January Wrap Up - My January Books

JANUARY WRAP UP

One of my bookish New Year's resolutions was to try to post monthly wrap ups of the books I read each month. I haven't done this in the past because I read so many books with my ears that I don't have book books to photograph. I also often give books away right when I finish reading them so don't have a complete stack to take a picture of at the end of the month. 

Because I made this resolution -- let's call it an intention, it's less than a resolution -- I did two things. First, I remembered to keep the books I finished reading until the end of the month so I could take a picture of them. Important. 

Second, I concentrated my audiobook selection on books that were already on my TBR shelves. This might sound silly to you. Why chose an audiobook when the perfectly good paper book is sitting right there, waiting to be read? I'll tell you. Because some of those books have been sitting on my TBR shelves for years - years! According to LibraryThing, there are over 1,700 physical books on my groaning TBR shelves. It could be many more years before I get to any particular book. So I decided to start reading some of them with my ears and clearing off those shelves just a tiny bit faster.

The result is that I managed to knock nine books off my TBR shelves, reread an old favorite, read one new one for book club, and still get in two audiobooks not otherwise on my shelves. 

MY JANUARY BOOKS

My January books, in the order I read them, not the order in this picture, were:

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. A friend gave this to me and I read it on New Year's Day. It is charming and I understand its popularity. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Lucky Jim by Kinglsey Amis made me appreciate this old favorite even more than when I first read it in college. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Red and the Black by Stendhal. This was a clunker for me. I found the hero, Julien Sorel, unbearable. 🌹🌹

Billy Bathgate by E. L. Doctorow. I'm not much of a Doctorow fan and was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Now Now, But NOW by M. F. K. Fisher. This is Fisher's only novel. I read it for book club. It's an odd book, really four short stories about the same character, set in four different times and places, so connected by time travel. It was like Orlando, written by Colette, commissioned by Gourmet magazine. I'm glad I read it but I prefer her nonfiction. 🌹🌹🌹

Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter. This is on the Erica Jong list of Top 100 20th Century Novels by Women and on my Classics Club list. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis. This is one of the audiobooks I read that isn't pictured. Another bookish resolution of mine is to read several C. S. Lewis books this year. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis. Another audiobook. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan by Deborah Reed. I loved this book! See my review here. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan. This was a nice surprise. It was much better, with a lot more heft to it, than the cover and description led me to expect. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. I've been meaning to read this classic sci-fi forever and am glad I finally did. I didn't love it like I loved War of the Worlds, but it was still very good. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. This early police procedural didn’t engage me, even though it won the Edgar Award for best mystery. It felt like a prototype compared to more recent versions of Nordic Noir like Jo Nesbo’s books. And the female characters were absurd – “nymphomaniacs,” shrews, or dipsos. 🌹🌹

On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist by Clarissa Ward. I just finished this gripping memoir about being a war correspondent. Can’t wait to discuss it at book club! 🌹🌹🌹🌹

I usually only read eight, maybe nine, books in a month. I don't know why I finished 13 in January. We will see what February has in store. 

What was your favorite January read? What books are you looking forward to in February? 

Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan by Deborah Reed -- BOOK REVIEW

 

Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan by Deborah Reed (2020, Mariner Books) 

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Violet Swan is an artist, a famous artist. At 93, museums and collectors around the world buy her paintings, while all but nothing is known about Violet herself. She lives a secluded life in the tiny Oregon coastal town of Nestucca Beach. She hopes to complete one last painting before telling her family of her diagnosis, but when an earthquake shakes her house and town, her plans are shaken up as well.

So begins Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan, Deborah Reed's new, completely absorbing novel. Violet Swan lives in the house she built with her husband Richard. She lives and works upstairs and her son Francisco and his wife Penny live downstairs. Francisco, called Frank by everyone but Violet, manages Violet's business affairs. Frank and Penny have been grinding away at the same low-level argument for decades. The earthquake may finally bring matters to a head between them.

In the meantime, their son Daniel arrives from Los Angeles. He wants to make a documentary of Violet's life while she's still around to tell her own story. She's put him off for years but is finally ready to share her secrets. Daniel also has a surprise of his own to spring on the family.

All this is just the set up for Reed's fabulously rich family drama. As the present-day story plays out, the story of Violet's past unfolds through her memories and then her interviews with Daniel. Violet had a hard life, starting with childhood tragedy in Georgia and including her solo trek to Oregon, sexual assault, manual labor, mental illness, and other trauma. She also found friendship and love along the way and taught herself how to paint, channeling her experiences into her art, where she found happiness and joy.

Reed's writing is lovely but not obtrusive. You can picture each character and scene, but she but lets the story do the heavy lifting. She packs a lot into 302 pages. None of the characters are all good or all bad, including Violet, who is admirable but not entirely lovable. The conflict between Frank and Penny, and some of Daniel's struggles, make sense only as the details of Violet's life become clear.  

Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan is a wonderful book. It could have been twice as long and I would have enjoyed it twice as much – I didn't want it to end. This was the first book I read in 2021 and it may end up being my favorite book of the year. 

NOTES

Deborah Reed is the author of four other novels: The Days When Birds Come Back (reviewed here), Olivay, Things We Set On Fire, and Carry Yourself Back to Me (reviewed here). She also wrote two thrillers under the pen name Audrey Braun: A Small Fortune and Fortune's Deadly Descent. She owns the Cloud & Leaf Bookstore in Manzanita, Oregon, the real-life version of Nestucca Beach.

Read my earlier interview with Deborah Reed here. 

Books from Santa - MAILBOX MONDAY

Books from Santa! Unwrapping book presents Christmas morning is one of my very favorite things about Christmas. I got a nice stack this year. 

Did Santa bring you any of the books on your list?

The Great Man by Kate Christensen. Hubby gave me this because he said I asked for it. Go figure! I don't remember at all! It looks great, so I'm glad I put it on my list.

Scandinavian Noir: In Pursuit of a Mystery by Wendy Lesser. My law partner gave me this one. She knows me well and knew I would love it. It's part memoir, part fiction about a reader who loves Nordic crime writing.

Blackout by Candace Owen, from my mom who is a big Owen fan. 

The American Canon: Literary Genius from Emerson to Pynchon: Five Decades of Writing on American Literature by Harold Bloom. I do remember putting this one on my list and I'm glad Santa remembered.

Always Home by Fanny Singer. This is a new memoir by Alice Waters's daughter. Hubby chose it on his own and it was a good pick!

Truman Capote by George Plimpton. Hubby picked this one because he knew how much I enjoyed The Swans of Fifth Avenue. He didn't realize when he bought it that it is a signed copy, so that's an extra treat.

I got all these wonderful books from Santa but I wasn't so good at giving books this year, embarrassing to admit. I gave my sis a copy of Deborah Reed's new book, Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan.

And I got a book for Hubby because he specifically asked for it, James Madison: A Life Reconsidered by Lynne Cheney. 

But that was it. I was off my book-giving game this year. Another reason to look forward to 2021!

MAILBOX MONDAY 

Join other book lovers on Mailbox Monday to share the books that came into your house last week. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.

New Fall Books from Indie Authors & Publishers on Mailbox Monday

 

Fall is the season for new books, pandemic or no pandemic. Book launches may be on Zoom and getting a signed copy might be tricky. But new books are coming!

A batch of new indie books came my way over the last few days.

What looks good?

Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan by Deborah Reed, will launch October 6 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Violet Swan is a famous abstract artist living on the Oregon coast. When, at age 93, an earthquake hits her oceanside community, it also shakes up family secrets and her hidden past. Sounds like Reed has a winner on her hands! 

Storm Beat: A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast by Lori Tobias, a new memoir out today from OSU Press. Tobias has worked as a newspaper reporter on the Oregon Coast for the last 20 years. Her memoir talks about journalism in the 21st Century as well as living on a rural coast and caring for distant older parents.

Never Leaving Laramie: Travels in a Restless World by John W. Heines, a new travel memoir, also out now from OSU Press. 

Mordecai’s Ashes: Larsson Investigations Book 1 by Arlana Crane, a new mystery set on Vancouver Island, BC. Karl Larsson lost his job in the oil fields and lost his wife, but he just inherited a detective agency. Looks like Nordic Noir, Canadian version! 

A Small Crowd of Strangers by Joanna Rose, new this month from the award winning Forest Avenue Press. This quirky new novel is also set on Vancouver Island. I think I have a new Storyline Serendipity post in the making. 

River Queens: Saucy Boat, Stout Mates, Spotted Dog, America by Alexander Watson. This one came out in 2018 but I just got my copy. It’s a fun memoir about two guys who refurbish a wooden yacht and take it from Oklahoma to Cincinnati.

If the light in this picture looks weird it’s because the light in Oregon is weird right now. The forest fires up and down the state, so close to Portland, have given us the worse air quality in the world, we are told. It’s comforting to carry on with normal activities, like enjoying these new books and congratulating the authors and indie publishers on launching in this crazy year.

The pretty fall flowers hair flowers are “handcrafted petal by petal” by Camellias and Curls, entrepreneurs in Round Rock, Texas. I saw the flowers on a friend’s Instagram story and wanted some for my own. I'll look so glamorous in my next Zoom meeting!

MAILBOX MONDAY 

Join other book lovers on Mailbox Monday to share the books that came into your house last week. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf. 

Author Interview: Deborah Reed

Deborah Reed's fourth novel, The Days When Birds Come Back, launches this week. She has written three previous novels: Olivay, Things We Set on Fire, and Carry Yourself Back to Me, and two popular thrillers under the pen name Audrey Braun. Deborah splits her time between Germany, where she codirects the Black Forest Writing Seminars at the University of Freiburg, and her home at the Oregon coast.

Deborah recently talked with Rose City Reader about her new book, her writing, and her own reading life:

How did you come to write The Days When Birds Come Back?

Honestly, I came to it painstakingly, right through the center of a very difficult time in my life. I was living alone on the Oregon coast, when my neighbor mentioned that the man who renovated the house I was renting had such integrity, which was clear by the craftsmanship of the place, and there was something about her mentioning him in this context, combined with my own life’s circumstances that sparked the magic, which I’ve never been able to explain, and pulled me into writing this story.

The theme of coming home to heal or regenerate runs through all your novels. How does that theme manifest itself in your new book?

I’ve noticed that too. I think moving quite often ever since I was a child probably plays some role in stirring up that theme. But there are so many ways to come home. In this novel it is both the physical and emotional return to the origin of one’s life and one’s self, and each prove to be problematic for the main characters, June and Jameson. Each holds a place of grief and tragedy, and the desire to look away or run away is matched by the desire to heal in the way we can only heal in the solitude that a true home provides.

Did you know right away, or have an idea, how you were going to end the story? Or did it come to you as you were in the process of writing?

I didn’t know how it would end until I arrived at those final pages. This is always the case with my endings. I’m never quite sure until I get there, in the same way the reader can’t be sure until she is turning the final page. I find this very satisfying, not to know for certain. But I do carry a hope all along that things will turn out well for the characters. It doesn’t always. In my novel Olivay the ending was a bit controversial, even to me, and yet it was the only ending I felt possible for that particular story.

Why did you choose an Emily Dickinson poem for the title of your book? Does Dickinson’s poem connect to your story or hold a personal meaning for you?

Yes. The poem is about the warm days late in fall that feel like summer has returned. It’s confusing to things that grow and to birds that may have already begun to fly south. This theme of knowing where to go and when is also one that runs through my novels. In The Days When Birds Come Back the question becomes whether or not this is right time to come back. It has the appearance of what is right, but that could be false hope or an inability to read the signs.

What did you learn from writing your book – either about the subject of the book or the writing process – that most surprised you?

Frankly, I was most surprised by the fact that I could write it at all. At the time I was suffering through a terrible illness that included various types of migraines and vertigo and this went on for nearly a year. And this while at the same time living through various stages of grief, and learning to love someone new. The fact that I wrote the book I wanted to write to its completion, astonishes me still.

Were books an important part of your household when you were growing up?

They were for me, but not particularly for my household. With every new school I attended, I got to explore the new library and check out new books, which thrilled me every time. What I remember most was being hooked on Nancy Drew, and when I finished reading the entire series I read the Hardy Boys. After that, I strangely segued into philosophical stories, like Jonathon Livingston Seagull, The Little Prince, and Siddartha.

What I realize now is that these books moved me deeply, they had the power to make me afraid and to worry over mysteries outside of myself. They held the capacity to sway me toward wonder. And all these years later I find that what I want to read and write are a mix of that mystery and wonder.

Who are your three (or four or five) favorite authors? Is your own writing influenced by the authors you read?

Some of my favorites are Marilynne Robinson, Gerbrand Bakker, Per Petterson, Kate Atkinson, and William Trevor. I’m sure my writing is influenced by theirs, but I also seek out writing that does what I try to do with my own, so it’s hard to say which comes first. I love writers who portray a strong sense of place, and whose pacing is rhythmic in a way that speaks to my ear.

What are you reading now?

A novel, Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty, and a memoir of sorts called, The Folded Clock by Heidi Julavits.

You have a terrific website and are also on Instagram and Twitter. From an author's perspective, how important are social networking sites and other internet resources to promote your book?

I think it’s become an industry standard for writers to have a presence on social media, and readers have come to expect that they can find a writer without too much trouble. My experiences with readers have been overwhelmingly positive, so for me this has worked out well, and I’m grateful. I’m more than happy to respond to readers who have taken the time to read my work and feel compelled to reach out to me. I also think the capacity of the Internet to share links and info on writers and their work has widened writers’ audiences tremendously, and everyone benefits from that.

Do you have any events coming up to promote your book?

I do. I’ll be reading at Powell’s Books in Portland the day the book comes out, January 9th, at 7:30 pm. And on the 12th I’ll be reading at Elliott Bay Books in Seattle at 7 pm. My website lists the other readings and events to follow.

What’s next? Are you working on another book?

Yes, but it’s too soon to talk about!

THANKS, DEBORAH!

YOU CAN BUY THE DAYS WHEN BIRDS COME BACK ON LINE AND AT MAJOR BOOKSTORES, OR ASK YOUR LOCAL BOOK SELLER TO ORDER IT!

Mailbox New Year's Day

Who got new books for Christmas?



The Days When Birds Come Back by Deborah Reed. Santa brought me an early copy of Deborah Reed's new novel, which comes out January 9. It is set on the Oregon coast, where June has returned to get sober and recover from her divorce and hires emotionally wrecked Jameson to renovate her old family home. All the makings of a perfect read in front of the fireplace!

The launch event for The Days When Birds Come Back, including reading and book signing by Deborah Reed, is January 9, 2018, at Powell's City of Books in downtown Portland at 7:30 pm. Click here for more details or to pre-order a signed copy.

Santa also came through for me on my list of Jim Harrison books and an indie novel set in Portland:

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A Really Big Lunch: The Roving Gourmand on Food and Life by Jim Harrison. A collection of Harrison's food essays, published this year, on the first anniversary of his death.



The Shape of the Journey: New & Collected Poems by Jim Harrison. I've read all of Harrison's prose (besides a few of his food essays), but have never read his poetry. Time to fix that.



Conversations with Jim Harrison (Literary Conversations Series), edited by by Robert Demott. This is a collection of interviews given by Harrison. OK, I'm a fan.



Jim Harrison: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1964-2008 by Gregg Orr and Beef Torrey. OK, a particularly geeky fan.



Oregon Confetti by Lee Oser. Twitter sent me to an interview with Lee Oser and I thought his new indie book sounded really interesting. Published by Wiseblood Books.

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.

Book Beginning: Olivay by Deborah Reed

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Those who saw it that morning never said a word about Will's long stride when he walked down the sidewalk, or the way his legs bowed slightly with every step.

-- Olivay by Deborah Reed. That's quite an enigmatic first sentence for a thrill-a-minute new novel. I know from the back cover that the title heroine is a widow who looks for comfort in the arms of a stranger named Henry, only to wake up to a terrorist attack on Los Angeles. So who is Will and how does he fit in?

I want to read the whole thing. Right. Now.

Reed wrote Carry Yourself Back to Me and Things We Set on Fire, two fine literary novels set in Florida farm country. She also wrote two wild-ride thrillers, A Small Fortune and Fortune's Deadly Descent, under her Audrey Braun pen name. In Olivay, Reed brings her her literary and storytelling skills together in one roller-coaster adventure.

I'm lucky enough to get a review copy of this one. Olivay is coming out on July 7 and is available for pre-order from Wallace Books (call 503-235-7350 to order a copy) or from amazon in kindle, paperback, or audio editions.

Teaser Tuesday: Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed

The cardboard boxes stacked against the wall were decades old and soft as suede to the touch.  Vivvie carefully shoved as many as she could lift up onto the closet shelf while balancing atop a stepladder in the spare bedroom.

-- Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed.  This latest novel from Deborah Reed is a detail-rich family story that will suck you in from the first pages.  Start it when you have a few hours to devote because you will get lost in it.

Reed's debut literary novel, Carry Yourself Back to Me (reviewed here), shares the evocative prose and hardscrabble Florida setting of Things We Set on Fire.  She is also the author of two sassy thrillers, A Small Fortune (reviewed here) and Fortune's Deadly Descent (reviewed here), both published under her pen name, Audry Braun.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event (details here).

I'm getting a jump on the week with an early posting. 

Two books came into my house last week and I am super excited about both of them.
 


Things we Set on Fire by Deborah Reed, author of the excellent Carry Yourself Back to Me (reviewed here).

Reed's latest novel has been 16 years in the making and sounds like a slam dunk winner. It's a gothic drama with generations of tough but damaged women coming together to deal with a 30-year old tragedy that had splintered the family.  Looks like a great fireside read for a winter weekend.

Things We Set on Fire will be out on December 1, but is available for pre-order now.  I see that Kindle users can pre-order a copy at the ridiculous sale price of $4.99.



Put an Egg on It: 70 Delicious Dishes That Deserve a Sunny Topping by Lara Ferroni.  Santa's elves must have been reading the new Rose City Reader Facebook page, because I got this one early.  This is the cookbook I would have written if I could write a cookbook, because I think any savory dish is better with an egg on it.  Yum!

This is yet another beautifully photographed, well-constructed, and inspiring cookbook from Sasquatch Books.  This up-and-coming independent publisher is definitely one to watch!