’ve watched the early films of those and mostly the 1970s versions of Plant of the Apes with Charlton Heston. Those were the best, lol. I liked the Mel Gibson Mad Max films.
Happy May to you.
I am so glad you managed to spend a month in CA with family figuring things out and being together.
Congratulations on 15 years! I think my 15th is coming up in the Fall and I agree that there have been times that I’ve thought about quitting, but then I realize it’s a good outlet, way to keep track of reading, and I really love the community.
Hi Helen, thanks. It seemed a cooler April in Calif this time and full on there. A sad time.
Good to hear about your thoughts on blogging. Somehow the 15 years went by pretty quickly. Keep it going. Glad I found your blog. Cheers.
I am glad you’ve been blogging these 15 years, as I always get new book ideas from you. Thank you! This time is no exception; though I had Whale Fall and Long Island (esp this one!) on my radar, I had not been aware of Early Sobrieties, which also sounds good. With respect to music, I wonder if you are a Maggie Rogers fan? I have been listening to her newest on repeat constantly. Take care, M
Hi Molly, thanks for stopping by & your words. And yes, I picked Maggie Rogers album in my April Preview — yay we’re on the same wavelength. I need to listen to more of the album.
Have you read anything great lately? My reading has sort of fallen off the map and it hasn’t resurrected much after last month. Hope your spring & summer will be fun.
Congratulations on 15 years of blogging; you sure started off on that first day with a bang, didn’t you. I do think that we all feel a little burned out sometimes, but as you say, it’s the other bloggers and commenters that make it all so much fun. Readers are just special. I did start my blog as kind of a public journaling exercise to help me better remember the books I read – but it’s become so much more than that over the years.
Toibin’s new novel is really starting to generate a lot of buzz now. I really need to get that one worked into my reading soon because I really like his novels.
Oh, and thanks for the heads-up on the new Avett Brothers album. Love those guys.
Hi Sam thanks, 15 years of blogging is awhile. I’m glad you have similar thoughts about where your blogging has gone. It is fun bouncing books & ideas off of others and seeing what they think. It is a bit contagious perhaps. & seems to grow.
I was late getting on the library wait list for Toibin’s latest … so now it’s a mile long. I won’t see it for a long time argh.
And I’m glad you like the Avett Brothers too. I like their sound.
Happy May!
Congratulations on 15 years of blogging!! Things have changed a lot, but I agree that it’s the interaction with other book bloggers that make it still worthwhile. I started in 2008 with a review of The Painted Veil and wanting to join the conversation. I’m looking forward to Long Island, too… not sure whether I’ll reread Brooklyn or not.
After reading JoAnn’s comment, I decided to look back and see what my first post was about. I reviewed Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver. Fun to look back on that review since we (JoAnn and Tina) were just talking about Kingsolver’s works.
And now back to your regularly scheduled programming. 🙂
Hi Lesley, it is fun to look at the first post. I just went on your site and read yours about Small Wonder. What a good way to start! Nice post. I still need to read more Kingsolver. I wonder what she will do next. More Appalachia … thanks for sharing!
Hi JoAnn: interesting how you started your blog off. I still need to read The Painted Veil — good choice. We’ve been blogging awhile right? I’m glad I found yours fairly early on. Back when you were in NY.
I need to jumpstart my reading after last month. Things are getting busy here too. Trying to do too many upgrades & things at once. Good luck getting ready to head north & your trip. Cheers.
I’m sorry about your mother’s passing. It hits hard, I know.
You’ve featured some good books here. I’ve not read Brooklyn. Perhaps I should read that one before his new one.
Hi Ti, thanks. It was a tough April.
Glad you’re back and I’ll check out what’s up on your site. I only watched the movie Brooklyn but it’s been a while. Hope you are feeling better.
I confess that I just don’t like Colm Toibin’s writing–I read Brooklyn awhile back and it left me cold. I just don’t like Eilis enough to spend any more time with her. I guess I’m not surprised he wrote a sequel, but I think Toibin and I just don’t mix well.
On the other hand, Whale Fall looks like something I would really enjoy!
Congrats on your 15th blogging anniversary. My 16th anniversary is at the end of this month. Book blogging and the community it fosters has become such an important part of my life–glad you are part of it! I find lots of interesting books on your site that I may have never stumbled across, and I definitely appreciate your heads up on great movies and TV stuff. Excellent work — thank you!
Wow Jane, Thanks for the kind words about my site. I also enjoy your site much as well. You are great reader. 🙂 Nice — 16 years — keep it going!
I have not read Toibin before, so it’ll be interesting to see what I think. I saw the movie Brooklyn but it’s been awhile ago now. Happy May reading.
15 years of blogging, that is so impressive! I also like the fact, that one of your first posts is a favourite. Without having revisited them, I’m fairly sure my first posts were awful, but luckily they didn’t get many views. Toibin is also on my “to-read” list, but maybe I’ll start with one from the back catalogue.
Good to hear you are safely back home and I hope you’ll soon get warmer temperatures. Here in London – after lots of rain and cold weather – spring has arrived. Today is the first day, I went out without a jacket. Take care! ☀️
Hi Stargazer, thanks. The 15 years of blogging sort of went by quickly without me thinking about it much. Most of it was when we were living in the City. I’m glad I found your blog. I enjoy it.
I got on the library wait list late for the Toibin book so it’ll likely be months before I see it. Hmm.
Good to hear you’re finally seeing spring in London! We are too. We’re having two days of 27C / 28C now, which is crazy since it was like just 5C recently. I hope you have a great weekend. Happy May.
I’ve now put all three of these novels on hold at the library. I’ve noticed lately that our library system which serves our entire county has become more conservative in its book buying. We seem to be getting ebooks only for some of the titles. That trend is a little worrying to me.
Congratulations on fifteen years of blogging. I began blogging for a summer class to learn more about the tools of the internet for librarians. I never thought I’d still be blogging sixteen years later.
Thanks Deb, 15 years was good milestone to hit, and surprising too. It’s interesting to hear about how you started blogging. Glad you are still churning out posts and inspiring a lot of others too.
I worry too that my library system is cutting back a bit on book buying. I am still a member of Houston library system from afar … and the Calgary system. Does it take you awhile to get the books? Happy reading in May.
I almost always get books from my county library in a day or two. It takes a week to get a book from the Houston Public Library or Harris County Library (the library around Houston).
Your county library sounds really good and quick. Good libraries make all the difference! So thankful for them.
Impressive reading list! I need to reread Brooklyn before I can read the sequel, though I remember it better than I remember a lot of the books I read.
I hope your travels have brought you some peace, after your loss.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae. Yes spending so much time in Calif gave me some peace about it, though it’ll take quite a bit of time going forward.
I’m hoping I can read the sequel without going back to Brooklyn … but you’re probably right that that’s the best way to revisit them both.
Happy May to you.
A belated happy anniversary and here’s to fifteen more!
Thanks Dorothy. 15 seems a lot but it went by pretty painlessly. Which year did you start?
I am so sorry to hear about the death of your mother. I didn’t realize that is why you were spending time in California. I hope you were able to complete things before you left. I know that after someone dies there are so many loose ends and tasks to do while dealing with one’s own grief at the same time. Sigh. Love to you.
Now to the books. I read Brooklyn ages ago. I can barely remember it. Will I have to reread it to enjoy the sequel, I wonder.
Have you viewed the aurora borealis from your home this weekend. We were able to see if from our home near Tacoma, so I imagine you had even better viewing. What a treat.
Hi Anne, thanks. It sort of all happened when we were in Calif … though we had planned to spend the month there beforehand and just extended a few extra days. It helped me being with my Dad.
We were set to see the aurora borealis but I’m embarrassed to say we fell asleep and missed it on Friday night (after midnight). People here said it was terrific. I hope you enjoyed it. Saturday night we had too much wildfire smoke and wind to see anything.ick … smoky already.
Happy reading in May. I’m on a long library wait list for the Toibin book.
Glad you’re home safely and I hope you and your family are finding a path towards healing.
I liked Brooklyn, both the book and the movie, so I’ll look forward to the sequel. I hadn’t heard about it — so thanks!
Fifteen years of blogging is a terrific accomplishment!
Thanks Joy. I think we are on the healing path.
I guess this blog has been around awhile. lol. I’m glad to know of your blog too. I enjoy it. Good luck getting a copy of the Brooklyn sequel … I’m on a long library wait list for it. Hmm. Happy May to you.
I keep meaning to try Colm Toibin’s work, but I don’t think I’ve read anything of his. Hope you enjoy the reading plans!
Hi Nicky, I’m not sure when I’ll get to the latest Toibin book as I’m on a long library waiting list for it. I have not read any of his other novels yet either. We are Toibin newbies. Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!